We are very excited to announce that we are finally open in Singapore! It’s taken us a (fun) year to build up the required momentum and get to know the local community and we are proud and happy to have the new base + team up and running.

Why Singapore?

We started spending quality time in Singapore when our Dealised business was established there early last year. It was immediately clear that we were missing out on an inspiring world. Whilst Australian corporates have long used Singapore as a gateway to the Asia Pacific region, Australian startups are more focused on local markets. When we do look outside of Australia, our attention typically goes east to Silicon Valley. Our visits to Singapore exposed us to an impressive group of founders, investors and ecosystem builders and opened our eyes to the amazing growth opportunities in the greater Southeast Asia region. Startups in Singapore are solving different problems for different users. Its an exciting process, and something that we are eager to become part of.

How Can We Help?

Startups prosper with the right kind of ecosystem around them. When we started Pollenizer in Sydney almost 5 years ago, our local ecosystem was impoverished. There were few startups, a small and disorganised angel community, a tiny handful events, an insufficient talent pool for hiring, and corporates had little interest in partnership or acquisition. In response to those conditions, we worked hard to manufacture an ecosystem on our own. Working alongside other community members, we have helped grow the Sydney and larger Australian startup ecosystem into a small but robust engine for innovation, investment and value creation.

Pollenizer remains deeply committed to Australia. At the same time, we’d like to bring some of the lessons we have learned to Southeast Asia. We plan to share what we know and participate in the continued emergence of vibrant startup ecosystems in Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and beyond. We are amazed and impressed at how quickly these communities are growing already and think we can contribute meaningfully to their future development.

Hive Emerging

We plan to establish a Hive in Singapore like our fabulous base in Sydney over the coming 12 months. For now, our office is at Block 71, Ayer Rajah Crescent #02-22 in the Innov8 offices. We’ll be attending events, hanging out around town, and spending a fair bit of time across the region, notably in Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

Who’s in Charge? Meet Isaac

We are extremely proud to have Isaac Souweine join Pollenizer as our GM for Singapore. Before making the leap in to the Pollenizer vortex, Isaac was heading up mobile products for Yahoo! APAC. He is also well known in the community as the organiser of BlinkBl_nk. Say hello to Isaac on Twitter (@sonofsarah) or Email (isaac AT pollenizer.com).

Tiwala

We’ve already started our first Singapore-based business! Meet Tiwala.

Lean Startup Machine

We will be at Lean Startup Machine in Singapore  on August 31. Come along and say hello.

Big Thanks

Over the last year we have met hundreds of people and have been warmly welcomed by the local community. In particular we’d like send a big thanks to Michael Smith, Meng Wong, Hugh Mason, Edgar Hardless, David Gowdey and Adrian Vanzyl, almighty forces in the local community that have lent us their super powers to help get us started.

And We are Hiring!

We’re looking for product managers and engineers to help us build amazing companies out of our Singapore office. We pay our product teams competitive salaries, give them equity in the businesses they build, and provide a unique opportunity to master lean startup techniques. If you think you might be keen to join the team, or if you’d like to recommend someone from your network, please ping Isaac (isaac AT pollenizer.com).