With a regional market cap of USD$1.97 trillion and counting, Southeast Asia is a big deal. Today we’re excited to announce it’s about to GROW even bigger.

We’ve previously dug in with our pilot growth marketing program, “Cerebro,” our 500 TukTuks $10M regional fund, and our early investment into Southeast Asian unicorn GrabTaxi.

Coming this summer, 500 Startups will launch the first ever Distro Dojo in Malaysia, with the support of the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) and its MaGIC campus in Cyberjaya.

Why Malaysia, Why Distro?

The past couple of years have seen the ASEAN startup ecosystem continue to mature, with more companies emerging in the region — and more money to fund them.

There are plenty of ways to spend your investors’ money, but in 500 Distro’s completely unbiased opinion, nothing beats the ROI on growth marketing: scaling customer acquisition, retention and revenue.

That’s why we’re launching Distro Dojo Malaysia — to help ASEAN startups 10x their reach with world class mentorship, hands-on guidance, and funding to power growth experiments.

About Distro Dojo

Distro Dojo is a 10-week growth-focused training and implementation program for companies who have previously raised at least USD$150,000 in funding from other investors.

Our Malaysia Dojo will be led by 500 Distro and other badass growth marketers from around the world, including regional mentors with a track record of blowing up customer acquisition in Southeast Asia and beyond.

If chosen, companies will get $50,000 in funding from 500 Startups, with $25k allocated to the Distro Dojo program fee and another $25k earmarked for growth spend.

The Dojo Experience

1. MOAR mentors:

Distro Dojo will be staffed with 2-6 mentors on site, with EVEN MOAR mentors available remotely.

2. MOAR accountability:

500 Distro Chandini Ammineni leads the program, and will be tracking each company’s OKRs and growth progress.

3. MOAR channels and coverage:

Distro Dojo focuses on “growth as a mindset.” Growth marketing isn’t a set of hackt-ics, but a process of experimentation that builds growth into the structure of the organization itself.

In addition to proven customer acquisition strategies, Malaysia Dojo will cover emerging channels like Instagram, Pinterest, video, mobile and MOAR.

4. Hands-on implementation

Distro Dojo Malaysia is 10 weeks of expert-guided implementation — learning by doing, not by listening to a bunch of talks.

How to Apply

The Distro Dojo operates as an investment vehicle for 500 Startups, so getting into the Dojo requires that you’d qualify for an investment from 500 Startups.

What we’re looking for:

1. Traction: It’s a post-seed investment, so you should have closed a previous round of financing, and demonstrated product-market fit.

2. Founders & team: We’re looking for founders and teams who are committed to growth as a mindset. This means you’re willing to spend resources (aka MONEY and TIME) on growth marketing to take your company to the next level.

Applications are now open for the inaugurual Distro Dojo Malaysia program.

Learn more and apply here

Additional coverage: TechCrunch, E27

Background design credit: Yiying Lu

Kuala Lumpur skyline photo credit: Guyfrombronx