This is a special episode which we recorded live on Clubhouse with our guest Aaron Tan, Founder of Carro, one of the biggest used-car marketplaces in Southeast Asia. A programmer by training and a Venture Capitalist by profession, Aaron founded his first startup at 13 and had already sold two companies before turning 21. Carro, one of the companies he founded, is an automotive marketplace that offers a full-stack service for all aspects of car ownership and is currently present in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. In this episode, we will mainly discuss about how to build and scale a two-side marketplace in Southeast Asia and Carro’s playbook of expansion across the region. Moreover, we will put the spotlight on how Aaron’s previous experience in venture capital industry has impacted his decisions, and also how he takes inspiration from Chinese business models and applies the insights in an SEA context. Side note: Aaron and Oscar frequently mention “William” in the conversation. The William they are referring to is William Bao Bean, GP at SOSV and MD at Chinaccelerator & MOX.
This is a special episode which we recorded live on Clubhouse with our guest Aaron Tan, Founder of Carro, one of the biggest used-car marketplaces in Southeast Asia.
Show Notes:
0:00 - Introduction to Aaron Tan
1:32 - Aaron’s motivation to founding a startup
6:01 - The supportive ecosystem around Carro
8:19 - The importance of “Trust” in a business
8:50 - The reasons behind starting an automotive marketplace in SEA
13:35 - Inspiration from Chinese business models
19:21 - Understanding the heterogeneity in the markets
21:15 - Aaron’s experience on how copying the same model across SEA doesn’t work
25:39 - How to build and scale a two-side marketplace
30:37 - The role of Carro in the marketplace
35:17 - Carro’s expansion playbook across SEA
44:20 - What the future holds for Carro and Southeast Asia
Many thanks to our guests Aaron Tan; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com
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