What Iterative does

Iterative is a Singapore-headquartered accelerator and venture capital fund that invests $150,000 to $500,000 via post-money SAFE in early-stage Southeast Asian startups, taking approximately 10–15% equity with the full investment transferred upon admission, no milestones, no clawbacks, and no program fees. The firm runs a 12-week accelerator cohort twice per year (Winter and Summer batches) anchored on weekly 1:1 office hours with founder-partners, group office hours, an Iterative Growth Framework masterclass targeting 5–7% weekly growth in founders' primary metrics, a fundraising bootcamp, and a Demo Day event that attracts 400+ investors and has historically generated 300+ warm introductions per batch. Founders Brian Ma, Hsu Ken Ooi, and Hsu Han Ooi (all from Decide.com, acquired by eBay in 2013) lead the program alongside a network of visiting partners drawn from prior exits at companies including Triplebyte, Better.com, Ula, Houzz, Spin, and ContactOut. The program is supported by an in-person 3-day orientation in Seminyak, Bali, and is followed by lifetime access to a 200+ founder Slack community and a founder concierge service that has resolved 200+ support tickets since October 2023.

Iterative's technology footprint is centered on a web-based platform ecosystem built primarily on Webflow for public-facing pages — the main marketing site, application form, Demo Day website, and Startup Jobs board — with internal collaboration running on Slack (200+ founders, 250,000+ messages since 2020) and an email-based founder concierge helpline. Wrapped around the core accelerator are several standalone platform properties: the Iterative Startup Academy (free courses), Startup Jobs board, Co-founder Matching platform, SEA Investor Directory, SEA Checks (compensation benchmarking), and a Demo Day website with gated investor access and 'Show Love' / 'Connect About Investing' buttons that trigger direct warm-introduction emails from founders. Iterative also maintains a podcast on Anchor, a YouTube channel, and an email newsletter as content channels that feed the top and middle of the application funnel.

Iterative's business model is fund-based rather than SaaS-based. The firm operates multiple fund vehicles — Fund II closed at $55M in November 2022, led by Cendana, K5 Global, Village Global, and Goodwater Capital, with participation from strategic LPs including Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox), Andrew Chen (a16z), Qasar Younis (former COO YC), and Moses Lo (Xendit) — and earns revenue from management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on exits. Customer segments are (1) early-stage Southeast Asian founders seeking capital and operator mentorship, (2) later-stage growth-stage founders served through the Iterative Scale Program, and (3) institutional and individual LPs backing the funds. Distribution is community-led: open applications year-round with rolling admissions, the founders personally interview applicants, alumni referrals drive a 2x higher acceptance rate for reapplicants, and follow-on capital from top-tier investors (Y Combinator, Sequoia, Insight Partners, Monk's Hill Ventures, Wavemaker Partners) reinforces brand credibility across the cohort funnel.

Name

Iterative

Legal name

Iterative Capital

Website

https://iterative.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Iterative is a Singapore-based accelerator and venture fund investing $150K–$500K in early-stage Southeast Asian startups through twice-yearly 12-week cohorts, supported by a 200+ founder community and selective portfolio follow-on participation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Accelerator & Venture Capital

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Startup accelerator
• Venture capital funding
• Pre-seed investment
• Southeast Asia startups
• Founder mentorship

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management and Investment Returns (Carried Interest):

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Iterative is a Southeast Asia-focused startup accelerator and venture capital fund that runs a twice-yearly, 12-week program (Winter and Summer batches) investing US $150K–$500K per company via post-money SAFE for approximately 10–15% equity, with the full amount transferred upon admission and no milestones, clawbacks, or program fees. Founders receive weekly 1:1 office hours with founder-partners, group office hours, a fundraising bootcamp, pitch workshops, an in-person Bali orientation, lifetime access to a 200+ founder Slack community, and Demo Day access to 400+ investors. Surrounding resources include the Startup Academy, SEA Investor Directory, Startup Jobs board, Co-founder Matching platform, and SEA Checks benchmarking site.

Product overview

Iterative operates a platform-plus-program architecture rather than a single SaaS product. Its core offering is the Iterative Accelerator Program — a 12-week, twice-yearly Southeast Asia-focused accelerator (Winter and Summer batches) — that invests US $150K–$500K via post-money SAFE for ~10–15% equity. Wrapped around that core are multiple modules and standalone web properties: the Iterative Startup Academy (free courses), Iterative Demo Day (investor pitching event with companion website), the Iterative Startup Jobs board, the Co-founder Matching platform, the SEA Investor Directory, SEA Checks, the Iterative Podcast, the Iterative Newsletter, and the separate Iterative Scale Program for later-stage portfolio companies. Post-program, alumni retain lifetime access to the Founder Concierge and the 200+ founder Slack community, while the public Companies page aggregates all 100+ portfolio investments across cohorts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Iterative Startup Academy: Free collection of courses, guides and templates on how to build startups in Southeast Asia.
• Iterative Startup Jobs
• SEA Investor Directory
• SEA Checks
• Iterative Scale Program

Products and services

• Iterative Accelerator Program The flagship 12-week accelerator run twice a year (Winter and Summer batches), investing US $150,000–$500,000 via post-money SAFE for ~10–15% equity. Full amount invested upon admission with no milestones, clawbacks, or program fees. Includes in-person Bali orientation, weekly 1:1 office hours with founder-partners, group office hours, fundraising bootcamp, pitch workshops, and a Demo Day for 400+ investors. Designed for early-stage startup founders based in or focused on Southeast Asia.
• Iterative Scale Program A separate growth-stage program for later Iterative portfolio companies that have moved beyond the core accelerator — focused on doing things that scale once a company has product–market fit. Status noted as Closed in announcements. Targets companies with $1M+ ARR, 5–7% weekly growth, or 20+ employees needing help with growth channel expansion, organizational scaling, hiring specialists, and later-stage fundraising.
• Iterative Startup Academy

Quantifiable outcome

• 200+ founders active in community with 50%+ weekly participation
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Guillaume Luccisano (Triplebyte)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder and former CTO of Triplebyte (YCS15), which raised close to $50M from Initialized, Caffeinated Capital, and YC Continuity. Serves as a Visiting Partner at Iterative, leading office hours and mentoring founders in the cohort.
• Shawn Low (Better.com)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder and former functional COO of Better.com, which has raised over $905M and was valued at over $6B. Serves as a Visiting Partner at Iterative, helping portfolio founders navigate growth and organizational challenges.
• Derry Sakti (Ula)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder of Ula, an Indonesia B2B marketplace that raised over $141M from Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital India, and B Capital Group. Serves as a Visiting Partner at Iterative, bringing B2B and Indonesian market expertise.
• Aaron Yip (Issa / Houzz)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder and CEO of Issa, a VC-backed software infrastructure platform for immigration and hiring. Former Silicon Valley executive and Lead Inventor at Houzz, where he led AR/VR research and helped reach $400M funding at a $4B valuation. Visiting Partner at Iterative.
• Zaizhuang Cheng (Spin / Ford)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder and former COO of Spin, the first shared micro-mobility startup in the US, which was acquired by Ford for $100M in 2018. At Spin, scaled the company across 4 countries with nearly 100 markets and 1,000 employees. Visiting Partner at Iterative.
• Jessica Chao (Healtho / UCSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical Innovation and Partnership Strategy Lead at UCSF and advisor to Berkeley Skydeck. Founded health tech startup Healtho in 2012. Holds a Doctorate of Pharmacy from University of Washington and MBA from Johns Hopkins. Founding Capital Partner at Iterative.
• Rob Liu (ContactOut)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder of ContactOut, a recruitment intelligence tool bootstrapped to 8-figure revenue and 7-figure profit, used by more than 350,000 recruiters including those at 78% of the Fortune 500. Visiting Partner at Iterative.
• Karine Hsu (Slope)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Founder and Managing Partner at Slope, a hybrid creative agency and venture fund that has partnered with 200+ startups since 2019 including Superhuman, Daily Harvest, and Olympus DAO. Visiting Partner at Iterative.
• Nathaniel Yim (Janio Asia / Nila Studios)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer Co-Founder of Janio Asia, a cross-border logistics and last-mile delivery startup across Southeast Asia. Currently Founder of Nila Studios, a B2B marketing agency. Visiting Partner at Iterative.
• Dayana Yermolayeva (JiPay / Inflow)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder of JiPay, a fintech startup for migrant workers in Southeast Asia that grew 20x in 12 months, backed by East Ventures, SHL Capital, and the Hong Kong government. Currently drives Strategy & Ops for Inflow, a Series A healthtech company. Visiting Partner at Iterative.
• Zach Cheng (ReferralCandy)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Founder of ReferralCandy, a referral platform for SMBs that raised Series A from Amnasia, Innosight, and BAF Spectrum. Visiting Partner at Iterative.
• Franklyn Chien (PrizePool / LearnSprout / Facebook)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO and co-founder of PrizePool. Earlier founded LearnSprout in 2011, a data analytics solution for schools acquired by Apple in 2015. Joined Facebook in 2007 when it had fewer than 500 employees. Founding Capital Partner at Iterative.
• Elpizo Choi (Foundation Labs / Weave / Uber)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHead of Engineering at Foundation Labs. Co-founded Weave with Brian Ma (YCS14). Former Senior Engineer at Uber and Harbor. Holds a Master's in Aerospace Engineering from USC. Founding Capital Partner at Iterative.
• Francis Kam (Airbnb / Weave)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerStaff Mobile Software Engineer at Airbnb. Previously Senior Architect at Weave (YCS14), Senior Engineer at Thumbtack, and founder of mobile gaming startup Narble. Founding Capital Partner at Iterative.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Antler: Global early-stage accelerator with significant Southeast Asia presence (including Antler India where Iterative's Head of Investments previously worked). Both run rolling admissions, invest pre-seed capital, and emphasize founder matching — making Antler the closest direct competitor in SEA.
• 500 Global: Global accelerator and VC firm with strong SEA presence that has co-invested alongside Iterative in portfolio companies like Decube and Endl. Operates a similar accelerator-plus-fund model targeting early-stage founders in emerging markets.
• SOSV: Global accelerator-VC running multiple vertical-specific programs (HAX for hardware, IndieBio for bio, etc.). Comparable in scale and accelerator-plus-fund structure, with programs targeting founders globally including in APAC.
• AppWorks: Taiwan and Southeast Asia-focused accelerator and early-stage VC, comparable in geographic focus and stage. One of the longest-running accelerators in Greater SEA, with similar mission of supporting regional founders.

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: The dominant global accelerator that Iterative's founders and many partners came through (Weave YCS14, Mutiny YCS18, Triplebyte YCS15, Socialcam YCW12). YC has actively expanded into Southeast Asia and competes for the same top-tier founder talent, with several Iterative portfolio companies raising from YC.
• Techstars: One of the world's largest accelerator networks with a structured 13-week cohort program and standardized investment terms. Comparable in operating model (fixed cohort, demo day, mentor network) but operates at much larger scale and less focused on SEA specifically.
• Plug and Play: Global innovation platform and accelerator with corporate partnership-driven model. Less directly comparable on program structure but targets similar early-stage founder segments and has expanded into APAC markets.
• Wavemaker Partners: SEA-focused early-stage VC that has invested in Iterative portfolio companies. Operates more as a traditional VC than an accelerator, but is one of the most active early-stage investors in the region alongside Iterative's portfolio.
• Monk's Hill Ventures: Pan-Asian early-stage VC with deep SEA presence that has followed on into Iterative portfolio companies. Operates as a traditional Series A-focused fund rather than accelerator, but serves many of the same founders at adjacent stages.

Regional players

• Cocoon Capital: Singapore-based early-stage VC focused on SEA, operating a similar fund-plus-platform model. Smaller and more niche than Iterative but directly comparable in geographic focus and stage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iterativevc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@iterativevc
• Facebookfacebook.com/iterativevc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iterativevc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments111 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Iterative