Operations
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8 min read
Lessons from prototyping in Shenzhen
Three years of supplier conversations distilled into the questions we now ask before we sign anything. Most of them aren't technical.
We've run prototype projects with 40+ manufacturers in Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Suzhou. The pattern that emerges: the suppliers who are best at the technical work aren't always the ones you want to build with long-term. Here's what we ask first.
Studio model
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5 min read
How a small studio ships physical products
A walkthrough of what we actually do in a typical week, from concept testing on Monday to supplier QA on Friday.
Most venture studios treat physical products as a future problem. We're trying to make them a current one. Here's a snapshot of a recent week — what we shipped, what we killed, what we put on the back burner.
Sector: EdTech
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7 min read
Why our EdTech work is anchored in North America and Europe
Institutional buyers, not philanthropy budgets. Why the mature markets are where the real EdTech buying decisions happen — and where we're building.
The narrative that emerging markets are the "obvious" EdTech play misreads who actually writes cheques for classroom software. Districts in the US, MATs in the UK, chartered networks in Canada, and ministries across the EU are already procuring AI-native tools at scale — with real budgets, real RFPs, and real safeguarding frameworks. That's where the durable products get built. Our Southeast Asia line stays smaller and deliberately harder — a stress test for scale, class sizes, and thin infrastructure that keeps the core roadmap honest.
Sector: EdTech
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6 min read
Safer screens for kids and toddlers: a dedicated line of work
Most children's software optimizes for time-on-app. We're funding a set of prototypes that inverts the metric — more learning per minute, less compulsive engagement, and a design bar friendly to developing brains.
Parents in North America and Europe are the most sceptical audience in consumer software right now — and they're right to be. The default children's app optimizes for retention using loops borrowed from casino design. We think there's a large, underserved product surface for the opposite: apps for ages 2–7 that make each minute meaningfully more educational, are honest about screen time, and are engineered with paediatric development advisors from day one. Our early-childhood workstream sits inside the EdTech sector but is treated as a distinct programme, with its own advisory bench and safeguarding review.
Sector: Algo Trading
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9 min read
Building systematic strategies for non-tier-1 markets
The infrastructure for systematic trading in Asia assumes HFT-era US equities. Most of it doesn't fit local markets.
A working note from the Quant team on the gaps in existing tooling for non-tier-1 markets, and what we're building to fill them.
Studio model
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4 min read
Why we deploy capital in tranches
No venture gets the full build budget up front. Here's why that discipline matters more than the headline investment.
Tranching isn't just risk management — it's how you keep the studio honest. It forces every venture to re-earn its next round of capital against something the team actually shipped.
Sector: Wellness
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6 min read
What we learned shipping a wellness wearable
Health-adjacent products have a regulatory ceiling. Here's how we think about what we can and can't claim.
An honest post about the parts of wellness hardware that surprised us — what the regulators actually care about, what claims we can defend, and where we draw the line.