Dr Finian Tan is a Singaporean venture capitalist and Chairman of Vickers Venture Partners: a VC he founded in 2005 with 4 other partners and which is now ranked the 5th most consistently performing fund manager worldwide.Prior to Vickers, Finian was inter alia:Regional Director & Head at J.Aron - Goldman Sachs’ Asian trading arm;Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the Singapore Government, where he oversaw the creation of the $1 billion dollar TIF fund (he was subsequently appointed as chairman of the said fund); andA Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet & the founding partner of its Asia Pacific Operations, where he led the investment into Baidu and remained its largest backer until IPO.But how did it all begin?Born on St Finian of Clonard’s Day, Finian had what might be considered an ‘unconventional’ childhood for someone who grew up in Singapore. He would spend his days on the beach with friends and family crabbing, spearfishing, snorkeling, and swimming in the sea!He ended up studying engineering at Singapore Polytechnic before pursuing a degree at Glasgow University where he swept all of the academic awards.In this STIMY episode, Finian shares:4:10: What it was like growing up in Singapore in the 1960s 6:14: How he ended up studying engineering at Singapore Polytechnic 8:19: How the bankruptcy of his father’s company impacted his family9:15: Planning it “like a war” to win all the academic awards at Glasgow University13:09: Completing his Masters & PhD at Cambridge University15:05: Working as a Chief Trader at Shell15:51: Being poached by Goldman Sachs & later heading J.Aron - the Asian arm of Goldman Sachs18:12: Why Finian decided to leave Goldman Sachs to become the Deputy Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade & Industry24:21: Joining Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet & figuring out where to invest by drawing a line in his book27:01: Why Finian chose Baidu to be his first & only investment (at $7.5 million!)28:57: Big decisions made by the Baidu board 31:51: Founding Vickers Venture Partners34:15: Building Vicker’s reputation in the VC space35:07: Best platforms to generate deal flow36:44: Why Vickers pivoted into the deep tech space 44:24: Investing in Samumed, which is working to reverse aging by drugging the Wnt signaling pathway!47:05: How Emergex is involved in the COVID-19 vaccine fight55:31: RWDC - a company that is creating 100% biodegradable plastic that looks, feels & costs like plastic 58:01: The silver bullet1:00:28: Spending time with entrepreneurs1:01:52: Values that Finian looks for 1:03:01: What went wrong with 24 Quan (Finian’s biggest investment failure)1:05:31: How Eavor is making breakthroughs in the geothermal space1:12:13: Plans for Vicker’s Fund IV1:15:21: Institutionalising knowledge as part of Vicker’s succession plan1:17:11: What Finian looks for when hiring someone1:32:17: “To whom much is given, much is required”1:37:16: Charity Water & education in AfricaShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/30