Tiwa York on Founder Realities, Thailand’s Startup Puzzle, and the FinnoEfra Accelerator

What does it really take to build in Thailand—and why hasn’t the country produced a breakout startup hero yet? In Episode 4 of The Exponential Show, veteran founder and angel investor Tiwa York traces his journey from late-’90s Portland startup life to two decades of building and backing companies in Bangkok, including leading the evolution of Kaidee.com. Along the way, he offers unvarnished truths about entrepreneurship, practical advice for marketers, and a detailed look at the FinnoEfra Accelerator.

From Portland to Bangkok: building, buying, exiting

Tiwa’s operating career started in the U.S., then rooted in Thailand in the early 2000s, where he helped build the country’s largest digital agency, an ad network, and performance marketing ventures. Later, he led the transformation that became Kaidee.com (originating as Deal Fish → OLX → Kaidee), executed a management buyout in 2018, and sold the company in 2020. Since 2013, he’s also been an active angel investor with ~14 portfolio companies, writing checks from $10k up to $100k—betting on opportunities and founders he believes will push through the hard parts.

The founder life: integrate work and life—or reconsider

Tiwa draws a sharp line between the romance and the reality. SMEs fail ~80% of the time; startups fail ~96%. Startups begin with hypotheses—about the problem, solution, customers, and a path to revenue “someday.” That uncertainty demands sacrifice: tight cash flow, payroll stress, and family trade-offs (he recalls founders on his team taking pay cuts and pulling kids from school during the 2008 crisis). His litmus test: if work is simply a means to weekends, don’t choose entrepreneurship. But if work is part of your life—and you love the craft—then the journey might fit. A recommended read: The Startup Life (Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor) for founders and their partners.

Advice to agencies: specialize and listen harder

For marketers serving startups and SMEs, niche down. B2B is notoriously tough; success comes from defining a tight ICP and understanding its daily frictions (e.g., a restaurant group with 2–5 locations vs. Michelin-star fine dining). Don’t assume you know the answer—go ask customers. Tiwa’s Kaidee rule: every employee, across every function, visits customers at least once a year. Humility beats ego; proximity beats opinion.

Thailand’s ecosystem: strengths, gaps, and the missing “hero”

Thailand boasts a large, dynamic economy, strong infrastructure, and enviable quality of life. But challenges remain: slower GDP growth over the past two decades compared to ASEAN peers, language barriers, and historically limited early-stage capital. Corporate venture capital (CVC) has played an outsized role, but shifting strategies (and the shuttering of key accelerators pre- and post-COVID) left a seed-stage gap.

Crucially, Tiwa argues the narrative lacks widely celebrated wins. Thailand has successes (he cites examples founded or grown from here), but the country still awaits a breakout startup hero to inspire founders and attract more capital. Meanwhile, if you want venture-scale growth, think regional: Thailand as home base, but expansion into markets like Indonesia for scale and to Singapore for capital structures.

The FinnoEfra Accelerator: rebuilding the seed on-ramp

To address the early-stage gap, Tiwa and fellow program director Bo are helping run the FinnoEfra Accelerator—a partnership between Infrastructure (Buakaw) and Finovate (Krungsri Bank). Key details from Tiwa:

• Stage focus: Seed to pre–Series A

• Eligibility: Post-revenue startups (not incubation-stage)

• Scope: Broad sector focus; no deep tech (long cycles) and no web3

• Structure: No equity taken to join; after Demo Day, finalists go to IC (Investment Committee) and may receive an equity offer up to 40M THB from the fund

• Program cadence: Recruitment → 10 teams → Boot camp (Oct–Mar) with a Demo Day in March

  
  

Beyond capital, the curriculum zeroes in on the real sticking points: product management, data, AI, HR, finance, legal, and—above all—fundraising. Founders get to flip the script and sit with VCs to learn how investment decisions are made and how to position their pitch accordingly.

Don’t fall in love with your product

Tiwa’s most repeated warning to early-stage founders: the customer’s love matters, not yours. Get out of the building, observe real users (including non–digital natives), and be ready to be wrong—fast and often. Ten candid customer conversations can reveal more truth than a hundred internal debates. Bring your engineers, too; they’ll often see fixable issues immediately.

Bottom line: Build where life enables you to endure the grind. Specialize, listen, and let customers shape the product. Tell more success stories—and create new ones.