About Us
Hi there,
Welcome to Apple Seed.
I founded Apple Seed in 2011, and the journey since has been anything but linear. Over the years, I’ve pivoted the business multiple times—sometimes by design, other times by necessity. Each pivot came with lessons in survival, reinvention, and resilience.
From 2014 to 2017, Apple Seed was part of Spring Singapore’s Incubator Developer Programme. We incubated 48 startups, and at our peak, nearly 1,800 founders were in our orbit. Those were intense years, but also eye-opening. I had to navigate not only the complexities of running an accelerator but also deal with ex-partners who launched competing programmes. It was a reminder that in entrepreneurship, competition sometimes comes from those who once stood beside you.
That experience shaped one of my core beliefs: the old model of building everything alone is broken. In Singapore, the cost of starting and scaling is high—talent, infrastructure, compliance—it all adds up quickly. In Philippines, Malaysia or India, the same capital stretches further, enabling faster iteration. The real advantage comes not from trying to outbuild everyone, but from forging the right partnerships and collaborations. Working together often gets you further than doing everything on your own.
Today, Apple Seed is my personal investment vehicle. I back projects where I see the potential to create long-term moats—whether through R&D, new technologies, or disciplined execution. My philosophy is simple: cash flow is king. With discipline, cash flow not only sustains the business, it creates optionality and freedom. Over time, that very discipline becomes an advantage, eventually hardening into a moat that competitors can’t easily replicate.
I’ve always chosen to run Apple Seed in a bootstrapped mode. That independence allows me to stay focused on sustainable growth, free from the pressure of vanity metrics or investor-driven pivots. The biggest wins have come not from shortcuts, but from surrounding myself with talented people—and increasingly, with partners who share the same vision of building lasting value.
Apple Seed is more than a company; it’s a story of hard lessons, near misses, and the belief that entrepreneurship, when paired with discipline and collaboration, can create enduring impact.
Take a look at the Portfolio to see the journey so far, explore the Services I provide, and meet our Partners who embody this spirit of collaboration. If you see an opportunity to work together, I’d love to hear from you.
Kumaran Pillai, Founder & CEO, Apple Seed
Welcome to Apple Seed.
I founded Apple Seed in 2011, and the journey since has been anything but linear. Over the years, I’ve pivoted the business multiple times—sometimes by design, other times by necessity. Each pivot came with lessons in survival, reinvention, and resilience.
From 2014 to 2017, Apple Seed was part of Spring Singapore’s Incubator Developer Programme. We incubated 48 startups, and at our peak, nearly 1,800 founders were in our orbit. Those were intense years, but also eye-opening. I had to navigate not only the complexities of running an accelerator but also deal with ex-partners who launched competing programmes. It was a reminder that in entrepreneurship, competition sometimes comes from those who once stood beside you.
That experience shaped one of my core beliefs: the old model of building everything alone is broken. In Singapore, the cost of starting and scaling is high—talent, infrastructure, compliance—it all adds up quickly. In Philippines, Malaysia or India, the same capital stretches further, enabling faster iteration. The real advantage comes not from trying to outbuild everyone, but from forging the right partnerships and collaborations. Working together often gets you further than doing everything on your own.
Today, Apple Seed is my personal investment vehicle. I back projects where I see the potential to create long-term moats—whether through R&D, new technologies, or disciplined execution. My philosophy is simple: cash flow is king. With discipline, cash flow not only sustains the business, it creates optionality and freedom. Over time, that very discipline becomes an advantage, eventually hardening into a moat that competitors can’t easily replicate.
I’ve always chosen to run Apple Seed in a bootstrapped mode. That independence allows me to stay focused on sustainable growth, free from the pressure of vanity metrics or investor-driven pivots. The biggest wins have come not from shortcuts, but from surrounding myself with talented people—and increasingly, with partners who share the same vision of building lasting value.
Apple Seed is more than a company; it’s a story of hard lessons, near misses, and the belief that entrepreneurship, when paired with discipline and collaboration, can create enduring impact.
Take a look at the Portfolio to see the journey so far, explore the Services I provide, and meet our Partners who embody this spirit of collaboration. If you see an opportunity to work together, I’d love to hear from you.
Kumaran Pillai, Founder & CEO, Apple Seed
