Conflicts of interest don’t have to be startup killers

ASK employees what conflicts of interest are, and you’ll get wildly different answers.

Some point to vendor relationships with family members. Others mention workplace romances. In financial institutions, people think of undisclosed stock trades.

All these are valid examples, but the confusion reveals why conflicts of interest are often mishandled and why they erode trust in some of South-east Asia’s most promising startups.