Findicate: End-of-Year Update

Dear Findicate angels,

As we near the end of 2025, we want to reach out and share some big updates for our team and operating model. We’re excited to update you on our portfolio and pipeline, as well as share how you can play a more active role in shaping the Findicate community.

Findicate Team Transitions

We want to share an update on the evolution of the Findicate team. Many of us have taken on new personal and professional commitments this year, which has naturally meant less day-to-day capacity for Findicate. These shifts reflect the continued growth of our community and the diverse work our members are leading beyond the syndicate. With this in mind, Nat and Jean - two of Findicate’s beloved founding members - will be stepping back from their leadership responsibilities. We are deeply grateful for everything they have contributed to shaping Findicate since its inception, and we are thrilled that they will continue to stay engaged as active members of the Findicate community.

To support Findicate’s next phase, we are excited to welcome Jennifer Ho, Rachel Freeman, and Chandrima Das to the new Findicate Committee, joining Meenal and Amrita in guiding strategic decisions for the syndicate.

As part of this transition, leadership and operational responsibilities will be handed over to Chandrima while Amrita takes a few months off starting in January to spend time with her newborn. Chandrima brings deep experience as a seasoned finance professional, two-time entrepreneur, and angel investor, and we’re energized by this expanded leadership structure. Please find bios for our new leadership committee below, and see the next section for our new operating model.

Welcoming the newest members of our Findicate Committee:

A New Operating Model

As discussed in our fireside chat with Jennifer in our October Member Call (recording here), the startup funding landscape in Asia has drastically slowed down in the past 12-18 months. This reflects our experience at Findicate, as we have seen much fewer strong women-led companies in our pipeline this year.

Following the lead of VCs, we have decided to use this slow period in the market to expand the ways in which we support women-led startups, particularly through Findicate members’ expertise and networks.

While we will continue to angel invest in strong women founders, we want to encourage Findicate members to bring women founders to the community who could use our support in ways beyond funding.

This support could include pitch refinement and practice, strategic guidance, sector-specific expertise (fintech, consumer tech, AI, etc.), fundraising strategy and investor intros, talent acquisition, among others.

If you have a woman-led startup in mind who would benefit from support like this, please reach out to Amrita, Meenal, Chandrima, Jennifer, or Rachel.

Findicate Community Outreach

As our new Findicate Committee onboards, they will be reaching out to you to learn more about your background and experience as Findicate angels. This is also a great forum to discuss how you’d like to engage with our new operating model. Please expect to hear from Chandrima, Rachel, Jennifer, and Meenal over the next 2-3 months over email and/or Whatsapp!

New Deal: Podium Society

Podium Society is a peer-discovery platform for working women and pitched during our Findicate Member Call in October. Podium was started in Singapore and is now expanding globally (Hong Kong and Dubai are their next markets). Podium was started by 2 women with tech backgrounds, seeking opportunities to connect with other women in a more meaningful way than we usually see from career-related groups. With >300 paying members, Podium is on track to hit $120K USD ARR by end of 2025.

Podium has officially raised its first round of funding — $300K USD led by Accelerating Asia Ventures, with >60% of the capital coming from angels within their own community. These angels are women who use the product themselves, creating a powerful model where customers become investors and stakeholders in growth.

As part of the fundraise, Podium is still taking checks from friends, family, and early supporters on a SAFE note (20% discount, $4M post-money valuation cap). The minimum check size is $3k USD if you want to invest via Findicate or $15k USD if you want to invest independently. We'll only put in a Findicate check if we have at least $20k USD committed for the group.

If you would like to invest in Podium, please let us know by Monday, December 8. You can DM Amrita (WA +65 86021681) or Meenal (+65 94896730) or email [email protected]. If you can offer any support beyond investing (connections, B2B partnerships, etc.), feel free to reach out as well, and we’ll connect you with the founders.

Check out the Fundraise Announcement Post, pitch recording, and pitch deck for more information on Podium Society.

Finally, Podium’s current intake is open - if you’d like to experience the product and be part of the community, here’s the form. Findicate members are able to bypass the waitlist and join immediately.

Portco Update

BusCaro

Our portfolio company BusCaro has been in the news recently for very exciting reasons - they recently raised $2M ($1.2M equity + $800k debt) led by Daman investments. Additionally, BusCaro has hit 20 million bookings!

Impressive traction — 20 million bookings to date and a recent $2 million raise (bringing total funding to ~$3.5 million) highlight strong early momentum. BusCaro says it’s nearing profitability, with an EBITDA currently at –2%, several core routes already profitable and margins improving as utilisation increases.

Serving an underserved market drives growth — BusCaro’s focus on safe commuting for women and children unlocked massive demand in a low-car-ownership market.

B2B/B2B2C = early unit economics — Institutional partnerships deliver predictable volume, high utilisation and a faster path to profitability than consumer-only models.

Trust becomes the moat — Safety + reliability (99% on-time, zero incidents) turn a basic transport service into a defensible, loyalty-driven business.

About Findicate

At Findicate, we invest in and support women-led startups and let the traction speak for itself. We are a community that provides resources in early funding, collective know-how, and regional network to help founders build impactful businesses that empower and enable the lives of women.

Giving a voice to those that don’t fit the mold: https://www.findicate.co/

Cheers,
Findicate Committee
Amrita, Meenal, Chandrima, Jennifer, Rachel