What is it that makes us BEENEXT?
When we deeply introspect about this amongst us, more often than ever we come to refer to ourselves as a collective. BEENEXT is much more than a venture capital firm for us. It is beyond the capital, the network and expertise when looked through the traditional lens of the ecosystem. It is also bigger than the people and the teams that run the BEENEXT ‘organization’.
What we truly are is a living entity made of BEENEXT team members, the many partners that support us through good times and bad, the many founders and alumni who we join in their journeys and they join in ours, the many friends, the co-investors and the countless number of well-wishers in the world we inhabit. Calling it the sum total will also mean not doing justice to it as it is the multiplier in that secret sauce that defines us as “BEENEXT”.
The human Identity of this collective, the deep professional to professional, personal to personal human bonds, is BEENEXT. The soul of BEENEXT is the coming together of diverse people from around the world united in the vision to create great products with lasting impact on society; and those who value human bonds and relationships. It’s a partnership of equals all the way.
There are many ways in which we can manifest this very soul of BEENEXT. Sometimes it’s the casual phone calls or a quick chat over WhatsApp. It is also about a meal together with families and holding each other’s children talking about the future.
Other times it includes our mega BEE camps that breaks all barriers to networking across transparent hundreds of intimate founder conversations that add up to bring everyone forward, together. Year after year this power of the collective has grown in humanity, relationships and true business impact. We started the journey of BEE Global camps back in 2014 in Singapore and have continued this tradition since then. Next stop was 2015 in Bali, 2016 in Bangalore, 2018 in Ho Chi Minh and most recently in 2019 in Tokyo.
In the last edition of BEE camp, more than 200 participants from 15 countries including India, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East gathered in Tokyo back in November 2019. Entrepreneurs from various countries played a pivotal role by sharing their journey and best practices to deepen mutual understanding over a period of three days. We believe this experience is vital to bind us together. For example, we saw fintech entrepreneurs from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh chat together and entrepreneurs from India and Indonesia seek collaboration between the two countries.
That is the true multiplier network effect in our community. This trust-based community is growing from strength to strength every day going beyond the geographical borders.
Beyond work, at this camp in Tokyo, we came together to understand the nuances of the Japanese culture, its rich history and heritage. This was our classical Internationalization class on steroids. We participated in Zen meditation, explored the historic business houses of Japan, partook in workshops on the origins of flower arrangement (Ikebana), (Shodo) calligraphy, and Bushido (the code of honour and morals developed by theJapanese samurai) and so on. All of these sessions helped us truly understand the balance between the old and the new, innovations vs traditions; and this melting pot of business, fun and growing together was a true manifestation of the BEE spirit.
Last but not the least, whether you are a first time or a seasoned founder with several successes or failures under your belt, a limited partner or an ecosystem friend, there is and will always be a role for you in this BEE universe.
The ‘power of all’ is what we count on and that is what steers us together towards the future.