Tony Chen

entrepreneur · investor · africa | partner @VerdantFrontier | co-founder @redicasystems @KinyunguV | African #Fintech / #SaaS

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

@LinkedInHelp after uploading my driver's license to verify my identity, I received a notice that I am permanently restricted w/ no warning. still waiting for a response. Help? @LinkedIn has been the only social network I have consistently used for 10 years.

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

1. @linkedin asked to verify my identity. 2. I upload my driver's license 3. @linkedin permanently blocks my account. What just happened?

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

@bookingcom

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

@bookingcom you need to do a better job verifying real locations/hosts. This is a fake listing, and it's been impossible to get through to you to you to take it down https://t.co/WRmkRvG7sW

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

@bookingcom This one? I still see it and it still shows a (fake) address of 12471 Pleiades, San Antonio https://t.co/G60YUfYIQN

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

For many investors globally: 1. Africa risk is much lower than you think. 2. Africa is growing differently than you think. 3. There are more $10B+ opportunities than you think. 4. The talent is better than you think. https://t.co/YdURl3DAi9

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

The question isn't whether I'm biased as an investor, it's *how* am i biased and can I stay curious enough to get less biased over time? https://t.co/ei9sbWxUHm

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

Having read thousands of pitches & sitting through hundreds of live pitches, I started seeing some patterns. What's are the common elements for the best/worst pitches you've ever seen? https://t.co/3XjNg0OgON

[Tesh Mbaabu ™ @teshmbaabu]

If you’re a fish, it’s hard to see the water you’re swimming in. Best to talk to other fish that have swam different waters in different seasons to understand your water now.

https://t.co/lmrvm9PZqM

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

7 years in, 25 investments in African start-ups, still learning. What are you learning these days?https://t.co/KHu5CN8X5w

[Umulinga Karangwa @Umulingak]

I've been part of NAIBAN (Nairobi Business Angel Network) for almost two years now.

We are a network of Angel Investors focused on supporting & investing in technology-enabled startups.

Here are some exciting facts about us:

🧵

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

@lufthansa got on your flight. plane turned around 4 hrs in b/c toilets weren't working. still trying to get my baggage fees refunded. 5 months later. help please.

[Tayo Akinyemi @Tayo_Akinyemi]

Want to know how many Paystack exits it takes to return a $50M fund? How about why ownership & valuation impact fund economics so much? It's all *real talk* from @EghosaO, Managing General Partner of @EchoVC on Track 8 of the Trajectory Africa. Press play! https://t.co/hLcvgIcZhz

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

Founder of Cardano just said that the one partnership he's most excited about in 2022 is with @Pezesha_Africa @hildamoraa context: Cardano is the 6th largest crypto w/ 42B in assets

[Hilda Moraa @hildamoraa]

From Min 7.42 of this broadcast @IOHK_Charles mentions, the partnership focus he is most excited about this year is the one with @Pezesha_Africa . I am equally excited about this partnership as we join hands with Cardano to build an end2end financial operating system for Africa

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

need more stories like this - why this #VC (@schlaf) stepped away from a fund he had just finished raising successfully https://t.co/JKv1QZlpiV

[Towett Ngetich @TowettN]

Deciding to pivot a fund doesn’t take five weeks—it might take five years - @tonyschen . Away from the cost, the same pressure and expectation should be adopted in African investment finance. Time is not on our side, there's an urgent need to leapfrog the continent's growth!

[Tayo Akinyemi @Tayo_Akinyemi]

Next Thurs 7/21 at 11 am CST/9 am CST/4 pm GMT @EugeneBaah21 are co-hosting a Clubhouse room with @tonyschen of @VerdantFrontier (guest #1 of episode #1 of The Trajectory Africa) to debunk "reasonable" assumptions about VC investing in Africa. Join us!
https://t.co/b6T5f41GKF

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

#AfricanVC is hard, in some part because of LP expectations mismatched w/ realities on the ground. LPs say they want innovation. Why don't they innovate the manner they fund innovation? https://t.co/6IXkW9TTqE

[Tony Chen @tonyschen]

Had a wonderful conversation last week on #AfricanVC with @EghosaO @skweird @hildamoraa @Tayo_Akinyemi @kinyunguV One of my favorite quotes: "Running a fund is BRUTAL!" Here are some highlights and the recording https://t.co/6IXkW9TTqE

[Sherpa Ventures @sherpafund]

We couldn't agree more with our friends at @EchoVC "If you're gonna be a unicorn 🦄 in Africa you've gotta be a cross-border startup!" @EghosaO at @kinyunguV's webinar today