Yuan Fang is Investment Director at BAce Capital, an early-stage fund backed by Ant Group, focusing on Southeast Asia and India. Before BAce, she worked as category lead at Alibaba Group.

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

We think about where the world will be 5 to 10 years from now, identify the right founders and bet on them.

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

I've worked in three different countries and "pivoted" my career from Banking, E-commerce and VC — which I feel is the right career for me.

I like the idea of the book "The Long View": building a career (the same applies to building a startup) is all about finding the sweet spot — the intersection between what you are good at, what you love doing and something that matters to the world.

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

It's a life-long journey, and the best is yet to come! :)

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

Digital bank/Fintech for businesses: traditional banking services for SMEs are pretty broken. We believe there are a lot of pain points (i.e., opportunities) to be addressed in order to deliver a cost-efficient and easy-to-use solution for the new generation of entrepreneurs.

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

Have a lot of patience and emotional stamina: we fund the future, and the feedback loops are long…

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

Work-related: my first-hand experience working in the E-commerce industry dealing with top brands and live-streamers.

Non-work related: good food and how to create it.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Friends — probably watched it ten times.

🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?

Pistachio