Walden International invests S$2m in Brandtology

The Singapore office of Walden International announced today its first investment through its S$20 million Seed Ventures IV Pte Ltd – an investment vehicle that received S$10 million from the National Research Foundation (NRF) Early Stage Venture Fund – with a S$2 million investment into Brandtology, a Singapore-based start-up co-founded by Eddie Chau and Kelly Choo, both whom I’ve known for some time now.  I’ve always thought that Walden would be the fastest VC out of the starting block once the NRF funds were disbursed to the six venture funds.  For more on the company and investment, head on over to sgentrepreneurs.com’s interview with co-founder Kelly Choo, and the original press release over at Brandtology.

Kelly and I went to the same high school (Raffles Institution), while I got to know Eddie in 2006 during his e-Cop days.  Eddie’s jovial disposition belies the years of experience that he has in managed services at e-Cop, so I was excited to hear about his plans for a new start-up after exiting from e-Cop.  I got even more excited when I heard that my pal, Kelly Choo, was his co-founder!  What’s heartening for me is to see a seasoned executive/entrepreneur take a young entrepreneur/geek under his wings.  There ain’t that many experienced and successful IT entrepreneurs in Singapore, and much fewer are those who would be willing to pass that on to our next generation of young entrepreneurs.  I’m sure Kelly could attest to more than one occasion in Brandtology’s early days where Eddie’s experience came in very handy – won’t you buddy?

I paid Kelly a visit at their office on the eastern end of the island on one of my off days and saw their command room – not as much of a ‘scary and serious’ presence as e-Cop’s, but very impressive nevertheless.  Although it may yet be early days for this Social Media Business Intelligence venture, I have a pretty good feeling about this one.

After all, I’d be joining the folks over at Walden International’s Singapore office come 1st June!

Related posts:

1. Six winners for NRF Early Stage Venture Fund
2. Doom and Gloom across the Pacific: from Singapore to Silicon Valley
3. A Wish for Smarter Money in Singapore
4. Early-stage Capital Crunch: Chicken or the Egg?
5. Fundraising during the Downturn

Tagged as: Brandtology, Eddie Chau, investment, Kelly Choo, NRF, Walden