SINGAPORE – It has never been easier to become an entrepreneur in the digital economy – even a teenager can do it.
Young people are, in fact, more likely to want to be the boss, according to a survey of over 1,000 employees in the United States in 2022 by global management consultancy United Minds and American market researcher KRC Research.
Thirty-eight per cent of Gen Z employees polled aspired to be a chief executive officer, compared with 18 per cent of Gen X, 21 per cent of baby boomers and 31 per cent of millennials.
Gen Z are those born between 1997 and 2012, according to the Pew Research Center.
These ambitious young people are challenging conventions and breaking barriers, says Ms Tan Ching Ching, director of Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s innovation and entrepreneurship office, The Sandbox.
“Today’s youth have an insatiable hunger to see meaningful changes in the community and want to drive ideas and solutions that ultimately have a positive impact on the people around them. They are highly attuned to the existing gaps in communities and ecosystems and are motivated to address these head-on,” she says.
This Youth Day, meet three gutsy young Singaporean bosses whose setbacks have made their successes that much sweeter.
He started his first business after PSLE
Ryan Koh looks like any other teenager, except for the gleaming Rolex GMT-Master II Root Beer watch on his left wrist.
He shows off the dual-toned timepiece, bought with $27,500 of his hard-earned money for his 18th birthday in May.
“It is a testament to myself that whatever I want, as long as I work hard enough, I can get it eventually. It’s just a matter of time and focus and drilling in the direct direction,” he says.
He worked 7 days a week to earn his first $100,000
In 2017, Mr Lenney Leong had less than $10,000 in his bank account before he entered national service.
But from 2021 to 2022, his advertising agency, Get Customers, amassed more than $1 million in revenue, as seen in financial statements Mr Leong shares with The Straits Times.
It is quite the achievement for the entrepreneur, who turns 26 this year and scored 189 for his Primary School Leaving Examination.
Her inclusive clothing line sold out on day one
When Ms Anda Chaudhry, 27, launched her inclusive clothing range, Wearbums, in September 2020, she bought enough stock to last six months.
Her inventory, targeted at petite to plus-sized women, sold out online on day one, even without customers being able to try on her jeans, which were priced at $89.90 each.
Not only did she recoup her initial start-up cost of “less than $20,000”, but she also made a three-fold profit.
