S3E7 | 10 Years, 10 Contradictions: What Venture Capital Really Teaches You
What is it really like to be a VC when you’re not from finance—or even from “the club”?
In this episode of Hard Truths by Vertex, I speak with Puiyan Leung, who’s spent the last 10 years in venture capital, after starting out in a corporate role. She opens up about feeling like an outsider, learning to trust her gut, and what it means to support founders through both the highs and the heartbreaks.
We talk about mental agility, making tough calls, and why being a VC is sometimes a team sport—and sometimes a lonely solo climb.
Table of Contents
Discussion Topics: What Venture Capital Really Teaches You
- What happens when you don’t fit the VC mould?
- No finance degree, no founder background—so how did she make it?
- Mental agility vs. rabbit holes: the VC’s balancing act
- Is VC really about startups—or just the people behind them?
- Collaboration or solo survival? Why this job can feel lonely
- “Am I wasting time?”—The self-doubt VCs never talk about
- Move fast. Be thorough. Pick one—or try to do both?
- Why sharing your thinking builds better deals
- The truth about fast deals, long deals… and deals that go nowhere
- 9 out of 10 startups won’t make it—so how do you choose?
- Breakups, hard calls, and knowing when to walk away
- Founders, fires, and staying present when everything is urgent
- Numbers vs. people: Which really drives venture success?
Our Guest: Puiyan Leung
Puiyan Leung joined Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India in 2020 and focuses on opportunities in Southeast Asia.
Prior to joining Vertex Ventures, Puiyan was a Director of Investments and Operations at Singtel Innov8, the corporate venture arm of telco group Singtel. In her role, she built a pipeline of tech startups that fit with the firm’s investment themes and established strategic alliances and managed partnerships with key ecosystem stakeholders.
Prior to that, Puiyan assumed a range of operating roles and once served as Singtel’s Indonesia-based lead in representing the local market development and expansion interests for Singtel’s digital portfolio.
Puiyan is a Kauffman Fellow and graduated with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering Degree from the National University of Singapore.