It was our privilege to be able to meet these guests at such short notice – we met with DPM Teo, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Ms Sim Ann, and Education Perm Sec Ms Chan Lai Fung. Since they were in Beijing for an official visit, so that probably made them want to know more about how Singaporean are faring in China.

Exploring the Grey Areas
One issue was very related to us – entrepreneurship in Singapore and China. Several concerns were raised, comparing the size of the markets in both countries, it could be almost a consensus that China is a promising market to think about in terms of scalability. Exploring the ‘grey areas’ is also something that is very different from Singapore, where everyone abides by rules strictly and have things documented in black and white. Grey areas have their boons and banes. It can work for you if you have the right contacts, and manage to find your way through the loopholes; it can work against you if you’re on the receiving end of the people who can do the same to you. It then boils down to the relationships forged and having the resourcefulness to find alternative solutions for the same problem, which is something Singaporeans are really not accustomed to.

Bilingual Singaporeans?
The difference between Singapore & China is a topic that has been discussed too often, so I shall not dwell on that. Another interesting issue brought up was the bilingual policy introduced by the Singapore Education system way back then. The question was asked, do we think that the policy actually helped us when we grew up? The answer was unanimously affirmative. Understanding the current trend that students of this generation dislike learning Chinese as a language, often makes me think that they are actually losing out on a lot, in terms of future opportunities and self development. Coming from a background of learning both English and Higher Chinese, I tend to appreciate the values that the culture has taught me, and of course, the number of doors that have opened when people realize that Singaporeans such as myself have this advantage of being effectively bilingual. In fact, that is one overarching advantage that we should grab at this moment. I remember former MM Lee justifying the bilingual policy having an advantage that allows Singaporeans to benefit by playing the role of being the middleman of Asia and the West. And I’m having first hand experience of playing that role while working at my company here in Beijing. To be honest, at this point in time, Singaporeans do have the advantage, but whether this can be sustained, it is something we can think about.

We also heard from Ms Sim that in a bid to alter education policies with changing times, translation will be added to the school curriculum, to encourage students to learn the language more effectively, and more importantly, receiving the potential usefulness of learning both languages through actual translation. Definitely, the process of learning may be tedious to some, but I’m sure the benefits to be reaped will be aplenty.

In fact, Mr Heng had to leave for his flight back to Singapore right after our scheduled session, and we took a group photo with the ministers!

The session started off with one of the partners, Jason, sharing with us his views about entrepreneurship.

“Many of the successful entrepreneurs did not have the best or most brilliant ideas. They succeeded because they believe in what they are doing, persevere when things were hard and kept working towards their goals.”

We then proceeded on to understand more about the concept of Big Bang Café. Started last autumn, Big Bang Café is not only the standard café that provides coffee, food and physical place to work; it is also an incubator for new start-ups. Different from other cafés like Garage Café, Beta Café and 3W café is that Big Bang Café is more focused on the consumer goods/service industry and currently has a few incubated companies with them. Jason shared that one thing he noticed in China was the lack of interaction and exchange of ideas among the different people as they fear their ideas might be copied. He hopes that the café can help to solve this problem.

As I previously worked in a company with a similar concept, I was really interested in how things worked out in the incubator. I found out that the café tries to build a healthy ecosystem with different stakeholders that can value add to each other. This allows the start-ups to help each other in their growing phase and whenever a party grows stronger, the other party stands to benefit a little as well. I thought it was a really smart move.

Overall I think this trip down to Big Bang Café was a fruitful one, and I hope the following few company visits that some of the YEANsters are attending will be as good or even better! Below are some photos from the visit.

YEAN was out on full force for Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) 2012 last Thursday and Friday. Our very own YEANster, Zhang Min, played an integral part to the success of this event (the company she is interning in is the organiser for GMIC 2012). Some of the YEANsters were volunteers at the event, while some helped out at their company booths at the conference. As for me, I was just there as one of the 4000 over conference attendees.

GMIC 2012 conference comprised of two main parts, the panel discussions and interviews and the G-STARTUP competition. The conference allows participants to interact with each other, to learn from top industry influencers (via the discussions and interviews), and to promote their initiatives (via G-STARTUP).

I feel that the different panel discussions and interviews mainly revolved around two main themes:

1. Innovation in China
2. The budding entrepreneurs’ guidebook

With “Innovation in China” being a hot topic over the past few months, I was not surprised to hear it in this conference. Despite being an overly used topic in conferences, there were some interesting points from the different high-calibre speakers. I feel that among the different definitions of innovations, the one given by the CEO of Moca World, Song Xiaofei stood out the most.

 “As long as you can earn money, you are innovating. You cannot earn money without innovating.”

His definition drew many strong disagreements from the rest of the panelist as they have their own definitions. Justin Mallen, CEO of Silk Road Telecommunications said that as long as it is a new solution to an existing problem, it is an innovation. He added that China also has innovations, just that the Chinese are humble and do not share about their innovation with others (spread the good news) unlike the foreigners who are proud to showcase their new innovations.

In response to the question “What does China lacks to promote innovation”, Executive Director of Danqoo, Wang Qiangyu, felt that the Chinese government has been doing too much. The over-protection and assistance given by the government to the local firms, allowed the firms to settle in their comfort zone, hence losing the motivation to innovate (to survive) unlike their foreign peers. Tang Bin, CEO and Co-founder Yeepay, felt that the environment in China is not too receptive to innovations as many Chinese VCs shunned firms that are too different (which could be innovative) as they are afraid of the hidden risks.

I think what Phil Larsen, CMO of Halfbrick (famous for the game Fruit Ninja), nicely sums up the topic of innovation. He said that you will never know where the source of your innovation. I fully agree with him, and by constantly exploring new alternatives and ideas, one can one day put together the experience and lessons learnt to good use and come out with brilliant innovations.

For the other theme, many successful entrepreneurs shared their experience with us. One of them was Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote. He shared with the audience how he managed the company, how he is still able to instil the start-up culture in such a big firms and his goals for Evernote. Another key figure that shared about his success story was the CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun. He shared how being focused, extreme, fast and the power of word of mouth helped Xiaomi rose in popularity back then.

Overall, this conference has been a great one for YEAN as many of us had lots of takeaways (both literally and figuratively) from it. I personally learnt a lot from the different activities and I am sure the rest of the YEANsters enjoyed their own version of GMIC 2012. Be sure to come back to check out their experiences at the event as well!

Speaking to some of the local operators, it seems like the very high basic data quota of 12G that Singapore consumers are given are not that big a problem for the revenue streams. Of course it is reducing drastically the revenue from voice and SMS services traditionally offered by the operators, by over-the-top (OTT) players such as Whatsapp, Viber, Skype and Facebook.

However, operators seem confident of retaining their customers and revenue streams, sharing their targeted marketing campaigns where they advertise different services which different groups of consumers are interested in. There is almost zero complaints with regards to these campaigns.

Most operators also shared their ideas on increasing revenue from prepaid card users.

In markets such as Indonesia where prepaid cards are common, operators have bundled packages, charging the consumers based on a pack of data they use for different applications such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube etc. This is supposedly an educational process; getting users previously not familiar with these applications to start using data. Though personally as a consumer I feel that this is pretty much charging me for things that I don’t necessarily will use.

Overall, the conference was a good opportunity to understand the developments of the region outside China. And also allowed me to spend more time back home in sunny Singapore

Haagen Dazs and Milo finally!

In view of International Women’s Day, we invited our first ever female speaker for our March episode of Ideas for Singapore. Our speaker for the day, Siok Siok, is a filmmaker and an entrepreneur in Beijing. Having been in China for the past few years, she not only shared with the audience her journeys and experiences in Beijing, and engaged them with her personal opinions, she also helped to stimulate more discussions by posting questions to the crowd.

Being an entrepreneur is not easy

One key take-away from the session is what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Siok Siok revealed that the path of an entrepreneur is not an easy one, and one would need lots of stamina to last the distance. There are a few key things an entrepreneur should possess and do:

1. The capability to get things done even under extreme uncertainty (like in China)
2. The insight and conviction to work on what you have in mind
3. The ability to think on the spot and adjust quickly
4. Be aware of your strengths and find someone to complement your weakness

Other matters that were discussed during the session include embrace uncertainty and have an open mind, how we should not only look within Singapore but also out of it, and how Singaporean fare in the China’s unique business environment and how we can navigate around it.

All in all, the March episode of Ideas for Singapore was a successful one, with the guest interacting with the audience and engaging in discussions of different topic. So look out for our next episode of Ideas for Singapore in April!

liaised with Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City for an industrial visit to the area (a component in the NOC program YEAN always look forward to!).

Despite the immense disappointment of being rejected by NOC for our sponsorship, YEAN decided to self-fund and proceed on with our entrepreneurial excursion! Upon reaching Tanggu, a district in Tianjin, we had a mini bus to ferry us to Eco-City. As we approached the city, we were shocked by its stark resemblance to Singapore. Blocks of housing were built in clusters, and different clusters formed a community which in turn, belonged to a part of a neighbourhood with common facilities like schools and hospitals. I guess this was where Singapore played her part in imparting knowledge (e.g. city planning) and other technologies.

Our guide brought us around and introduced the city to us. The city was built upon barren land, and it wasn’t an easy feat to build a sustainable green city on it, making it even more impressive upon completion of the city. We were also introduced to the different green technologies that are or will be employed (the city is still under construction) in the city.

We were shown the different buildings that would house the different companies and introduced some of the plans of the city to attract these companies. The main attraction of eco-city is that there is an entire business eco-system within it. Companies can manufacture, market and sell their products and services all within eco-city itself. It can even conduct its research work in the city, with a pool of available audience as their product testers. Although the eco-city is currently only looking for established Mulit-National Companies (MNCs) to set up, I believe there are still a lot of opportunities for small start-ups to explore and venture into. Our YEAN tech-guru, Tian Chang felt like-wise and believe that there are opportunities for companies to provide services to these big companies or even the city itself.

“With all the dust on the solar panels, the efficiency is greatly reduced, so what can be done? Can we have a miniature robot to keep it clean constantly?”

I believe that this trip was not just another pleasure walk-about trip for all of us as we definitely took back many valuable lessons and experiences. Not only did we learn about the city and the collaboration between the two countries, we also drew a few entrepreneurial lessons from it.

1. Dare to challenge the impossible. By building a sustainable city on a piece of barren land, both countries are trying to overcome the odds that Mother Nature set for us.
2. Do not only look at the short-term returns, but plan ahead. Had Singapore only looked at short term benefits, the eco-city would not be possible as there would not be much (if there are any) gains for Singapore.
3. There are always opportunities for entrepreneurs, just be on the lookout. With the eco-city still in its early stage of development, there are plenty of opportunities for businesses to enter the market, and who knows; maybe you will see a YEANster starting up there

Indeed, it would be too myopic if one thinks that the eco-city is not related to entrepreneurship. Just like what YEAN President, Jason, said,

“Entrepreneurship is not all about making money and doing big businesses or creating empires of wealth. In fact, it is dangerous to assume that you are unable to learn about entrepreneurship via seemingly non-related areas.”

Overall, I think all of us had a great learning experience, and just like what Zhang Min, one of the YEANster, said,

“This trip was just awesome. It makes us feel proud that despite being a small country our society model and management processes was considered as a role model for other countries. All of us would definitely be looking forward to see how Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City will develop in the years to come.”

After the educational and fruitful visit, YEAN headed to Tianjin City for lots of fun and laughter. It was a great trip, as it provided the senior and junior batch an excellent opportunity to get to know each other more and forge stronger bonds. Check out our Facebook page for the wonderful moments we have in Tianjin!

Arriving in Tianjin via the high-speed train!

To give a short introduction, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City is a collaboration between the governments of China and Singapore to develop a thriving city that is socially harmonious, environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient. The first of its kind, the Tianjin Ec0-City will then be a model for sustainable development for other cities in China.

Looking at the eco city, we realised that many aspects were very much influenced by Singapore’s urban planning methods. They had the community and regional estates, which is very similar to Singapore’s concept of neighbourhoods. Also, we were introduced to the various green methods that the city will operate on; and steps that will be taken to make the city an efficient and green one. In fact, an interesting thing about the Eco-City was the location it was built on. According to the guide, the grounds were supposed to be very unsuitable for sustainable development, and it would be a feat if the city were to be transformed into the Eco-City it had planned to be.

Definitely, it would be extremely myopic if we were to think that visiting the eco-city only allowed us to learn about the city’s urban plans. On top of understanding the city, entrepreneurial lessons can be drawn from the visit as well.

The overarching lesson was to see the collaborative efforts of both the Chinese and Singaporean governments, coming together to create the first city of its kind. Singapore being an island with no natural resources, venturing out seems to be the next viable option to maintain relevant. Besides the eco-city, another example would be the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park.

Entrepreneurship is not all about making money and doing big businesses or creating empires of wealth. In fact, it is dangerous to assume that you are unable to learn about entrepreneurship via seemingly non-related areas.

From the green efforts we have seen at the eco-city; the way the eco-city is being run; how the city became what it was from plain fields; the efficiency in the construction process; steps taken to make the city a success story, including the seemingly peripheral details, all these did add to the learning process in some way.

Concluding our visit, our trip to the Tianjin Eco-City is certainly not merely an excursion, it is a learning journey for all of us.

Some pictures taken during the visit:

Flags representing the companies that have already agreed to set up bases in the city; with more to come.

Visiting the Ec0-City Information Centre.

The Tianjin Eco-City master plan.

Taking a group picture with the Eco-City signage.

With that, we ended our visit to the Eco-City, and moved on to the city of Tianjin! Pictures on the Tianjin journey!

Bought our 许愿灯！

The Old Cultural Street! (古文化街)

The Italian Styled Town!

Our 2 day trip flew past just like that.. Back to Beijing, after a fulfilling trip to Tianjin!

The university pools here are much better. In order to swim the deep, lane marker, pool, you must pass a deep water test. The test involves showing your passport, paying ~10 RMB, swimming 400m and treading water for a few minutes. It seems like a pain but really, people in the deep pools actually swim. Then there is the shallow pool where people can soak themselves or stand in the middle of the lanes for as long as they want. But really, in terms of hygiene, I find the pools here a little better than public pools in Singapore. First off, it is a must for all swimmers to wear swim caps when swimming; no swim caps, no swimming, no uh, no ahs. Most pools here also come with hot shower facilities. And because there’s the hot shower, most swimmers take a shower before entering the pool. The hot shower probably, and I am just guessing here, increases the probability of swimmers emptying themselves before entering the pool, and thereby decreasing the probability of swimmers emptying themselves in the pool.

Ah well… time for another swim to swim away that winter blubber.