The number one problem many startup founders face is finding the market niche that isn't already saturated by market giants and numerous small players. How did these young founders find slivers of opportunities in some of the most traditional industries like F&B, human resources and shipping and turned those slivers into profit-making gold? Find out from this panel to learn how you can still find business opportunities in traditional or saturated markets.

Rina Loh
FoodZaps

Clinton Li
Orama

and

Nigel Lim
Payboy

Moderator: John Lin, Get Consulting

According to figures from the World Economic Forum, in 2015, women comprised only 25% of people working in computing, with Asian women making up just 5% of this number. The numbers have risen in the last few years, but there still remains a gap in the tech scene for women. In this panel, we find out from female movers and shakers in the local tech scene on their journey in tech and what the future looks like for women in tech.

Siew Choo Soh
DBS

Janet Uy
Oracle

and

Jayantika Soni
Resync

Moderator: Pauline Sim, UOB

Eddie Lee started his technology solutions company in 1998 and had successfully sold it off for a seven figure sum in 2014. He later co-founded SeedIn which grew to be Singapore’s leading marketplace lending platform licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Across Asia Pacific, SeedIn has funded over USD 2 billion to businesses. Currently, Eddie is the CEO and co-founder of Rai Capital, a crowdlending platform in Cambodia. Find out how Eddie has become so successful in pivoting his business - and himself.

Eddie Lee
Rai Capital and Pilon

Interviewer: Raymus Koh, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Grain was founded in 2014 with the mission to create meaningful food experiences for everyone. While they appear to be like any other food delivery or catering company on the surface, Grain has disrupted the F&B industry completely with its full-stack approach to the food delivery model. instead of partnering with restaurants, Grain uses a data-driven approach to create and optimise dishes as well as food concepts with their in-house R&D team. These are prepared and delivered to customers from their own cloud-kitchens islandwide. Grain recently raised a US$10 million in a series B round led by Thailand's Singha Ventures, which will enable them to expand to other Asian cities — starting with Bangkok. In this interview, find out from Shawn Liam, Grain's Director of Digital Products on how Grain leverages tech to navigate the volatile F&B industry.

Shawn Liam
Grain

Interviewer: Parwin Sandhu, The Sandbox, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Statistics show that 90% of all startups fail and only 40% actually turning a profit. With such dismal results, it should seem quite foolish to get into the startup scene. Yet, in January 2020 alone, there were 600 unicorns (privately held startups with a value of over $1 billion) globally. In Singapore, the number of startups continues to rise every single year. Gaining success with your startup is possible, but it is key to start and continue your journey on the right path. In this sharing, glean insights from Benjamin Mah, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence of Pollinate, the only inter-polytechnic incubator in Singapore and find out how Pollinate is supporting the growth of born-and-bred Singaporean startups.

Benjamin Mah
Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Pollinate

As the third largest bank in Southeast Asia (by assets), UOB has stood the test of time for the past 85 years, innovating the way people experience banking. In this unique segment, 3 speakers will bring to you different aspects of banking innovation such as UOB Mighty app innovation success story, UOBAM robo-investing and how small business owners can start a business successfully in the digital age.

Aaron Chiew
UOB

Benice Lau
UOB Asset Management

and

Pauline Sim
UOB

When a 16-year-old American boy shot to fame (and bagged $3 million in prize money) by winning the Fortnite World Cup in 2019, people started to sit up and take notice of a growing phenomenon - Esports. While previously thought to be just a mere hobby, Esports is rapidly growing with global revenues exceeding $1 billion and audiences of more than 443 million internationally. Yet, not many people understand what Esports is and how this emerging industry is spawning countless business and career opportunities. In this panel, find out more about the Esports industry in Singapore, why Esports is more than just video games and the areas of growth that budding entrepreneurs can be a part of.

Lex Na
Bountie

Matthew Wong-Stewart
Riot Games

and

Jayf Soh
SGGA & Resurgence

Moderator: Lysander Lim

Chan Jia Jun is one of the three founders of Legacy Dance Company (LDC). All are New Revolving Age (NRA) alumni, a Hip Hop dance club from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. From freestyling in school, the trio saw a huge potential in the role of dance in Singapore and sought to develop the dance industry through dance education programmes by LDC, with the strong belief that dance is a great medium to bring people together. Legacy Dance Company is now one of Singapore's premier street dance education providers. In this interview, learn how Jia Jun and his founders stumbled upon a business opportunity that stemmed from their passion for dance.

Chan Jia Jun
Legacy Dance Company

Interviewer: Lydia Ng, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Shayna Ng put Singapore on the world map by capturing the nation's first gold medal at the World Bowling Women's Championships in 2015 and won her first Professional Women's Bowling Association title at the 2018 PWBA Las Vegas Open. Since 2011, she has held the world female record for the six-game series. Shayna has been twice named Singapore's Sportswoman of the Year and received the prestigious Singapore Youth Award in 2017. The prolific athlete has now ventured into business, as the co-founder of PulseActiv, an organisational team building events company in Singapore. In this one-on-one interview, learn how Shayna is creating an entrepreneurial life that aligns with her athletic visions.

Shayna Ng
Co-founder
PulseActiv

Interviewer: Luretta Seah, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

As children, we were told by our parents that the casual doodles lining the edges of textbooks and random notepaper would amount to nothing. Yet, one woman managed to successfully turn doodling into a commercially viable business opportunity with the combination of illustration and information. The works of Idea Ink, her company, have graced the walls of companies like OCBC and Citibank. Idea Ink even took on the monumental task of creating graphic recordings (illustrated summaries) for all the presentations at the Singapore FinTech Festival - the largest FinTech Festival in the world.

In this interview, learn how Chia Yee Hui scaled her business by using technology to enable audience interaction and engagement with Idea Ink's art.

Chia Yee Hui
Idea Ink

Interviewer: Wong Wei Xiang, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Miss Lou (also known as Lou Peixin) is Singapore's Glamour Vintage Songbird - a classic vintage vocalist and songwriter who blends old-school vocal stylings with modern sensibilities. She released her debut EP, Glamour Vintage Songbird, and her music has made it onto Apple Music's The A-List: Singapore Music, and Spotify's Singapore's Top Acts playlist. She has performed at countless galas and events, and sung for Heads of State - including Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - and Key Leaders from a myriad of industries, and was mentored by 16-time Grammy Award winner, David Foster. At the same time, Miss Lou co-owns a vintage clothing store and is a corporate leadership collaborator. Follow this interview with the multi-talented chanteuse to find out more about her journey making a business out of music.

Miss Lou
Vintage Vocalist, Songwriter
Co-Founder, LOUDANCLEAR

Interviewer: Chloe Ong, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

As a research scientist with performance psychology start-up Mindflick and applied research consultant in professional football, Dr Chin Wei Ong seeks to understand the needs of people, teams and systems, and supporting them to co-create innovative, research-driven solutions to drive and sustain high performance. In this special closing keynote, we explore lessons from the world of high performance sport, and how current/aspiring entrepreneurs can develop useful thinking frameworks to understand their own psychology, and adapt optimally to the unique challenges in their business/start-up journeys.

Dr. Chin Wei Ong
Sports Psychologist