THRIVE, NOT SURVIVE: INFLATION.RECESSION.GLOBAL WARMING.

DESPITE THE HURDLES OF THIS ERA, FIREBRAND INVESTOR TAN YINGLAN HAS FOUND HIS OWN WAY TO JUDGE HOW SUSTAINABLE A BRIGHT IDEA TRULY IS

- RACHEL GENEVIEVE CHIA

It is Saturday morning; 7am, to be precise. Three men in dri-fit shirts — one black, one white, one neon orange — are tramping their way through the underbrush near MacRitchie Reservoir, breathing in the cool air, feeling their creative juices stir.

This is more than a nature hike. It is, in fact, one of the few means to a private audience with Yinglan Tan — an investor, venture capital (VC) founder, adjunct professor, author, member of an assortment of boards, committees, and panels, and avid lover of orange apparel.

So numerous are his commitments that he even hoped to farm this interview out to someone else. “I tried, but I couldn’t,” he chuckles. “It’s not the same.”

Ruthless delegation is necessary when you have 88 young start-ups to germinate. And consider that Tan’s 6-year-old South-east Asian-focused firm, Insignia Ventures Partners, has facilitated the IPO of two of these companies, most notably GoTo, a consumer tech company.

His greatest regret? Missing out on NYSE-listed Sea. Despite the company’s volatility, Tan notes that it has been seen globally as a benchmark for the growth of a technology platform from South-east Asia to the rest of the world.

But never mind. “Yinglan is simply the most brilliant opportunity creator I’ve worked with,” gushes Tokopedia’s William Tanuwijaya on LinkedIn. Adds Gojek founder Nadiem Makarim: “Yinglan’s ability to connect people of great influence is unparalleled. He is an entrepreneur’s friend in every sense of the word.”