Low Level Barbarians (LLB)

Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ Kicking off 2025 with something different. We sit down with Anna and Leo, two fearless indie filmmakers who left Russia to pursue free expression, true art, and their Hollywood dreams. Their journey is anything but ordinary, and they’re carving an uncharted path to greatness. Check out Anna and Leo's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@motionandsounds Lets Connect! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/annakadykova/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonid-shmelkov-82932ba0/ Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/JOgWqPbOVSE 00:00 Escaping Russia for Hollywood Dreams 01:12 Anna 04:36 Leo 07:19 Censorship in Russia 14:26 Getting Stuck in Sri Lanka 15:44 Countries With Big Independent Film Industries 19:29 Challenges Of Feature Film Funded by Russian Government 22:05 How Western People Perceive the War With Ukraine 24:53 Insider Insights On the War of Ukraine 27:56 What Would You Be Willing to Die For 28:40 Dying & Being Forgotten vs Being Remembered 32:37 Breaking Into the Film Industry 34:44 Contrarian Approach 37:28 Finding Authenticity In Your Own Voice 43:22 Forget the World Chaos By Surfing 45:29 Leaving the Sri Lankan Village 52:11 Re-doing the feature film 01:02:57 Most Ambitious Project 01:03:49 Blind Trust In Selling A Script 01:12:59 Balancing Art vs Commercial 01:14:19 Beginner's Mindset 01:15:46 Crisis As A Possibility & Thinking Big 01:23:13 Defining The Partnership

Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ The final LLB episode of 2024 with Dave, Alex and Jianggan. Jianggan just got back from his 8th China trip of the year and updates us on what is happening in China. We cover the attitude of the youth in China currently, SEA vs Chia logistics, and some thoughts around the impact of the new US administration coming in. We close out with some thoughts that characterized 2024 and some takes for 2025. Lets Connect! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidqchang/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/jianggan/ Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/F4EYjIonWBB Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:45 Updates From Shanghai/China 03:39 Current Attitudes of the Youths in China Right Now 05:46 Interest Rates in China 06:38 Logistics in China vs Southeast Asia Development 23:15 China in 2025 28:17 Takes on Trump & uncertanity going into 2025 30:44 Art Of The Deal - Anchoring 36:05 Joe Biden pardons 39:09 United Health Care CEO Assassination 46:50 How Would you Characters 2024 58:59 Contrarian Takes for 2025

Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ This is the first time I ever met Whei Chern & Dmitry. We barely exchanged maybe more than 2-3 messages before this episode. In this episode I do real time feedback of seeing this deck and meeting the the founders of MIEA health for the first time. Lets Connect! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitriy-chekin/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/whei-chern-ho-8015a235/ Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/Vho8S2YDmcw 00:00 Pitch Deck Breakdown - MIEA Health | E:53 00:18 The Premise & Context 01:26 Intro Of the Founders 01:35 Dimitry 02:43 Founding of MIEA 03:19 Original Idea of MIEA 05:06 The Hundred Year life 07:25 What MIEA Does Today 09:27 Give Me A Concise Elevator Pitch 11:53 Investor Sentiment In Southeast Asia 16:08 Founder Roles 17:04 First Feedback On Elevator Pitch 19:35 My Understanding Of The Pitch So far 20:42 Pitch Deck Review - Slide 1 24:00 Slide 2 - Purpose Slide 32:01 Slide 2 - Problem Slide 34:36 Slide 4 - Problem Slide 36:11 How Important is the USD150B Statistic 41:44 Slide 5 - Product 45:53 Why Solve THIS problem - Clarifying Original idea 48:46 General Feedback From Other Investors 50:28 Mismatch of Investor Expectations vs Stage of Venture 51:31 Slide 6 - Product Slide 51:47 Understanding Incumbent Solutions 54:02 YC Bible - Do Things That Don't Scale 57:31 Slide 7 - Market Sizing 01:03:04 Slide 8 - Competitive Analysis 01:07:11 Slide 9 - Competitive Advantage 01:11:40 Slide 10 - Go To Market 01:14:26 Slide 12 - Notable New Clients 01:15:25 Slide 13 - Team Slide 01:18:13 Learn More About the Founders 01:19:19 Founder Motivations

Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ Did you miss the Devcon Conference? Maybe you just want an update of what is going on in crypto. Tune in to find what happened and what to expect for crypto going into 2025 Lets Connect! * Justin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahnjustin/ * Chong - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chongsiong/ Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/xCBWINyxpEB Chapters: Condense Takeaway 00:00 Intro 00:57 How Has Devcon Changed in 2024 02:58 Bangkok Hosting Devcon 04:48 Continued Eth Ecosystem Growth 06:25 Scam Phase Is A Feature Not A Bug 07:16 Solana Rise To Prominence 08:32 Meme Coins Galore 09:56 Regulation Is Key Moving Forward 11:28 Some Predictions Podcast Start 17:19 The overall VIBE of Devcon 2024 19:56 Why Bangkok This Year? 22:23 Are There Enough Developers Still? 26:08 Can't Escape Meme Coins - Where has utility gone? 27:41 Does Utility Matter Anymore 31:55 Life Cycles Of Crypto 33:42 Solana Has Embraced The Degen Narrative 35:32 Discussing Trading Volume of BTC, ETH, SOL 36:56 Centralized Exchanges Are Slowly Dying 39:25 Is the Market Topping? 41:17 Will there be a Spillover Effect From Bitcoin 42:46 Beyond The Meme Coins - Any Fundamental Changes? 51:48 The Most Exciting Thing to Come Out of Devcon 55:29 AI and Crypto C r urrency Tokens 01:00:20 Pump.Fun Craze 01:01:06 Main Events & Speakers At Devcon 01:02:57 Quidli Update 01:05:45 Looking Ahead to 2025

Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Connect with us! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/jianggan/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidqchang/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/joonchan/ Jianggan drove up from Singapore to do a live episode. Dave has been right for years calling the US election, and Jianggan has been reading too much Wechat media. In this episode we unpack some of Jianggan’s conspiracy ideas (don’t take it so seriously) but in-between we discuss a lot of the fundamental issues of current US politics, the deep state, why the presidency matters and much more. Lastly! We finally pin down Joon and hear his pitch for the current business venture he is pursuing. Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/anem3Q6zxeS Chapters: Part 1 00:00 Intro 00:44 US Elections 01:27 Biden Is A Double Agent 05:01 Biden Garbage Context 05:30 Why Did Biden Call Maga People Garbage 08:19 Democratic Party Looking For A Scapegoat 11:49 Jianggan's Next Conspiracy 12:17 Is Trump A Long Term Master Strategist 14:39 The Deep State 17:57 Bureaucratic sclerosis 22:21 Why Does the Presidency Matter Then? 22:42 Institutional vs Outsiders 25:32 Why Did Trump Lose To Biden 27:12 Trump's Super Power 28:08 Difference in Campaign Strategies 35:03 Founder Mode vs CEO Mode 35:38 Jianggan's Third Conspiracy Theory 37:04 What Wil Trump Achieve 39:13 Effects Of Tariffs 44:50 On Ukraine & Gaza 47:35 Tariff Effects on Asia Part 2: Joon's New Venture 57:19 Joon's New Venture - Black Gold 59:01 what is Biochar 01:01:13 Why Not Sell The Biochar 01:02:12 Joon's Motivations 01:03:32 Business Model 01:08:38 Carbon Credits 01:09:18 Market Sizingr 01:10:47 Hurdles To Clear 01:14:02 Competitors 01:15:32 Ideal Lead Investor

Dewan's First Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/44AcLcd870CBIikhY8hctG?si=85c2b544ceba4d63 Dewan has been involved in entrepreneurship for more than 10 years. He recently exited his first and venture as a co-founder after a 7 year grind. We recap his journey and the tough lessons he learned along the way. While the venture might been seen as a failure, the journey was invaluable. Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/3ByjRDGDjrb Chapters: 00:00 You Won't Fail If You Align Your Values | E:51 03:33 Vintages of Investments 10:08 Dojo KL - The Journey 10:21 Seduced by High Valuations 11:23 Red Flags 5-6 Months in 14:27 When Is Your Gut Right Or Wrong About Uncertain Opportunities (Full Body Yes) 18:16 Navigating Stakeholders When All Is Wrong 19:53 Testing for Honesty In Partnerships 25:29 Other Co-working that blew up 27:50 Pivots & Roller Coasters (1.5 years onwards) 28:50 Addressing A Failed Partnership 30:29 Pick Your Investors Carefully 32:38 How to Practically Align Values With Stakeholders 37:55 Does Co-Working Only Wwork If You Are the Landlord 42:35 Evolution of Dojo Services 45:15 Problems With New Business Model 53:05 Operating During Covid 57:29 The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back 01:08:55 Success Or Failure For Dojo 01:11:08 How It Ended 01:11:33 is there brand value in co-working? 01:12:44 Cutting Losses 01:15:34 Biggest Takeaways 01:16:42 Building For Yourself 01:17:56 When Ignoring Data Is Good 01:19:40 Biggest Takeaway 01:20:57 What Is Dewans Strongest Expertise 01:28:31 Carrying Lessons Forwardr 01:36:57 Advice To Those On The Journey

Y.K. Goon's Previous Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3LOd7lkqNME5uIqKUQidh5?si=d1ebc504f5eb41df Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Connect to Y.K.! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykgoon/ Another old episode from the catalogue. If you ever wondered how or why someone invest 100% of their net worth in crypto look no further. In this episode we explore how YK navigated the centralized exchange fiascos of 2023, the bottlenecks for mass adoption of crypto, some of YK's best investments and how YK avoids post exit investment regret. In part 2 we talk about the broad implications of VR and lastly we talk about how YK is using A.I. in his daily software engineering job as CTO of Kakitangan 00:00 Intro 01:24 Recap From Previous Episode 02:22 Investing In Crypto 03:50 YK's Workflow in Crypto 06:40 On FTX Fiasco 10:31 Luna Effect on YK's Portfolio 14:39 Real Yield vs Scam Yield 17:28 Old Fiat to New Fiat 20:22 What Is the Bottleneck for Mass Adoption of Crypto 24:26 Why 100% In Crypto 27:11 Weakness of Crypto Currencies 32:32 What Does Mass Adoption Mean 36:58 Diversification Strategy 38:33 Investing and Managing Risky Assets 43:50 Successful Investments 50:21 Did Livepeer Exceed Your Expectations 52:09 Post Profit Regret 54:14 Measuring Performance 56:18 How Much Value Lost From the Peak 58:41 Views On Institutional Money ON-Chain 01:03:19 What's New In Crypto 01:06:16 Thinking About Investing In Games 01:19:22 NFT's built on Bitcoin 01:22:18 Cryptocurrencies are like cities 01:25:50 YK's Excitement on VR 01:26:55 Playing VR Doom 01:27:22 Tech, Media, Reality Thesis 01:29:47 Why Is Mainstream Against the Idea of VR 01:31:32 State of VR 01:41:31 Is Our Generation More Pessimistic 01:43:51 Media Consumption Horizon 01:48:33 Today's Zeitgeist 01:51:23 Prompot Engineering 01:54:13 Using LLM's to Code Wwith Teams 01:59:02 Does TEchnical Debt Reduce wwith AI 02:06:55 Closing Thoughts on LLMs

Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Connect to Max! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-maze-8294366b/ This was filmed back in mid-2023. Max is a film director and writer who also has the technical expertise to build neural networks and work in AI. He possesses a rare combination of technical and artistic abilities, which he's using to create the world's first AI movie director. Although this footage is over a year old, much of what Max discusses remains timeless and relevant today 00:00 Introduction THOUGHTS FROM MAX 02:09 Perfectionism & Capitalism 08:03 Balancing Personal Brand vs Personal Expression 14:36 Structures & Constraints On Creativity VSTORY 15:52 VSTORY Elevator Pitch 17:58 Inspiration For VSTORY 25:43 Building An AI Director 28:12 Stakeholders in Media Production - Problem Focus 32:29 Tying the Thesis Together 34:06 Benefit for Studios 35:14 Market Sizing 37:28 Quality vs Making Money 43:41 VSTORY's Positioning 46:44 Defensibility of VSTORY 53:17 People Behind VSTORY 01:00:34 Cap Table 01:06:43 Tech vs Business Aspects 01:10:00 VSTORY Traction & MVP 01:19:06 What is VSTORY fundraising For THOUGHTS ON AI 01:21:20 Thoughts around AI 01:25:10 Most Important Thing About AI Today 01:35:24 Detour Ukraine and Ideas of Belief to Choose 01:40:04 Is The Future Dystopian or Utopian? 01:44:32 Biggest Misunderstanding About AI

Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Lets Connect! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/norhakim-sanwan/ Sitting down with Hakim, CEO and Co-founder of Mascon Technologies, to dive deep into the $14 trillion maritime industry and how digital transformation is revolutionizing maritime safety and seafarer operations. Hakim shares his journey from being a seafarer himself to solving real-world problems with cutting-edge tech, helping to increase safety, trust, and operational efficiency. Discover how the lack of verification in traditional methods has caused significant economic losses and why Mascon's solutions are poised to disrupt the space. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:19 Elevator Pitch 03:09 Value Aspect Of Safety Marine Economy 06:31 Lack Of Safety Equals Huge Economic Loss 09:11 Market Sizing of Maritime Industry 10:49 Breaking Down The Value Chain 18:47 Ship Man Power Organization 21:41 Competition in Maritime Tech Space 28:45 Best Innovations in the Maritime Industry 32:27 Contrarian Views In Maritime Industry 38:22 Views On Port Congestion 44:45 Labor Shortages 49:50 Tackling Certification 51:34 Mascon Core Focus - Problem/Solution

Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out! https://forms.gle/PkKjvfqCUjq4MgGk6 Support the pod! https://buymeacoffee.com/lowlevelbarbarians Lets Connect! * https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-ng-ff/ Vertical farming once promised to revolutionize agriculture, but with billions lost, can Future Farms revive the dream? In this video, we examine the rise and fall of vertical farming, its impact on the agriculture industry, and how Future Farms could drive the next wave of innovation. We dive deep into industry trends, lessons from past failures, and explore how investors and entrepreneurs can seize new opportunities in agriculture technology. Watch now to discover the future of farming and share your thoughts in the comments! Key Topics Covered: Vertical Farming Industry Overview (2000-2024): Understanding the rise, fall, and current state of vertical farming. Future Farms Thesis & Scalability: Can future farms scale effectively with significant investment? Product Innovation: What are the "better" products in agriculture, and how can they drive success? VC Learnings: Insights from VC-backed vertical farms that went bust and what can be learned from their mistakes. Positioning in Asia: How Future Farms is strategically positioned in Asia to leverage market opportunities. Business Strategy: Key strategies for scaling, market sizing, and optimizing resources like electricity and water. Government Mandates & Tech Innovation: The role of food security mandates and how technology innovation builds a competitive moat. Founder & Team Insights: Exploring the motivations, backgrounds, and challenges of the founding team. Chapters: 00:00 After Billions Lost in Vertical Farming, Is Future Farms the Key to a Comeback? - E:46 00:24 Future Farms Elevator Pitch 01:23 Vertical Farming Industry Overview 2000-2024 06:53 Future Farms Thesis In Vertical Farming 12:12 Can Future Farms Scale With Big Money? 13:55 What Are "Better" Products in Agriculture? 15:08 Learnings From VC Backed Farms 17:27 How is Future Farms Positioned in Asia 18:33 Low vs High Margin Strategy 21:40 Future Farms Focus vs Traditional Agriculture 23:05 Problem vs Solutions 24:18 Busine ss Strategy & Scaling 25:52 Market Sizing 26:30 Should VC Dollars Look At This Space 27:10 Future Farm Approach To Solutions 30:41 Learning From Customers 33:10 Plant Nutrients Focus 37:23 Optimizing Electricity 41:35 Optimizing On Water 42:35 Tackling Scale 47:38 Government Mandate in Food Security 48:20 Tech Innovation Focus 50:04 Developing a Moat 52:02 Founder Grit & Motivations 54:50 Team Background 57:30 Founder Conflicts -Core Guiding Principles 59:48 Growing The Team 01:06:10 Fundraising 01:09:39 Funding Allocations