CAREERS
Make the Change.
Find Your Career Home.
Your next decade may go by faster than you think. Choose your teammates, projects and mission. Choose to have time well spent. We are 500 Global and our offices in Southeast Asia may give you exactly what you are looking for.
The Story So Far.
In 2010, a few of us believed that the revolution of Silicon Valley would be seen in every part of the world. In 2014, our little team embarked on a worldwide tour to get capital into Southeast Asian startups. We took the flights, the calls, the meetings. A lot of them.
Now, we are staring at the 300+ startups we funded, and a phone screen full of the most used apps that shape our society.
Grab. Bukalapak. Carsome. Carousell. eFishery. Some have grew to $1B+ unicorns with many more getting big real fast.
More importantly, they are serving hundreds and millions of people. From the cities to the edges of society, we are humbled by how these startups are uplifting our economies.
This global economic climate made it very clear that our future needs rebuilding. We’re betting that these startups will get that done.
How about you?
The Next Step.
To ensure the right ideas and people get the resources they need, we have not only cemented our place in the earliest seed investment stages, we have also been setting up larger funds to support the companies as they scale from idea to exit.
Beyond capital, it is the expertise, network, and hands-on support to execute that matter the most – we know that’s a lot of work!
This is why we’re starting with building the strongest tight-knit team of long-term players we can possibly build. We’re building this to serve our founders better. So, they can go on to serve everyone else, and define the decade to come.
If what you’ve read so far doesn’t scare you, read on.
Who We Are
Oh, you may have guessed by now we are a venture capital firm. We call ourselves 500 Global. Founded in Silicon Valley, our firm manages > $2.7 Billion of investments in 2,700+ startups in 81 countries. The $1B+ unicorns? We’ve 49 of them at the time of writing. We’re recognized as a leading investor in Southeast Asia’s unicorns, and we back them early.
We’ve > 200 team members across 20 locations around the world. Our HQ is in Palo Alto, California.
This voice you’re reading now is the team that leads 500 Global’s Southeast Asian activity. We’re hiring in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines as well.
The team vibe can best be described as small tight-knit teams with like-minded comrades in every corner of the world. We’re not confined to being a ‘small shop’, neither are we bureaucratically big. Working with us means you experience the joy of deep collaboration, genuine friendships with the people you work with, the challenge of pioneering the ‘never been done before’, self-directed, high speed work, while having additional global exposure, collaboration and support.
Most of all, we take care of each other as humans first, colleagues second, and prioritize personal rejuvenation and self-care, as much as we prioritize professionalism and self-drive. To us, these are twin turbines towards long-term success.
Who You Are
You are a fellow human being who might not feel like you fit into a ‘large company’, yet you are fueled by a large ambition.
You like working independently, but love having a small team of folks who understand, support and help you grow.
You want to push boundaries, challenge yourself, but still want to dedicate time for rest, relationships, health, and having a fully expressed life outside of your passion for work.
That being said, you fall in love with your work. Your work is a direct expression of your gift to the world. If you’ve felt this flow before, you know the feeling. It feels even better when you’re in a team that feels the same.
Sounds like you? Let’s talk.
“It’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.”
– Barack Obama
Open Positions, Path to Partnership
Think of these open positions as starting points. We have team members (from both investing-related roles and non-investing) go on to become profit-sharing partners in the firm. We are building a pipeline for an institution that will outlast us all – and this requires development of future partners for the firm, like you.
Your next decade may go by faster than you think. Choose your teammates, projects and mission. Choose to have time well-spent. These open roles in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore may give you exactly what you are looking for!
500 Southeast Asia Team photo, taken during our Lunar New Year Reunion Dinner, February 2023
ISN'T THE ECONOMY TURBULENT, WITH MAJOR LAYOFFS IN SOME TECH COMPANIES. WHY ARE YOU STILL HIRING?
Venture capital has historically had stellar performance during economic downturns. Consumers and enterprises tend to want cheaper, faster, better alternatives, and only the most hardy entrepreneurs endure to build lasting solutions. Companies like LinkedIn, Apple, Microsoft, Uber and many more stand today as examples.
As each venture fund we operate are 10-year vehicles, we plan our resources for the long-term, and for every season.
WHAT IS THE VENTURE CAPITAL INDUSTRY ABOUT? WHAT EXACTLY IS IT THAT YOU DO? BREAK IT DOWN FOR ME.
As an established venture capital firm with a multi-year track record, we manage capital (money) for the largest financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, insurance, multi-national corporations and family offices. We invest that capital in a highly curated basket of technology-enabled companies from early stage (pre-seed, seed, series A) to later stages, all the way to their pre-IPO. We may receive proceeds when those companies have an ‘exit event’, such as getting acquired by larger companies, or have a public listing on a stock exchange. Along the way, we focus on creating value at every stage for companies in our portfolio and support entrepreneurs on their journey towards a successful exit event.
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK IN YOUR TEAM? WHAT ARE THE 'NORMS'?
In addition to what’s been described above, the people who thrive at 500 Global are both independent yet communicative, self-reliant yet collaborative, professional yet warm, long-term focused yet excellent in prioritizing, helpful, good at making requests and providing feedback, and most of all, they do not fear change and chaos. They expect and drive change.
In between, we enjoy laughter, sometimes at the expense of our most senior leaders. We love that it happens often. For us, it’s a barometer for the team’s psychological safety. Fear is for the 1900’s – over here, love and empathy is our superpower. These little things are a big deal for us to build a career home for our team members.
WHO ARE THE LEADERS OF THE FIRM. HOW CAN I READ UP MORE ABOUT THE LEADERS BEHIND YOUR COMPANY?
500 Global is founded and led by Christine Tsai as CEO, Courtney Powell as COO, and Paul Yoo as CFO.
Vishal Harnal and Khailee Ng are both Global Managing Partners as well as Managing Partners for Southeast Asia. Saemin Ahn, Martin Cu, and Shahril Ibrahim are our Partners for Southeast Asia. The 5 of them have the combine DNA for entrepreneurship, unicorn leadership, legal, finance and investment management excellence.
We invite you to get to know them better on Google!
WHAT'S THE APPLICATION PROCESS GOING TO BE LIKE? HOW LONG WILL I HAVE TO WAIT?
Some of our roles are being reviewed for immediate placement. We often require a bit of time to review all applications, and only shortlisted candidates will hear back from us.
Once a candidate is shortlisted, the interview and decision process will take around 2 weeks from start to end. The review for some of the roles listed above will only begin in May, but we encourage you to apply to any of the role(s) you’re interested in now.
WHAT DOES 'CAREER HOME' MEAN? WHAT IS THE LONG-TERM CAREER PLAN FOR ME?
We use the concept ‘career home’ to capture the feeling like you belong here. The feeling like you can stay a very long time here. That your colleagues take care of you, look out for you, and want you to grow to be the best you can be. It feels safe and nurturing enough for you to take risks, learn, grow, and express your best self.
Sounds like a warm cozy blanket? Well, let’s just say you’re going to need it. This feeling helps balance the fact that 500 Global is serving one of the most dynamic, fast growing industries. Days go by with chaos as a staple meal, served with a dash of mania. It smells like ‘never-done-before’ in the air. You discuss little ideas that actuate at light speed. You feel the power to make a big difference, where your perspective matters. You almost have to reassure yourself – I got this.
This is not the career home for the complacent.
This is a career home for the bold, the gifted, and the hungry to feel one with the momentum of technological revolution.
WHAT KINDS OF PEOPLE SUCCEED AT 500 GLOBAL? I WONDER IF YOUR COMPANY IS FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME.
We have had professionals switch career paths to join us for the learning curve to ‘get in’. They chose junior-mid roles, and in a handful of years progress to be profit-sharing recipients, directors and global Partners. We’ve seen a success formula of folks coming in hungry to learn and prove themselves, as well as top-tier heads of their firms join us to lead and shape who we are. However, we have also had team members who join at senior levels who aren’t able to keep up. What unites the folks who find success here is their ability to adapt, learn fast, influence and drive change. This applies to entry-level and the most senior roles. Being here is not a ticket to ride a bullet train – its a ticket to build and drive one.
WHAT DOES 'DIVERSITY' MEAN ON YOUR TEAM?
As a female and minority founded/led Silicon Valley-based firm, we strive for inclusion globally – not just for gender. We see beyond age, race, religion, pedigree education and background to unearth the best. We experience how the current diversity we have celebrates humanity, a feeling of ‘oneness’, and enhances multi-dimensional investment and management decision-making.
Apply to join us knowing you will have a fair review.
Featured In
Still Curious?
Check out our portfolio companies making the news, daily. You may recognize some of our entrepreneurial leaders. See how our team members shape our culture. Catch our managing partners in action via Khailee’s recent speaking and writing and Vishal’s podcast and early journey to 500. Learn about 500 Global’s infrastructure, our ESG journey, and ongoing VC education program with Stanford. You might spend hours on this! Is that too much? It depends if you’re researching for a quick gig, or a decade of meaningful work you love. Stalk us to the bone. Then, come back to see if an open position is right for you right now.
500 GLOBAL
Malaysia
Bangunan AICB, 10, Jalan Dato Onn,
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
500 GLOBAL
Singapore
Raffles Hotel Arcade, The Great Room
328 North Bridge Road, #02-24a
Singapore 188719
500 GLOBAL
Headquarter
400 Hamilton Avenue,
Suite 130,
Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
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