The Think Big Entrepreneurs Convention 2013

Source: www.canon.com.sg 

The Think Big Entrepreneurs Convention 2013 that took place on the 17^th September saw a widespread assortment of attendees from different backgrounds and industries, all gathered with the uniting cause of furthering entrepreneurship. Most were representing their start-ups in the region or looking to set up a business in the near future.

 

The event began quarter past 9 and was close to full house. Canon was the supporting organisation and had and exhibition of its products outside the grand ballroom. The opening address was by Mr Lim Kok Hin, vice-president and COO of Canon.

 

He predominantly touched on the changing perspectives of employees in terms of their aspirations and motivations that drive their work, technology with respect to the shortened lifecycles of products, and customers who now understand and expect more. As such Mr Lim shared that he encourages employees to work less hours and achieve more by challenging them to complete their work an hour earlier and spend the time saved on their family or other interests.

 

He also shared his vision for his company which caters to these changing perspectives that he described. His vision is to bring in revenue of $750 million with 500 staff members. This translates to a 50% increase in productivity that he aims to achieve in 3 years. It is definitely heartening to see senior executives driving such a corporate culture and actively instilling it into their employees.

 

Following Mr Lim was Dr Loo Choon Yong, Co-Founder of Raffles Medical Group. He’s speech was of particular interest to me; Not just because I had prior experience working in his organisation but also because of his exceptional wittiness.  

He emphasized the need for lasting partnerships citing that with his long-time partner and friend Dr Alfred Loh. I liked that he also recognized and preached the need to professionalize the company by hiring and building people who were both good and right for the firm in order to succeed.

 

While admittedly hiring of the right talents remains a huge challenge for most start-ups, it is apt that Dr Loo brings this issue up as a rising proportion of recent graduates seek to propel their careers by starting off at a small firm where the scope for learning is wider. It is hence vital that start-ups too recognise this and tap on these resources.
 

In doing so, start-ups should also very importantly ensure that these graduate hires are rewarded appropriately within the means of the company as this will dictate the image and reputation of the start-up within the graduate community. Perhaps considering flexible work hours, work-from-home and profit sharing mechanisms could incentivise these graduates to join start-ups which may not be able to pay a competitive salary outright.

 



Source: http://www.stjobs.sg/career-resources/training-and-development/from-curry-puffs-to-croissants-back-to-curry/a/136840



Old Chang Kee’s chairman Mr Han Keen Juan who presented next, gave the perspective of a local venture describing his humble beginnings as a sales person. Quite interestingly, he had been a sales person to Canon as Mr Lim rightfully pointed out in his address. Mr Han’s presentation was comparatively brief but it did not disappoint in terms of entertainment value.

He highlighted some pertinent points of starting a business such as the need for SMEs to make use of government grants and subsidies. He for one, has received great support from Spring, WDA and EDB hence was able to provide insights into how best to approach these government organisations in order to gain their support.

 

More importantly, he shared not just of his success story but also of his failure in Croissant, the sister-chain he set up next to his existing Old Chang Kee outlets. Unpretentious and in great spirits, he was openly discussed what went wrong with Croissant and in that I was the mark of a great leader and entrepreneur.

 

Miss Gwendolyn Tan, a young entrepreneur spoke next on starting SGE, one of Asia’s oldest and largest online publications on start-ups and on crowd funding. She shared passionately of her experiences as an investor on crowdfunding platforms and also of the firms in which she invests in.

 

Haptex and Gravitylight were amongst the firms she talked about as she shared what she looks out for in a company when deciding to invest in it. She also went into the futuristic technology of 3D-printing that I found very intriguing.

 

Her speech would have indeed been very useful for new companies trying to raise capital by traditional or upcoming means such as crowdfunding which is in fact picking up steam in Singapore with local platforms like Crowdonomic.

 

Lastly, Mr Jacky Tai shared an interesting presentation on branding in this internet world often quoting from the array of books he has published. ‘Get a name! 10 rules to create a great brand name’, and ‘B2B: How a Business Becomes a Brand’ will certainly be worth a read.

 

The event was closed with a brief panel discussion moderated by Mr Mohan Belani, Co-founder and CEO of e27 as time had already been overshot substantially. I also had the opportunity to speak with Dr Loo and Miss Gwendolyn after the event and they were happy to take some of my questions. In all, it was a morning well spent and the insights gained were fresh and relatable.

 

The convention most certainly opened up my eyes to the intensity of entrepreneurial initiatives in Singapore and had me thinking on the related issues. I feel however, that unlike in silicon valley or other prominent entrepreneurial breeding ground, the purview of such initiatives in Singapore remains the niche of just a few within the community.

 

Hopefully with time, the likes of this convention will inform and draw the wider community into the realms of entrepreneurship where dreams can be made to come true. The country could definitely benefit from more local start-ups to rejuvenate the economy organically. It will also boost greater confidence and empowerment within its people.