Meet the Esteemed Judges of the Female Founders Competition Asia Pacific 2024

We're thrilled to unveil the distinguished panel of judges for the upcoming Female Founders Competition Asia Pacific, where innovation meets opportunity!

This prestigious event will showcase the incredible talents and groundbreaking ideas of female entrepreneurs from across the Asia Pacific region.

Our esteemed judges— Akina Ho, Monica Hipolito, Lynn Ariele Soh, Michelle Hon, Jacinta Lee, and Eric See—bring a wealth of experience, diverse perspectives, and a shared commitment to empowering female-led startups.

About Akina Ho

Akina Ho is the Co-Founder of AllStarsWomen DAO, Founder of HedGrowth Limited, and also the Co-Founder and Advisor for Hong Kong Proptech Alliance. She recently joined Pi Labs as their Venture Partner (Advisor) for Asia Pacific. She has been in the technology industry for close to 20 years and now she is a well-respected thought leader in the innovative tech like space like AI, PropTech and the Web3 space covering NFTs, Metaverse, blockchain, GameFi, DeFi, and DAOs. She is also on Board of Web2, Web3, and AI companies. She was one of the Executives that helped a built a Unicorn in Hong Kong 2017 with investors from FoxConn and Softbank.

Akina is an Adjunct Professor for HKUST, teaching how to use Art of War for business transformation. She is a well-known global keynote speaker and panelist with notable media appearances on Bloomberg and Fox International about the latest innovations and technology business trends.

About Michelle Hon

Michelle Hon is a stay-at-home mom turned speaker, author and award-winning international business mentor for women-entrepreneurs who want to boost their reach and increase their profits without sacrificing family time. She has helped hundreds of mentees with her IN-DEMAND Framework scale their business to 6-figure and beyond. She has been featured on Lifetime, Channel News Asia, Asian Money Guide and many more. Zine named her one of the Top 10 Mom Influencers in the World. She is the recipient for the Mentorship Award at 2022 World Women Organisation (WWO) Global Leadership Conference for the impact she has made.

About Eric See

Eric See is the Founder of Visioneggg Partners. We aim to bring financial strategic insights to founders and business owners. Drawing on more than a decade of investment experience, Eric work in various funds such as GMC, EDBI and Circulate Capital. Recognizing a key gap in many startups and SMEs growth execution ability, Eric brings a unique blend of strategic insight, financial rigor, and a deep understanding of the entrepreneurial landscape in South-East Asia. He has developed a solution to crystalize his wealth of experience to bring companies he engage to successfully grow and scale to the next level.

About Jacinta Lee

With a background in business, including growing an award-winning restaurant chain in Singapore, Jacinta Lee ’s broad topic interests and entrepreneurial instincts led her to forge her unique path into the technology start-up world. She worked at a Venture Capital firm and an AI start-up company to gain first-hand knowledge of the determinants for start-ups to survive and position for strong growth. Funding 6 global companies across various industries over the past 3 years, she is especially excited about companies that make direct positive impact on people.

Her advice to founders: “The fundamentals of business never change. Remember your responsibility to employees and investors, because reputation of your values speaks louder than your successes or failures.”

About Lynn Ariele Soh

Lynn Ariele Soh has more than 14 years of experience as a corporate lawyer. Lynn’s current practice areas include mergers and acquisitions, fundraising for start-ups, venture capital, employment law, re-domiciliation and general corporate advisory.

Prior to joining BTPLaw, Lynn practiced at a Magic Circle firm, a major Singapore law firm and a boutique corporate law firm that is in alliance with a Big 4 audit firm. She has also acquired valuable experience and insights as an in-house counsel when she was Vice President (Legal) at a healthcare group with business and operations in Asia and Australia.

As part of her corporate practice, Lynn regularly advises start-ups, venture capital firms, individual investors, SMEs and MNCs on general corporate matters, fundraising and investments, acquisitions, joint ventures, general employment related matters, including but not limited to employment contracts, consultancy agreements, service agreements, partnership agreements and operational contracts, responsible retrenchment and unfair dismissal.

She also advises start-ups and companies on their long-term incentive plans (LTIPs) such as employee share option plans, restricted share unit, deferred compensation plans, including the design, structuring, drafting and implementation of the LTIPs. Lynn was recently named one of Singapore’s Rising Stars by Asian Legal Business in November 2023 which includes lawyers in Singapore who have demonstrated exceptional potential.

She was also named one of Asia’s 40 Lawyers under 40 by Asian Legal Business in 2020, which profiles the most accomplished lawyers in Asia under 40 years of age. Lynn is effectively bilingual in English and Mandarin. She is a working mother of 2 young children, and is passionate about uplifting and supporting fellow women

About Monica Hipolito

Monica Hipolito - Aguilar is a seasoned marketing and business development executive with over 26 years of experience in the real estate and biosciences sectors. She is currently the chief operating officer of two innovative companies: Dragon's Nest and Streetpark Productions.At Dragon's Nest, Monica leads a co-working space overseeing the operations, strategy, and partnerships of the company, as well as supports the startups in their growth and scaling journeys.

At Streetpark Productions, Monica is the chief operations officer and executive producer of The Final Pitch and Philippine Realty TV, two popular shows on CNN Philippines. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the marketing and business development strategies of the company, as well as facilitating the deals and collaborations between the startups, investors, and mentors featured on The Final Pitch. Monica also completed a certificate course in digital marketing strategies from Kellogg Executive Education, enhancing her skills and knowledge in the digital space.

As these visionary founders step into the spotlight to present their impactful pitches, our judges will be on hand to assess and celebrate the ingenuity and determination that define this vibrant community.

Get ready for an inspiring event that promises to elevate the entrepreneurial spirit and drive meaningful change in the industry!

REGISTER NOW!

As we look forward to the Female Founders Competition APAC 2024, we invite all aspiring female entrepreneurs to seize this opportunity and showcase their innovative ideas on a prestigious platform.

This is your moment to shine, connect with industry leaders, and make a meaningful impact. If you or someone you know has an inspiring business idea, don't hesitate—sign up now and be part of this empowering journey.

Applicants (With at least 50% female founder ownership) - https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/female-founders-startup-pitching-competition-asia-pacific-2024-virtual-tickets-1002205472547?aff=EBGLInewsletter

We also encourage you to tag your female friends in the comments who are ready to take on this exciting challenge. Together, let's celebrate and support the incredible potential of female founders across the Asia Pacific!