What global challenges and factors of transformation will enterprises and entrepreneurs face? How can enterprises and entrepreneurs creatively exploit technology, capital, innovations, and collaboration models in the future landscape?

These questions were addressed at the sixth and culminating edition the six-part Enterprise & Entrepreneur Series – Transforming Industries • Creating Value. Co-organised by The EDB Society and Singapore Management University, the session took place at SMU’s Mochtar Riady Auditorium on 16 October 2018 (Tuesday).

Themed Entrepreneurship - Singapore & Beyond, the evening forum was moderated by Prof Annie Koh, SMU Vice President, Office of Business Development and Professor of Finance. More than 280 guests comprising business leaders, entrepreneurs, government officials, EDB alumni as well as SMU students and alumni were present.  

In his welcome remarks, Mr Lee Suan Hiang, President of The EDB Society said that the many insights mined from the past forums of the entire Series would be collated by The EDB Society and sent to Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat. Mr Heng had launched the Series in January 2018 as Guest-of-Honour.

“Looking at the state of play today, the entrepreneurship scene has changed a fair bit since the EDB first started working with entrepreneurs in Singapore. Then, many entrepreneurs had no choice when they chose their careers. Today, entrepreneurs are celebrated as role models, and perhaps, even rock stars,” said Mr Lee. “Enterprises with rock solid foundations are leading the way.”

Distinguished speakers and panellists who tackled the agenda that evening included:

• Mr Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB);
• Mr Ron Sim, Founder of OSIM and Chairman of V3 Group;
• Mr Tan Min Liang, Co-founder and CEO of Razer Inc;
• Mr Derek Lau, CEO of Heliconia Management, Pte Ltd; and
• Mr Kiren Kumar, Assistant Manageing Director of EDB. 

Delivering a speech, Mr Wee shared how his grandfather had first started UOB 83 years ago. “The bank continues to be focused on creating long term value, giving back to the communities in which it operates and nurturing future generations of leaders,” said Mr Wee. “While UOB is no longer a start-up today, we can see how the spirit of enterprise is crucial to its survival, especially in a fast-changing world. We must be prepared to disrupt ourselves rather than to be disrupted by others.”

A career banker, Mr Wee joined UOB in 1979 and served as Deputy Chairman and President of the Bank from 2000. On 27 April 2007, he assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer. Active in industry development, Mr Wee is a council member of The Association of Banks in Singapore, The Institute of Banking & Finance and the Indonesia-Singapore Business Council.

In the panel discussion that followed, Prof Koh kept up the pace and energy of the discussion with questions such as how entrepreneurs should transform their business models and what each panellist had done right to achieve the present sweet spot of success. Given that the world of start-ups is notoriously dotted with failures and exits, she asked panellists what the ticket to long term sustainability was, and their advice for today’s young entrepreneurs

According to Derek, one can exercise entrepreneurship to get ahead, whether he is a worker or an owner of a business. He highlighted the fact that his team takes a good look at what actually drives an entrepreneur, as well as the intangibles of a business. Equipped with more than a decade of experience in investment banking before he joined Heliconia Capital Management as CEO and Board member in April 2013, Derek specialises in mezzanine debt, project finance, leveraged buyout and private equity investments.

Heliconia is Temasek’s wholly owned investment firm, focusing on growth-oriented Singapore SMEs. Most of its portfolio companies are in consumer, healthcare, manufacturing or technology sectors. Heliconia also invests in companies outside Singapore with the intention of helping Singapore SMEs gain access to new markets or technology, extend value chain and product line.

“Time really does fly. OSIM turns forty years old next year,” Ron mused, to applause from the audience. Despite the tides of change over the past decades, OSIM has stayed relevant because it continues to innovate and move with the times. “In this new digital era, I’m embracing new technology almost every day. So many opportunities have been created for companies. Organisational culture, which is driven by the CEO and leadership of a company; styles; standards; speed and sustainability; determine success,” he said.

Ron defines entrepreneurship as “a function of resourcefulness and resilience. Resourcefulness as a characteristic, whether you are with or without resources, and resilience referring to getting up from each fall.” Ron first started a trading company in 1979 selling general household items and later branched into home healthcare products. He then expanded the OSIM brand business overseas to Hong Kong in 1986 and Taiwan in 1987. Under his leadership, OSIM was publicly listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in July 2000.

Today, Ron oversees the formulation of the strategic direction of the V3 Group Limited, which operates a wide point-of-sales network through the three specialty retail brands of OSIM, TWG Tea and GNC. With more than 670 outlets in 141 cities, across 24 countries in Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe and North America, the group continuously innovates, accelerating growth within its existing bands and utilizing its expertise to penetrate new markets and acquire new brands and businesses. According to Ron, it helps for entrepreneurs to have a long term vision. He recounted how a banker had once told him, “Ron, you are selling facts and fundamental, but what people want to buy are dreams and hope.”

Over the years, Ron has been recognised for these achievements by being named the Ernst & Young ‘Entrepreneur of The Year 2003’ and winning the Business Times ‘Businessman of the Year 2003’ award as well as the Singapore Corporate Awards (2012) ‘Best CEO Award’.

Collaboration was a key success factor that the panellists agreed on. In support of Min Liang’s view that traditional companies and start-ups can and should work together, Ron quipped, “Min Liang, every gamer needs a chair.”

Min Liang’s leadership had resulted in the growth of Razer from a two-man startup to a multinational market leader employing over 2,000 employees. He left a promising career in law in 2005 to start Razer, a gaming lifestyle company focused on the youth and millennials, with the motto "For Gamers. By Gamers.” More than a decade later, Razer has sold millions of gaming tablets, laptops, mice and software, acquiring a huge global following as seen by the 8 million fans on its Facebook page.

Named one of “The 25 Most Creative People in Tech” by Business Insider in 2015, as well as on Fortune Magazine’s “Unicorn List” in 2015, Min Liang said, “Keeping your mind completely open to possibilities is important. In Singapore, we tend to put ourselves in brackets, whether from a governmental or institutional perspective.... It’s better to fail early and to learn early, and to do a little bit more.”

“For us, the three things that have helped, from my perspective, is firstly to have a vision and goal towards building something incredible,” he said. “Secondly, bring in the right people, who have a common culture and a common vision towards a concerted goal. Thirdly, the truly great companies today that are creating great categories, partner with each other.”

From a government perspective, Kiren underscored how the EDB had always been the cheerleader for local entrepreneurs. He said, “From my vantage point, we’ve been very busy building industries from scratch in the areas of technology, chemicals, bioengineering. To be sure, technology has brought down barriers to entry for certain markets.”

A 17-year stalwart with the EDB, Kiren presently oversees the Infocomms and Media industry cluster, Marketing and Communications division, Customer Experience Management and Singapore Welcome Centre for Corporates. Since joining the EDB in 2001, Kiren has worked on various portfolios including economic policies formulation and industry development. During his secondment to the International Enterprise Singapore, he assisted Singapore-based companies to expand into the Asian, European and American markets.

In the face of tremendous digital disruption and given his experience working closely with multinational corporations Kiren believes that “the party is just getting started for Singapore Inc. and for companies to address the opportunities around us.” Southeast Asia is the frontier market for growth, with more than half of the world’s population living within a six-hour flight radius of Singapore. With Singapore companies innovating in Asia, for Asia, the city-state is in a good position to differentiate itself as a hub where companies can play to win in the areas of fintech, autonomous vehicles, e-commerce. According to Kiren, EDB has been working with the likes of Razer, to attract multinationals as well as to grow Singapore’s “local timber” of enterprises to create a vibrant and diverse ecosystem of entrepreneurs.

In closing, Prof Koh summed up the key factors for entrepreneurial success: long term vision and leadership style; the right people to uphold standards; being quick to the game and a believer of speed; and investing in the sustainability of a business.

About the Enterprise & Entrepreneur Series

The Enterprise & Entrepreneur Series aims to draw insights from inspiring entrepreneurs and industry leaders, explore how Singapore can exploit new opportunities leveraging on megatrends and growth themes, as well as to create a platform for sharing, learning and networking among business trailblazers with aspiring young entrepreneurs.

The Series was launched on 31 January 2018 by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Finance, where he and distinguished panellists set the scene on Singapore’s changing landscape and suggested responses to global disruptions.  The subsequent forums and discussion themes were:

• Digital Business Platforms - Transforming Industries on 6 March
• Advanced Manufacturing and Urban Solutions - Pushing Frontiers on 17 April
• The Business of Living Longer and Well on 6 June
• Food and AgriTech - Innovations and New Opportunities on 21 August 

This initiative is supported by the Economic Development Board (EDB).

 [Featured photo: (from left) Mr Derek Lau, CEO of Heliconia Management Pte Ltd; Mr Ron Sim, Founder of OSIM and Chairman of V3 Group; Prof Annie Koh, SMU Vice President, Office of Business Development; Mr Tan Min Liang, Co-founder and CEO of Razer Inc; and Mr Kiren Kumar, Assistant Managing Director of EDB at the Enterprise & Entrepreneur Series on 16 October 2018.]