🇸🇬 Get Into Y Combinator

​You've watched the videos and read the blogs—but when it comes to applying to Y Combinator from Singapore, what really sets founders apart?

Join us for a candid conversation with Singapore’s YC alumni founders as they share what the application process actually looked like: the messy drafts, last-minute pivots, tough feedback, and how they ultimately convinced YC partners to believe in their vision. No fluff—just real stories, hard-won lessons, and advice they wish they’d had earlier.

Speakers:

Giovanni Casinelli, President & Co-Founder of Aspire, YC W18

​Giovanni is a serial entrepreneur with 10 years of leadership experience in financial services, deep-tech, marketplaces and payments. He has a proven track record of leading tech companies and optimising for innovation and scale.

​As the Co-founder and President of Aspire, Giovanni plays a pivotal role in shaping the company’s vision to empower startups and small businesses globally. Under his leadership, Aspire has grown into a leading fintech platform, streamlining financial operations for over 50,000 businesses worldwide.

Sebastian Roervig, Co-Founder of Arrow (Acquired by Pomelo), YC S21

​Sebastian Roervig is a fintech leader with deep expertise in payments, e-commerce, and business development across Southeast Asia.

​He co-founded Arrow, a Y Combinator Summer 2021 company focused on payment orchestration for e-commerce. Under his leadership, Arrow raised funding from Sequoia, Meta, and AJWC before being successfully acquired by Pomelo Group in 2024.

​Sebastian currently serves as Vice President of Business Development at Pomelo, where he helps modernize payment infrastructure for banks in emerging markets. His earlier experience at Grab and Rocket Internet saw him driving cross-border payment launches, new product rollouts, and strategic partnerships across the region.

​Aditya Haripurkar, Co-Founder & CEO of HitPay, YC S21

​Aditya Haripurkar is a fintech founder and CFA Charterholder with over a decade of experience in financial services, digital payments, and business leadership.

​As the Co-founder and CEO of HitPay, Aditya is revolutionizing the payment and commerce ecosystem for SMEs across Southeast Asia. His background spans corporate finance roles at Barclays Capital and the Royal Bank of Scotland, and academic credentials from Middlesex University and INSEAD.

​Under Aditya’s leadership, HitPay has evolved into one of the region’s fastest-growing SME payment platforms, simplifying digital transactions and empowering businesses to scale efficiently. He remains committed to driving innovation in financial technology and fostering a more inclusive digital economy.

​Baran Ozkan, Co-Founder & CEO of Flagright, YC W22

​Baran Ozkan is a compliance technology entrepreneur and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) with extensive experience in financial crime prevention and AI innovation.

​As the Co-founder and CEO of Flagright, Baran leads a mission to arm regulated financial institutions with cutting-edge AI-native technology for combating financial crime and ensuring AML compliance. Flagright’s platform delivers real-time transaction monitoring, customer risk scoring, and AI Forensics capabilities that redefine efficiency and accuracy in compliance operations.

​About Aspire:

Aspire is the all-in-one finance platform for modern businesses globally, helping over 50,000 companies save time and money with international payments, treasury, expense, payable, and receivable management solutions -  accessible via a single, user-friendly account.

​Headquartered in Singapore, Aspire has 600+ employees across nine countries, clients in 30+ markets and is backed by global top tier VCs, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Y-Combinator, Tencent and Paypal. In 2023, Aspire closed an oversubscribed US$100M Series C round and announced that it has achieved profitability.

​Sponsors:

​About Deel:
Deel helps companies of all sizes on their global expansion - whether you want to hire worldwide without opening legal entities, streamline HR for your global team, or pay all types of workers anywhere with consolidated payroll—and we do it all with full compliance.

​Special offer for Aspire customers:  Up to $1,500 in Deel credits*  https://www.deel.com/partners/aspiresea/ 

About Qapita:
Qapita is a Series-B Equity Management company that supports over 2,800 companies across Asia, ANZ, and the US and manages $180B+ in equity value. Our mission is to 'unlock the power of ownership' through our offerings - Cap Table & ESOP Management, Valuations, Corporate Secretary, Fund Administration and a Private Marketplace.

Merch Partner:

​About Smilie:
Smilie is your trusted partner for sustainable, premium, and unique corporate gifts - managed centrally, delivered regionally. This is further enhanced with our gifting management system for you to schedule and track gifts to multiple recipients on a single platform.