MEET THE TEAM.
Founded and led by professionals with decades of experience in investment banking, investments, management consulting, startups and entrepreneurship; fuelled and powered by Gen Z.
We know that there are teenagers out there who are brilliant, tenacious, and capable of building tech solutions that can make a difference - but sadly they can go unnoticed (especially if they aren’t the academically inclined students at school).
Our mission is to unearth these driven teenagers and guide them on a path of possibilities, through entrepreneurship. Many of our alumni have gone on to pursue computer science and entrepreneurship at top global universities.
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Co-Founder & CEO
Multi-hyphenated, wearing multiple hats. As Head of Market Launch at Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm 500 Global, she led her global team to run 80+ startup accelerator programmes for founders in Israel, Canada, Egypt, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and more. She’s a council member of Singapore’s National Youth Fund and National Youth Council, Board Director at raiSE, and has been awarded Bett Asia’s EdTech 10 and Singapore’s Top 100 Women in Tech. Also a mentor in residence at SMU and SUSS.
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Co-Founder
CEO and Co-Founder of Foundation Healthcare, Singapore’s fastest growing private specialty healthcare group. Also co-founded Smarter Health, a venture-backed healthcare platform that connects patients to specialist care in Southeast Asia. A seasoned business leader with over 20 years of experience in strategy and business development, investments, fundraising.
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Partner
APAC Startups Lead at OpenAI. Previously Head of Startups at Aspire, a fast-growing FinTech company providing finance solutions to startups, SMBs, investment firms, and the web3 community throughout the Asia-Pacific. Also Venture Partner at Tokyo-based VC fund Headline Asia.
Previously held a variety of roles in the startup and vc space, including at a SaaS startup and Silicon Valley VC 500 Global.
Thomas began his career in strategy consulting at firms such as Boston Consulting Group and Gartner.
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Programme & Portfolio Director
Kee is a seasoned professional with expertise in startup incubation, acceleration, global expansion, and startup investments, in South Korea and Southeast Asia.
Prior to joining Wavesparks, Kee was Programme Manager at 500 Global, running incubation and accelerator programmes in South Korea, aiding founders in their growth and fundraising efforts. Before that, he was responsible for deal sourcing and portfolio management at KK Fund. Kee also brings a wealth of experience in performance management consulting and strategic planning to his multifaceted career.
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Programme & Business Development Director
Felicia Phan is an experienced professional in startup development, corporate innovation, and mentorship across APAC.
As a Startup Business Development Manager at AWS, she helps startups scale using AWS resources and mentors entrepreneurs at iCUBE International and NUS Entrepreneurship Society.
Felicia has led innovation programmes at 500 Global and NUS Enterprise and held key roles at Carro in marketing and business development, driving growth and innovation in the startup ecosystem
MEET THE MENTORS
Our mentors are founders, venture capitalists, venture builders, and experts who are here to help the next generation of founders - you.
Hailing from MNCs like Bosch and BCG, global tech companies like Stripe, Meta, and Amazon, and Asian startups like Aspire and Wantedly - You’ll be learning from global talent. Here are some of them.
SEBASTIAN MUELLER
MING Labs | Design, Product, Sustainability
JASPREET DUA
500 Global | GTM, PR, Pitching, B2B
JOCHEN LORENZ
Bosch | Strategy, Energy, Agri
JARED CHAN
Carro | Product, B2B, B2C, Coaching, UI/UX, SaaS
DEVIN GRABER
Dentbird | Biz Dev, Sales, Marketing, Strategy, Healthcare
KATRINA TOO
The Panacea Co | B2B, Sales, Marketing
RIZ ASLAM
Satori Giants | Fundraising, Strategy, Social Enterprise
Antara Mathai
Durianpay | Product, Pitching, Communication Tools
ABBY ZHANG
BCG X | Product, Biz Dev, Finance, Robotics
SIMONE MACARIO
VOX AI & Sharly | Product, Engineering
MEET THE COUNTRY DIRECTORS
Former participants turned leaders, our Country Directors are passionate about fostering positive change and sharing insights from their diverse experiences. As champions of your entrepreneurial journey, they're here to guide and inspire you.
Get ready to learn from the best and embark on a transformative experience!
HOK KUNCHEAT
Cambodia Country Director | YFS ’24
HYUGA KURAMOCHI
Singapore Country Director | YFS ‘24
CHENG LY SING
Cambodia Country Director | YFS ’24
MAONA MATSUDA
Japan Country Director
RAMAZAN MUSA
Kazakhstan Country Director | YFS ‘23
IAN LEMUEL VERGARA
Philippines Country Director | YFS ’24
JEONGPYO KIM
Korea Country Director | YFS ’24
UNN UNN PASUWAT
Thailand Country Director | YFS ‘24
JAYANA CHOWDHURY
India Country Director | YFS ‘23
JIA KAUR
India Country Director | YFS ‘24
HOANG YEN DUONG
Vietnam Country Director
CHARLOTTE LIAW
Malaysia Country Director
KAITLYN TAY
Singapore Country Director | YFS ‘24
ANG LIANG TZE
Singapore Country Director
JIMIN LEE
Korea Country Director | YFS ‘24
“The experienced industry mentors who provided personalized feedback, advice, and support were instrumental in my personal and startup growth. The one-to-one mentorship sessions allowed me to gain critical insights, refine my business strategy, and build my confidence to overcome obstacles that I faced along the way.”
— Kazel Koh, YFS ‘20 & ‘21
OUR PARTNERS
We are supported by government agencies, education institutions, technology firms, and more. Our existing and past partners and supporters include the following.
OUR eCOSYSTEM PARTNERS
Comprising of diverse organizations and individuals, our ecosystem partners play a vital role in amplifying the Young Founders Summit's reach. Our network is enriched by their support and collaboration.
