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Crazy Smart Asia
Prenetics Co-Founder Danny Yeung On The Less Glamorous Side Of Entrepreneurship
Gen.T’s podcast Crazy Smart Asia explores the unexpected stories of Asia’s disruptors.
In 2020, serial entrepreneur Danny Yeung was hitting his stride with his startup Prenetics, seeing success with its consumer-facing genetic testing brand, Circle DNA. And then Covid hit.
Realising he had the labs, the talent and the tenacity to help, Danny quickly pivoted the business. To date, Prenetics has conducted more than six million Covid-19 tests globally, helping to curb the spread of the virus and keep the world running during the pandemic.
The company’s successful pivot led to breakneck growth and a surging valuation. In September this year, Prenetics announced it would become the first unicorn company from Hong Kong to publicly list, via a SPAC merger that will put the company on the Nasdaq at a valuation of US$1.7 billion.
So how did Danny go from trailblazing entrepreneur to Hong Kong’s hero of the pandemic? How did he manage the rapid growth, and what were the key decisions that led to his success? In this episode, we discuss the answers to these questions and more.
RUNNING ORDER:
- Introduction from Gen.T’s regional managing director, Tamara Lamunière
- Quickfire round (2m 30s)
- Who is Danny Yeung? (4m 20s)
- Childhood in San Francisco (5m 35s)
- A strong work ethic (9m 30s)
- Why passion is important (10m 20s)
- The less glamorous side of entrepreneurship (13m 10s)
- Where Danny’s passion is directed (17m 50s)
- Leadership traits (19m 10s)
- Being a hands-on CEO (21m 00s)
- Finding time to build a network (22m 00s)
- Are good leaders less agreeable? (23m 40s)
- Interview with Prashant Bhayani, Chief Investment Officer, Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Wealth Management (25m 10s)
- Not following a roadmap (28m 20s)
- Jumping from e-commerce to digital health (30m 10s)
- The Covid pivot (31m 00s)- Managing rapid growth (36m 30s)
- What’s next? (39m 10s)
- His last company (41m 20s)
- The success difference (43m 10s)
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