Susli Lie is a Partner at Monk's Hill Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage tech startups in Southeast Asia. Before MHV, Susli co-founded ErudiFi, a Y Combinator-backed tech-enabled education financing company present in Indonesia and the Philippines. Born and raised in Jakarta, Susli is a mom to a 2-year-old with a baby on the way, and she is an advocate for supporting women in tech.

👋🏼  How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

I find the best visionaries building great solutions and support them with capital and expertise to help them realize their dream and make a difference.

🧐  What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I am a Partner at a VC fund that was one of the first investors and early believers in me as a founder.

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🏆  What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Building something out of nothing with my cofounder at ErudiFi and being the first female founder from Indonesia backed by Y Combinator. While the journey is far from over, the experience taught me to stretch my limits and makes me a better investor/advocate for other founders.

🔍  What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?

The world is abuzz with hype around Web 3.0, NFT marketplaces, crypto, the application of blockchain in as many verticals as you can imagine, and the Metaverse (which my mother has asked me to explain to her repeatedly).

It's not an area I am an expert in, but these are trends with a Zero or One binary outcome which may make or break the startup scene.

💼  What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

To be a VC, go be a founder or work for an early-stage startup. It's the long route, but it's much more scenic, trust me.

🗣  What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

The application of the Prime Directive in the real world, whether in geopolitics, international relations, anthropology, or public policy. Or, the problem with accessing higher education in Southeast Asia and the perilous history of student loan schemes all over the world (incidentally, this is the problem that led me to co-found my startup).

🎥  What's your favorite movie/TV show?

If it's not already obvious from my answer to the previous question, it's "Star Trek - The Next Generation." (My husband would say I have an unhealthy infatuation with the character Jean-Luc Picard).

🍨  What's your go-to ice cream flavor?

It's a toss-up between Limone gelato by Da Paolo and Roquefort Bleu by Butterknife Folk (yes, the cheese + speculoos + honeyed pear)