Thai-born, American-educated Kanin Asva is a Venture Capitalist with a difference. The newly minted solo General Partner of VC powerhouse Robust had become one of the most talked about in the finance and tech spaces.
Asva’s approach to venture capitalism breaks the mold – he walks and talks with innovators on their journey to disrupt their industries. Having received the knockbacks and worked his way up, he sees the world with an entrepreneurial edge.
“The key to disruption is backing relentless iterators who are solving difficult scientific, engineering and logistical problems,” he muses. “We are incredibly selective in our partnerships, and we strive to add value beyond liquidity. Everything is executed with precision and conviction: from the ideation, investment thesis, branding and external communications.”
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Asva is already in rarified air as one of the few early-stage venture capitalists that successfully launched a fund straddling North America and Southeast Asia. One of his priorities is to promulgate Robust as a beacon of good design. “Entrepreneurs must realize that design elevates business,” Asva adds. Naturally, Robust was honored by awwwards.com for its forward-thinking branding.
“Good design defines a good business because how you do anything is how you do everything. While a clear mind brings a clear approach to business and life, design brings diverse elements to fit together cohesively and work. You don’t notice it’s there when something is well-designed.”
Moreover, he said, “design is seemingly superficial, but it’s about systems thinking. The principle can be applied to everything. Look at law – you can structure legal contracts succinctly and elegantly. You can also build out an investment portfolio according to these principles. That’s why the companies we invest in have synergy and reflect our ethos.”
Asva’s enthusiasm for design and minimalism – the ‘less is more’ attitude – to Robust’s high-quality, boutique approach to investment. “Minimalism, whether in architecture or design, takes a lot of hard work to make it look and feel that way. Only through effort can you make things look effortless.”
Through his own hard work and efforts to reach the top of his game, having helped manage $200 million in assets along the way, Robust is gaining traction and attention.
Robust has already overseen significant investments in two groundbreaking companies: Offsight, a project management software company that boosts productivity in modular construction, and Symbiome, a microbiome-nourishing skincare company with a strong R&D foundation for sustainability.
As a solo general partner, he advises growth-stage firms and startups on Asia’s technology ecosystem and regulatory landscape. For 2023, he is laser-focused on growing the fund and building Robust’s reputation on the international stage.
Robust will also launch a new phase in its relatively short tenure. Asva and his team have been working on Robust Research. This cutting-edge publication will be positioned as a thought leader, empowering people with knowledge and education.
Robust in business and robust in nature reflects Asva’s approach to life. His resilience to life began with a near drowning at the age of ten, finding his feet and wanting to break away from his settled life in comfy Bangkok.
Following his near drowning in a swimming pool, he returned to the way after three months of rehab. Then he fashioned his ultimate comeback by becoming a competitive long-distance backstroke and freestyle swimmer. He also became a PADI-certified open-water scuba diver.
Education has been a primary driver for Asva as he desires to learn more and help others along the way. “I faced crushing pressure within a very conservative Thai family. As an impressionable adolescent, every aspect of life was planned out, so it was hard to figure out what I wanted in life. I was confused and lost for a long time,” he said.
Diving into furthering his understanding of life, he moved halfway across the world to California at 18 to master two degrees in Management Science and, later, Finance. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, he backed himself and utilized his own survival skills in his early career.
He became a globe-trotter – swapping between Bangkok, California and now, New York to build a highly geared career in finance and tech. Despite his aspirations, Asva speaks candidly of his knockbacks in attempting to achieve his entrepreneurial dreams.
“I’ve been laughed out of the room many times, but my ambition continued to burn bright,” said Asva. “Ultimately, I raised capital from outside investors to prove I could do it independently. I have proved the detractors wrong and shut out the critics. Being resilient and innovative are the defining characteristics of an entrepreneur. When people are kicking you when you are down, you must keep looking up and aspiring to do better. Backing yourself is the best capital you can invest in.”
His perfectionist approach has also seen him take that into his personal life by becoming an enthusiastic cross-fitter and even training his friends. “Weightlifting and competitive swimming have given me consistency, discipline, and mental fortitude,” he said. These values have given Asva his trademark attention to detail which makes him a great investor and risk controller.
For Kanin Asva, it is a case of continuing to move on. “Never be satisfied with your lot in life. Appreciate the small wins and use those as the building blocks of life and business,” he concluded.
For more information, visit www.robust.vc or follow Kanin Asvaplungprohm (‘Asva’) on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.