500 Startups Venture Partner Ashraf Sinclair (second from right) at Rework coworking space launch
Updates: The article has been updated to include statement from Khailee Ng, Managing Partner at 500 Startups.
Malaysian actor and former Venture Partner at 500 Startups Ashraf Sinclair had passed away in Jakarta at 4AM local time, various media reported.
The actor and investor was 40 years old.
According to a Kompas report, the cause of death was heart attack.
Following a successful acting career in Malaysia and Indonesia that began in 2004, Sinclair joined 500 Startups in 2017.
The appointment was not his first foray into startup investment. In May 2016, together with his wife, singer Bunga Citra Lestari, he took part in a pre-seed investment in concert crowdfunding platform Konsaato. The round was led by Jakarta-based Grupara Inc.
Sinclair had also invested in restaurant chain TGIF Indonesia, and has started restaurants, gyms, content, and production agencies. He had also produced a sold-out solo concert for his wife, which is said to attended by 35,000 people.
Khailee Ng, Managing Partner at 500 Startups, released a statement on Instagram over the passing of Sinclair.
The following is an edited excerpt of his statement:
“Indonesian portfolio founders, friends, and colleagues here at 500 Startups mourn the loss of Ashraf Sinclair. In these pictures, you’ll see him not as an actor, but as a giver. Working hard between to give startup founders an extra boost where he could. His typical call to me would be ‘This founder needs our help…’ – he had a gift of intuition and always connected to people from heart to heart. Uplifting them. We are so fortunate to have had been able to meet him and to journey with him. We send positive thoughts to his family. We will live on with the positivity and generosity that Ashraf upheld, and will pay it forward. It is what he would’ve been proud to see.”
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