Ep 30: Dr Finian Tan (Chairman, Vickers Venture Partners - 5th most consistently performing fund manager worldwide)

Dr Finian Tan is a Singaporean venture capitalist and Chairman of Vickers Venture Partners: a VC he founded in 2005 with 4 other partners and which is now ranked the 5th most consistently performing fund manager worldwide. Prior to Vickers, Finian was inter alia: - Regional Director & Head at J.Aron - Goldman Sachs’ Asian trading arm; - Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the Singapore Government, where he oversaw the creation of the $1 billion dollar TIF fund (he was subsequently appointed as chairman of the said fund); and - A Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet & the founding partner of its Asia Pacific Operations, where he led the investment into Baidu and remained its largest backer until IPO. But how did it all begin? Born on St Finian of Clonard’s Day, Finian had what might be considered an ‘unconventional’ childhood for someone who grew up in Singapore. He would spend his days on the beach with friends and family crabbing, spearfishing, snorkeling, and swimming in the sea! He ended up studying engineering at Singapore Polytechnic before pursuing a degree at Glasgow University where he swept all of the academic awards. In this STIMY episode, Finian shares: 4:10: What it was like growing up in Singapore in the 1960s 6:14: How he ended up studying engineering at Singapore Polytechnic 8:19: How the bankruptcy of his father’s company impacted his family 9:15: Planning it “like a war” to win all the academic awards at Glasgow University 13:09: Completing his Masters & PhD at Cambridge University 15:05: Working as a Chief Trader at Shell 15:51: Being poached by Goldman Sachs & later heading J.Aron - the Asian arm of Goldman Sachs 18:12: Why Finian decided to leave Goldman Sachs to become the Deputy Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade & Industry 24:21: Joining Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet & figuring out where to invest by drawing a line in his book 27:01: Why Finian chose Baidu to be his first & only investment (at $7.5 million!) 28:57: Big decisions made by the Baidu board 31:51: Founding Vickers Venture Partners 34:15: Building Vicker’s reputation in the VC space 35:07: Best platforms to generate deal flow 36:44: Why Vickers pivoted into the deep tech space 44:24: Investing in Samumed, which is working to reverse aging by drugging the Wnt signaling pathway! 47:05: How Emergex is involved in the COVID-19 vaccine fight 55:31: RWDC - a company that is creating 100% biodegradable plastic that looks, feels & costs like plastic 58:01: The silver bullet 1:00:28: Spending time with entrepreneurs 1:01:52: Values that Finian looks for 1:03:01: What went wrong with 24 Quan (Finian’s biggest investment failure) 1:05:31: How Eavor is making breakthroughs in the geothermal space 1:12:13: Plans for Vicker’s Fund IV 1:15:21: Institutionalising knowledge as part of Vicker’s succession plan 1:17:11: What Finian looks for when hiring someone 1:32:17: “To whom much is given, much is required” 1:37:16: Charity Water & education in Africa Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/30