Innovation is all about solving real problems: Alex Lin

Innovation is getting confused with creativity. True innovation is about converting knowledge into value. As an investor, the value creation is only if the innovation is solving a problem and addressing the market needs. Dr Alex Lin, CEO of Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL) said while talking to Winning Ways.

As Head of Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd, Dr. Alex Lin leads a team of investment professionals to develop the infocomm start-up ecosystem in Singapore, through strategic investments in promising companies.

For over a decade, Alex had been actively building companies, mentoring entrepreneurs and investing in promising start-ups. He held entrepreneurship and investment related roles in several organizations working closely with Singapore universities promoting creation of rapid-prototyping capabilities and incubators. He invests and coaches young technology startups from ideation to maturity.

Regarding the startup scenario in Singapore, Alex mentioned that the primary DNA of Singapore is like that of a startup. Being a nation of immigrants, the core was always there. However, the last two years have been more exciting as Singapore took the conscious effort to grow startups that can address local and regional problems.

In terms of IIPL’s focus, Alex mentioned that the company primarily acts as a VC but for startups that have relevance to Singapore. IIPL has been investing heavily into accelerators so that these accelerators can work with initial phase startups and hand hold them.

He feels that Education & Content Marketing are two areas where he expects some disruptive development coming out of Singapore. Among the technologies that Alex wants to watch out are 3D Printing and Artificial Intelligence. He feels that these two areas will witness some rapid advancements over the next five years.

Watch the complete interview on WinningWays