This Month in WOA #7

"Scienteriffic", Space Economy, Japanese Corporate History and GP Accelerator 4.0!

Apr 16, 2025

Hello,

Welcome to the World of Allocators newsletter — where GPs and LPs live together in blissful peace and un-conflicted harmony.

Scroll below to stay updated on all things WOA:

WOA Flagship - GP Accelerator 4.0!
Upcoming Events - what’s new
Recent Recaps - what you missed
Content Picks - our favorite articles & podcasts

As always, our goal is to foster learning, sharing, and connectivity across the asset management industry in Asia Pacific and beyond — we look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions to keep this community thriving!

Know someone who would like this?

GP Accelerator 4.0 is Live!

GP Accelerator is WOA’s flagship education program for fund managers.

The program features a 10-session online curriculum covering strategy, fundraising & IR, team & culture, and operations & infrastructure.

Participants will receive mentorship from distinguished LPs including current and former CIOs from top global allocators, as well as successful GPs and industry experts with extensive experience building investment firm success.

GP Accelerator is open to active and aspiring GPs of all shapes, sizes, strategies, asset classes, and geographies.

In our recent info webinar (above), we outlined the program's structure, benefits, curriculum, and application process.

Lijing Sun, a hedge fund manager and GP Accelerator alumna, shared a powerful testimonial of how GPA contributed to her growth as a manager, highlighting a deepened understanding of LP perspectives, improved communication, and stronger investor relationships.

This webinar was recorded with permission on April 1, 2025.

Is GP Accelerator right for you, or for a GP friend in your network?

Learn more, share, and apply!

Check out the official GPA 4 intro post and deck
Join Singapore GPA Open Info Session

🗓 April 4, 2025 ⏰ 17:30-19:00 📍Singapore

Join Shanghai GPA Open Info Session

🗓 April 9, 2025 ⏰ 13:30-16:00 📍Shanghai

Apply or inquire directly to gpa.apply@zibencac.com (short cover letter + company intro)

Applications are due by April 30, and the first module is scheduled for May 7.

Upcoming WOA Events

Webinar: Conversation with Edmond Ng, Founder and Managing Partner of Axiom Asia Private Capital

🗓 April 15, 2025 ⏰ 20:30-21:30 📍Online

BJ Impact Investment Event

🗓 April 18, 2025 ⏰ 16:00-18:00 📍Beijing

Questions? Want to attend an event? Contact Ella Wu at wuenhui@zibencac.com for more info and RSVP.

Recap of Last Month's Events

Here’s what you missed…

3.6 WOA Webinar “The Space Economy” - with Tim Parsons

Tim Parsons of the Space Industry Association of Australia delivers a masterful overview of emerging trends and opportunities in the space economy. Click above for a (slightly redacted) recording of this exclusive WOA webinar.

3.17 WOA GBA Chapter - Exclusive Discussion with Tim Hirst, PhD - Do Good and Do Well: A ''Scienterrific'' Journey to Creating Multigenerational Wealth

Daniel Wu:

On March 17, WOA GBA had the pleasure of hosting Professor Tim Hurst for an engaging and insightful discussion on angel investing and entrepreneurship in the biotech industry. His journey—from academia to venture investment and company-building—offered invaluable insights into bridging science, investment, and wealth creation.

We were thrilled to see such an enthusiastic turnout, with some members even traveling from Shanghai to be part of this event—highlighting the strength of our community and shared passion for innovation.

🔑 Key Takeaways from the Discussion:
✅ Diversify your investments – Angel investing is not about a few lucky bets; success comes from building a balanced portfolio.
✅ Think globally – No single country monopolizes great ideas; the best investors look beyond borders for opportunities.
✅ Angel investing is more than just ROI – It’s also about mentorship, impact, and philanthropy, creating long-term value beyond financial returns.
✅ Empower your team – To truly do good, value and reward everyone in your team. Their success fuels collective growth.

Ben Wong:

[Under Diversify your investments] 40 companies seem to be a magic number for a portfolio that can withstand sufficient market cycle / industry competition heawinds and come out ahead.

Capital allocation: Be prepared to fund companies multiple rounds, sometimes out of neccessity to give it enough runway to succeed, other times to increase your exposure to companies that can proof themselves . You want to have enough dry powder to participate in every fround of the best performers

Long term planning: Tim is an active investor and plans years in advance - how much capital is needed to reach the next milestone, what skills are needed at which stage of the company life cycle, who to bring at what time, who are the potential acquirers. When founders operate under stress, it is difficult to make high quality decisions. Thinking about the critical business development processes in years advance can significantly improve the chance of a successful outcome

Shareholder engagement: many investors never hear from companies after they invest, until management comes back for more money. Early stage investors can be stuck between a rock and a hard place if their portfolio company builds promising product but dont build relationships with investors - you dont want to be the biggest investor in every follow-up rounds. Early stage investor are encourged work with companies on investor introduction, capital raising and investor engagement.

3.27 WOA BJ Chapter - AI Drives the Future: Technological Breakthrough, Investment Strategy and Industrial Transformation

Click here to get related files.

3.27 WOA SGP Chapter - Event with Genbridge’s Tojiro Kataya: How Japanese Consumer Companies Thrived Through the Lost Three Decades?

Click here to get related files and notes from Eugene Ng, Vision Capital Fund

WOA Book Club

Our WOA Book Club continues to read great books and discuss them online every Sunday. It’s a great way to dive deep into new ideas, share perspectives, and grow intellectually. We’re currently reading Wang Yangming's Great Biography: The Wisdom of Mind in the Unity of Knowing and Doing by Takehiko Okada.

Contact us to learn more and join!