Silicon Valley fund in Bangkok link

500 Startups, a Silicon Valley venture-capital seed fund and startup accelerator, has invested pre-series “A” funding in a Bangkok-based training centre known Disrupt and established the facility as its exclusive education partner  in Southeast Asia. 
Disrupt is a pioneer in startup education in Thailand. Launched in 2012, it has taught members of some 800 startups. Most of the top startups founders in Thailand passed Disrupt’s courses. 
By the end of 2017, it aims to have train up to 1,000 people. 
Krating Poonpol, founder of Disrupt, said that 500 Startups was a strategic investor in the facility. He said that apart from continuing to train startup operators, Disrupt’s 2017 strategy also embraced a “digital for all” programme to enhance organisations’ digital literacy and capability, including corporates, digital talent and small and medium-sized enterprises.
In 2016, several large corporates in Thailand co-invested and partnered with startups.     
“To move the country forward to Thailand 4.0, the corporate sector needs to be digitally transformed,” Krating said. “We believe we can play a part in helping large corporates undertake a digital transformation.”
Disrupt is offering 500 Startups’s Upside programme, which is successful in Europe, to help transform large corporates in Thailand. Upside involves the education of large corporates on how to transform themselves by partnering with startups. It has 1,600 startups worldwide – 120 in Southeast Asia, including 30 in Thailand. 
“We can help large corporates in Thailand by doing match-making with startups in 500 Startups’ portfolio,” Krating said.
Instead of providing innovation consulting, Disrupt will help corporates do “corporate venture building” utilising 500 startups’ corporate venture builder programme, which includes processes and know-how on how to create and invest in startups so that corporates can engage with disruptive startups.
Krating aims to tap five industries: financial technology, property, logistics, education and commerce. 
“Our passion is education tech startups,” he said. 
The processes and know-how Disrupt provides on how to build and invest in startups includes  coming up with ideas, testing of ideas, validation, business models, and innovation development. These are tailed for each industry.
“We plan to approach one corporate in each industry since breakthrough innovation will happen in cross industries,” Krating said.
500 Startups has a corporate innovation programme to help large corporates in the US to innovate. Disrupt will utilise and optimise 500 Startups’ resources, not only capital but also in education, such as accelerator and corporate innovation. 
“We will bring mentors from 500 Startups’ corporate innovation teams to work together with corporate teams for eight weeks,” Krating said. “It is not a consulting and it is not a workshop. We will go there and build [startups/innovations] together, and then link them to its startups and talents – the magic will happen. The goal is that within eight weeks, corporates will be able to spin-off their digital innovation units, which to help transform or empower their core businesses, or to spin-off to be new businesses.”
Under its strategy, Disrupt will also introduce its “junior disruptor” programme. The programme will educate school-age students in workshops.
Disrupt will partner with 500 Startups and local partners in Thailand to kick off the that programme in the near future. 
“This is the big vision. We start from baby steps. We will run this programme like a startup. We believe it will be a long-term commitment. By 2020, we aim to create 10,000 digital talents,” Krating said.
The workshops will be designed to be a digital playground for children. The programme aims to inspire children to have a passion for technology and innovation.
“We aim to have two workshops with 20 children each for the first year. One workshop will be dedicated to children whose parents can afford the cost, while one workshop will give an opportunity for disadvantaged children through a sponsorship model. I was a disadvantaged child before, so I would like to give back something to disadvantaged children,” Krating said.
Disrupt also has a Digital SME strategy to help smaller businesses transform and digitise their businesses in the second half of 2017. SMEs are the backbone of the country’s economy. 
“The outcomes of all programmes and our efforts aim to help Thailand undergo a digital transformation. We want to be a part of helping drive the country. Corporates are about building the country’s capability. We would like to start and spark the momentum of the digital transformation,” Krating said.