Fireside Chat with Angeline Teo

I had the immense pleasure this week of talking with Angeline Teo. A brief about Angeline: she is a dynamic, passionate, results-driven business development and partner management professional with over 20 years of strategic business development, deal making, branding, public relations and marketing experience in music, entertainment, technology and emerging platforms in Asia. She is currently GM, Asia at Firefly Entertainment, an investor/advisor at Fairphonic – an AI Audio Fingerprinting Startup and a Co-founder for an online pet shop – The Pawmise. She is passionate about animal welfare and volunteers at Project LUNI Foundation, a cat charity in Singapore. She is also an advocate for mental well-being and would love to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues in Asia.

Nicole: What is your passion in work and business?

Angeline: I am passionate about driving deals and business development in the music space. As GM for Asia at Firefly Entertainment, a Swedish music label specializing in high quality instrumental music, I am focused on growing the business for them in the region and beyond.

Since early 2020, I have also invested in an AI Audio Fingerprinting Startup – Fairphonic where the technology is created to help music labels and publishers to maximize their revenues on their audio assets across social media platforms.

In addition, as an animal lover, I have also started an online pet shop with several friends – The Pawmise. The aim is to build a sustainable business providing quality products for pets and ultimately to give back to animal charities. I am also a volunteer and fosterer with Project LUNI Foundation where I focus on fostering kittens and helping the charity with fundraising efforts.??

Understand the partners’ goals and match them with your business goals to form strategic relationships.

?Nicole: You have been managing partnerships across several businesses. What are the 2 most important things to remember in partnership management?

Angeline: Partnership management is about building long lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with your partners. It is important to understand the partners’ goals and match them with our business goals to form strategic relationships. Every partner is important to me and to the businesses in different ways and I find it rewarding to help them as they help us.

With my current roles in various companies, my workday is varied and the types of calls and deals are interesting and fulfilling in different ways. At Firefly, I get to work on my passion for the music business and help them grow their presence globally and in Asia. With Fairphonic, as it is a young startup, I am working with the 2 founders – Tang and Majdi who are incredibly inspiring and driven to help the music business. Lastly, with the pet business, I find fulfillment in building a sustainable business which can give back to animal charities.?

Nicole: Have you been in situations where you found the partner not to be the right fit midway through the deal process? What are the possible actions that a partner manager can take to go forward?

Angeline: In such cases, it would be best to be honest about our differing objectives. Even though our objectives may not match now, there may be other opportunities to collaborate in the future, hence, it is important to maintain a positive relationship and keep in touch.?

Greater China: recognize their individual uniqueness and respect the differences.

Nicole: Greater China has been a prime target market for many big and small companies aiming to grow. Any words of advice for a new entertainment services company looking to expand into China?

Angeline: Greater China is made up of 3 very different markets with its own unique ways of conducting business and marketing practices. It is important to recognize their individual uniqueness and respect the differences. Nevertheless, there are some golden rules which still applies such as forming meaningful relationships with your partners.

With all 3 markets, I would recommend ensuring that you have local teams who have in-depth understanding of their home markets and are able to educate you on them. I find it very beneficial to work closely with local teams to understand the market and using that knowledge to work out the partnership deals.?

Nicole: Online campaigns on social media. What are a few of the most interesting ones you have seen in this part of the world?

Angeline: There were many excellent social media campaigns which were done at my previous company – Sony Music. One of them would be the Alan Walker x PUBG Mobile collaboration which originated from China but is a global campaign and was very successful when it was launched.

With the COVID pandemic, we are all in need of down time to relax and take care of our mental health. With Firefly Entertainment, we have created a brand new YouTube Channel called Firefly Wellness (https://www.youtube.com/c/FireflyWellnessMusic) to offer soothing instrumental playlists and 24-hour live streams to help everyone get through the work day, focus on studying or just to sleep better. Social media can be used for positive change, and I personally feel it is more important now than ever to create more campaigns which helps to improve everyone’s well-being.?

Nicole: What do you think is an area of improvement for Finland to grow its economic presence in Europe and internationally?

Angeline: As I used to work for Nokia, I am very interested in Finnish technology and innovation. It would be great to see more online sharing of Finnish startups and events such as what Kaato is doing to drive more Finnish companies’ sharing.

Nicole: If there is one thing that you can do to change how Finland is promoted, what would it be?

Angeline: To me, Finland has the perception of being a winter country where it’s always cold and the people may also reflect the cooler sentimentality. However, having Finnish friends, I know that Finnish people can be warm and welcoming. I would love to see more stories shared about Finnish people and their warm hospitality. I would also like to see Finland promoted in different seasons, vs just about winter and what that offers.?

Nicole: Which are the areas where you could help others in the Kaato group?

Angeline: I would love to share my knowledge about doing business in Asia with others in the Kaato group. If any of you would like to have a chat about this, please feel free to reach out.

Nicole: What is your pet project or what do you like to do in your leisure time?

Angeline: I love animals, especially cats. I am most fulfilled when I am helping the cat charity – Project LUNI Foundation, from fostering kittens to socialize them and help them get adopted into forever homes to working with the volunteers on their social media posts to helping with fundraising for the charity. Besides helping the cat charity, I am also passionate about mental wellbeing. In Asia, psychological help still has a negative stigma, and I would like to play my part in helping to change that. To me, mental well-being is just as important as your physical well-being, so seeking help from a psychologist is no different from seeing your doctor for a flu. It is important for us to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues in Asia and beyond.?

Thanks, Angeline, for sharing your insights about the crux of doing business in Asia, deal making and worthy causes for animals.