I don’t bother trying to remember the exact date or time but I know I was 18, you can do your own math on how many years ago that was, when I set out on my first international trip. The destination was Madras, India. I am sure some of you will correct me to say Chennai but back then it was called Madras – forever in my mind, it will always be named Madras. I was wide eyed and bushy tailed – actually I had bushy long hair. I was seeing the world and loving every second of it.

From that moment on I knew I wanted to live abroad – one way or another. I knew the quickest path to getting abroad was a career in tech. Stints in computer tech support lead to web jobs. I can remember installing paid versions of Netscape on Solaris servers. I saw the birth of Java and started the first Java User Group  - outside of the official one started by Sun.

Then I hit San Francisco to sell Java Application Servers – some of you may remember WebLogic which vaulted BEA into the stratosphere and eventually a crazy deal with Oracle. WebLogic was the vehicle that took me around the globe but BEA grounded me in Hong Kong and China for a while. I helped to build out an engineering center in China before it was hip – back when one could see the sun from time to time in Beijing.

Then I pulled the ripcord and crash landed in Bangkok, Thailand. Let’s just say I tried to apply my skill sets outside the world of tech and lived to tell about it. I have some scars, a light grasp of Thai, a motorcycling habit and a love for Southeast Asia. Then the WebLogic batphone rang and I suddenly found myself back in the thick of it at Yahoo!. I get tired of all the Yahoo! bashers, yes the place is not what it used to be, but I am sure any company would die for their customer base, their revenue and their brand. I guess I will always bleed some shade of purple given I have used Yahoo! since the internets started.

However it is time to move on. To join the startup troops that are marching to their own cadence around Singapore. I didn’t know that my trip to India would be as symbolic as it has become given the transit point was Singapore – where I now find myself many light years later.

Asia is happening – we all know that. Some folks take the China route, others take the India route and yet others peel off a country or two. It all holds promise but one thing is certain – Singapore has become a center for startups in the region and I bet it will continue to grow in importance. The government has carefully cultivated a strong base for startups, incubators, investors and entrepreneurs.

As of today I join those ranks. I plan on writing a regular column for E27, my favorite SEA tech site – discussing startups, the region and my own tales from the trenches. Stay tuned for more and be sure to get ready for Echelon 2012.

Michael Smith Jr. is the Chief Product Officer at Spuul – yes we are hiring. Prior to Spuul, Michael worked at Yahoo! as the director of Global Tech Initiatives. Michael spends his time between Thailand and Singapore working on putting SEA on the global startup map. You can follow Michael on twitter.