Why You Should Fail: Practical Wisdom from Twenty-Three of Singapore's Top Entrepreneurs

By Vincent Ng and Grace Lin

Build A Profitable Company That Lasts

Learn the exact business strategies that helped 23 of Singapore's best and brightest entrepreneurs start and grow their companies to the multi-million empires they are today.

From crafting a winning investment pitch to unleashing a consistent stream of customers, this is a book packed with tons of real life examples in every area you need to build a profitable company that lasts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Entre Club Pte Ltd (Singapore)
• Release date: Sep 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9789813170575

Book preview

WHY YOU SHOULD FAIL

PRACTICAL WISDOM FROM TWENTY THREE OF SINGAPORE’S TOP ENTREPRENEURS

WRITTEN BY:

VINCENT NG & GRACE LIN

First published August 2017

Copyright © Ng Cheng Bi Vincent, Lin Meixian Grace, The Entre Club Pte Ltd (Singapore)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Unless otherwise stated, photographs and images are the copyright of the publisher. While the publisher, co-authors and contributors have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specially disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice, strategies and frameworks contained herein are based on the experiences of the individual CEOs featured. One should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher, co- authors nor contributors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Special discounts are available for bulk purchases by individuals, corporations, associations and others. For more information, please contact Vincent Ng at (65) 9829 5138 or email [e-mail].

WHY YOU SHOULD FAIL

PRACTICAL WISDOM FROM TWENTY THREE OF SINGAPORE’S TOP ENTREPRENEURS

Format: Paperback / Softcover Language: English Date of Publication: 2017-08-18 Author(s): Ng Cheng Bi Vincent, Lin Meixian Grace Publisher: The Entre Club Pte Ltd (Singapore) Editor: Eleanor Yap Layout: Low Wanlin, Kudoclasm Creatives LLP ISBN: 9789811142956 (paperback)

9789813170575 (e-book)

First Edition

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PATRON’S PAGE

AUTHOR’S PROFILES

A WORD FROM THE BOOK ADVISOR

ENDORSEMENTS

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

FOREWORD

CHAPTER 1 | Edwin Chan

Lessons learnt in failure: From a S$10 million business empire to S$1 million personal debt

CHAPTER 2 | Anthony Chan

The most important ingredient in a successful F&B business

CHAPTER 3 | Christine Sim

Finding the one: How the right mentor can help you create an extraordinary life

CHAPTER 4 | David Leong

仁义礼智信:

Ancient chinese wisdom for building a business that lasts

CHAPTER 5 | Clinton Zheng

The J Curve of success

CHAPTER 6 | Joseph Foo

From idea to a multi-million company: The timeless secret to building a successful company

CHAPTER 7 | Mark Phooi

Making your first pot of gold: Lessons from a local design millionaire

CHAPTER 8 | Teo Peiru

Building a market-leading company from S$500,000 in debt

CHAPTER 9 | PN Balji

Getting exposure the write way

CHAPTER 10 | Roger Koh

How to create an irresistible brand to attract customers for your start-up

CHAPTER 11 | Joel Khoo

How to design and implement a viral marketing campaign

CHAPTER 12 | Raniel Lee

EM3 to under 30 CEO: How Raniel Lee stayed positive in the face of overwhelming adversity

CHAPTER 13 | Elim Chew

How to build genuine relationships with anybody

CHAPTER 14 | Marcus Tan

How to build a great culture to attract the best people for your start-up

CHAPTER 15 | Dr Leong Horn Kee

Lessons learnt from Singapore’s greatest leaders

CHAPTER 16 | Chua Kee Lock

How to raise money for your start-up: Battle-tested insights from Southeast Asia and Singapore’s top venture capitalist

CHAPTER 17 | Darius Cheung

Attracting quality investors: Lessons learnt in raising S$2.16 Million

CHAPTER 18 | Tan Soon Liang

Hawker assistant to venture capital investor and business builder: Fundraising lessons from an early stage start-up investor

CHAPTER 19 | Lai Chang Wen

How I built Southeast Asia’s fastest growing last-mile logistics company

CHAPTER 20 | Anthony Chow

How I created a global business from a local hackathon

CHAPTER 21 | Low Boon Seong

Creating happiness: Your ultimate competitive advantage

CHAPTER 22 | Douglas Chow

Fighting scams: How to tell a genuine business opportunity from a get-rich-quick scheme

CHAPTER 23 | Koh Seng Choon

Business with dignity: Building a social enterprise that lasts

CHAPTER 24 | Prantik Mazumdar

Bonus Chapter: Failing with digital to succeed in your start-up journey

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FROM THE AUTHOR, VINCENT NG

There is an old African proverb that goes: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a team. The book you now hold in your hands was made possible because of the contributions of the following people:

To my family, thank you for your emotional support and believing in me every step of the way of my entrepreneurship journey.

To my co-author Grace Lin, thank you for your dedication and tireless hard work in seeing this idea to fruition.

To our book advisor Christine Sim, thank you for your unconditional support and love for us and for lighting the way ahead, I am eternally grateful.

To Chua Zong You, thank you for journeying with us to complete the interviews with the CEOs. Ben Sim, thank you for coming on board to help us finish the final lap of this book. Our editor Eleanor Yap, thank you for your jokes, energy and working tirelessly with me each week to refine our drafts. Tan Yan Ni and Marilyn Cheah, for spending hours proofreading our final manuscript, any mistakes made are solely mine.

Our book designers Low Wan Lin and the delightful duo from Kudoclasm Creatives Joshua Ang and Grace Chua, thank you for your creative input in turning our manuscript into a beautiful masterpiece. This book is as much your success as it is ours.

The 23 CEOs who kindly agreed to impart their wisdom and be featured. Phoon Kok Hwa and Andrew Chow, for equipping us with the tools to turn our book idea into reality, and for your constant support and accountability. Benjamin Loh and Guy Vincent, for sharing your valuable insights into structuring and publishing your books.

Unice Tan, Payal Lal, Lydia Lee and Valerie Pang, for your friendship and all those delicious Monday evening dinners at UTown that kept me going. Debbie Ng, Nicholas Tan, Jared Ho, Hazel Teng, Vince Cheng, Yan Da Wei, Earnest Wong and Gia Phua, for your friendship and believing in me when I needed it the most.

Lee Min Xuan, Jum Tan, Karen Yeo, Chinmaya Valalan and Tan Yee Hui, for your friendship and that rare feeling of unconditional love and acceptance that is so hard to find. I am so grateful that our paths crossed. My alma mater National University of Singapore for providing high speed WIFI and a vast expanse of space for my creative juices to flow!

And last but not least, thank you for purchasing this book and making an investment in your learning. I am very grateful for your support and may it be one of the best investments you will make.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FROM THE AUTHOR, GRACE LIN

I would like to thank God for giving me the opportunity to co-author my first book and for carrying me through life’s journey, seeing me through whatever that I’ve been through and for reminding me that you are always in control.

My sincere thanks goes to my family, in particular, my mommy Mabel Lee for her unconditional support and unwavering love. I am incredibly thankful that you chose to support whatever ventures I have decided to be a part of. Thank you for sticking with me through the thick and thin and for always being a strong pillar of support in my life.

Thank you to my dear co-author Vincent Ng for your endless dedication, hours spent on planning and for always trying your very best in this book. Thank you Ms Christine Sim, our book advisor, for being the mother hen in the team, offering us your support, expertise and guidance at every step of the way. My gratitude also goes to Dr Leong Horn Kee, for believing in the team and standing by us despite the many hiccups which happened along the way. Thank you Edwin Lee, for reminding us on how to craft a successful pitch for the book and for training Vincent and I to think of the Why and How.

Thank you Wayne Chia for linking us up with Darius Cheung and Marcus and for taking a chance on the young, crazy me on this idea. Thank you for always wanting to support all of my entrepreneurial ventures.

To the 23 CEOs who played a pivotal role in making this book possible, from the bottom of our hearts, the team is eternally thankful for all the trust and generous sharing given. In particular, I would like to thank Mr Joseph Foo, an amazing Christian mentor, for always sending me encouraging messages and asking if I require any help, as well as Mr Koh Seng Choon, for providing guidance and having faith in me.

We are also very thankful for all the endorsements we have received. Among many others, we would like to give special mentions to the following individuals: Andrew Lee, CEO of Seoul Garden, Dr Mike Teng, CEO of Singapore Innovation and Productivity Institute, Dr Elizabeth Martin-Chua, HR Expert and Author of Maximizing Human Capital in Asia and Creating the Fit, Lim Mei Mei, Director, Corporate Brand and Marketing, Singapore Institute of Management and Anthea Ong, social impact entrepreneur, investor, certified life coach and a lovely woman of many hats! Thank you for endorsing us so generously, we are very grateful and humbled.

Thank you Phoon Kok Hwa and Andrew Chow for your amazing author course which gave us much clarity on the direction of the book, as well as providing me with invaluable advice and guidance.

To my truest of friends Corliss Tan, Joycelyn Ho, Vivia Wong, Lim Fang Qi and Marissa Chang, thank you for giving me a listening ear and seeing me grow, stumble and fall in every stage of this journey. I appreciate all the random chats we have and thank you for your encouraging messages just when I needed that positive boost.

Additional thanks go to Samuel Sam, who has been a listening ear and guiding me in life since 10 years ago. To my dearest gramps, Luke Roberts who inspired me to pursue entrepreneurship since the day we first met and for always believing and showering me with plenty of love, kindness and just blessing me in life. To Cheryl Chng for being an advisor in my life, I hope you have seen how I have matured in life. To Bella Kee from Colornet for doing a good job in printing the book, I’m also thankful to my other friends who have stood by me through my highs and lows, I would like to say a million thanks to all of you: Andy Hoon, Titin Hoon, Yasmin Sim, Dominic Ng, Ken Tay, Ken Tong, Edwin Pereira, Quek Jing Yan, Kim Sang Hee, Jack Yu, Germaine Ng, Puifang Chow, Ariel Kuo, Joyce Jiao, Dennis Chan, Christy Lim, Chow Hung Peng, Ng Joon Lin, Christine Koh, Liew Wei Qing, Heng Hui Jie and Wensu Lim.

Lastly, to all my lovely readers: without you, this book would not have existed. I sincerely hope that this book will be beneficial in your entrepreneurial ventures and assist you in keeping that flame of passion burning. May you find success in whatever you desire to achieve in life!

OUR PATRONS

This book Why You Should Fail was made possible by supporters from all over the world. Among all our supporters, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to a select group of people who have made this book possible with their generous pledges as Patrons of the book.

Our sincere thanks to:

Anthony Wong Anthony Chan David Leong Low Boon Seong Koh Seng Choon Joseph Foo Raniel Lee Nai Kheng Wah Law Jia Hong Dato’ Seri Dr Derek Goh, BBM Tan Soon Liang Douglas Chow Anthony Chow Dr Leong Horn Kee

Why You Should Fail

Mark Twain said that the two most important days in our lives are the day we are born and the day we find out why.

After going through what he thought was a massive failure back in 2008, Vincent found himself unmotivated, uninspired and disillusioned. Over the next 8 years, he became a self-improvement junkie, spending all the money he had on motivational books and seminars, hoping to raise his self-esteem and find happiness.

Alas, the initial motivational high after a seminar never lasted and he found himself going through emotional highs and lows. After embarking on a journey of self-discovery in 2016, he realised that lasting happiness comes from within, not the external success formulas preached by motivational gurus that he had been chasing all this time.

He discovered that all he wanted in life was to learn voraciously and use what he learnt to solve the problems faced by people around the world through entrepreneurship. This has led him to several experiences along the way, including growing an education start-up from scratch to S$150,000 in revenue and pro-bono consulting for non-profits and social enterprises to create long term strategic change in the social sector in Singapore.

A recent graduate of the National University of Singapore’s Business School, he believes that business is a force for good and has cultivated a passion for education and social change. He is fascinated by the complexities of human emotions and hopes to grow in the areas of coaching and counselling.

At age 18, most of us are forced to pick a degree when the real choice is what life to pick. His life’s calling is to reimagine higher education in Singapore by setting up an alternative university to help students find and pick the life they want to lead and through that, experience life’s ultimate goal – unconditional happiness.

Vincent Ng

[e-mail]

(65) 9829 5138

Why You Should Fail

Grace Lin is known among her circle of friends as a bubbly person with a go-getter attitude. Affectionately referred to as the purveyor of gourmet popcorn, Grace first developed her passion for entrepreneurship during her university days. In the absence of planning and guidance, she plunged headlong into business, only to find herself caught in the complexities and intrigues of the dog-eat-dog, profit-oriented world of commerce.

Grace first started an events company with partners. However, owing to their lack of experience, the business model was not sustainable. Undeterred by failure, Grace entered into her second venture. She switched to F&B and found a willing mentor in her nascent popcorn business. It would not last, however, due the lack of alignment with her partner. A kitchen explosion late one night finally ground the business to a halt and dealt a harsh psychological blow to Grace.

Life’s unrelenting challenges had impacted the young entrepreneur once more. As Grace sought her purpose in life and tried to redefine her business direction, she discovered the power of resilience and the endearing human qualities of faith, perseverance and integrity. Today, Grace has bounced back even stronger than before. Epitomising the spirit of No Failure, Only Feedback, she has embarked on her third venture, Cornfessions (www.cornfessions.com.sg), a manufacturer and distributor of gourmet popcorn.

Life, however, is not all about business for Grace.

A second-generation Peranakan, Grace possesses a deep passion for the culinary arts and loves experimenting with flavours. She aims to set up her own Peranakan restaurant to showcase her grandmother’s recipes, some of which date back three generations. Grace hopes to bring people together with the rich Peranakan culinary heritage.

A people person, Grace has always been a strong believer of relationships. She loves meeting people and learning about what they do, as well as their interests, goals and fears. Grace actively finds ways to collaborate and grow together with them.

A recent graduate of the Singapore Management University’s School of Business Management, Grace’s long-term goal is to set up a social enterprise. She envisions a world in which people with special needs can integrate into society for the betterment of everyone.

Grace Lin

[e-mail]

(65) 9189 8602

A WORD FROM

THE BOOK ADVISOR

I congratulate both Vincent and Grace for successfully launching their book Why You Should Fail.

As their book advisor for the past few months, I saw how they took a concept and turned it into a reality. They have displayed courage, grit, tenacity, resilience, humility, honesty, integrity, and honoured their word to 23 CEOs to enable them to share their distinctive nuggets of wisdom in this book when both of them first undertook this mammoth project.

As co-authors, they have great teamwork and co-lead in critical phases of the book’s progress. Despite humps that they faced along the way, they never gave up on each other nor on the book. There was cordial mutual respect and understanding. This was truly a higher level of gender intelligence at work. I hope that their good work will bear great fruits in the coming years for them.

I enjoyed working with Grace and Vincent who became my reverse mentors as they shared with me their domain knowledge on digital, social media marketing and their Millennial networks as a resource pool.

This book has brought different generations together as One Force For Good, where there is synergy in diversity. I hope that collectively as a community, we will continue to make a positive impact and create a more sustainable future for every society that we find ourselves in.

I thank Dr Leong Horn Kee for his great faith in the two co-authors and for writing the Book’s highly encouraging foreword. To all readers, please bear in mind that there are three things that will change your lives daily and they are:

#1 - The books you read

#2 - The people that you meet

#3 - The choices that you make

Thanks for buying a copy of Why You Should Fail. What you hold in your hand is a priceless masterpiece!

Blessings,

Christine Sim

www.christinesim.com

[e-mail]

ENDORSEMENTS

Clinton Zheng

Partner, Diamond Walker

I believe that it is more blessed to give than to receive. My life motto is always to add value to at least one person each day and if through this book I can achieve that even when I’m not actively contributing, this leverage enables me to still achieve the same life motto then what is stopping me from sharing what little I know to add value to readers intrigued by entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs.

I believe the book’s main Unique Selling Proposition (USP) will be inspirational content because through the many case studies, one will be able to appreciate that entrepreneurial skills are transferrable to a large degree. And all it takes is the right self-education to be in the know of what you do not know, focus on what you need to do to fill up that do not know gap. Next, all you have to do is to go execute; taking massive action and be appreciative of good things that will happen to the one who fights for those opportunities. The principle of success is no longer abstract. It’s a science and not an art.

Andrew Lee

CEO, Seoul Garden Group

Christine Sim asked me whether I can write an endorsement for the book by Grace and Vincent. After going through the names of the entrepreneurs and some of their stories, I want to thank the two of them for embarking on this journey. They have really given us a true gift by collecting and sharing the experience of how all these entrepreneurs have overcome failures and difficulties and given us insight into some of the important lessons of running a successful business.

It is my hope that this book will inspire many, especially those aspire to be entrepreneur, that success is possible even if one experienced failure in one’s initial venture. We can all learn and grow through the difficult times of our entrepreneur journey, like the examples of all the successful entrepreneurs in this book. Do keep on learning and growing!

Mark Phooi

CEO, First Media Pte Ltd

It is not a common occurrence to witness a team of young and ambitious graduates trying to put together a publication. As a designer and publisher myself, I can envision and empathise with their struggles, especially with limited experience and resources. However, it was their enthusiasm and positive attitude that won me over.

During our first interview, Grace and Vincent struck me as ordinary young graduates with an extraordinary appetite for challenge. Their display of positive attitude and determination were a clear demonstration of their passion, hunger and discipline (PhD), which is a recipe for their future success.

Dr Mike Teng

CEO, Singapore Innovation and Productivity Institute

We are living in the best and worst of times. Many new business models are destroying old business models with the Internet of Things and technology. Companies and individuals need to learn fast as well as fail fast. Thus this book is very appropriate and timely. It is a recommended book to read for entrepreneurs, corporate executives and individuals who want to learn how to handle changes.

Roger Koh

CEO, Chen Fu Ji Holdings

We all know 10 out of 10 start-ups will fail. Success belongs to those who continue trying on the 11th time. While success has to be earned through going through hardships and difficulties, I hope that with the mentoring and wisdom shared in this book, readers can find success within the 10 attempts.

Douglas Chow

CEO, Empower Advisory

It’s a humbling experience to be featured among outstanding personalities who have embarked on their entrepreneurial journeys in their own ways. The experiences, strategies and lessons shared in this compilation are rich and there should be something insightful for every reader to mull over. There is no one defined path of success in entrepreneurship and one can only look back to assess, long after the first step is taken. So be bold, do your homework and take that first step. There’s no better time than now!

Anthony Chan

Co-founder, Coffee Hive

It was a privilege to be featured as it gives us a chance to share with aspiring entrepreneurs what we went through. I think it is always tough to start out in a new business but a little bit of precious advice shared from someone who has walked the path could save an entrepreneur a lot of heartache.

I have received a lot of good advice from experienced business people along my journey and I hope that others could benefit too, by the experience shared in this book.

Lim Mei Mei

Director, Corporate Brand and Marketing, Singapore Institute of Management

Putting every coin into the coin bank would be my analogy for the stories in this book. It is not the size of the capital that each of the entrepreneurs started their businesses with that matter but the sheer size of their grit and resilience in putting back every coin into an empty coin bank when their businesses failed. The lessons that aspiring entrepreneurs can draw from this book will be the tipping points in creating the ‘Aha’ experiences with your service or product and the tilting points in bringing your business around from the edge of failure.

Anthea Ong

Social impact entrepreneur, investor and certified life coach

I dare to fail is what I tell myself with each innovation. Because I’ve learned, from living through failures, that if I’m not failing every now and again, it’s a sign I’m not doing anything very innovative. Why You Should Fail is my secret wish come true for Singapore and our young to celebrate failures so that we can become a more innovative and resilient economy and society. I encourage every aspiring entrepreneur to read this book to get invaluable insights from the featured CEOs.

Dr Elizabeth Martin-Chua

HR Expert, Author of Maximizing Human Capital in Asia and Creating the Fit

This book gives good insights into successful people and how their values, behaviours and actions speak louder than words. On top of these attributes, the individuals featured possess business acumen and wisdom, sustaining their businesses over time despite economic uncertainties and fierce competition. An interesting book!

Raniel Lee

CEO, Jobook

With so many of the entrepreneurs that are part of this book having different experiences, it helps to provide aspiring entrepreneurs with more clarity in their journey. This book will act as a light to many readers and I strongly believe it can and will help many people who are keen to help themselves.

Steven D’Souza

Co-author, Not Knowing: The Art of Turning Uncertainty into Possibility

It is time we all developed a new relationship to failure. Not as something to avoid but something that is a valuable part of becoming truly successful. While personal experience is the best teacher, the next best thing is taking seriously the hard earned wisdom that is imparted by others. Why You Should Fail gives you essential learnings from those who have adopted a new relationship to failure or setbacks, from across diverse industries in a way that is not only enlightening but practical too. After reading this book, you may not fail more, but you will be more resilient.

Edwin Chan

Founder, Cambridge Institute

As a seasoned entrepreneur who has sailed through the trials and tribulations of business, I was greatly impressed by the entrepreneurial spirits of the two young graduates and their eagerness to write a book about the ups and downs of the accomplished business leaders and battle-toughened entrepreneurs.

This is a read for earnest and aspiring entrepreneurs, business people, and anyone who longs for success in their professional endeavours. After reading this book, you will realise that a Loser is a person who surrenders to failure after losing an encounter whereas a Looser will always break loose from the grip of failure and combat it relentlessly until he rebounds as a winner. Hence, always respect failure as a worthy opponent and as a springboard to greater success.

Viswa Sadasivan

CEO, Strategic Moves Pte Ltd

My first reaction when told of this book was that it’s yet another compilation of inspirational stories. I was pleasantly mistaken. Why You Should Fail is a disciplined endeavour that gets under the skin of entrepreneurs. Those featured aren’t celebrities. They are regular people with real experiences you and I can relate to. Presented systematically, the lessons shared are intuitive with practicable tips. No management jargon or concepts. It is a most helpful read for budding entrepreneurs, and a refreshing reminder for their more seasoned counterparts not to lose sight of the basics.

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

When Vincent was a cadet training to be a Section Commander during my National Service days in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), his trainers gave each of them a light blue, pocket sized handbook on their very first day of training.

Called the Section Commander’s Handbook, it was a detailed guide covering various aspects of the military, from tactics for movement under enemy fire right down to the exact items that made up an individual soldier’s field pack.

Just like the handbook, this book was written to be a tactical guide in various aspects of starting a profitable and sustainable company. While there are many nuggets of inspiration featured here, our focus is on application. It is packed with tons of real life examples, exercises, action steps and strategies that you can begin to use immediately in building your start-up.

To get the maximum value out of your investment in this book, be an active reader. Highlight sentences you find insightful, bookmark pages you liked, write down questions you have and most importantly, apply the strategies you have learnt. Don’t let this be just another book collecting dust on your bookshelf. Information is power when acted upon.

Beyond the strategies included in the chapters, be sure to also check out the resource section at the end of the book. It contains links to other comprehensive resources, scripts, templates and exercises that would be helpful for you in growing your start-up.

Feel free to drop us an email if you enjoyed reading the book, have any feedback or need help with your business venture. We will do our best to link you up with the right resources and mentors!

FOREWORD

Every young person aspires to be a successful entrepreneur. He or she awes at the successes of well-known individuals like Jack Ma, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Everyone is seeking the secret recipe to success! However, not everyone can be as successful and some fail.

Last year, when Christine Sim, one of the business leaders profiled in this book, introduced me to Grace and Vincent, I was struck by the purpose and boldness of their proposed book. I immediately agreed to assist them with alacrity.

The two had this wonderful idea to interview a number of established and seasoned businessmen and businesswomen so as to distill from them the essence of their successes and failures – to be compiled into a book so that readers could learn from their lessons. I thought this was indeed a worthy project by a band of university students.

At that time, I was gathering a group of mentors for the newly created The Entre Club (TEC) – a private initiative to find weathered businessmen and businesswomen who were prepared to guide young aspiring entrepreneurs. It was handy that several of the TEC mentors readily agreed to be interviewed for the book.

The significant differentiation of this book is that this is an effort motivated and conducted by university students. They wrote up the various interviews from a young person’s viewpoint, and presented the stories, anecdotes and commentaries in a refreshing as well as readable manner.

In the book, there are numerous recounts of deep and engaging experiences of chief executives and founders of businesses at all stages, industries and ages: from the co-founder of up-and-coming start-up Carousell, Marcus Tan, to the CEO of listed company Jason Marine, Joseph Foo. Readers will profit from these shared experiences. It also contains records of some failures and demonstrates why failure is in fact an important stepping stone to eventual success. Perseverance is also a consistent vocabulary in the refrains of these seasoned campaigners.

I recall that an old friend shared with a gathering of young people at a talk conducted by TEC of his tough experience in starting up a business. He disclosed that when he opened his first company, he was unable to sign up a single contract for the first nine months! I quietly wondered whether I myself would have persevered if I had opened an office and didn’t secure a single deal for nine months.

My friend said he finally secured a small deal from a Malaysian client who thought that the Singapore-based company would be better suited to provide superior products and services. From that first contract, my friend didn’t look back. After 20 years, he grew his business to attain over S$1 billion in revenues. Eventually his company was listed in the Singapore Stock Exchange, and was later sold to an overseas group for several hundred millions.

This book is by far not about magic portions or secret recipes. It is a readable and entertaining book on the most remarkable real-life business experiences of people who have walked a long and arduous path in their lives. It is praiseworthy that these people were so willing to share their invaluable thoughts and wealth of experience. Also, the bottom line of three advice points from each interviewee will serve as lighthouses for young entrepreneurs sailing on their journeys through potential stormy and hazardous seas.

I congratulate the intrepid duo – Grace and Vincent – on the success of their book and I wish them success in whatever career paths they each will embark upon.

Dr Leong Horn Kee

Founder, The Entre Club

Former Member of Parliament, Singapore (1984 - 2006)

Why You Should Fail

Edwin Chan built Cambridge Institute in 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis into one of Singapore’s largest and best-known language schools with a simple slogan – speak a new language in just two months.

At its peak in 2007, it served over 10,000 students, offering a mix of full and part time courses, including 16 languages such as English, French, German and Japanese,