About

Michael Lints has over 20 years of experience helping innovative businesses obtain the resources, insights, and expertise they need to be successful. Michael has been a startup operator, investor, and mentor and is currently a Partner at the Singapore-based venture capital firm Golden Gate Ventures. He joined the firm in 2013 and focuses his time predominantly on institutional fundraising. Michael has helped support firm and portfolio-level priorities that have spanned fundraising, capital allocation, and corporate development.

Michael has had a remarkable entrepreneurial journey which began in 2000 when he co-founded an IT-managed services start-up in Europe. This was later acquired by a large data company six years later. In 2007 he founded a venture fund focused on small and medium Dutch enterprises assisting them with capital financing, business development and strategy. In the same period, Michael served as vice chairman of the Economic Development Board Rotterdam, and also launched the Young Economic Development Board bringing together a highly influential Dutch network to develop a sustainable framework for public-private relationships.

Outside of work, sport is an essential part of Michael’s life. He is a former member of the Dutch karate team and actively participates in Ironman 70.3 races and marathons. He is also passionate about social justice and leverages his network to raise awareness for important issues such as civil rights, economic opportunity, and education. Michael is an active writer and a co-director of an award-winning social impact documentary called Broken Chains.

Following an 11-year stint in the corporate world, where she worked in insurance, she leaped into entrepreneurship and is the founder of Innov8POD, a company building and operationalizing remote tech teams in Africa and Asia for companies globally.

“Accepting who I am was a huge step for me. I guess we go through different versions of ourselves before understanding who we truly are. It was important for me not to let others dictate who I should be or how I should feel. Acceptance doesn’t happen overnight. It was important for me to let the process of self-discovery play out. I consciously spend time reflecting on my own actions, beliefs, and what I want to see myself grow into. The only way I could do this was through total honesty with myself. Not shying away from tough questions was hard but necessary.”

“One of my favourite books is Reboot by Jerry Colonna.”

Michael on Personal Growth