Tey Por Yee | Gomif Partners
Tey Por Yee, or better known as Larry Tey or Dato’ Larry is a Malaysian businessman and venture capitalist. Tey earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in Business Administration and Finance from University of Manitoba. Tey invested in various startup companies in North America and Canada, before returning to Malaysia where he joined a corporate advisory company.He joined Gomif Partners (GP) in 2015 to extend his network to back social business concept in venture capital circles.
Gomif Partners is an early stage investment advisory network co-advised by socialpreneur Larry Tey Por Yee and several private venture partners. GP’s investors invest in and work with information technology companies at any stage but is primarily focused on seed and early stage investments.
In 2008 Larry joined business advisory firm Global Capital Limited, to focus on investment and merger and acquisition dealings in emerging markets, especially Asia Pacific with special interest in technology, infrastructure and energy companies.Larry is also the co-founder of Nexgram Group, a conglomerate and investment company in businesses including telecom, property and information technology industries with presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and China. He retires from Nexgram Group in year 2016 to focus on socialpreneurship activities.
source www.gomif.com
Other resources found online about Dato’ Larry Tey Por Yee:
Tey Por Yee | The Socialpreneur Story
Tey Por Yee | co-advisor Gomif Partners – Linkedin
Synopsis
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1976, low profile entrepreneur Tey Por Yee, or better known as Larry Tey began to show an interest in business at age 13. By time the age of 18, Larry found interest in Internet and computer programming. Through technological innovation, keen business strategy and aggressive business tactics, he and partners Andrew See and Derek Tey built multi-national mobile software business and diversified the small outfit into a multi-industries conglomerate, Nexgram Group. In January 2016, Larry announced that he was stepping down as Nexgram Chief.
Early Life
Dato’ Larry was born Tey Por Yee on February 2, 1976, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Larry began to show an interest in business at age 13. By time the age of 18, Larry found interest in Internet and computer programming. He pursued his passion through university. Striking out on his own with his friend and business partners Andrew See and Derek Tey, Larry found himself at the right place at the right time. Through technological innovation, keen business strategy and aggressive business tactics, he and partners built multi-national mobile software business and diversified the small outfit into a multi-industries conglomerate, Nexgram Group.
Larry Tey grew up in an ordinary family with his mother and two brothers. The Tey family atmosphere was warm and close, and all three children were encouraged to be competitive and strive for excellence.
Larry had a very close relationship with his mother, an ordinary house wife with extra ordinary strength and will to bring up the children on her own.
Larry was detail-oriented as a child, spending many hours poring over reference books such as business journals and business magazines. He started to trade stationeries and collectibles for a profit at the age of 13. At the age of 18, Larry found interest in Internet and obsessed with computer programming and started giving Internet consultancy services online 3 years later in the university. In order to learn about programming, he took computer science to learn coding in the university.
Larry Tey Por Yee graduated from University of Manitoba, Canada. He major in business administration and finance, and he took computer science to learn computer programming.
Early Career
Larry enrolled at University of Manitoba, originally thinking of a career in finance or Wall Street. But Larry spends more of his time surfing online in his dorm and computer lab than in class. Besides spending time in network games, Larry spend hours on the Internet learning systems and computer programming. In year 1998, Larry started giving Internet consultancy services, building web sites and create businesses online, and didn’t pay much attention in his studies, yet he pass most of the subjects with a reasonable grade.
Thanks to many tech titans precedence, university dropped out was the ‘in thing”. Larry decided to scrap the idea of university drop out, despite many occasions tempted him to join startups in Internet businesses.
In 1999, at the age of 23, Larry Tey graduated and went into business with his friends and partners, Andrew See and Derek Tey. They developed and invested in many Internet businesses, including online classifies, advertising platform, search engines and even social media, before many of the Internet household names were born. They made some small fortune and started investing in other startup concepts. In year 2001, out of a dozen startups they invested, the trio bet most of their seed capital invested in one project and developed “Mindcep” a computer program that monitored electronic mobile transactions, and took the company IPO in year 2005.
The Rise of Nexgram Group
Within 3 years post IPO, Larry Tey and his team brought Nexgram Group mobile software business to over 12 countries, count South East Asia, greater China, London and New York within their radar, with physical office presence in 6 countries. Nexgram Group have since diversified the software business from clients in the telecom, to e-commerce, industrial and government related sectors. The emergence of Nexgram Group had lured unfriendly competition, and business challenges have since slowed the company growth.
The year 2008 subprime crisis is a perfect storm which triggered stock market crash followed by global commodity price collapse. Nexgram Group had mixed feelings, with failing business in Europe and other emerging markets, the group have since scaled down the size in face of new business down cycle since Internet crash in 2000. The core management team continue to service existing clients throughout the 2008-2011 slow period while Larry and his chiefs are hunting for new growth area to create value for the company stakeholders.
In year 2012, Larry Tey brings expertise and foreign investors to Nexgram Group. Within 2012-2014, Nexgram Group have since under went business restructuring and diversified into trading, property and government contracts. Nexgram Land was conceptualise as early as year 2012, followed by setup of Nexgram Infrastructure in year 2014. Under Larry’s leadership, the core team have set a 10 years plan to develop the group into one of the leading business conglomerate in software, real estate, and infrastructures.
Foreign Investors Following
During year 2004-2012, Larry Tey developed his business network in Asia, especially Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. In year 2008, Larry Tey met Ooi Kock Aun, or better known as Adrian Ooi, in one of the business networking session. The duo decided to join Global Capital the same year. Larry was a co-advisor for Global Capital, a business advisory firm he helped advise for his high net worth clients to facilitate corporate deal makings. Global Capital have since completed many corporate merger & acquisitions behind the scene in some of the high profile dealings in the region. Larry and Adrian made their fortune during the commodity recovery bull run from year 2009-2012.
Through excellent services and trust build within Global Capital, on September 2012 Larry was approached by Singapore banker to broker a substantial public listed company shares take over case in Malaysia. The story was told by the banker there was a management fight among company owner proxies, and the client was removed on June 2012 from his post. With short notice and ahead of Malaysia political General Election, Larry shown no interest in Malaysia deals. Singapore banker has since convinced Larry to give it a try in the name of “nationalism” and helping a “Chinese ethnic businessman”, and arranged the client to meet Larry to convince the case. Larry Tey was moved by the client and spokes to his partner Adrian Ooi, and through Global Cap signed an agreement with the client on 3 November 2012. The duo stretched their network to find investors and oil assets for the deal as per requested by both client and investors, and ready themselves as proxies representing their investors.
On December 2012, Larry Tey and Adrian Ooi having difficulties to convince direct investment from investors, have honoured their mandate by taking on personal funds and loan from investors and helped completed the $30million deal within 60 days. Having closed hundreds of millions of deals for their clients, taking on a deal on their own in such short notice is a new record for the duo. Adrian joined the board of the acquired public listed company, after the shares take over and asset deal tabled by the client to the board, which is part of the governance condition agreed upon.
Having completed and honoured their part of the deal, Larry has since bring back his investments into Malaysia, and helped his foreign investors invested in few public listed companies, many of which are small companies in need of restructuring or new business. The followings of high net worth investors have surfaced Larry into the limelight, something Larry doesn’t anticipate and encumbrance to his corporate dealings.
One of Larry’s success was to joint invest with his followers, putting money where his mouth is. In the name of “nationalism”, the two entrepreneur put their money and trust in their home country, only until September 2014, the duo were drag into board room fight and legal tussle, fabricated by the same client whom they helped. The on-going control fight has since escalated to their other investment, which Malaysia market believe issues were manufactured on purpose to discredit Larry and Adrian, while distract attention with the interest party sole purpose of doing so is to take away the company they bought.
Series of misfortunate events believed were fabricated from the same source, causing damages of business and jobs, as well as minority investors interest in public company shares. During year 2015-2016, Larry and Adrian have since divested their interest in Malaysia, and pair down their loan with their investors.
Having honoured his duty to his investors, and seen the missing link in humanity, especially business ethic, corruption, social responsibility, integrity and governance concerns in today’s business world, in year 2016, with the backing of his investors, Larry decided to join Gomif Partners and dedicate his time in business networking to pursue the concept of socialpreneurship.
Socialpreneur Activist
In January 2016, Larry announced that he would be stepping down as Chief of Nexgram Group. The company retained Larry’s title as co-founder and non-executive technology adviser. In addition to Larry’s transition, it was reported that professional management was hired by the company board of directors and new substantial shareholders. Larry has since year 2014, divested all of his corporate investments and move on to focus on corporate works, especially in Singapore, Hong Kong and London.
Larry continues to devote much of his time and energy to the work of the socialpreneur concept through Gomif Partners, a networking platform to encourage and fund social business startups. One aspect of its work in the Internet is helping startups become commercial ready and incubate a sustainable social business eco-system. In 2016, Larry together with his network, joint launched the Accelerator’17 program across major startup hubs such as London, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, and Jakarta.
Referred and edited, courtesy contribution from VC-Link Official Profile “Tey Por Yee | The Socialpreneur Story”. http://teyporyeestory.wordpress.com/tey-por-yee-about-dato-larry/
Tey Por Yee : bio 