Teaching the Startup Mindset: Dr. Tobias Endress on Bangkok’s Entrepreneurial Future

Dr. Tobias Endress wears two complementary hats in Thailand’s innovation scene: faculty at the School of Management at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and Chapter Director of Startup Grind Bangkok. In this conversation, he shares how education, community, and global connectivity can work together to level-up Thailand’s startup ecosystem—while reminding aspiring founders that momentum beats mystique.

Key takeaways

• Education should cultivate a startup mindset, not just startups. Even corporate careers benefit from entrepreneurial thinking—initiative, ownership, and comfort with ambiguity.

• Bangkok has strong ingredients—talent, openness, and cost advantages—but needs smoother regulation, more early-stage capital, and a few headline exits to spark flywheels.

• Community matters. Inclusive, global-connected platforms like Startup Grind help first-time founders, students, and operators find ideas, talent, mentors, and confidence.

• Doers win. Most successful companies solve unsexy problems consistently; shipping and iteration matter more than trend-chasing.
  

From banking halls to classrooms—and founders’ rooms

With 20+ years in banking and platform finance across Frankfurt and San Francisco, Dr. Endress has long worked at the edge of change—business development, innovation projects, and partnerships with startups. In academia, he treats knowledge transfer as the job: bringing real-world context into courses on entrepreneurship, innovation, and finance, and opening doors via the AIT Entrepreneurship Center.

His view: you don’t need a degree to found a company, but universities often provide the networks, mentors, and collisions that make companies possible.

Thailand’s startup moment: strengths and frictions

Bangkok is fertile ground: open-minded talent, accessible workspace, and a large domestic market. Sectors with momentum include fintech and health/med-tech, where Thailand is emerging as a regional pillar.

What still slows teams down?

• Regulatory complexity for incorporation and early operations.

• Early-stage fundraising that can be patchy outside of hot categories.

Dr. Endress is optimistic, though: the parts exist; the ecosystem just needs more connective tissue and a few catalytic outcomes, like blockbuster exits or IPOs, to recycle capital and produce the next wave of angels and mentors. He also expects private equity participation to expand and complement venture capital over time.

Collaboration beats silos

AIT actively co-creates with neighboring universities and parks (e.g., Thammasat’s Science & Technology Park) and invites external lecturers to keep ideas flowing. Dr. Endress advocates open innovation beyond local boundaries—more players and more partnerships—because diversity (of faculty, students, and collaborators) sharpens thinking and spawns new ventures.

Startup Grind Bangkok: inclusive, global, useful

Why add another event in an already lively city? Because inclusivity was missing. Startup Grind’s ethos—make friends, give first, help others—welcomes everyone from curious students and “wannapreneurs” to seasoned founders and investors.

Two unique advantages:

1. Grassroots access: casual fireside chats and panels where you can actually meet people, ask questions, and find opportunities.

2. Global network: pitch battles, the Silicon Valley global conference, and warm intros for Thai founders seeking markets, mentors, or capital abroad—and vice versa for visitors landing in Bangkok.
   

Advice for students and first-time founders

• Start by showing up. Join communities, volunteer, and build a network before you “need” it.

• Solo is fine—team is essential. You don’t need co-founders on day one; you do need people. Build a bench through contractors, collaborators, and mentors.

• Solve real problems. The fastest path to traction is often a “boring” operational pain point, not the shiniest buzzword.

• Ship > show. Ideas don’t count until they’re in users’ hands.
  

Passions that shape perspective

Beyond work, Dr. Endress’ multi-year sailing journey reset his pace and reinforced empathy—slow travel means deeper connection. In Bangkok, he contributes through Rotary Bangkok, partnering with iCare Thailand Foundation on dormitories for rural students near the Myanmar border. For kids facing long, unreliable commutes, a bed near school is the difference between dropping out and moving up—an immediate, tangible impact that complements his more abstract research.

What’s next

Dr. Endress is editing new volumes in two series—“Business and Management in Asia” and “Digital Project Practice”—with upcoming titles on entrepreneurship opportunities and banking & innovation. He and the Startup Grind team continue to program panels on fintech, payments, regulation, wellness, and the silver economy, alongside trips to the Startup Grind Global Conference to bring back connections and ideas for Thailand.

Bottom line: Thailand has the raw materials to become a regional startup heavyweight. If universities nurture entrepreneurial mindset, communities stay inclusive and globally connected, and policy and capital keep pace, Bangkok’s next decade could produce the role models—and exits—that inspire thousands more to do the work.