Aik Chuan Goh: Uber Lessons, Search Funds & The Future of Southeast Asia SMEs – E668
Aik Chuan (A.C.) Goh, Founder of Singapore’s first traditional search fund, joins Jeremy Au to unpack how operators evolve from startup builders into long-term business stewards. They explore lessons from Uber’s Southeast Asia expansion, why localization determines platform winners, and how consulting shaped A.C.’s decision-making framework. The conversation covers the limits of venture capital in personalized industries like education, the hidden succession crisis inside Singapore SMEs, and how search funds bridge retiring founders with new leadership. Aik Chuan also shares why disciplined capital structures matter, how growth still exists in mature markets, and why conviction requires respecting experience without surrendering belief in your thesis.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3CKesDZUxmpZSuGO4LUTEj?si=ddfe276b59364cba
Youtube: https://youtu.be/aakACheMfS8
“So I went to McKinsey. It had always been my dream to see what was behind the curtain. I heard many people ask why I made the jump. At Uber, we worked with many consultants, and their ability to synthesize issues quickly and communicate clearly was remarkable. It felt like watching magic. I wanted to understand that skill and the secret behind it. The fastest way was to join McKinsey and learn directly from the best.” - Aik Chuan (A.C.) Goh, Founder of Singapore’s First Traditional Search Fund
“I fully expected consulting to mean heavy travel and tough problems. What surprised me was that even as the most junior person in Singapore, you could call a 20-year social media veteran or an automotive procurement expert in the US, and a partner would pick up and tell you everything you needed to know about the industry. That level of access was unexpected.” - Aik Chuan (A.C.) Goh, Founder of Singapore’s First Traditional Search Fund
“The number one thing I took away was the ability to make decisions quickly by building assumptions and running an iterative loop to reach a conclusion, testing whether it holds, adjusting the assumptions, and flipping again. I learned to be comfortable that decisions are made this way even at the most senior level. You never have enough data. No one does. The skill is bringing in enough data to iterate and keep moving. That was one of the biggest takeaways.” - Aik Chuan (A.C.) Goh, Founder of Singapore’s First Traditional Search Fund