Creating positive impact for society, Investor insights with Maxson Tee

Interesting interview with Maxson Tee, see more interviews here.

What is your background briefly?

I studied Aeronautical and Mechanical engineering at a university in Wales and thought I was going to be an Aeronautical Engineer. I then did an MSc in Engineering with Finance at UCL to learn more about technology and entrepreneurial finance.

Prior to my current position, I was part of the founding team of Malaysia’s 2nd largest YouTube channel, JinnyboyTV. When I was in university I started a Cafe with the aim to bring people together to exchange ideas and innovate. During my time at UCL, I was part of the founding team of Agriledger, a mobile application that tracks food provenance and farmers’ credit histories.

Currently I am a Product Manager creating digital products for financial services, started out building Syndicated Loan Industry first Blockchain solution, LenderComm and now working on API strategy for Syndicated Loan market leading software. When I am not building products, I work as an Associate at Green Shores Capital, learning from and investing in great founders and businesses. Occasionally I am involved with Singularity University London Chapter and various tech ecosystem initiatives.

Can we have a positive impact for society? Insights with Maxson Tee

Does it seem like a logical background to what you do now?

Yes, somewhere down the line I have always wanted to be part of the movement that creates positive impact for society. Naturally, I gravitate towards technology and finance where I believe has the biggest leverage in creating positive impact for the world.

1 min pitch for what you are doing now? 

In short, I build tech products for financial services and invest in tech products around financial services, healthcare and education.

Why did you get involved with this type of investing? Truth to be told up until when I was at UCL doing my masters, I didn’t know what I was about to do. I had neither bulge bracket banks internships nor MBB consulting interviews lined up. What I do know is that I am always curious about business, tech and investment.

I didn’t even know what was VC, until I learned it through a UCL module where Itxaso Del Palacio currently investment director of Notion Capital started teaching us about start-up valuation and entrepreneurship finance. That’s when I know I wanted to try this “thing” out, if I like it I am likely to stick with it, if not I will just have to move on to find the next thing that excites me.

To answer your questions on why:

Pays to be curious
Purpose: technology enabled problem solving
People: working with some of the smartest and most driven people on the planet

How can we be more sustainable in time to save our planet / while also having a successful business model? 

As a consumer, I think it starts with the individual. As individuals, we have to change how we consume products and be mindful about the implication of our consumption patterns. As a DocuSeries on Netflix “Broken” put it, if there are demands, there will always be supply to fulfil the demand. Be mindful about our consumption pattern helps foster sustainable behaviours thus nudging businesses into right direction. I.e. Toothpaste Boxes in Iceland

From a business standpoint, quoting Clayton Christiansen, businesses capabilities can be broken down into 1)Resources 2)Processes and 3)Priorities. If your latter is not right, the first and second doesn’t matter. Thus, as businesses for the future, it’s important to set our priorities in cultivating the right consumption pattern rather than encouraging unsustainable consumerism to maximize profit for the short term. (Much like the activity monitor on your IPhone but for everything else.)

The underlying latent needs of humans have not changed, the way we deliver it has. Now is the best time to rethink our approach to deliver products and services in a more sustainable way.

If 2020 goes well, what will ‘good’ look like for you?

More innovation around Financial Services, Healthcare or Education (redesign and rethink how we deliver each of those services) – more investment opportunities too

Be a content producer rather than a content consumer
Prioritise my time on high leverage activities a.k.a. FOCUS

Who are your sources of information & inspiration?

Let’s address this in 2 parts

Source of information:

Team Members
Twitter
Newsletters
Blog Posts

Source of inspiration:

Arun @GS capital
Harry @20VC
Chia @Saisson Capital
Austen @Lambda School
Joyeeta @Gyana
Millions of micro-entrepreneurs that are doing their best every day to be their best

How can people find out more about you personally & your work?

You can find me on Twitter @maxsontjy. I am trying to engage with more thoughtful people around topics that I care about and produce more content around my thinking of future tech scene. Watch this space!

More about Maxson ->

I am passionate about innovation and technology. I find fulfillment in turning idea and concept to reality. Enjoy helping others in developing strategy, ideas and innovation. Celebrating successes and embracing failures equally.

Firm believer of emerging technologies such as Distributed Ledger Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things. I believe that the application of these technologies will play a large part on shaping the future of the world. The implication of such new technologies will require more experimentation prior to large scale deployment and adoption. Thus, more capital investments are required in order to pave the way for fundamental technological advancements in order to generate enormous value for society and humanity.

In my current role, I am able to contribute on the why, what and how products are created and shipped for major enterprises and small startups. I believe with more solid operational experiences, it will enable me to source, screen and build the best technology businesses that have exponential impacts. In the future, I wish to make an impact in the world through investing in revolutionary ideas, creating remarkable products and launching sustainable businesses.