Afterthoughts by Entrepreneurs

Afterthoughts

by Entrepreneurs

This section contains a collection of interviews that explore the ideas and mindsets in this book. The time spent with these amazing and authentic entrepreneurs really thought me a lot about the beauty of individuality and how unique we all are as individuals. There is so much to learn from one another. Therefore, I was very determined to make sure that every entrepreneur that I had the privilege of interviewing was not left out. Once again, I encourage you to link theirmindsets with your own experiences. Ask yourself the same questions I asked them and hopefully, one day, I can learn more about your afterthoughts.

“Start off with a personal struggle, feel empowered in the process and then deteriorate later.”

Kevin Teh

Kevin (Appleseeds) is a passionate web designer who has big aspirations for his company to be the best in the world. I have no doubt that he and his team are already operating at world class level. He has high hopes that the world will one day look to his country for innovative designs. His approach to good design is not to reinvent the wheel, especially when one does not have the skillsets to copy. Instead, he encourages his team to copy from the best first before they can go on to find new ways to incorporate their own designs.

How did you change as a person when you decided to start your very own company?

You know what? There is a cycle that goes in this order - start off with a personal struggle, feel empowered in the process and then deteriorate later. The important thing is to try and repeat this cycle throughout your life. It is a constant learning process for me whenever I step out of my comfort zone and that is a good thing.

How did you find your passion in a world filled with distractions?

I have always loved web design, ever since the dial-up modem days. Fascinated by the web, I started to explore how people design websites and I was hooked. At that point, I knew that I was destined to become a web designer. I wanted to drop out of high school to enroll in a famous web design school. Unfortunately, they could not accept students at my age due to regulations by the Ministry of Education. My passion has never changed until today. I still want to design websites.

What is your idea of passion?

You can’t wait to do it the moment you wake up. You think about it every single second of the day. That is passion. Even when I am going around traveling, I still look out for good

websites for inspiration. Japan made me learn its language by the way. I love everything in Japan.

What is the worst advice you have seen so far?

People who are willing to give advice means they care for you. It may be good or bad - I don’t know, depends on the time the advice was given. Often the person giving the advice is not necessarily conscious of where you are in your journey. For example, I had a member of staff who could not grasp why I told him we had to design at the pixel level. We are talking about pixels on the screen here. He never got it even until he left the company. It was only when he was running his own company that he realized the importance of managing the minor details that comes with good design.

“Everything happens for a reason, there is a source of energy that is leading me all the way through life.”

Isabelle Thye

Isabelle (Future Shapers Consulting) lives by Brene Brown’s quote – “Loving ourselves through the process of owning our story is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.” She embraces her vulnerabilities and often exposes them in order to better connect with the people around her. A self-proclaimed‘explorer of life’, she started her career as an auditor before she decided to build her own coffee business. She eventually sold it and is now pursuing her passion for writing. Her journey through all these industries may seem unrelated today but for her, it was a personal journey to find herself. There were times when she stepped back from it all in search of meaning. Fortunately, through self-reflection and meditation, she found her breakthrough.

What do you focus on daily to be the best version of yourself?

I think it is very important to live in the present. It is so hard to practice this daily especially when you are operating as an entrepreneur. We sometimes fall into a spiral of worries and I don’t think this is a good place to be in. If you take a break and look around,you will notice that everything is beautiful the way it already is. The problem is that we sometimes spend too much time worrying. Nothing is going wrong except the story you are telling yourself throughout the day.

How do you remind yourself to live in the present?

To have high self-awareness and to be aware of your thoughts. You have a choice to choose your thoughts after all. I can remember being in a silence camp once where I was asked to sit in a dark space to practice my deep meditation. It was then when I observed two versions of me sitting in the same space. Maybe it is my ego and soul there with me, where the ego was being very hard on the soul.

What is the biggest challenge you faced when you tried to improve yourself?

I think the biggest challenge is yourself, your mind and your fears. Nothing outside is stopping you, really, it is all in your head. We are so easily scared to step out of our comfort zone.

The challenge is to acknowledge our fears, to live with it and knowing that it is there to make you a better person.

What is the best advice from your most admired teacher?

Dare to try and believe that you can. A person is inspiring when that person overcomes limitations to achieve what he wants. Doing the hard things is healthy as long as it is aligned with what you want to achieve in life.

“Yes, there will be points in time where you want to give up but it is worth it once you know your goals and where you are heading.”

Josh Wei

Josh (OwlTing) is a big fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson who famously said – “In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” Josh has since taught me that everyone we meet in our journey is better in something that we are not, therefore there is always an opportunity for us to learn from anyone. His business spans across the promotion and development of white label supplements to blockchain technologies that are used in managing food allergies.

What is the hardest part of your entrepreneurial journey?

I think I got lucky from knowing that I really enjoy the study and consumption of health supplements. I am also into improving my quality of life and the life of others in that way. In terms of the journey being a lonely process, yes it is a lonely one but if you have the right goals in mind and you are also working in a profession that you enjoy – then I think it is quite rewarding. I don’t want everyone to say it is lonely. With my personality as an introvert – I actually enjoy alone time a little bit. Yes, there will be points in time where you want to give up, but it is worth it once you know your goals and where you are heading.

What is the craziest thing that your team did that made you go 'Wow'?

We have all been in a situation where nothing seems to go right and nothing seems to get done on time. A pretty ‘Wow’ moment for me is when a good system is setup in place and everyone in it is capable of delivering what they were supposed to do. I also think it is a beautiful thing when you find the right people for the job and that you have a system in place to help them work towards their strengths.

How did you change yourself in order to better nurture your team?

I wish I had better people skills and charisma, so I am taking a lot of courses on that. Like if you meet someone who is really competent in what they do and at the same time very warm as to how they deal with people, then you would probably think he is really charismatic. So for me, I needed to dial down my competence when I am working with someone who is more receptive to warmth or dial down my warmth for someone who is highly competent.

“There is a place in my mind that I go to solve my problems.”

Stephanie Ping

I have known Stephanie (WORQ Coworking Space) for a while now and I have since learned, through this interview with her, the importance of maintaining balance with our environment and the people around us. She left her corporate job to build a community-based coworking space that I am proud to be part of. I believe in her mission to build sustainable communities that will bring positive impact to the entrepreneurs who operate in them - that by coming together will only help to decrease their failure rates, increase their level of success and improve their personal well-being. That has to be a good thing in the long run. As for her personal side, Stephanie has an innate ability to compose symphonies in her mind and to design fashion, even though she does not enjoy the process.

How do great ideas come about?

It is really sporadic for me. It comes sometimes when I am in a specific place or when I am seeing beautiful works. I believe that valuable ideas usually spring out when you are really dedicated to your job, just because you are constantly thinking about it all the time. I guess it comes when it comes.

Is there a place that you can go to get inspired?

There is a place in my mind that I go to solve my problems. I need a quiet place without distractions to clear my thoughts and after awhile, the answers will naturally present itself. Even if it takes hours for me sit at a corner alone and do nothing.

How do you keep track of new ideas?

I think the best way for me is to determine the most important thing first and re-visit all the other related activities later. I usually use Whatsapp to keep track of my ideas. So when I have a new idea, I would just Whatsapp myself and refer back to it later.

What is the saddest time for you as an entrepreneur?

It saddens me sometimes when companies and leaders make bad decisions to obtain short-term gains, an effort which causes a lot of problems along the way for people, employees and customers. I guess the sad part for me is when I think about

how these kind of activities are eroding the public perception and confidence of companies today because if you look at it, we are much better off with great companies providing good products and services.

“Adding more work to the day does not necessarily mean that more value is being created.”

Richard de Lancey

Richard (Delco) is your classic gentleman from the UK. He now runs a product design company that converts ideas on paper into ‘3D printed’ prototypes. Once a prototype is tested, the CAD documentation is sent to China for mass production, and Richard is often flown over there to ensure that the manufacturing process meets his demands.

I asked him to share something meaningful as though he was standing in front of 1,000 high school students. After a brief thought, he explained the importance of adding value to the services and products that we create, and the idea that adding more work to the day does not necessarily mean that more value is being created. What he said resonates with many entrepreneurs whom I have interviewed in the past. It resonated with me too.

Who changed the course of your life?

I thought I was going to graduate from college and get a regular job. It was my future business partner at that time who was in search of a design engineer. I can still remember his strange and eccentric determination. He caught my attention, thinking that he was going to be a very successful person. He went on to raise a quarter million pounds for the company that we were creating together. Unfortunately, the company imploded right after that and he went into hiding, leaving our company in debt. To answer your question, he was definitely influential in changing the course of my life. We're not on the best of terms now. I've moved on and started my current company. Time heals though, it is the same way for bad break-ups.

How do you get people to support you?

I think that you need a mixture of vision, enthusiasm and humbleness at your disposal. Like I work with a lot of young designers in their 20s and I know that these are all important factors for them. I guess you don’t need to act entitled and be prepared to work hard.

How do you keep your mentors close to you?

Just ask them for a catch-up meeting so you can update them with results. Don’t make your meeting a one-way thing that is only going to benefit you. No one likes to feel like they are being

used. At least show that you respect them and be grateful for their time.

“If someone says you are weird, just say thank you.”

Pey Yee

Pey Yee pursued her studies in the Korean language and is now spending her time teaching this relatively young language to others. It was not an easy decision for her to leave the corporate world to do this, as she was faced with countless personal challenges and social pressures that quickly made her doubt the decision she took. Nevertheless, I will never forget what she said during our interview, that I think can sum up her strong courageous character – “If someone says you are weird, just say thank you.” That is the kind of humility that shines through every time Pey Yee and I get together to talk.

What is the best lesson you got from someone?

A professor told me that I can be someone bigger, like a rough diamond with the potential to shine. If I knew what my potential was, then I won’t be stuck today. Of course, I have a lot of self-doubt too. I do take a lot of personal risk in my endeavor, but like anyone else, I do have a lot of fear in me too.

What was the strangest meeting that changed you forever?

Someone told me that passion alone will not put food on the table. In contrast, I was also telling myself that the money will comewhen I do the work I am passionate in. I think it is okay to chase after the money, but we can be totally lost if we constantly pursue it.

What is something you believe that other people think is insane?

Do you want to be the leader of the chickens or the tail end of the Phoenix? I want to be the tail end of the Phoenix. At least I am the last at the top.

“Your success will come from the people you work with.”

Tobias Binna

Tobias (Toosplus) is one of the few ‘hardcore’ software developers I know today. He often attends my technology gatherings and he blows my mind whenever he talks about software programming. He spends most of his time making his software applications the best it can be, considering that he is constantlyscripting them to perfection. In his own words – “If I enjoy the work I am doing, then I don’t mind investing my personal time and money to work on it so I can go beyond just the 80% effort that I have already put in.”

What are two important things that you do at work?

I wonder why we work in the first place? I guess the ultimate goal is to make money and let’s just say that it is the same for me too. Although I enjoy the process of developing a productfor commercial use, but doing that alone can get really boring without the effort of testing its features with the customer. So I work on developing my software applications the best way possible, and if time permits, I will invest my time with customers to learn how to improve it. Without these two interactions, I think we as software developers will lose the purpose of developing the productfrom the beginning.

What is the best way for you to share your knowledge?

From the aspect of software development, I usually encourage pair-programming where you have two software developers work on the same problem together. I notice that when you work with someone better than you, you can learn a lot just by watching them solve problems. I also encourage competitions between individuals to motivate each other.

What is your favourite book?

I guess it will be super boring if I cite a book from my university days. The book is about theoretical approaches to computer science. Of course, there is a lot of mathematics in it, but it helped me a lot in understanding encryption and why a banking

connection is secure. I guess I am not a big fan of the kind of books that promotes 5 things to do or 10 things not to do. I am more interested in books that explain and answers my technical questions.

“Sometimes we get frozen by looking at the big picture.”

Francesco Argento

Francesco (Ezyspark) is the co-founder of a company that is making the training industry more transparent and accessible to everyone. Although he claims to be foolish and often crazy enough to pursue his endeavors, he is surely no stranger to the process of developing businesses, optimizing departments and building companies. I could relate to his need to constantly step out of his comfort zone, especially when things are too safe and boring. Doing his write-up reminded me of something he once said, “I think I am crazy enough to start this business and often times I feel that everything is running too slow. ”

What goes through your mind when you are not well enough to work?

I remember falling sick when I was preparing myself for an investor pitch. I was like, ‘Oh shit, I cannot be sick’. So I tried to re-program my mind into thinking that I am well and that the fever is not going to get me. It is a mind game.

How do you stay fit for work?

I try to swim for 20 minutes in the morning. There are times when I don’t feel like swimming, but I will still go downstairs to at least have a look at the pool. I am also obsessed with waking up early to maintain some discipline in my life. I am lacking in discipline and I am doing everything I can to manage that.

How do you take breaks during the day?

I don’t like to waste time. Every part of the day needs to be productive but I admit that we all need to get away from work for a while. My way of taking breaks is to talk to people or maybe call someone. At least I am learning something while I am at it. I usually reach out to friends or talk to people at WORQ during this time. I also organize my daily lunch with different people, often for the same reasons.

Most memorable trip?

I was at Annapurna once. It was very easy to give up on the journey when we first saw the mountains, but I managed to complete it anyway. I realized that we often get frozen just by looking at the big picture. So I looked down and just focused on taking each step. I eventually ended up where I wanted to be. That was a good realization. I also spent a month in Nepal to practice my silent meditation. It was on that trip that I have come to accept that all good things and bad things will come to an end. Since then, I try to live in the present and not be obsessed with the future or past.