Prestine Davekhaw knows how much you earn.Thanks to a viral IG platform she launched called MalaysianPAYGAP, where she has Malaysians anonymously submit [payslip verified] details about their job, including:Their salary + benefits (if any)How they landed that jobThe realities of doing their jobAdvice for those wanting to do the sameSo you can see why people are obsessed with MPG. 😉But what about the person behind MPG?Well, Prestine grew up in a drug-infested home with her grandmother, who was her best friend. She was told that her father was a dangerous man and that it was good that he wasn’t in her life.When she moved to the US for studies, she found herself homeless for a period.She ended up doing all kinds of insane jobs to make ends meet, including grilling 100 chicken wings in the Chicago South Side where she was at risk of being shot at at any moment!She also spent her last $900 on a camera out of desperation - she only had 2.5 weeks to make rent!But as it turns out, it was the start of good things in her life.Clients came knocking & she was doing well but... something wasn’t quite right.In 2020, she had her first taste of going viral when she published an article sharing why she was unfollowing famous influencers on Instagram - many of her clients then were famous influencers and they were, as you can imagine, not happy.Prestine shares her life journey with remarkable candidness. Not just the highs but also the lows like how she bombed her Bvlgari campaign because she was “a cocky photographer”. And how MPG came to be.Want to learn more?Highlights:3:13 Grandmother as her best friend8:42 Life is a work of art - Wilde12:24 I can only learn by asking questions14:36 Being homeless19:44 Spending $900 to buy a camera off Amazon21:57 9 hours of sense22:38 Photography came out of desperation24:15 Going back25:49 Quitting without a plan26:40 Landing international clients - including in Shanghai!27:19 Going viral in 2020 through an article, “Why I Unfollow Famous Influencers on Instagram”29:24 The Bvlgari campaign32:48 The genesis behind MPG35:10 The launch37:16 Surprising submissions41:31 Information is power42:25 Becoming jobless46:11 Community building lessons49:21 Helpful advice52:45 MPG Summit 202454:28 Disappearing Jobs56:54 The controversy with the Side Hustlers IG page59:56 Hustling to meet the CEO of AirAsia1:01:33 Advice to others wanting to start side hustlesP/S: Don’t forget to subscribe to the STIMY newsletter! I share the behind-the-scenes of running STIMY, personal branding, storytelling marketing and news on a personal branding course that I’m building so that others can also their own brands on their own terms.📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/136 💌 Subscribe to STIMY Newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

It's the final day of 2023!So I'm doing a solo episode where I answer questions that you've sent in.I hope you enjoy this episode and find it helpful.Also, if you've been following STIMY and would like to support what's happening here, please do leave a rating and review.It truly makes a difference in spreading the word about this podcast!💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Welcome to STIMY Ep 134!Today, you have the pleasure of hanging out with me. 😉What we'll cover today:What I've been up to in October (8 STIMY in-person interviews in Singapore), November (first conference panel & personal branding client wins) and December (6 STIMY interviews)I'm also in the midst of prepping for a new course!Tentatively titled "Build Your Why".It's based off my learnings from working with my existing 1:1 personal branding clients, where I noticed that people often struggle with:People often think they're boring (when they're not)They're too shy to share their storyThey can't remember the interesting things that have happened to them (and don't know how to ask themselves the right questions to extract those stories from memory)They don't know how to angle those interesting stories once they have them, so that they align with their goals - e.g. gain new clients, new job opportunities or offers to sit on non-profit boards.The course aims to help professionals build their unofficial collection of stories aka autobiography, so that you can pick and choose the stories to tell in whatever situation you're in.Apart from the course, I also highlight some of my favourite moments in recent STIMY episodes!STIMY Ep 122: Peter Yong aka Mr Money - on launching a YouTube personal finance business, hiring and potentially publishing his revenue numbers on YouTube?!STIMY Ep 129: Fabien Riggall, founder of Secret Cinema - on how he went from running a £5 underground skate park event to epic Disney collaborations to bring Star Wars to lifeSTIMY Ep 131: Charlie Todd, founder of Improv Everywhere - on what it takes to run a prank collective & the principle of asking for forgiveness rather than permissionSTIMY 132: Terence Lee, Editor-in-Chief of Tech in Asia (just sold for $30 million) - on his takeaways from going through 2 layoffsSTIMY 133: Adlin Yusman (Managing Director, Endeavor Malaysia) - on rapid scaling & raising USD 500k in 2 days, the walk of shame and being open about sharing his failures, and why his investors don't regret a day of giving him money to work on his startup.To subscribe to the STIMY Newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062P/S: I'll be doing a mini beta launch of the Build Your Why Course and the special offer will be available only to newsletter subscribers. So keep your eyes peeled!

Adlin Yusman, Managing Director of Endeavor Malaysia, will work for anyone he’s hired.A huge contrast to when he began his entrepreneurial journey with the mentality of, “I pay you a salary, you work for me and you do as I say.”Which, as you can imagine, created quite a lot of issues.That said, Adlin has had an eventful life. One that’s sprinkled with a generous serving of failures and spooky occurrences (e.g. receiving a 3am call from a female ghost?!).He’s founded several startups that failed, but managed to stay friends with his former employees and investors, who don’t regret a single day of giving money to him.And has held past positions as: Director (Travel) of GrouponPrincipal at Digi TelecommunicationsSAVP at AstroCOO at MaxMoney.com  CEO at Payfo.So how did Adlin go from featuring a Maybach in the first edition of his luxury automobile publication to:➡️ Making major hiring mistakes (e.g. hiring a wimp) ➡️ Hunting for 100 cockroaches➡️ Raising USD 500k in 2 days ➡️ Working at Endeavor Malaysia, where he helps the likes of Bryan Loo of Loob Holdings in the startup ecosystem?!You’ll have to listen to the latest STIMY episode to find out!Highlights:2:04 A 3am call from a female ghost?!4:59 What “real success” has Adlin even gotten to be featured in the media?! 🤣6:41 Studying economics8:14 A fork in the road11:48 Launching his first luxury automobile publication14:45 How Adlin sold himself21:01 Being a good leader means learning to follow22:51 The saddest moment of his life25:21 Terrible hiring decision - by hiring a wimp27:09 Why his startup collapsed27:49 Working at Groupon & 8am meetings31:07 Launching another startup33:46 If it’s easy, it must be a scam?!40:05 Hitting RM15k revenue & 1,800 requests in 2 weeks40:45 Finding 100 cockroaches44:45 Big mistake48:03 Deciding when to quit49:20 Failure isn’t a big thing, but…52:53 Do you still struggle with sharing your failures?53:43 Why Adlin’s investors don’t regret a single day of giving money to him56:53 The best way to handle mass resignations and retrenchments57:55 Endeavor’s Local Selection Panels (LSPs)1:00:18 What founders always fail at1:02:09 You need a Big Vision1:06:39 Helping Bryan Loo of Loob Holding (Tealive etc.)1:09:05 You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take1:10:35 Advice for building your community1:14:02 Who would Adlin work for?1:15:42 Questions to ask to determine if someone has a shitty attitude!Fun Fact: Adlin has said that this interview contains quite a few stories that he’s never shared elsewhere before! 😏P/S: Does anyone know where I can find Adlin’s blog?! Please send help. 😫📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/133🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/MX3BTIhi1Xg 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Who's got the juiciest gossip on startups these days?Well.The journalists, of course!And today, we have Terence Lee - Editor-in-Chief at Tech in Asia - to share the inside scoop on their organisation (TIA just sold for $30 Million to Singapore Press Holdings!).Fun Fact: Terence Lee really didn't want his position. He's an introvert & does not consider himself a natural leader.❓So what changed?❓How has he adapted to his leadership role & navigated through 2 brutal layoffs at Tech in Asia?❓How does journalism work for them, e.g. determining the stories to cover, the verification process required and also balancing objective reporting with friendships with the people in the space?So are you ready?Let's go!Highlights:2:38 Writing as a career?!5:14 Working at many different media publications6:58 Joining Tech in Asia in 2013 as its Managing Director8:26 Being pushed out of his comfort zone11:11 Relationship between Editor/Journalist v Startup Founders12:14 What people tend to not understand about what they're doing15:03 Perceived biases?16:11 The due diligence process18:05 Defamation law21:26 Monetisation tactics21:42 Going through TIA's first layoff25:19 Internal transparency in (almost) everything?!29:18 2nd round of layoffs & the best way to conduct retrenchment33:05 How did TIA rebuild the shattered morale of its staff & pivot to its subscription model?35:45 Big events in Indonesia37:25 The future39:02 Journalists are mini media empires?40:36 Peter Cowan - If you were to launch your own non-media startup, what would it be?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/132🌟 Special discount for STIMY listeners to TIA: techin.asia/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Meet Charlie Todd - a professional prankster & also the founder of Improv Everywhere (a New York City-based prank collective with a twist!).Rather than pranks that embarrass people, Improv Everywhere organises large-scale pranks that create chaos & lots of joy in public.The kind of thing that’d make you go, “You’ll never believe what just happened!”E.g. ✨ A bunch of strangers ride the subway - without pants!  ✨ 200 people freezing in place for 5 minutes in NYC’s Grand Central Terminal - with 37 million views on YouTube! ✨ A man going to work in his socially distanced office - located in the middle of the East River in NYC! ✨ Thousands of people putting on headphones and following the narrator’s every word: Walking backwards, freezing, slow dancing, wrapping themselves in toilet paper etc.  ✨ Turning the NYC subway into a spa, complete with complimentary water, sauna station, hot stone massage & a steam room misting station...You get the picture 🤣The key to these “pranks” is that there is no official ending to the performance. Once done, the performers just disappear.And leave everyone else behind, baffled!To date, these pranks have hit a collective view of 487+ million times on YouTube.So the obvious questions are:❓ How did Charlie turn pranks into a career?❓ How does he pull these crazy stunts off?❓ What does it take to go viral?❓ What's next?Highlights:3:20 Family of pranksters5:26 Interest in theatre7:09 Building a new life in New York City8:59 Pretending to be a celebrity!19:20 Straddling the legal/illegal grey area for their pranks21:48 Pretending to be U2 the band & the police dropping by!29:03 Organising the MP3 Experiment for thousands of people34:03 Measuring impact37:54 The person behind the social media algorithms?!40:43 Identity crisis45:39 Tours + Monetising Pranks48:18 When Charlie realised he was ready to quit to go full-time in on Improv Everywhere51:11 Disney+'s Pixar in Real Life - being its executive producer & director55:50 Socially distanced office on the river57:27 The future?59:19 Going viral over a fake meme?!📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/131🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/hv7v_qIio78 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Meet Alvin Wee: Grammy, CAS & Golden Horse Award winning music mixer from Kuching (now based in LA)!You might've heard some of his work:🔸 Disney's Encanto - it won the Grammy!🔸 "Loyal, Brave & True" - sung by Christina Aguilera in Mulan🔸 Top Gun: Maverick - with Hans Zimmer🔸 Kung Fu Panda 3🔸 Kingsman Series🔸 "Arena Cahaya" - sung by @zee.avi🔸 Video games like Final Fantasy XIII, Kingdom Hearts 2.5, Resident Evil XII, PUBG Mobile x Arcane Collaboration & Kena: Bridge of SpiritsAs you might have guessed it, all these achievements didn't come overnight.It took a lot of effort, grit and good luck to get to where Alvin now is.And we're diving deep into all of them.Including:❓ What kept him going as he studied music & waited for hours at the RTM studio for gigs to come?❓ Was Berklee instrumental to his career?❓ How did he "break" into Hollywood & get to collaborate with the likes of Han Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, Pharrell, Jay Chou & Yuna?❓ What was it like performing (+ winning Best Original Song!) at the 53rd Annual Golden Horse Film Awards 2016?❓ His advice for other Asians who want to "make it" in Hollywood?Highlights:3:03 Wanting to be called Donald Duck?!6:19 Learning 7 instruments in high school11:41 The vision18:37 Was Berkeley instrumental to Alvin's career?20:53 IMDB22:06 Networking the right way27:10 Being nice in a cutthroat industry?!29:42 Harry Gregson-Williams wrote a letter supporting his US visa application!33:26 Landing his first gig - Final Fantasy 1335:43 Finding the next projects37:27 Working with Harry Gregson-Williams & Hans Zimmer43:19 What's the Hans Zimmer Camp?45:28 Disney's Encanto47:10 Do awards actually impact your career?48:22 Not being pigeon-holed49:56 It's a marathon, not a sprint51:06 Hollywood Writers' Strike53:05 Jared Lee: Is Hollywood really that glamorous?!📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/130💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

What does it take to bring a movie to life & have the general public participant as actual characters in said movie?!You need only ask Fabien Riggall - creative director and founder of Future Shots and Secret Cinema.Fabien has always loved films and began his career working as a runner before becoming an assistant producer of short films. In 2003, he set up Future Shorts: A series of mini pop-up film festivals that took off in 2003.That eventually evolved into the creation of a skate park under London Bridge, where around 400 strangers showed up to become part of the skating community & be part of the murder mystery story!Secret Cinema is premised on the idea that films can be turned into large-scale real life, cultural experiences in abandoned spaces.The location and details of each World are never reveled and the film title is often kept secret (the reason for this was that it was entirely by accident!). Secret Cinema grew into such a phenomenon that it eventually sold to TodayTix in 2022 for £89 million!And some of its most famous works include: The Great Gatsby, Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner and Moulin Rouge.If you're curious in learning what it takes to build a whole movement & transform the way people see and use abandoned spaces while bring film to life on an epic scale, then this is certainly the episode for you!Highlights:4:31 Morocco6:41 Becoming a farmer and an actor?!7:43 I don't want permission!11:23 Running festivals12:13 Soul-destroying work15:45 Leveraging the internet16:57 Selling out a murder mystery event at a secret skate park under London Bridge19:47 Finding the right people23:45 Pushing the boundaries30:14 Building trust via newsletters?!32:59 A limit to provocation36:54 Maintaining your voice39:28 Biggest battles waged & won43:32 Stepping away from Secret Cinema?!47:01 Achieving everything that Fabien wanted?📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/129  💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Imagine spending 30 years working as an architect.Then deciding to uproot your entire life from the UK to move to Bali to work in a new field of architecture - bamboo!Because that's exactly what Ewe Jin Low.When he made the big move to Bali, he worked as Lead architect at IBUKU covering buildings like the Green School and in 2018, began his own bamboo journey by founding his own bamboo architecture firm TENTEN and Better Bamboo Buildings in 2020 - a platform that shares information and insights on bamboo design.Ewe Jin’s bamboo journey to date has included designing and  building more than 80 bamboo buildings in many different regions.  In 2022 he published a bamboo architecture book titled ‘Bamboo Ark 1’. He continues the journey to give talks, run courses and  workshops and to create more buildings and installations in bamboo. So if you're like to learn more about this relatively new form of architecture, this is the episode for you!Highlights:2:23 Bamboo groves4:24 Architectural practice7:15 The only Asian guy in the room8:41 Battles fought10:32 Prejudice against colour of skin12:01 Moving to Bali15:02 How bamboo has transformed his life & attitude16:31 Letting go of everything18:45 Assimilating into the real Bali culture22:20 Learning about bamboo as a material33:48 Common questions36:30 Maintenance43:36 Bamboo pioneers46:09 Green School Bali52:05 The SWAT Team of Bamboo Workers56:50 Is it actually green architecture?1:00:49 Is bamboo cheaper?1:05:00 Construction bamboo forests?📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/128💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

Whoops. We've been gone for the past few weeks.It's been hectic here at STIMY - securing new guests in Singapore while prepping for 2 exciting guests that we'll be recording in person this week.So rather than a new episode, I'm experimenting with this new, short solo episode where you'll get updates from me on what it's like running STIMY the podcast & STIMY the personal branding company, as well as takeaways from some conversations that take place off air.In today's mini episode, I provide 4 main learnings from my recent Singapore trip (+ 40 appointments altogether!). They include:Hard workLuckImportance of ReinventionAlways stay CuriousDon't view your relationships as replaceable.Two upcoming STIMY guests that we'll be recording with:Prestine Davekhaw: Founder of MalaysianPAYGAP & Disappearing JobsDominic Puthucheary: Founding member of Singapore's PAP turned lawyer who grew up as a family friend of Lee Kuan Yew's family before later being detained, shuffled between multiple prisons in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and ultimately banished from Singapore by... Lee Kuan Yew himself.If you'd like to submit your question for either Prestine or Dominic, or just want to drop a note to let me know what you think of this episode & whether you'd like me to continue doing them (+ topics to cover), just email me at sothisismywhy (at) gmail (dot) com.Have a great week!P/S: Dominic was the subject of my first viral LinkedIn post, which you can read here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lingyah_reflection-activity-6972349532596576256-pD-N

Alejandro Navia is the co-founder and President of nft now, the premier source of NFT content and analysis. As an advisor, coach, and early supporter of web3 and the creator economy, Alejandro has helped numerous founders and creators scale their communities and raise over $92MM in funding.Prior to NFT Now, he held leadership positions at startups and enterprises in AI, aerospace, and media, including Verizon, where I led Strategy and Acquisitions, and Elite Daily, which I helped lead to a $50MM acquisition.This is a story where Alejandro transparently shares some of his lowest moments, e.g.:being suicidal at age 16;being kicked out of Harvard; andscoring a $4.5 million deal only to lose $125k two days later due to a huge mistake!📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/127 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

How do you: 😳 Reject a $200k/year paycheck?😳 Blow your life up in a systematic way?😳 And build a pathless path for yourself?Paul Millerd - former McKinsey consultant (aka the Lean Guy) turned solopreneur, author and podcaster - would know, because he did just that. And along the way, wrote a book called the Pathless Path, which has since sold over 20k!At the time of our recording, I was just about to embark on my own Great Leap from the world of corporate law so as you can imagine, I slipped in a couple of personal questions of my own on what to expect!So if you are interested in learning what alternative career paths and lives exist, then this is the episode for you. 😉Highlights:2:43 The American Dream4:55 Paul Says It Well9:15 You Just Don’t Have Ambition!11:22 The success ethic14:59 Being McKinsey’s Lean Guy16:06 Quitting McKinsey18:46 Constantly searching20:00 How do you quit & walk away from $54k?23:21 Ready to be your own boss?24:54 Reconnecting with himself26:41 An exercise to remove regret28:18 How to evaluate opportunities36:31 The Pathless Path41:27 Why 2022 was the best year43:55 Curiosity Conversations45:53 Blowing up your life in a systematic way46:50 Saying YES to a full-time role?47:25 Knowing when to say YES / NO 48:17 Someone who’s redesigned their life in a great way📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/126🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/FHcKezbyv78 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

It takes guts to quit your job.But what if it was NASA? BOEING? Or Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One?!Because that’s exactly what Tanya Zakowich did.Tanya grew up with a fascination for space & like most kids, she wanted to be an astronaut.But unlike many, that fascination held even when she grew up, which is why she ended up studying mechanical engineering at Columbia.An internship in India helped her land a job at NASA, but she soon left for BOEING! Only to realise that at BOEING, she was just a cog in the wheel. She wasn’t being challenged.Hence her third role at Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One, where she lived the ultimate startup life.That is, until she realised that what she truly loved & cared about was her family and home in Singapore.So she gave it all up to return home.Now if you listen to this STIMY interview, you’ll soon realise that Tanya is quite the go-getter!During the pandemic, she strategically launched a new TikTok channel where she teaches maths in a fun and interesting way. Within 6 months, she hit 1 million followers! Then quit for 2 months because of the toll it took on her mental health.She now stands at 1.9 million followers. 🤯That said, Tanya doesn’t have everything figured out. She’s constantly experimenting, learning to give up on things that don’t work to try something else again. And if there’s one takeaway I hope you’ll receive from this episode, it’s this: Failures make us stronger. Don’t let it hold you back.Now are you ready to listen to Tanya’s episode?Let’s go. 😉Highlights:2:13 Interest in space5:37 Engineering at Columbia University7:22 How an internship in India helped Tanya get into NASA9:42 NASA’s interview process12:57 Quitting NASA14:32 Quitting is easy?!15:41 Deal breakers18;11 Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One21:54 Singapore’s startup scene22:35 US v Singapore startups26:50 Dating app29:10 Getting into TikTok29:52 Personal branding34:03 TikTok trends36:21 Secret to going viral36:42 Hooks38:21 Drafting scripts40:30 Tanya’s unique selling point46:54 Not moving to the US for content creation?49:27 Goal of 1 million followers54:04 Going on a break56:29 Change in frequency57:11 Putting her name out in public📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/125 🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/wclFmzVbMmw 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder & CEO of Acumen - a non-profit global venture capital fund that aims to use entrepreneurial approaches to address global poverty. She was also born for crisis.As the OG of impact investing, her impressive list of accolades include:One of the World’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds 2017 by ForbesForbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2016The Resolution Project Champions Circle Award, 2016Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential in Global Finance, 2014Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008She also sits on the board of: Aspen Institute board of trusteesPakistan Business Council Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB)]Advisory Councils of the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative, the Oxford Saïd Global Leadership Council and UNICEF.When she graduated from the University of Virginia, she described herself as someone who was "excited, idealistic & had dreams in your head of changing the world and didn’t have a clue how to start”.That start ended up being at Chase Manhattan Bank - despite telling the interviewer that she had no interest in banking & was only there because her parents told her to!She did so well, the then COO, Tony Triciano, wanted to fast track her career and have her be his right hand person.She said NO. She wanted to change the world.And left for Africa. There, she suffered failure after failure after failure.She learned that while she had gone to try & save the African continent, Africa neither wanted nor needed saving.But those lessons were invaluable and led her down the path of founding Acumen.Even when building Acumen felt like - in the words of Acumen’s first COO, Dan Toole - “Standing at the 5th floor of a brick building & we’re trying to build a terrace brick by brick with no safety net underneath!”So:❓ What is it like to live a life of such purpose?❓ Who are the people (+ life partner!) that you need to surround yourself with to keep the mission alive?❓ Why did her mentor, John Gardner, use to say that “the key to life is to be interested. Not interesting”?Well.You’ll just have to listen to STIMY Ep 124 to find out! 😏Highlights:2:57 The Novogratz clan (like the Kennedys?!)4:22 Orphanage8:36 A Little Boy9:46 Saying NO to Tony Triciano, the then COO of Chase Manhattan Bank?!11:24 Leaving the job of a lifetime12:33 Africa doesn't need saving!13:40 Being Born for Crisis15:16 The secret sauce to establishing Duterimbere - Rwanda's first Microfinance bank16:21 Being maniacal18:30 Agnes & the Rwandan genocide20:48 Building on the 4th floor with no safety net underneath with Dan Toole?!22:34 When the tides started to change24:59 Mike, the Forrest Gump of Bitcoin26:56 Acumen in Southeast Asia32:11 Won't social entrepreneurs succeed without Acumen?34:55 Jacqueline's personal KPIs37:29 Listening with her whole body42:19 Marriage45:20 Advice for finding the right partner!📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/124 🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/Fzi9iVKCo_4 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Dr. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro has had a unique career. She is the current Head of Production at Phygicode and former Metaverse Producer at Decentraland Foundation and Head of Metaverse Fashion Week. She has more than a decade of experience in digital design and the XR industry and also serves as a mentor at MIT during their Hacking Arts 2016-2018, and as a Senior Professor at SENAC University Centre, a renowned public federal University in Brazil.For Giovanna, she believes that life is a short experience. She wants to have a portfolio of experiences that really enriches her soul and mind and would rather regret what she's tried, then over what she's given up on.It's ok to fail. Just don't give up.Bearing in mind this principle, this episode digs into Gigi has led her life and the career choices she's made to date.Maybe it'll inspire you to take the unconventional step too? 😉Highlights: 2:02 Being an actress?3:47 Japanese culture in Latin America4:31 Bossing her dad at age 46:06 Doing a PhD in architecture and urbanism7:23 Survivor option10:38 Residencies & digital nomad life17:26 A portfolio of experiences25:00 Randi Zuckerberg25:30 Web328:33 Working in a VR studio in Finland32:35 Working at Decentraland Foundation35:56 Effective work flow37:53 Voting power favours the rich?44:43 Hosting fashion week in the metaverse48:17 Convincing major brands to come on board e.g. Dolce & Gabbana and Estee Lauder55:25 What success looks like📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/123 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Yesterday, we lost the King of Singapore.I never had the privilege of meeting him, but a year ago, I sent a cheeky email to Adrian Tan asking if he’d share his life story on the So This Is My Why podcast.In a true spirit of generosity, he said yes.And we spoke for over 2 hours! 🤯Podcast hosts shouldn’t have favourites but… Adrian was one of my favourites. It is true.Today, Adrian’s episode has been rereleased as a tribute to him. It is the almost 💯 unedited version (minus the umm & ahhs), so you’ll hear some of the parts that didn’t make the cut the first time around in 1 full episode.I hope this interview did justice in showcasing the kind of person that he was.If you don’t know Adrian’s backstory, here are some highlights (found in the episode too):🔥 Adrian grew up in a HDB flat that had zero concept of privacy. His neighbours crowded outside his flat every day to watch their TV & would get mad if it wasn’t available! 🤣🔥 He was the subject of maternal gaslighting 🤣 which helped him become very, very good at English🔥 His English was so good, he was refused a scholarship to do law and told to do English instead! 🔥Adrian ended up writing multiple bestsellers - The Teenage Textbook & The Teenage Workbook (they’ve been turned into a play, TV series & movie!)🔥 Ironically, Adrian was very embarrassed by the success of his novels. Because he was a tough, hardened litigator but his clients just wanted to talk about his silly teenage romance novels?! 😫🔥Despite being a lawyer, he found it impossible to stand up for himself in real life.🔥 But he realised that he needed to start speaking up. On LinkedIn. Because it was time to strip away the “mystic” around the legal profession & that begins with lawyers becoming legal influencers.🔥 Finally, his vow as the President of the Singapore Law Society to “fight cancer, fight my cases in court & fight for lawyers as their President, until the clock runs out”.I hope you enjoy this re-released, unedited episode with the King of Singapore.📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/101🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/QOEeOIiQvyk💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Welcome to a special Questions from the Audience episode with Peter Yong aka Mr Money TV - one of the top personal finance YouTubers in the region.In this episode, we feature questions that came from you! Which include Peter's own co-founders & staff.If you haven't done so already, do check out Episode 122 Parts 1 & 2 to learn more about Peter's journey from being a replacement child to abandoning his lucrative career (+ selling his BMW!) to go in to his YouTube business and all things entrepreneurship.Highlights:1:21 What should my net worth be if I want to retire ASAP?2:47 What was it like giving up everything to start your own business?3:51 Advice for young entrepreneurs in a similar position5:10 Ever received any extreme threats?6:18 Peter's many tattoos9:10 How do you see yourself in 5 years?10:13 Will MrMoney become an MNC?10:24 Coughing?!📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/122 🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/saQkikbcwaY 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

What does it take to build a 7-figure YouTube business on personal finance?Peter Yong aka Mr Money TV spills the tea on STIMY Episode 122 Part 2.That includes telling us:Why he tells all his staff, "I am not your father!"Why he hires 5, works 10 & pays 8;How he creates a moat around himself;How he's built his personal brand;Why his staff actively tell him to NOT hire more staff!Why his entire team knows the financials behind Mr Money TV;Working for free & getting equity?!His dream of building a Hershey town.And that's just some of juicier takes. 😎Highlights:3:05 Being taken advantage of5:22 Having partners work for free until 2 - 4am?!10:33 Prototyping the life you want12:37 Matt the Ultimate Gen Z15:59 Hire 5, work 10, pay 817:52 I am not your father!18:32 Hiring process21:57 Becoming a business22:56 Getting the staff involved in the hiring process23:56 How does Mr Money make money?!26:32 Evaluating priorities31:55 Creating a moat40:22 The Personal41:01 Mr Money TV almost shut down?!42:28 Becoming more cynical44:56 Can a boss ever be friends with his employees?47:43 You're going to shut down. Do you tell your employees?51:05 Hershey's World (P/S: Thanks, CK!!)53:48 The legacy for Peter's 2 sons📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/122 🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/saQkikbcwaY 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Hey STIMIES!It’s time to meet the Replacement Son who refuses to drive a Porsche: Peter Yong aka Mr Money TV.One of Malaysia’s most beloved personal finance YouTubers with 153k subscribers!It’s one thing to start another YouTube channel; quite another to turn it into a thriving 7-figure business in Southeast Asia, but Peter has done just that. And today, we dive deep & personal, touching on things like how:🔥 Peter was born to be a replacement son, which severely affected his confidence & self-esteem🔥 His father was a gangster!! Who taught Peter to clean his gun when he was just 5 years old?!🔥 He thought money was evil. Until he realised it wasn’t🔥 He was thriving in his RM 250,000/year insurance job then gave it all up & sold his BMW, to go all-in with his YouTube channel. Just when his son was born.Peter has so many gems to share that I had to cut this interview into 2 parts!This is Part 1.I hope you enjoy it!Highlights:3:43 Running away from death5:48 Money isn’t important6:25 The replacement son10:15 Cleaning a gun at age 5?!12:27 Surviving bullies?!16:44 What do I do with my life?18:21 Money isn’t evil?24:59 Planning to x6 his income in 6 years27:57 Being in control of money30:45 Admitted to the hospital31:39 Sales is the most humiliating job in the world33:02 Making RM 250,000/year36:09 The secret to convincing37:11 Starting his own agency42:18 What can make money?46:16 Odd jobs47:31 Drowning52:03 The vision55:42 Going full-time57:36 The Porsche life?!1:00:33 The girl & the train📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/122🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/saQkikbcwaY 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

❓What is it like becoming a Deputy Minister in a government that’s never been in power before?❓What was the relationship really like between Malaysia’s then Prime Minister & Deputy Prime Minister, Mahathir & Anuar?❓How does one pick a constituency and why even politics in the first place when you can make good money as a BCG consultant?If you haven’t already guessed it, today’s STIMY guest is Dr Ong Kian Ming aka imokman.He went from being a BCG consultant to a lecturer and policy analyst at UCSI University and director of the Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project (MERAP). He then entered politics and eventually became the Deputy Minister, Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia in July 2018!If you don’t know anything about Malaysian politics, here’s a heads up: Kian Ming (legitimately) thought he would always be in the opposition. The then incumbent government had been in power since Independence Day for the past 60+ years!So as you can imagine, today’s conversation focuses on politics. A lot. Touching on things like why Kian Ming chose to enter politics, what it was like becoming a Deputy Minister, what went so wrong (e.g. the Sheraton Move!), why he’s setting up a PPE course and so much more.Highlights:2:07 imokman3:32 Wanting to be rich4:22 Being an ASEAN scholar6:44 Seeking a “higher purpose” in BCG?!9:14 Make your boss look good (not your client!)10:29 Public policy15:06 How his PhD in political science helped his career19:24 Meeting Tony Pua & blogging20:50 Sacrifices we don’t know?22:32 “The Talk” with the wife24:18 Only 2 terms?!26:21 Preparing for his first election29:51 Deciding who to help32:40 Managing expectations from his constituents33:32 Giving safe financial support34:49 I’ll be in opposition forever?!37:06 The manifesto38:29 Managing the euphoria40:34 Building trust41:47 The legacy he inherited at MITI from Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz44:56 Industry 4.047:23 That $70 billion investment from China49:24 The realities of running trade investment missions50:50 How does China see Malaysia?53:36 The Sheraton Move - what really happened?55:49 What could’ve been done differently?57:05 The relationship between Mahathir & Anuar58:56 No reelection1:00:17 How do we know if constituents are actually doing the work?1:01:11 Wishing he’d worked better with his minister1:03:31 Who’s a lifelong politician?1:04:43 When is it time to leave?1:05:26 Building Malaysia’s first PPE Course (and future Malaysian Prime Ministers?!)📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/121😮 Interested in building your personal brand on LinkedIn? Just shoot me an email at sothisismywhy@gmail.com & we’ll get started!💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Apolo Ohno has won 8 Olympic medals & 21 World Championship medals, which makes him the most decorated US Winter Olympian in history!He was the state champion swimmer at age 13 & national speed skating champion at age 14, but it was short track speed skating that really caught his eye.Because to him, they were like Superman!After 6 months of training, Apolo won the 1997 US Championships. He was a shoo-in for the 1998 Winter Olympics but then... Apolo grew complacent. He self-sabotaged & threw away his training, finishing last in the Olympics trials.His father was so upset, he sent Apolo to an isolated cabin at Copalis Beach and said: "You'll stay here for as long as it takes for you to figure out what you want to do with your life!"That was traumatic.Apolo decided he would give this sport a real shot & that's when everything changed. But there was a price to pay for such "psychotic obsession".He was ruthless to everyone, including himself.In this STIMY Episode, we talked about how he finds FLOW, sports psychology, self-sabotage, the importance of recovery, and being obsessive without being "mindlessly handcuffed to it".So if you want to live your life to the fullest the way an Olympic champion does, then this is the episode for you!Highlights:3:27 Survival7:23 Why did this happen?10:35 Blowing up toilets?!12:25 Joining the Superman sports15:33 Sleeping with his skates16:48 Sacrifice22:01 Not being handcuffed to failure24:39 Self-sabotage30:57 The darker side to obsession39:31 Finding the FLOW state42:50 The power of introspection45:25 The controversial Salt Lake City Olympics win49:20 Turin Olympics50:46 Why Apolo turned away from Hollywood52:30 A lion is most dangerous when it knows it's near its end56:11 Psychotic obsession outside of sports57:31 Not returning to sports + Michael Phelps58:51 The Great Divorce1:02:37 What do you say yes to?1:05:07 Building his personal board of directors1:08:31 Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/120💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Entrepreneurs must be ruthless, obsessive and willing to cut corners.Something that Justin Byam Shaw, Chairman of ESI Media, would know.He co-owns (alongside Evgeny Lebedev) the Evening Standard & the Independent, and also co-founded the Felix Project - one of the biggest food redistribution charities in the UK!If you've ever been in London, you'll notice the Evening Standard lying around Tube stations. It's a 100% free quality newspaper and I'd always wondered - what does it take to run it? How do you manage to keep a newspaper free on such a scale?Well today, Justin shares it all.He takes us through his decision to:🔥 Study classics at Oxford University - even when everyone told him it was good for nothing!🔥 Pivot from advertising - when he realised he was terrible at it🔥 Drop out of British Telecom within 1 week of finding a market gap to launch his own startup - at a time when it wasn't the "cool thing" to be a founder🔥 Buy both the Evening Standard & the Independent (alongside the Lebedevs)And also his thoughts on:🤔 How George Osborne faired as Editor of the Evening Standard🤔 How to turn around failing media companies🤔 Launching the The i newspaper (within 7 months of acquiring the Independent!)🤔 The rise of superstar journalists turned media personalities🤔 The media publication he'd be most interested in taking over & what he'd do differently!Highlights:4.44 Studying "good for nothing" Classics at Oxford?!7:18 Being bad at advertising9:27 Moving to British Telecom when it'd just privatised11:34 The talent show that kickstarted Justin's entrepreneurial journey12:38 Remortgaging his apartment?!15:32 Expanding to 12+ countries19:39 The tipping point20:54 Life after acquisition22:34 Arrogance26:59 Being ruthless29:00 Buying the Evening Standard33:41 Launching The i in 7 months?!36:38 Not going digital with the Evening Standard38:58 Internal resistance40:27 Appointing George Osborne as editor45:14 What do media owners expect from their editors?49:23 Journalists become media superstar personalities51:59 Buzzfeed53:05 If Justin could buy any newspaper publication, it'd be...55:14 The Felix Project📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/119💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Not everyone has to be a Steve Jobs.The charismatic, big picture, visionary leader that everyone gravitates towards.We also have (and need) those who execute.Who double down on the nitty gritty and ensure that things actually get done. And wellWhich brings me to today's STIMY guest: Chen Chow Yeoh.Speak to anyone in the Southeast Asian startup scene and they'll likely have heard of Chen Chow and have a tremendous amount of respect for him.He's an OG in the space:Co-Founder of Fave - one of the fastest growing fintech platform in Southeast AsiaCo-Founder of KFit.com - which revolutionised how people approached fitness in Asia PacificRegional Operations Director in APAC & COO (Malaysia) for GrouponBut he never had a plan. 😅Chen Chow:❌ Was one of the top 8 people who scored the worst in his English exams at Cornell University;❌ Didn't get a promotion at Accenture (and cried about it ☹️)❌ Landed his role at Jobstreet by chance❌ Was rendered obsolete in Groupon when he joined - he was hired for a sales role but by the time he finished serving notice at his previous company, that role was obsolete!But:🔥 At Accenture, he did eventually get that promotion. By buckling down & putting in the work.🔥 He did odd jobs at Groupon & within 3 weeks of joining, was promoted to COO!🔥 He worked with Joel Neoh to turn Groupon Taiwan from a $1 million loss making monster to $8k in profits in 8 months!🔥 He has never formally applied for any jobs - people always go to himBut he is not like his charismatic, visionary counterpart.He just does the work.Great work, in fact.And this, is his story.So are you ready?Let's go 😎Highlights:2:04 Catching the 5am bus2:56 Going to Cornell University6:59 Failing to get a job promotion8:13 A coincidental offer from Jobstreet12:16 Joel Neoh13:47 Why take the leap to Groupon15:38 Never formally applied for a job!17:36 From random jobs to COO?!21:57 Inferiority or imposter syndrome?24:54 Don't ask for more?!27:29 How to turn a $1 million loss making business into $8k profit in 8 months in Taiwan35:29 Co-Founding KFit39:35 Raising $1 million from friends & family?!41:11 Landing Pieter Kemps from Sequoia as an investor!50:47 Turning KFit into Fave54:05 Laying off 50% of staff but still being good friends with them59:30 How to bring 2 company cultures together during an acquisition1:01:36 China1:11:55 What are Chen Chow's strongest features?1:12:33 Will Chen Chow stay even though Joel has left?1:14:04 A competitor Chen Chow really admires📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/118🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062 

Former US Congressman Barney Frank has been described by the New York Times as "one of the people most responsible for overhauling financial regulation after the 2008 economic crisis".Little surprise, given that this acerbic politician was:🔥 Member of the US House of Representatives (1981 - 2013)🔥 Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee (2007 - 2011); and🔥 Lead co-sponsor of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act - which introduced the greatest Wall Street reform in history.He hit the headlines again given the Silicon Valley Bank meltdown & ironically, his role as director at the now defunct Signature Bank.❓ But how did Barney end up in the top echelons of politics?❓ Why did the Pope have to intervene with his appointment to the US House of Representatives?❓ How did staying silent about being gay impact him, and why did he decide to out himself in a Boston Globe article?❓ How does he get along with his peers?Specifically, in his own words, "You learn how to ingratiate yourself with them and how you can help them and make them value your friendship. And that becomes particularly important when you move up."❓And what does he think of Trump (p/s Trumplestilskin) & the upcoming US Presidential Elections?This episode is full of gems that we can apply to our own lives (even outside of politics).So do give it a listen, and let us know what you think!Highlights:7:39 Obsession with politics14:27 Anne Frank15:50 Politics in the blood?19:58 Campaigning in a Republican state23:07 Enjoying the things he's very good at24:20 1980 campaign was the toughest race26:31 Intervention from the Pope?!29:24 Congress is like "high school as a freshman"30:53 Do the job well, but not TOO well31:51 How do you become/stay popular?35:34 How do you know what's happening on the ground?38:20 The Boston Globe article40:43 Being willing to sacrifice his political career41:52 Why did Barney keep winning by wide margins?44:34 Having empathy due to being closeted for so long45:33 The average American isn't homophobic?!47:44 Dodd-Frank Act53:28 Could the Dodd-Frank Act have done more to prevent the SVB meltdown?56:01 Challenges in raising the insurance limit on bank deposits58:01 Disagreeing with Senator Elizabeth Warren that the Dodd-Frank Act is to blame59:46 Crypto1:00:57 Where's the banking crisis headed?1:02:36 The 2024 US Presidential Elections, Trumplestilkin as the most self-destructive politician he's seen in awhile1:05:13 How governments can encourage crypto innovation1:06:19 A mistake to be the director of Signature Bank?1:10:56 Was it a mistake to partially repeal the Dodd-Frank Act?📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/117💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

John-Son Oei’s EPIC social enterprise was born out of guilt.This former Rain oppa lookalike (time to check out his photos! 😏) knew the importance of giving back. Wanted to give back. But never did. And it wasn’t as though he hadn’t dabbled many things in his life prior to graduation: He’d worked retail with Polo Ralph Lauren, did video production, was a fitness instructor & a Marshall at Camp 5 (rock climbing) and even modeled (yes, you really want to see his photo now, don’t you? 😉). Yet despite all that, John-Son wanted to become a jet ski operator. A bona-fide “beach bum”, as his mother declared!Until a toilet came along.Because you see, he’d been told that while it was great to want to give back, he couldn’t stay idealistic for too long. “The moment you go into the real world, it’s a dog eat dog world.”And that troubled John-Son: “It’s not that I couldn’t be a dog. To eat other dogs. But I said, is that really what life is about?”*The opportunity to explore this ideal came when he visited an orang asli community & discovered their need for a functionable toilet. He set up a Facebook group, and 64 strangers came.Not his friends or the ones who said they were into charities, but complete & utter strangers.And that sent John-Son down a rabbit hole.He realised that we all need a purpose beyond ourselves. It wasn’t as though he, and many others, didn’t care about giving back - but that we all felt alone. And honestly, “What impact can one person have?”As it turns out?An EPIC amount.*But this won’t be a STIMY interview if we didn’t talk about the “darker sides”.The difficulties in running EPIC as a social enterprise, figuring out their business model, convincing companies that they weren’t a “con job”, the pandemic and also, how John-Son would even question his own purpose. This, despite the numerous international awards and recognition showered upon him, e.g. being accepted into the Ashoka Fellowship; Forbes 30 under 30 2016; The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Dedication 2017; SME Malaysian Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2017; Tatler Malaysia—Force for Good Award; The Edge Inspiring Young Leaders Award; the Iclif Leadership Energy Award 2015; and Microsoft’s Global YouthSpark Star award. He was also Malaysia’s official flag bearer for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Commonwealth Day.So if you want to know the realities of giving back to the community, why it’s important to have a purpose beyond ourselves and how you can do so too?Then this is the episode for you.Highlights:3:03 Having a gentle giant for a father3:52 Does God exist?10:58 I had two As & failed everything else 😳15:58 Aspiring to be a beach bum20:30 Giving back to the community22:47 Becoming Rain the KPop Superstar23:46 Building a toilet25:17 From toilet to a house for Pak Cihong?!32:42 The realities of running a social enterprise37:33 This is a con job!43:33 Why is this team building?46:40 Why 2012 was a really difficult year51:38 The personal significance behind winning the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Dedication 201753:21 Is there something more?📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/116💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Lydia Fenet is the most powerful woman in the room.She has sold over $1 billion dollars for nonprofits globally alongside Elton John, Jason Bourne (aka Matt Bourne), Bruce Springsteen & every other big-name superstar you can think of.In 2018, she became Christie's Global Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships and has also:Been named one of New York’s most influential women by Gotham magazine;Appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair and Town & Country;Published 2 books (her first book was optioned by Netflix in Feb 2022!); andRuns the Claim Your Confidence podcast featuring Glenn Close, Candace Nelson, Stephanie Horton, and Courtney Dauwalter.All while leading multiple benefit auctions for the biggest names in the industry. Including Elton John's 2023 AIDS Foundation Oscar Party!Lydia is now living the life she has always wanted.But it wasn't.When young, she wanted to be a lawyer just like her father. Unlike she came across a Vanity Fair article & discovered the exclusive world of Christie's.She convinced the Matriarch of Christie's to let her join Christie's internship program.But for the first 10 years, was told (and believed!) to not talk about money. And that "she was lucky to work there".If you want to learn how Lydia later managed to triple her salary + gain a global title + lead a new department at Christie's, you'll have to listen to the episode!Highlights:2:47 Why Lydia is a "life in motion"3:32 Network or die5:30 Learning about Christie's7:13 Not Sotheby's?8:01 Convincing the Matriarch of Christie's, Mary Libby, to let her join the internship program12:51 How Lauren Short influenced her14:33 How Lydia became Christie's benefit auctioneer16:27 Why Lydia did 500 mediocre auctions but never wanted to quit18:20 The breakthrough22:31 Leading the auction at Elton John's 2023 AIDS Foundation Oscar Party25:58 Where Lydia gets her energy from30:01 When Lehman Brothers collapsed but Lydia managed to save her colleague34:49 Ask for what you're worth, because you're just a number on a P&L41:44 How being a published author has opened doors📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/115 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Alvin Chiong's father was an opium addict.And as for Alvin:Age 7: Alvin's mother abandoned the familyAge 9: Started sniffing glue & joined the secret society to avoid being bulliedAge 14: Left school to follow his leader Age 18: Became hooked on heroin & couldn't hold down a job.Things came to a head in Thailand, where Alvin realised he needed to change his life around. But opium addiction, while a choice, is not so easy to kick.And it took many, many halfway houses & attempts before Alvin came clean, turned his life around (after prison!!) and became the person he is today: giving back to society, helping his former brothers find their feet & holding down jobs as a chef as tour guide at Triad Trails.Alvin's story, like Notle Chew's story in STIMY Episode 102, is an unusual STIMY story, but one that I really want to have shared.Because there is a lesson to be learned from everyone's life journey. And the biggest takeaway is this: It's all about mindset & attitude. If we insist on blaming the world & everyone else in it for our troubles, no matter how 'justified', then you will continue to be held back. Now Alvin tells his story best, so are you ready?Let's go!Highlights:2:53 Dysfunctional family4:54 Joining the secret society10:34 Fighting12:57 Thailand14:56 The "price" for leaving the secret society gang19:04 Being friends with brothers20:35 Being in prison23:51 Safeguards to avoid temptation26:17 Going back to prison to help30:24 God31:56 Common misconceptions about drug addicts32:49 The secret to change35:13 Knowing when a convict is telling you the truth38:55 Are Singaporean laws too harsh?41:41 Common struggles for members of the secret society 43:02 Spiritual journey & finding God46:43 What Alvin is grateful for this year📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/114 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Everyone wants to start a community while Bryan Pham (with his co-founder, Maggie Chui) has grown a global community from 0 to 200,000+ in 3 years! 😱 #casualBest of all?It started as a “screw you” moment. 😅In all seriousness, Bryan is the founder of Asian Hustle Network (“AHN”), AHNF & AHN Ventures. And has had quite the unconventional journey:😮Bryan’s parents fled the Vietnam War & taught him that investments and business were taboo😮He worked as a software engineer & realised that companies didn’t have his back; you’d be fired even if you’d been working there for 20 years!😮He tried an Amazon selling side hustle - and lost $22kAlthough:🔥His roommate got him into property investment - and he made $200k+ from his first sale!🔥He built a real estate investment community of 2,000 in 2 years in the Bay Area.But for 4 years, Bryan had been thinking about his why. And found himself wanting to build something for the Asian community.A trip to the Meiji Shrine gave his idea the spark, a rejection gave it the light (you’ll have to listen to find out what! 😏), and within 3 days of AHN being born, the Asian Hustle Network had 1,000 members.👀 In 11 months: 60k members👀In 1.5 years: 100k+ members👀In 2 years: 120k+ membersTalk about fulfilling a need! 😱But things weren’t easy: ☹️Bryan was receiving hate messages (and wanted to quit after 8 months) ☹️ AHN wasn’t profitable for years.Things have since turned around🔥AHN is incorporated in the USA, Singapore & Australia;🔥Has its own venture fund;🔥Also runs a non-profit fund; and🔥Has expanded into Southeast Asia!To learn the details of this transformation, how AHN grew from a Facebook group to a massive global super connector platform & Bryan’s lesson from launching the Hate Is A Movement, just listen to the latest episode 113 on the So This Is My Why podcast!And do let us know what you think. 😊Highlights:2:17 Growing up with $254:02 Investments & business were taboo at home!5:31 Why computer science?6:45 Companies aren’t loyal 😕9:43 Starting his side hustle & losing $22,000 😫12:01 Getting into real estate investment18:04 When you’re less reliant on your job, you start seeing what’s wrong with it20:17 I don’t need to be an employee!22:47 Depressed over finding the meaning of life27:03 The Asian community is divided31:04 Asian Hustle Network’s mission32:35 Being inspired by the Meiji Shrine34:33 Going viral (thanks, Subtle Asian Traits!)39:14 How do you make everyone feel like they belong?41:11 Wanting to quit after 8 months41:43 Hate Is A Virus movement45:44 Running successful events48:51 The trick to networking50:09 Constantly innovating51:18 Becoming profitable53:04 Sponsorships55:00 Moving to Southeast Asia57:57 Difference to EST Media58:46 The Vietnamese Way1:03:11 Bing Chen of Gold House📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/113  💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062🥳STIMY episodes are now open to sponsorship! Just email sothisismywhy@gmail.com to find out more.

We've heard from Eric Sim all week.In Part 1, we learned about his journey from working at his father's prawn noodle hawker stall to becoming the Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank.In Part 2, Eric explains why he left it all behind, the importance of building a portfolio career, why LinkedIn & his secret to building a 2.9 million following on LinkedIn!In today's special episode, we asked Eric questions that came from YOU, the STIMY listeners!YOUR Questions to Eric:1:10 Framework to evaluate opportunities [Lily Wu]4:10 What is Eric Sim's life purpose? [Sam Huen]5:12 What does the creator economy look like in 3 years & what's 1 action that people can take to best position themselves for it? [Lester Chng]8:36 Lessons learned after writing his book, Small Actions Leading Your Career to Big Success [Craig Davis]📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/112-questions 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Eric had the world at his feet.He had gone from selling prawn noodles at his father's hawker stall in Singapore to becoming the Managing Director of UBS Investment Bank.So why did he throw it all away? 😱What comes after all that?For Eric, a lot more.He was constantly learning skills & combining them in unique ways. From learning to sail to video editing and becoming LinkedIn's top influencer in both Singapore and China thanks to his 2.9 MILLION followers.In this Part 2, we dive into Eric's life after banking.How we can & should all be building a portfolio career. Why LinkedIn. His book writing journey & the crazy way he sells his books in China.If you feel stuck in your career, or don't know how to stand out from your peers, then this is the roadmap to adopt. 😉Highlights:2:39 Why stop being the Managing Director?3:53 Pursuing a portfolio career5:57 The start of Eric’s LinkedIn journey in Hong Kong7:45 Content pillars9:13 How do you gain 2.9 million LinkedIn followers?!10:01 Why LinkedIn?13:59 Where’s the line?16:13 Building community22:16 Small Actions25:20 Should I write a book?26:44 Self-publication & Kinokuniya’s Kenny Chan28:42 Marketing30:29 What’s the China market like?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/112-2💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

How does a shy boy with no social skills, who failed his mathematics & went to school smelling of prawns every day... become the Managing Director of UBS?Just ask Eric Sim.The truth is:❌ Eric didn't just fail his maths.He also failed his English Literature & History papers and had to work at his father's prawn noodle shop before going to school.❌ He bombed his first job in FX Sales role at DBS Bank.❌ He failed all his job interviews in London (which he attended wearing a chicken suit!).But Eric's story doesn't end there.He:✅ Figured out how to leverage on his unique background, i.e. as the son of a hawker & bartender, to build a unique personal brand & score his first job;✅ Found an amazing boss, Prasanna Thombre, who believed in him & gave him all the international opportunities he needed; and✅ Built relationships that meant that his future jobs were all referred to him.Eric learned very quickly that you need to do more than just your job to thrive.And we talked about the cultural nuances of working in different Asian cities (including Ulaanbaatar!), what it meant to be the Managing Director, why he would go to the same restaurant x4 a week!! & how he networks to build the relationships he needs.Highlights:2.52: Forced to drink oat milk & selling prawn noodles5:27 Carving potatoes was a lie!6:43 Developing an inferiority complex (+ learning everything!)9:16 Sending an unsolicited application to DBS Bank12:35 Restarting his career at Lancaster University14:36 Wearing a chicken suit for interviews at London's financial banks16:15 The Asian Financial Crisis & Prasanna Thombre20:53 Moving to Citi23:41 Working in Shanghai & witnessing the liberalisation of China's financial sector24:52 Chinese business culture25:55 Cigarettes28:09 The importance of being friends with all the chefs30:31 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia31:38 Why Eric keeps getting referrals for jobs32:33 Why Citi was Eric's dream job35:09 Did the wealthy look down at Eric?37:11 Why being a hawker's son helped Eric as a banker40:14 Meeting Hawker Chan42:53 Becoming Managing Director at UBS (investment banking)44:30 Was Eric a successful MD?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/112 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062P/S: Part 2 of Eric's episode comes out this WEDNESDAY! And we talked about why Eric left his high-flying role as Managing Director, how he built a 2.9 million LinkedIn follower count, the importance of personal branding & building a second career, and his journey as a published author in Asia and specifically, China.

Amanda Cua is the founder of Backscoop: the hottest newsletter covering all things in the Southeast Asian startup industry.She’s only 20 years old but:Backscoop has already crossed 10,000 subscribers;Has attracted funding from Buko Ventures;Been featured on CNN; andHas moderated a Wild Digital firechat with Jaeson Ma of 88Rising & OP3N.All this - with no college degree.Who said COVID-19 pandemic projects can’t go far? 😉But if you listen to this STIMY episode, you’ll soon realise that Backscoop is so much more than a mere side project. Amanda envisions it to be a regional media company for the people in Southeast Asian tech.So if you’re interested in what drives Amanda, what it takes to run a newsletter that publishes x5/week (it now has a podcast!) & also what’s happening in the Southeast Asian startup space, then this is the episode for you.Highlights:7:00 Deciding to not go to university10:11 Maximising her gap year15:53 Cold outreach tactics17:38 Launching her own startup, Backscoop20:36 Why Southeast Asia (and not APAC)?26:59 Researching other newsletters29:58 The different iterations of Backscoop31:24 Dropping Soft Serve32:44 Most effective growth strategy34:34 Getting over stagnant growth35:56 Building a regional media company37:26 Trends in the Southeast Asian tech scene39:36 Accepting investment from Buko Ventures43:39 Launching a new product, One More Scoop44:55 What’s the value proposition?47:02 Serendipity49:37 Personal branding53:42 Competitor that Amanda admires & why📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/111🍦Subscribe to Backscoop: https://sparklp.co/p/9c1a338c2c 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success & build a portfolio career on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Welcome to Part 2 of Ian Lee's episode.In Part 2, we talked all about how we should measure our lives. How Ian Lee pivoted from art to design then investment banking and consulting. How cancer changed his life. Why we shouldn’t make 10 year long-term plans and instead, pursue the things that interest us most in 12-18 month increments & so much more!This episode, deals with all things web3.From going into banking to being tasked with finding out about bitcoin, how he ended up being the Head of Crypto & Blockchain, all things decentralised social networks and what he's now trying to achieve at Syndicate.Highlights:2:26 Being ridiculed by bankers4:56 Learning about Bitcoin11:37 Attending Bitcoin conferences as a "suspicious" person13:38 Forking the Bitcoin network with Citi coin17:43 Leaving Citi18:45 Being crushed by... Ethereum?!24:40 Joining IDEO27:15 Meeting his co-founder, Will32:33 Creating the YouTube of web3 investment40:15 Collectives42:32 Working towards Balaji's vision of a network stake?44:08 Singapore rice dishes47:44 Does everyone have just 1 calling?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/110💌  Weekly Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success & purpose on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062P/S: Did you know that STIMY is on YouTube?! Please do subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/SoThisIsMyWhy

Ian Lee is the co-founder of Syndicate: a decentralised investing protocol & social network by the likes of A16Z, IDEO, Kleiner Perkins, Uniswap, Coinbase, Opensea, circle & Ledger. He is also the former founding member of IDEO Colab and Head of crypto & blockchain at Citi.But before all that, he was an artist. Then a designer. Before pivoting into marketing & advertising, investment banking and finally, consulting.Where he ended up being diagnosed with cancer. His world shrunk into 3 month timeframes, because he just didn’t know if he would live beyond each three month period. Ian’s worldview changed. He was and remains afraid to try new things. In Part 1 of Episode 110, our discussion centres around the fundamental question of: How do we measure our life?Opening with a viral Tweet that Ian wrote, inspired by a Harvard Professor called Clayton Christensen where he learned that:  The best strategy in life is an emergent one. Don’t plan life in 5-10 year spans. Instead go all-in on what you have the most conviction, passion & excitement for in 12-18 month increments. You’ll learn more, grow faster & outperform others not as into it as you.You’ll learn how and why in this episode, and so very much more in this episode with Ian Lee.Highlights:2:41 Don’t plan your life in 5 to 10 year spans3:49 Going to art school instead of science?!6:07 Being diagnosed with cancer7:43 Living in 2 to 3 month increments9:26 Exploring rabbit holes19:10 Life isn’t a linear progression20:36 Letting go of his need for obsessive planning22:15 Is there a place for long term vision and planning?24:38 Would Ian really do anything differently?27:59 Knowing when to quit30:44 How to plan for a pivot35:39 Juggling art and business in his CV42:45 Mentors48:53 Fostering relationships with mentorsP/S: Part 1 of the interview with Ian Lee comes out this Wednesday! Where we talk all about Ian’s deep dive into the world of investment banking & web3.📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/110💌 Weekly Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success & purpose on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

If you want to hear from someone who: ❓Helped purchase Lehman Brothers (US) for £1.75 billion;❓Built out the equity practice in Europe for Barclays Capital;❓Worked for Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of the UK; and❓Now works as the General Counsel in a web3 company that builds core blockchain infrastructure?Then STIMY’s latest episode with Chrissy Hill, General Counsel at Parity Technologies, is not one you want to miss! Chrissy shares her journey from South Carolina into the web3 space, and some of the milestones in her career, including:2:33 Being the baby of the family5:23 A legacy of lawyers7:26 Working at Linklaters’ London office8:49 Becoming the Director of Compliance at Barclays Capital13:38 Purchasing Lehman Brothers (US) for £1.75 billion15:24 Working for Tony Blair at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change18:22 Working at a mission-driven organisation21:21 Entering the web3 space23:16 The concept of privacy27:02 Working at Parity Technologies31:34 What does a web3 lawyer do?34:59 Regulations coming inSo if you want to know what it’s like to be a top notch lawyer in the web3 space, this episode is for you!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/109🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

It’s cool to be a YouTuber these days.But how do you go pro?What’s your life like?And how much do you earn?!To answer this over the Chinese New Year (hope everyone is feasting well!), we’ve got Gerald Sebastian - co-founder of Kok Bisa, which with 4.4 million subscribers makes them one of the biggest YouTubers in Asia!In this episode, we learn how Gerald ended up being a full-time YouTuber, how they’ve built Kok Bisa, the kind of content that goes viral, their monetisation strategy & so much more. So if you wanna be a YouTuber, or just want to understand what it takes to produce the videos we binge on (don’t lie, I know you use YouTube 😝), then this is the STIMY episode for you!Highlights:2:30 Being a superhero5:00 Asking questions nonstop7:54 Finding his YouTube co-founder, Ketut Yoga Yudistira9:54 Creating a different kind of content11:19 What it takes to produce YouTube content12:25 Going from 14 to 25,000 subscribers with 1 video!13:35 Making videos to answer questions from the Kok Bisa audience18:18 The reiteration process19:21 The secret to going viral on YouTube21:00 Humour21:42 Indonesian meatballs24:24 The importance of YouTube Shorts25:25 How do you grab attention?29:20 Becoming a full-time YouTuber31:48 Deciding on the equity split32:42 Questions to ask a potential co-founder33:51 Navigating burnout & mental health issues34:55 The different monetary streams they’ve created36:23 How do you get sponsorship?43:20 What’s next?48:16 When do you use the “talking head”?Descript: https://www.descript.com/?lmref=sjT9JA📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/108 💌  Weekly Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success & purpose on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Michelle Toh is every Asian parents' dream child.She's ambitious.Has a strong sense of self.And will do whatever it takes to succeed - including cold pitching South China Morning Post & landing an internship in her teens!Her initial dream was to be in fashion (she's worked at/for Elite Model Management, Hearst Magazines & HuffPost too). Then she pivoted and ended up becoming:😮 the Hong Kong Editor of Fortune; and😮 writer & reporter at CNN BusinessWhere she has: 🔥 hunted down super yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs🔥 covered some of the world's biggest IPOs - e.g. Grab, DiDi, Coupang & Kuaishou Technology🔥 conducted interviews with:Moderna CEO Stéphane BancelNetflix COO Greg PetersGrab Co-Founder Hooi Ling Tan A16Z partner Connie ChanImpossible Foods President Dennis WoodsideAnd did I mention that Michelle is a Malaysian too?!So:How did Michelle go from studying with royalty (she saw her classmate being fetched by helicopter to attend state events!) to working with the top journalists in the world?What is it like, really, to work at CNN?How does CNN handle "fake news"?How does she gain trust?And how important is personal branding (+ LinkedIn) for a journalist like Michelle?You'll have to listen to Episode 107 of the So This Is My Why Podcast to find out. 😉Highlights:2:36 Having a strong sense of self4:52 Where Michelle’s drive came from7:04 Sense of inferiority7:56 Working at South China Morning Post, Elite Model & a law firm9:23 Cold emailing for internships!9:54 The secret to cold emails10:50 “I hope this finds you well”12:38 Going from Harper’s Bazaar to boring old news?!17:24 Going from Fortune to CNN19:09 The Morning Show20:32 The behind-the-scenes of working at CNN23:49 Asian discrimination27:11 Deciding on which stories get shared28:40 Fake news! How did you spot them?32:23 Hunting down a superyacht worth USD 500 million!36:21 Public image38:24 Building a personal brand41:30 Why LinkedIn42:30 How do you craft a story?44:21 Mentors46:20 Do you need a journalism degree?38:23 Hallmarks of star journalists50:42 How Michelle gains trust52:07 How listeners can help Michelle📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/107 💌 Weekly Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success & purpose on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442Official BioMichelle Toh is an award-winning writer and reporter for CNN Business, based at the network's Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong. She covers business and tech across APAC, writing breaking news, features and analysis about companies, startups and banks in the region.Toh has covered some of the top stories in global business, including the disruption and inequality caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the corporate response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the crackdown in China on private enterprise, the Evergrande crisis, the US-China trade war, the fallout from the Hong Kong protests, and Huawei's battle in the United States. She has also covered the recent historic market turbulence and some of the world's biggest public offerings, including those of Grab, Didi, Kuaishou, and Coupang.Toh has interviewed leaders of some of the world's top companies, including Tiffany CEO Alessandro Bogliolo, Galaxy Entertainment's billionaire Chairman Lui Che Woo, Netflix COO Greg Peters, Grab Co-Founder Tan Hooi Ling, Tinder CEO Elie Seidman, Yum China CEO Joey Wat, ex-Reddit CEO Ellen Pao, and Impossible Foods President Dennis Woodside. Her reporting frequently appears across CNN's digital and television platforms, and she often contributes to the network's "Meanwhile in China" newsletter.In 2021, she led a team across six CNN bureaus on an interactive project about workplace discrimination of Asians around the world, which won an Award of Excellence from the Society of News Design.Prior to joining CNN, Toh was the Hong Kong editor of Fortune Magazine, where she led a breaking news team, reported on business trends, and researched fundraising deals for its "Term Sheet" newsletter. Her work has also featured in publications including TIME, USA Today, the South China Morning Post and HuffPost. She has moderated and covered panels at major international conferences, such as CES in Las Vegas and Shanghai, Most Powerful Women in Laguna Niguel, California, and RISE in Hong Kong.

ICYMI (in case you missed it) features some of my favourite moments from earlier STIMY episodes.Back in Episode 85, Dr Robin Dunbar (Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford) shares how the way boys & girls handle relationships are completely different.The relationships that boys have is a lot more casual and club-based. If we belong to the same club, then we're friends.Whereas for girls? Well, girls need to be interacting with each other. Sharing secrets. And if they don't, then the relationship weakens.What do you think? 🤔Listen to the full episode here: 🎙️Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442?i=1000566279914🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4VuxAs76IE0wJgItPzoZHe?si=m1NsNAl6QgCk4n4sY3TTow 🎙️Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ Other Links:📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/85   💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy Please leave a review & rating here! - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

Xavier Desmet is the Head of Digital Natives, Startups and Unicorns for Asia at Zoom.And in this episode, we talk about all:Tiger Mums (or for the French, “Jewish Mums”);Xav’s “WTF” moment when he realised that management consultancy wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life;His journey in the startup world and why he decided to leave Paris;Whether your life ends when you have kids;How words can change your brain;How Xav’s initial months at Microsoft were “absolute hell” and how that changed; The cultural differences working in the startup world in France, Australia and Southeast Asia; and So much more.Want the details?You’ll have to listen to Xav Desmet’s episode. 😉Highlights:2:50 We are all grown up children5:35 Having a “Jewish Mum”7:07 The French education system is violent & elitist12:08 How entrepreneurs are viewed in France13:47 Why leave management consultancy to run a startup?15:38 Breakthrough moments18:34 Finding like minded partners21:56 The average lifespan of a startup is…?28:57 Going on a 11 month sabbatical34:51 How you can find the values in your life37:25 The first 6 months at Microsoft were “absolute hell”40:18 Four reasons Microsoft became great43:26 Shutting down his startup43:36 You’re a failure49:33 Moving to a startup called Zoom52:31 Delivering happiness54:12 The difference in startup culture in France, Australia & Southeast Asia58:16 Startups that Xav wants to help with59:48 Mentors📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/106 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062Sponsored by Descript: https://www.descript.com/?lmref=sjT9JAOfficial BioAfter graduating as a Computer Science Engineer in France and completing a Postgraduate Master of Technology Management at UNSW, Xav quickly realised that his passion wasn’t in coding in C but in people, technology and entrepreneurship.He started his career as Management Consultant in the UK but in 2005, his entrepreneurial nature led him to co-found and develop, Mome Sweet Mome, the master Franchise of Les Petits Bilingues, the first and leading network of immersive English learning centres for children from a very young age. He sold his shares in 2011 and today, Les Petits Bilingues are still the leader in France with more than 10,000 children enrolled each year. The same year he decided it was time to discover new horizons and moved with his wife and two new born children from Paris to Sydney, becoming also Australian in the process.Down under, he joined Microsoft in Enterprise Strategic roles while also experimenting with ventures on the side (Perenne Investments and Solana) and becoming a sport addict through triathlons and long distance trail running.He relocated to Singapore with his family in December 2020 during the pandemic and recently joined Zoom where he now leads the Digital Natives sales activities for Asia.In his free time, you will find Xav influencing his family and friends to adopt a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle such as adopting a plant based diet."

Welcome to the first STIMY episode of 2023!For the 105th episode, we're doing a little sneak peek into some of the upcoming episodes and as always, they're varied, but interesting.With tons of insights to apply into our own lives.We've got:Xav Desmet: Head of Digital Natives, Startups & Unicorn for Asia at ZoomFabien Riggall: Founder & Chief Creative Officer of Secret Cinema (he took movies like Star Wars & Moulin Rouge, brought them to live & allowed the public to experience it like they were one of the characters!)Gerald Sebastian: One of the biggest Indonesian YouTubers with over 4.23 million subscribersMichelle Toh: Writer/Report at CNNIan Lee: co-founder of Syndicate & the former Head of Crypto at CitibankAlvin Chiong: Former secret society member & heroin addictEnara Nazarova: VP of Metaverse at HypeDr Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro: Head of Metaverse Fashion Week at DecentralandAnd so much more.I hope this gets you excited for what we have in store for 2023!And if you've been enjoying So This Is My Why, please do leave a review. It really helps the podcast reach more people. 😍📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/105💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

Welcome to Ep 104 of the So This Is My Why Podcast and this is... Goodbye! 😱At least to 2022.This will be the last episode of 2022 because it's time for a break :)That said, I didn't want to sign off without sharing a little something about what STIMY has achieved, and also highlight some special moments from STIMY episodes this year. Featured STIMY guests include:Ep 103: Nicole Levinson - Former VP of Marketing North America, LVMHEp 102: Notle - the ex-convict who once ran Singapore's first and largest social escort businessesEp 101: Adrian Tan - the King of SingaporeEp 99: Davy Liu - the first Chinese Disney animator, who worked on classics like the Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, Star Wars & the AtlantisEp 95: Marja Konttinen - Marketing Director at DecentralandEp 96: Aaron Tang - Country Manager of LunoEp 93: Geoffrey See - founder of Poko & Choson Exchange, the largest social enterprise in North KoreaEp 92: General Tan Sri Borhan - retired 4 star General & former Chief of Defence ForcesEp 87: Phil Libin - co-founder of Evernote & mmhmmHighlights:0:00 Goodbye?!3:18 Biggest advice to all young working professionals: Don't be a substitute4:30 Biggest lesson from prison6:29 Prison culture is a death sentence8:18 Dumber than Forrest Gump10:14 The biggest lesson Disney taught Davy wasn't how to draw cartoons, but to...11:21 The secret sauce behind LVMH's success13:23 What must all founders do all the time?!14:37 Build your career like an adventure16:08 The House of YES17:32 Hustling for your first writing gig18:30 How do you become a Huffington Post writer?19:27 The challenges of building a social enterprise in North Korea21:16 Feeling left behind (despite the public accolades)23:13 Building Evernote felt like cheating?!24:39 Anyone can love durians25:40 Be cruel in order to be kind26:41 The leadership style of a 4 star GeneralSee you back on 1 January 2023!Where I'll be sharing a sneak peek into upcoming episodes on STIMY. We’ve got YouTubers, Olympians, celebrity founders, a CNN correspondent, the CEO of one of the biggest confectioneries in town, a giant in the real estate development world, prominent politicians and so much more. 😎It's gonna be great!P/S: If you'd like to support what STIMY is doing, would you consider being a Patreon supporter? You can find the link here: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/104💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Nicole Levinson is the House of Yes.And unafraid of forging her own path, which includes being: 🔥 Chief Marketing Officer, audo🔥 Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing and Partnerships for Playboy Club, New York🔥 Vice President of Marketing, North America for LVMHBut who is Nicole Levinson?Nicole is the child of Holocaust grandparent survivors.She began her career in Christie's, then Sotheby's, before pivoting into the world of PR with Elizabeth Harrison of H&S, who told her, “Take your panty hose off!” 🤣They were hustlers. And Elizabeth was the House of Yes.Because as Nicole learned: Most people in the room don’t know either. So you’ve just gotta figure it out!But Nicole’s journey didn’t end there. She later became the VP of Marketing North America, LVMH, where she oversaw marketing & merchandising for MAKE UP FOREVER. And also the Senior VP Brand Marketing & Partnerships, Playboy Club New York during the #metoo movement. Which definitely raised some eyebrows.Along the way, she’s also worked in the hospitality, fashion, spirits, arts and automotive industries.And that variety is something Nicole considers to be her strength.So.🤔 What drives Nicole?🤔 What is LVMH’s secret sauce?🤔 How can founders remain “authentic”?🤔 And what impact did Playboy’s collaboration with Jeremy Scott & his MET Gala appearance have on the brand?We deal with all that and more in STIMY’s episode 103.Highlights:2:48 The child of Holocaust grandparent survivors & the link to Steven Spielberg7:49 Betty Boop to Christie’s11:43 Death, divorce or debt13:40 Why is Christie’s better than Sotheby’s? 😏15:52 The profile of the top 1% clientele19:28 Feeling lost & changing industries20:31 Meeting Elizabeth Harrison & “take your panty hose off!”23:47 Celebrity wrangling26:09 Moving to LVMH29:00 LVMH’s secret sauce31:41 How do you ensure the founder story is front & centre?33:06 What does “authenticity” look like?35:28 The secret to staying humble36:30 What drives Nicole41:05 How Nicole ended up at Playboy New York during the #metoo movement49:18 Finding editors to champion the brand51:01 Fashion Week with Jeremy Scott of Moschino52:02 The impact of the MET Gala on Playboy57:05 What is audo?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/103🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 ✨ Sponsored by Descript: https://www.descript.com/?lmref=sjT9JA

Notle Chew grew up a Crazy Rich Asian. Who later ended up joining the Secret Society & running one of Singapore’s first social escort businesses (and a successful one at that!) for almost 7 years before he ended up in prison.Which, as you can tell, is not a story you’d normally find on STIMY. But also a story I’ve really wanted to have told.Because I believe that we can learn so much from people from all different parts of society.And Notle’s life story is a cautionary tale, while also giving us a glimpse into a part of society that isn’t often heard of. There is a price to be paid for our actions and in Notle’s case, a hefty one.Some things we talked about:What it means be a member of the secret society; The concept of trust and brotherhood, the initiation process is like and how he ended up leaving the secret society;The 8 o’clock rule;Why he started a social escort business, and grew it to be one of the top businesses around;How he ended up being caught;What it was like being in prison;How he shook off his depression and suicidal thoughts; andWhy he believes 80% of ex-convicts can't be helped.As we cover a lot of heavy topics, please consider this a trigger warning.Highlights:3:19 The name “Notle”4:01 Life of a Crazy Rich Asian6:49 Recruited to join the secret society in school11:56 The 8 o’clock sharp rule19:15 Paying the price to leave the secret society22:08 Initiation process for secret society members24:56 The secret society mindset26:10 How trust operates in a secret society27:01 What does “justice” mean?27:30 Brotherhood30:50 Starting a social escort business33:44 Advertising for female workers39:25 Staying competitive41:08 The business model44:40 Business expansion46:48 Being caught by the police47:47 Life in prison49:18 Finding God49:18 Not regretting prison54:36 Healing broken relationships59:57 Triad Trails & the girl1:04:54 Best way for society to support ex-convicts1:05:47 80% of ex-convicts will never change1:07:40 Identifying the 20% that can be helped📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/102 💌  Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you the most interesting person in the room: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

Welcome to a special Questions from the Audience episode with Adrian Tan!Adrian Tan is STIMY's latest Ep 101 guest, i.e.the King of SingaporePresident of Singapore's Law SocietyPartner at TSMP Law CorporationProlific LinkedIn writerAnd several weeks ago, I asked on LinkedIn & Instagram whether any of you had questions for Adrian.Turns out, 5 of you did!And here, Adrian answers them all.Highlights:1:01 Aaron Lim - Cancer treatment & mortality2:04 Jeff Ong - How cancer affected Adrian's work performance3:43 Adrian's many, many, many hats!4:00 Jeff Ong - The tipping point that changed Adrian's perspective on serving others5:46 Kris Ang - Advice for son who wants to become a lawyer! 🤩7:29 Jade Tan - What keeps Adrian motivated even after being diagnosed with cancer8:57 Dave Nathar - Singapore's death penalty on drug trafficking11:19 Dave Nathar - What's behind Singapore/Malaysia's cultural divide? (because obviously won the food debate, obviously 😝)Special ThanksTo Aaron Lim, Jeff Ong, Kris Ang, Jade Tan and Dave Nathan for submitting your questions.And being part of STIMY!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/101🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you the most interesting person in the room: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

Adrian Tan, the King of Singapore & ultimate Linkedin Influencer, is back with Part 2 (check out Part 1 in the previous episode)!Here, Adrian shares how his career developed as a lawyer, why he hated his time as a General Counsel, thinks that lawyers should be legal influencers, how his LinkedIn posts go so viral and more.Highlights:1:58 Embarrassed by his bestselling books5:59 The non-confrontational litigator?10:01 Working with Davinder Singh, one of Singapore’s top litigators12:50 How to be a good legal associate14:16 The art of persuasion15:28 Secret to good writing17:25 Becoming the General Counsel of Crimson Logic20:18 It was awful21:26 Being involved in the Singapore Law Society24:05 Lawyers need to be legal influencers26:55 Writing bland posts to…?32:10 Advice for young lawyers writing online33:20 The secret to viral posts34:48 Fighting cancer, cases & for lawyers37:41 The 3 friends we haveP/S: A special ‘Questions from the Audience’ with Adrian Tan will be released this Wednesday!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/101🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/i1eK1LO6WoU 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you the most interesting person in the room: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 BioAdrian Tan is a litigator specialising in technology, intellectual property, collective sales and shareholder disputes. He is the President of the Law Society of Singapore.Adrian was the former general counsel of CrimsonLogic and holds a degree in computer science and psychology which gives him the foundation to address technology-related disputes. His degree in computer science and psychology gives him the foundation to address technology-related disputes. He has represented clients in a wide range of technology and intellectual property disputes, ranging from data centre construction, social media defamation, copyright infringement and passing-off in relation to consumer electronics, and patent infringement of vaccines.

The King of Singapore has spoken… to me! 😮His accolades are every Asian parent’s wet dream:👉🏻 President of Singapore’s Law Society;👉🏻 Partner at TSMP;👉🏻 Bestselling author of The Teenage Textbook & The Teenage Workbook, which were turned into a play, movie and TV series etc.; and👉🏻 LinkedIn writing extraordinaire (all his posts go viral & even hit the mainstream media headlines!)But who is Adrian Tan, really?How did Adrian Tan end up where he is?What was it like growing up in a HDB community that didn’t understand the concept of “privacy”? E.g. Everyone treated Adrian’s family TV as their own, and crowded outside to watch together. 🤣How did he end up writing bestselling fiction novels (whose royalties put him through university)?Why is he the King of Singapore?And how has cancer ☹️ impacted him? 🔥 So much to cover in STIMY’s spanking new Episode 101 Part 1.You’ll just have to listen to find out more! 😏Highlights:2:23 Singapore’s immigrant story10:33 Getting into Anglo Chinese Primary School through ballot15:54 Maternal gaslighting19:20 The TV belongs to everyone! 😫21:59 Top grades doesn’t guarantee success in life24:59 Chinese people can be very racist30:02 Failing to get a scholarship to study law because Adrian’s English was too good33:10 Why law?34:31 Writing for magazines & getting a book offer36:31 Getting a book deal to write The Teenage Textbook & The Teenage Workbook38:38 How much royalties do authors get?40:56 Why did a subversive book become a bestseller?Part 2 of Adrian Tan’s interview is coming out this coming Sunday (27 Nov)!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/101🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/QOEeOIiQvyk🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you the most interesting person in the room: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Welcome to STIMY’s 100th episode!In this landmark episode, Red Hong Yi (former STIMY Ep 2 guest) is back as the guest HOST!She brings the 🔥 & asks about my entire journey because since June 2020, STIMY has grown to:12k+ followers31k+ downloads35+ countries; A book offer; and 1 STIMY physical hangout. All in the span of 2+ years!!WOW. If you’ve ever been curious as to who I am, why I started STIMY, lessons learned, my 200k word novel and what’ll happen moving forward… then this is the episode for you.Please leave a review/tag us if you listen to this! I’d love to hear from you.Highlights:4:04 Kathmandu & a pet podcast project5:02 My MBTI 7:38 ISTP10:01 How Red Hong Yi & I met12:02 How serious was I about STIMY?12:27 The milestone age of 30 & Daniel Pink16:23 Juggling work & everything else20:21 Podcast setup21:28 Everything is figureoutable23:22 Creating my 1st website at the age of 1024:31 Being strategic about my travel blog (www.vidadeliya.com)25:81 My secret aim with every STIMY interview28:57 Why do I enjoy stories so much?30:17 The most emotional story - Notle35:07 The dream of being a novelist37:44 Going viral on LinkedIn 45:03 Keep going with no engagement45:38 Gaining access to extraordinary people46:16: Being intimidated?53:07 The secret to success55:51 Joe, Bumble & Dating57:37 Web3, NFTs and Memebank1:00:38 How I pick STIMY guests1:01:22 Drag Queens1:02:02 Faith & Davy Liu1:04:41 STIMY Hangouts in person1:10:18 LinkedIn writing is like reading a personal diary1:11:14 Writer’s block1:14:47 What’s after STIMY’s 100th episode?1:17:24 Street art & Lawyah1:18:43 Has my why changed?1:19:28 Getting a book offer1:20:20 Serendipity & Cesar Kuriyama1:24:12 Have you questioned your own why?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/100🍿 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Y1Maw1eUw 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 P/S: Descript is the life-changing video/audio editing app I mentioned, that you can find here: https://www.descript.com/?lmref=sjT9JA

Welcome to STIMY's special Questions from the Audience episode!Remember Davy Liu, the former Disney animator from STIMY Ep 99?We collected some questions from you, dear listeners of STIMY, and had Davy answer them!To Nathan, Wei Choon & Josh Wong - thank you for being part of STIMY. :)0:24 At what point did Davy's parents change their mind about his profession as an artist?4:02 Thoughts on merging or converting Asian stories in a Western or global audience9:39 Challenges in creating wholesome content when the media is full of NSFW content📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/99 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Davy Liu is a Chinese Forrest Gump.He’s also a former Disney animator who’s worked on Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Mulan, Atlantis and Star Wars, and is the founder of Kendu Films.Fun Fact: General Shang in Mulan was drawn based off Davy! There's an uncanny likeness between both fo them.Now. Given Davy’s illustrious career, you would’ve thought that he’s had a smooth career trajectory but that’s hardly the case.He struggled while growing up in Taiwan, where everyone was expected to score straight As but he just couldn’t. Instead, he had the gift of drawing straight lines. And being an artist was not on the cards.When he later moved to the US, he was placed in an all-black school (everyone thought he was Bruce Lee!). While there, Poppy Kincaid, his 8th grade art teacher, transformed his life. Telling him that “he could do it”.He ended up going to art school (then dropping out when he realised fine arts wasn’t for him), and had to apply 4 times to get into Disney!!Davy intended only to be in Disney for 3 months but that turned into 5 years, and in this STIMY episode, Davy shares what it was like working on some of the most iconic Disney animation films to date, as well as what it takes to craft a great story.We also talked about his faith, why he quit his cushy 6-figure Disney job, the terrible period straight after quitting where he lost everything (his marriage, finances etc.) and how he built himself back up.Davy’s story is one of passion and having the gumption and determination to go after what you want.And also the stark difference between Asia and the West.Highlights:2:34 Being “dead” in his mother’s womb for 10 days5:03 Being dumber than Forrest Gump6:37 Moving to an all-black school in Florida8:22 How Poppy Kincaid, his 8th grade art teacher, changed his life13:17 Dropping out of fine arts16:02 Seeing himself as an artist17:21 Nearly drowning21:58 Applying to Disney23:22 Working at Disney26:07 Disney animation films take 4 years to complete - here’s why29:53 Pushing boundaries v generating revenue32:59 What makes a good story?34:11 No one wanted to work on The Lion King!35:27 Disney doesn’t teach you to draw cartoon characters; it teaches you to make the best commercials39:31 Working on Mulan41:05 The backstory to Mushu the Dragon42:20 How to make Asians more creative?46:15 Entering a dark period after quitting Disney49:16 Feeling that God had abandoned him50:49 Vision behind Kendu Films51:25 Power of telling stories from an animal’s perspective55:28 What’s next?P/S: There’s a special episode focused on Questions from STIMY Audience Segment where Davy answers questions submitted by you! The episode will be released this Wednesday.📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/99  🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌  Get the latest STIMY updates/learn how to be the most interesting person in the room: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

Devil Wears Prada is the closest thing I have to the world of high fashion.When I asked Francine Ballard how closely it mimicked reality, she said, “There is some truth to that.”And she should know.Francine Ballard has worked in the fashion industry for a while. She was the American Fashion Director at Time Inc (InStyle), Conde Nast (Lucky magazine), and PaperCity Magazine as Style Editor at Large, working with fashion and jewelry brands Hermès, Gucci, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier among others before transitioning to the technology space.Francine is also a founding member of BFF, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Paris Hilton and founders Brit Morin and Jaime Schmidt, and co-founder of several startups including Metagolden - a web3 emporium selling luxury phygitals.In this episode, we tackle how Francine went from a small island in Hawaii to the world of high fashion publication, what it takes to rise to the top, how she got into the web3 space, how the fashion industry is shifting, why phygitals and more.Highlights:2:52 Growing up in Hawaii4:24 Speed until you get a ticket6:26 Devil Wears Prada in real life?8:10 Climbing to the top of US high fashion publication9:40 Founding a registered resale startup13:09 Testing an idea15:04 Fashion Industry x Web317:11 Origins of Metagolden20:35 Phygitals21:54 Traditional fashion house v fashion house of the future24:51 Building community38:06 Are brands afraid of web3?30:09 Interesting use cases32:07 Launching Francine’s 1st collection37:07 How to decide on pricing40:38 Where community comes from 43:31 Building partnerships 45:00 Dream partner 46:51 How to create a sense of belonging47:55 Being a founding member of BFF📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/98🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌  Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Jeremy Au is the Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Projects at Monk’s Hill Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage tech companies, primarily Series A, in Southeast Asia. And is also the host of the BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast!Prior to Monk’s Hill Ventures, Jeremy was CEO & Co-Founder of CozyKin, a VC-backed edtech startup, which was acquired by Higher Ground Education and scaled across multiple cities in North America. He was a Bain & Company consultant and has been recognized with Forbes “30 Under 30” and Prestige “40 Under 40.” If you’re interested in startups, VCs and podcasting, then this is the STIMY episode for you!Highlights:3:42 Helping others5:11 Wanting to be a vaccine researcher7:00 Losing his first love11:23 How the army helped him cope with grief14:25 Life at Berkeley18:44 Founding his first startup20:43 Overcoming scepticism22:57 Finding people who believe in the same cause26:07 Completing his MBA at Harvard University32:31 Co-founding his 2nd startup in mental health39:26 Returning to Singapore & becoming a VC at Monk’s Hill Ventures44:30 Being the Head of Strategic Projects47:03 Founders that have stood out49:03 The current Southeast Asian startup scene📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/97    🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

ICYMI: Zeneca 33, prolific NFT investor & thought leader (he has 300k Twitter followers!) was on STIMY.If you've ever seen some of Zeneca 33's works/writings, you'll know that he's very bullish about generative art: a type of NFT where the art is generated entirely from code.A particular generative art project that he loves?Art Blocks.We unpacked all that in Zeneca 33's Part 1 STIMY interview & this ICYMI provides a glimpse of that conversation.If you want to listen to the full Part 1 STIMY interview with Zeneca 33, here are the links:📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/86-1 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605🎙️Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442?i=1000566279914🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/037BVfsIJzU25wIkauefnw?si=PiwfYfD3TqyTbNHNWBDHfA

Aaron Tang is a popular Malaysian blogger known as Mr Stingy (on personal finance & career), and the Country Manager of Luno - Malaysia’s first regulated cryptocurrency exchange.In many ways, Aaron’s career has been dictated by his “maximizer personality” & desire to make the greatest use of the resources he had. This has resulted in some pretty ingenious moves, including a use of multiple credit card schemes to pay off his RM58k student debt at the start of his career!In this episode, we explore Aaron’s journey from a high flying oil & gas career to the world of social entrepreneurship (he took a 50% pay cut!), why he started the Mr Stingy blog and how that landed him a job in the crypto world as the current Country Manager of Luno. And of course, all things crypto/NFTs/DAOs!Highlights:3:06 Maximiser personality6:51 Being a Petronas scholar & breaking his bond9:18 Paying off his remaining RM58k student debt with credit cards (p/s: not financial advice!)12:46 Making a contrarian move in his career17:15 Tendering at a bad time19:04 Taking a 50% pay cut24:21 Maximising profits v helping the greatest number of people25:20 Feedback loops25:50 Starting the Mr Stingy blog34:46 How Aaron started writing for the Huffington Post35:46 How blogging got Aaron a job in the crypto space36:54 Discovering bitcoin38:05 Putting skin in the game41:47 HODL & toxic positivity42:43 Going through a baptism of fire as Employee #143:44 Becoming the Country Manager of Luno 45:06 Being a regulated digital asset exchange47:35 What regulators are most concerned about48:55 El Salvador49:42 Anti-money laundering concerns53:50 Algorithmic stablecoins54:35 Why Luna crashed58:31 Are play-to-earn games all about insider trading?1:00:14 Eating humble pie1:01:44 Big idea that Aaron has changed his mind on1:05:34 Underdogs1:06:48 DAOs📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/96 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌  Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

It’s not normal to make yourself redundant, right? 😳It’s hard enough applying for a job 😩, going through 5-8 rounds of interview 🤢before settling into your new role & figuring out how everything works.And what it takes to reach the top. 🧐It’s also not normal to work with NASA to launch a new product (Angry Birds Space🐦 !!) & have an astronaut 👨‍🚀 talk about it live from the International Space Station 🌚.🎉And yet, that’s exactly what Marja Konttinen has been up to. Marja Konttinen is the current Marketing Director at Decentraland - yes, the place that hosts all those fancy avatar-attending Metaverse Fashion & Art Festivals 🎊 . Where virtual plots (pixels, really) have sold for millions 💸.So what’s Marja’s story?Well for starters, Marja has had a very varied career. Which is explained by her approach to work:“My whole career has been this fun adventure where I like saying yes to opportunities and when that opportunity comes, I will definitely go for it.”Her first job in the games industry = beta test Hitman Bloodmoney. Aka playing games all day to uncover bugs & determine the functioning of the gameplay.Aka literally playing to earn money! 👾That kickstarted her 15-year journey in the games industry.A particular highlight we touched on was her stint as Marketing Director at Rovio Entertainment.Her first job?Call NASA. 😍Because Rovio was about to launch Angry Birds Space. It was going to be HUGE, everyone wanted a slice of it, and Marja was at the eye of the storm🌪.Now Marja’s at Decentraland. She’s spearheading its marketing efforts but is quick to say that her ultimate goal is to make herself redundant. Which ties back to the ethos of decentralisation (weird as it sounds!).Her dream: that the Decentraland DAO runs the entire operations by themselves as a collective. So we of course talk about that. What are those challenges? What is the true value of virtual land? And what does it really take to throw a great virtual party?✨Welcome to STIMY Ep 95!✨Highlights:2.56 Being artistic4:47 Saying yes to opportunities7:36 Lessons learned from the gaming industry9:24 Working with gaming developers10:51 Becoming the Marketing Director at Rovio Entertainment12:12 Good partnerships are a gut feeling13:23 Spearheading the launch of Angry Birds Space & NASA Collaboration17:17 Planning the launch17:56 Biggest challenge in the gaming industry18:44 How do you build community?20:34 Making herself redundant as the marketing director at Decentraland23:34 How Decentraland’s DAO works27:30 Challenges in removing herself as a marketing director28:51 Why pick Decentraland over everyone else?32:16 What is the true value of virtual land?35:23 How companies can fully utilise virtual land40:04 Renting, not buying41:44 Behind-the-scenes of throwing a virtual party43:26 What do people always forget to do when planning a virtual party?44:32 Web3 metrics of success 46:05 How companies can get started in web3📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/95 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY updates & learn about other curious things to become the most interesting person in the room:  https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🥺Please leave review for STIMY? -https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

This is an interview where Freda Liu (former STIMY Ep 27 guest!), BFM 89.9 radio TV host turned the tables and interviewed.. me!About my personal journey, particularly with starting this So This Is My Why Podcast.It's still strange to hear myself speak even after publishing 94 episodes, but I do hope you find something interesting out of this interview! E.g. how I went from discovering what a podcast was to deciding to launch one, some of the highlights including interviewing James Corden's Big Boss & being featured multiple times on the Late Late Show with James Corden and my epic 40-day journey in the Himalayas, where my Everest Base Camp hike coincided with the start of the global pandemic. 😅I'd love to know what you think of this episode! So feel free to tag me with a review on any of the platforms you favour, e.g. LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter.Highlights:2:11 My background 3:38 Discovering the world of podcasts5:05 Learning about how to run a podcast6:03 Why "So This Is My Why"?7:08 Main learnings from interviewing almost 100 podcast guests9:08 Interviewing James Corden's Big Boss12:56 How difficult is it to get STIMY's podcast guests?20:07 Faith21:33 Hiking to Everest Base Camp during the global pandemic25:07 Why I wish I'd started the STIMY podcast earlier26:18 Podcast guests that changed the way I think28:41 Interviewing Guy Kawasaki & the "secret" to getting him on📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/94🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting reads to make you smarter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

ICYMI (in case you missed it) features some of my favourite moments from earlier STIMY episodes.Back in Episode 85, Dr Robin Dunbar (Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford) is most known for formulating Dunbar's Number = the cognitive limit of a person in terms of the number of relationships they can handle at any one time.That number if 150.Lots of people disagree, particularly that one person can only have around 150.So what does Dr Robin Dunbar think? 🤔Listen to the full episode here: 🎙️Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442?i=1000566279914🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4VuxAs76IE0wJgItPzoZHe?si=m1NsNAl6QgCk4n4sY3TTow 🎙️Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ Other Links:📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/85   💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy Please leave a review & rating here! - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

What does it mean to be the underdogs? One of the economically marginalised? Unable to open a bank account, cash a cheque… all the things that most of us would take for granted?Geoffrey See - World Economic Forum Young Global Leader & serial entrepreneur - knows this well, because of his extensive work as a social entrepreneur in North Korea via Choson Exchange.But after 11 years, Geoffrey knew that it was time to move on. And in this episode (Part 2), we cover Geoffrey’s journey into the Web3 space. Why his experiences working in North Korea and Vietnam opened his eyes to the potential of blockchain, what he’s aiming to achieve with his new Y Combinator-backed startup, Poko, and his collaboration with the Kazakhstan government to provide the legal wrapper that many DAOs need but struggle to implement.Highlights:3:46 Introduction to Web36:33 Being economically marginalised10:05 Is the ethos behind blockchain flawed?12:18 What are DAOs?14:24 Investment DAOs versus a Traditional VC15:39 Reward mechanism18:19 Proposals20:22 Hallmarks of a successful DAO22:02 Working with the Kazakhstan government 27:20 Why pick the Astana International Financial Centre? If you’d like to learn about Geoffrey’s childhood and his experiences working in North Korea via Choson Exchange (it was turned into a Harvard Business School case study!), do head over to STIMY 93 Part 1 for a listen!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/93 💌  Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting things to make you a more interesting people:  https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy

North Korean women are entrepreneurs.Not the first thing you might think of, but a reality that STIMY’s latest guest - Geoffrey See - knows very well.So who is Geoffrey See?Here’s a quick run down 👇🏻Graduated from Yale University & the Wharton Business School; Worked as a Bain consultant;Co-founded Choson Exchange: a social enterprise that created the largest training program for female entrepreneurs in North Korea - which ended up being profiled in a Harvard Business School case study;Helped launch a blockchain protocol that had a $2B coin cap at its cap;Is a digital currency taskforce member and consumer protection report author at the World Economic Forum Global Council for Digital Currency Governance;Is a Ethereum Foundation fellow and a Kauffman Fellow; andIs now the CEO of Poko: a Y-Combinator backed startup focused on building DAOs to empower the next generation of investors, entrepreneurs and creatorsIn Part 1, we cover his childhood & experience building Choson Exchange.Highlights:3:22 A strange relationship with authority5:28 Wharton Business School8:15 First brush with North Korea10:31 North Korean men in politics, women in business11:17 What does “business” mean in North Korea?14:51 Building partnerships with North Korean Universities16:34 Overcoming paranoia 20:16 How to find champions21:48 Doing due diligence on potential partners23:48 What North Koreans thought of the “rule of law”28:26 Choson Exchange’s financing model30:06 Measuring impact31:15 Keeping the faith 33:58 The people that helped Geoffrey the most (i.e. a former Foreign Minister, National Security Advisor to multiple South Korean Presidents & ex-Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company) 37:05 Deciding to leave Choson Exchange 38:56 The difficulties of letting goOnce you’ve listened to Part 1, head over to Part 2 to learn about how Geoffrey entered the web3 space and what he’s doing with Poko!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/93 💌  Weekly Newsletter on upcoming STIMY guests/interesting things to make you a more interesting people:  https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy

How do you get a Deputy Prime Minister* to give you RM 500 million (USD 105M)?By having the guts & conviction of a Tiger General. 👇🏻Several months ago, I interviewed General Tan Sri (Dr)’ Borhan bin Ahmad (Retired): a retired 4 star General & former Chief of Defence Forces in Malaysia - the highest military rank that one can attain.⚔️ This was the 82-year-old man who had:Established Malaysia’s special forces in the mid-1960s;Fought in the Congos, the Vietnam War (escaping days before the fall of Saigon) & Malaysia’s Undeclared War;Swam from Singapore to Johor because the British said that Malaysians could never become Commandos.And we’re just getting started. I don’t want to spoil his epic story, so you’ll just have to listen to it yourself!Highlights: 1:43 Growing up under Japanese occupation3:54 Pretending he had died5:29 Running away to military school6:27 Military life7:41 Swimming through shark-infested waters from Pangkor Laut to Pulau Pangkor8:56 Swimming from Singapore to Johor to prove that the Malaysians could be Commandos too (to the British)9:51 Almost studying medicine11:59 Being transformed into a professional soldier12:49 Military strategies he learned15:40 What’s it like to kill someone?16:12 Was the General ever afraid of death?17:40 Be cruel in order to be kind18:28 What makes a good officer?19:51 Fighting in the Congos23:18 Fighting in Malaysia’s Undeclared War27:08 Founding the Malaysian Special Forces26:43 What makes a Commando?27:52 The General’s toughest operation30:49 A father + 3 sons32:36 Fighting in the Vietnam War38:43 Giving up the Green Beret41:05 What is your leadership style? 41:58 The greatest leader he ever met44:44 Just join the system? 45:56 His greatest achievement as the Chief of Defence Forces47:00 Finding a treasure trove of oysters + getting Anuar to give him RM 500 million!49:02 Being threatened with court-martial 50:26 What he thinks of the Malaysian special forces today 54:29 The General’s greatest regret 55:35 Advice for those who want to be CommandosSpecial thanks to Lt Col Assoc Prof Dr. Ananthan (Retired), National Defence University of Malaysia, for making this interview possible.P/S: The General has his own book out. DM me if you’d like to get a copy!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/92   🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Subscribe to STIMY’s weekly newsletter for exclusive STIMY updates & other interesting people/things I’ve come across during the week: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

Welcome to a very special STIMY Episode 91 & I'm delighted to see all the new STIMY followers this week!Instead of the normal guest format, this episode will highlight:The reasons behind why I started So This Is My Why;The kind of guests you’ll find featured;A very shocking incident last summer involving the Late Late Show with James Corden; and4 lessons learned from past STIMY guests. The short clips from 10 of STIMY’s past 90 guests will hopefully give you a feel for their episode, and whether it’s the one for you. The guests you’ll hear on this podcast include:Ep 1: Chloe Buiting - Wildlife conservationist & vetEp 2: Red Hong Yi - Renowned architect turned artist who’s worked with the likes of Google, Nespresso & Jackie ChanEp 3: Dr Julian Tan - BCG Consultant turned then Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports at Formula 1, LondonEp 30: Dr Finian Tan - Chairman, Vickers Venture Partners Ep 51: Nick Bernstein (Part 1, Part 2), - Senior VP of Late Night Programming (West Coast) & James Corden’s Big BossEp 55: Karl Mak - Co-founder & CEO of HEPMIL Media Group (SGAG, MGAG, PGAG, SGEEK)Ep 60: David Grief - Former Senior Clerk at Essex Court Chambers who nurtured the careers of barristers & judges including the former Chief Justice of England and WalesEp 79: Nicole Quinn - General Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners (investor/board member of HAUS (Lady Gaga), The Honest Company (Jessica Alba), Goop (Gwyneth Paltrow), Girlboss (Sophia Amoruso) etc.)Ep 84: Eric Toda - Global Head of Social Marketing, MetaEp 87: Phil Libin - Co-founder of Evernote & mmhmmTo see a YouTube compilation of STIMY’s appearance on ViacomCBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden, follow this link.And please feel free to take a screenshot & tag me on LinkedIn/Twitter (or whichever platform you’re most comfortable with) & let me know what you thought of this episode, how you think it can be improved & future STIMY guests to consider.See you next Sunday!P/S: You’ll have to stick to the end of the episode to understand the weird sounds in the initial 6 seconds. 😅😉📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/91   💌 I share my latest learnings/exclusive updates on STIMY’s weekly newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 

TM Lee is the co-founder & CEO at Coingecko - one of the world’s largest crypto data aggregators with over 150 million users in 2021 alone! But before becoming a founder, TM was first influenced by his brother to become a coder. He learned about Reddit and Digg, and even ended up studying computer science at Purdue University, where he was exposed to the likes of Jason Fried (Basecamp) - a huge proponent of the bootstrap mentality. TM tried many things. He wrote an aggregator in college until things went south, and eventually worked at a Big 4 audit firm but at the back of his mind was the thought that he wanted to start a business. Then in April 2014, he co-founded Coingecko with Bobby Ong. It began as a side project with a starting capital of $100, launched soon after the collapse of Mt Gox. And as you’ll see from our interview, they went through lots of ups & downs to get to where they are today. Highlights:3:52 How his brother exposed TM to coding5:01 Influenced by Kevin Rose (Digg)5:44 Jason Fried of Basecamp9:17 Evaluating business partners10:35 Returning to Malaysia11:47 Side projects14:56 Building Coingecko17:05 Meeting his co-founder, Bobby Ong18:30 The early days of Coingecko20:00 The significance behind the crash of Mt Gox21:30 Why launch Coingecko right after the Mt Gox crash?22:40 Building trust22:40 Bootstrapping with $10025:31 Building collaborations with universities26:40 Scaling via organic marketing27:47 Getting Coingecko translated into 15 languages 30:19 Was TM worried about sharing his code to the public?31:10 Getting investors on board 24:12 Why the banking/fintech industry is so different from the crypto industry35:51 Why maintain Coingecko’s API for free forever?37:05 How Coingecko ensures that they have accurate price data feeds38:25 Deciding on the tokens to list 39:09 Sifting out the scams & rug pulls40:53 Will Coingecko ever delist a token? 42:21 Main milestones behind Coingecko43:31 How the crypto space is impacted by banks (e.g. DBS) launching their own crypto trading services44:14 Impact of Binance’s purchase of Coinmarketcap on Coingecko 45:07 Is TM now more important to investors to remain competitive?50:38 NFTs52:00 The secret behind Coingecko’s rocket growth in 2021: From 50 million to 150 million in 11 months53:03 Thoughts on the current bear market55:34 Crash of the Luna token56:54 Coinzilla’s malicious app script 1:02:52 What to expect from Coingecko moving forward1:03:42 Things to expect if the metaverse takes off1:05:37 How much of your success is due to hard work v luck?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/90 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

Tibor Mérey is a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), global co-lead on the metaverse, and a core member of Boston Consulting Group's Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT); and Marketing, Sales & Pricing (MSP) practices. He leads the TMT practice in Austria, where he focuses on digital transformation and technology-enabled growth strategies. Prior to joining BCG, Tibor co-founded a freestyle fashion startup in Switzerland.In this STIMY episode, we dive into all things metaverse/web3:3:32 Co-founding a Swiss freestyle label with CHF 1004:11 Milestone achievements5:28 Working at BCG6:37 How Tibor first got into web37:46 How BCG internally prepared to offer web3 consulting services to clients9:44 Key components of a “metaverse”13:03 How do you create a metaverse strategy?14:26 Should all companies have a metaverse strategy?15:43 Mitigating risks when companies enter the web3 space17:32 How companies can get buy-in from existing customers & employees19:58 How did Nike do?22:20 What is “cultural relevance”?24:05 Companies that haven’t done a good job?25:30 Can companies regain the trust of customers?27:05 Defining “authenticity”29:23 How should you measure web3 success?31:08 How can companies share ownership with their customers?33:58 Interesting DAO use cases35:24 Future trends 36:59 How BCG has incorporate web3/metaverse strategies into their own operations38:06 Advice for people entering the web3 space for the first time39:54 Lowest risk ways for companies to dabble in web3/metaverseif you’re a brand interested in developing a web3 space, or just want to know what a consultant thinks about companies who are entering the metaverse, then this is the episode for you.📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/89 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 What do you think of STIMY? -https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

ICYMI: Zeneca 33, prolific NFT investor & thought leader (he has 300k Twitter followers!) was on STIMY.He's a part of some of the most influential NFT projects around, including Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC), Cryptopunks, Goblintown, Art Blocks and more.We've all heard of BAYC/Jimmy Fallon.We hear (seemingly) everyone talk about being part of the Bored Apes community.But... what is it really like?What true value does it give Bored Apes holders?Are BAYC overvalued?Could BAYC's valuation crash?We unpacked all that in Zeneca 33's Part 1 STIMY interview & this ICYMI provides a glimpse of that conversation.If you want to listen to the full Part 1 STIMY interview with Zeneca 33, here are the links:📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/86-1 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605🎙️Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442?i=1000566279914🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/037BVfsIJzU25wIkauefnw?si=PiwfYfD3TqyTbNHNWBDHfA

Diego Borgo is a metaverse & Web3 strategic advisor to Fortune 500 brands like Adidas, Salesforce, Unilever, Boson Protocol and more. Having featured a number of NFT founders & artists, this STIMY episode showcases how brands have and can enter the metaverse with Diego, who’s been in many Fortune 500 boardrooms & has his finger on the latest alpha: who’s done well, who hasn’t, how important “sustainability” is and ways to ensure that both employees and existing customers are onboard when a brand is launching a new metaverse initiative.If you’ve ever wondered what a company/brand should look out for when taking the leap into the Web 3.0 space, then this is the episode for you.Highlights:3:11 How Diego entered the Web3 space8:21 Why Diego took the leap18:50 Brands driven by FOMO24:31 What other brands can learn from Nike29:26 Incorporating DAOs & shared ownership into brand strategies34:48 Creating products with large communities37:23 Mitigating risks41:16 Bringing existing clients from Web2 to Web343:31 G-Star RAW Denim - why it’s an interesting use case48:10 How important is climate change?49:30 How brands can mitigate against environmental harm arising from use of blockchain53:33 What happens when your own employees riot and go against your metaverse initiative?56:37 The secret to the success behind Adidas’ Into the Metaverse, which generated USD 22 million within hours!1:01:03 Diego’s favourite NFT project1:02:59 What is big tech doing?1:07:39 What Diego would love to see done, but hasn’t happened yet📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/89🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌  Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

ICYMI (in case you missed it) features some of my favourite moments from earlier STIMY episodes.Back in Episode 85, Dr Robin Dunbar (Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford) shares why he thinks that the only way we can make REAL friends is through physical IRL interactions. Virtual friends?Meh, they're fake. But do you agree? 🤔Listen to the full episode here: 🎙️Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442?i=1000566279914🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4VuxAs76IE0wJgItPzoZHe?si=m1NsNAl6QgCk4n4sY3TTow 🎙️Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ Other Links:📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/85   💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy Please leave a review & rating here! - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

STIMY 87 features Phil Libin. Some things he’s most known for: Co-founder and CEO of Evernote, which he grew to become a beloved product for hundreds of millions of usersManaging Director at General CatalystCo-founder and CEO of All Turtles, a globally distributed product studio Co-founder of mmhmm, an all-in-one platform for making, watching, and talking on videos This is an episode that’s all about startups, growth, regret and why Phil hates the metaverse & thinks blockchain is bullshit and “communist propaganda”.Here’s a little background:Phil Libin was 8 years old when he moved from Leningrad (now St Petersburg) to Parkchester, New York as a refugee. His parents were both classical musicians and he lived in a fairly dangerous neighbourhood in the Bronx. Despite being a self-described “punchable” kid (he was poor, very physically uncoordinated and didn’t speak English well), he did well in school, earned good money doing repair work and freelance programming and sold his first company, Perseus Data systems, for $500.But at the same time, he also got fired from his job selling ice-cream and took 30 years to get his Bachelors degree!Why?How?What?Here are the highlights:3:43 Moving to New York as Russian immigrants4:52 Being fired from his job selling ice-cream6:11 Taking 30 years to complete his degree?!8:15 Working with essentially the same core group of friends to build 5 startups11:13 Selling Engine5 for $26 million, Hollywood-style15:52 Building something for himself (Evernote)18:19 Startup failure is brutal; startup success is much worse & much harder20:57 Three types of regret22:48 Maintaining his principles & ethics 24:53 Metrics used to measure impact26:30 3-year game plan for mmhmm28:13 How mmhmm improves lives 31:07 Why Phil hates the metaverse32:27 Crypto blockchain is bullsh*t33:45 The promise of blockchain is just communist propaganda?37:14 Training himself to like what he hates, including durians! 39:57 How listeners can help Phil Libin📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/87🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

We’re back with Part 2 of STIMY’s interview with Zeneca 33!ICYMI: Zeneca is a former professional poker player (15 years!) turned NFT founder, investor and educator. He has nearly 300k followers on Twitter, founder of ZenAcademy, an NFT community that aims to create a safe learning environment for people discovering their place in web3, has a newsletter, YouTube channel and 2 podcasts!If you want to listen to Part 1, head over to https://www.sothisismywhy.com/86-1Things get juicy in this episode as we dive further into the world of NFT investments starting with… how did Zeneca x100 his net worth via NFT investments in 1 year? What’s the secret?!Highlights:2:25 How Zeneca x100 his NFT investment net worth3:44 Moonbirds & Kevin Rose4:56 Why did Moonbirds succeed?7:26 Is Kevin Rose too… establishment?10:14 Why haven’t women-led projects taken off?12:57 How men can help Web3 women founders13:36 Is it better to help women in Web3 by letting their projects fail fast, rather than investing and prolonging their hope?15:12 Are “women in web3” events more divisive than helpful?18:52 How Zeneca began his content creation journey23:57 Zenacademy30:40 Why 7,484 Genesis NFTs?31:50 Isn’t it… unethical to claim to want to educate the general public about Web3.0, but keep exclusive access/opportunities to ask Web3.0 questions only to NFT holders?36:01 What success looks like for Zenacademy37:49 Building virtual relationships40:59 How to build relationships on Twitter42:15 What does mainstream adoption of NFTs look like?43:41 Bear market44:49 What Zeneca’s crypto portfolio look like during this bear market45:54 Does Zeneca hesitate to share his investments because so many people would blindly follow his suggestions? What does he do?50:29 With all his successes, is Zeneca… happy?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/86-1 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌  Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

ICYMI (in case you missed it) features some of our favourite moments from earlier STIMY episodes.Back in Episode 79, we met Nicole Quinn: General Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners aka the "Celebrity Whisperer". Nicole led the Series A in Cameo and Lady Gaga's Haus Labs and seed rounds in Girlboss, Illumix and Sagely. She also invested in the Series B in Calm and Series C in Goop and sourced Rothy's and Zola.Here, Nicole Quinn shares how she did her due diligence on Lady Gaga as a potential investor by measuring her "engaged followship" & what it's like working with her, as well as how one separates the "celebrity" from the company.If you've enjoyed this ICYMI, you can listen to Nicole's full episode here: 🎙️Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442?i=1000557140887🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5QkxgQyRfgQ9bg53TwGyqI?si=zyrHVkeSRc-QuCySTV_DZA🎙️Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ Other Links:📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/79🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive event updates here: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 Please leave a review & rating here! - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

ICYMI (in case you missed it) features some of my favourite moments from earlier STIMY episodes.Back in Episode 85, Dr Robin Dunbar (Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford) shares why we fall for romantic scams against our better judgment (even when everyone around us is warning us against it!!).Listen to the full episode here: 🎙️Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442?i=1000566279914🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4VuxAs76IE0wJgItPzoZHe?si=m1NsNAl6QgCk4n4sY3TTow 🎙️Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ Other Links:📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/85   💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy Please leave a review & rating here! - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

If you’ve been following STIMY recently, you’ll have noticed our recent Web 3.0 trend. Yes, the market is bearish. Crypto is crashing. But more companies & individuals than ever are entering the space. NFT NYC just ended. Soul tokens are coming…To make, hopefully, some sense of it all, STIMY is proud to present its latest guest - one of the most prolific NFT content creators & thought leaders around - to provide his take on all things NFTs:Zeneca → a former professional poker player (15 years!) turned NFT founder, investor and educator. He has nearly 300k followers on Twitter that follow him for his opinions and analysis in the space. He is also the founder of ZenAcademy, an NFT community that aims to create a safe learning environment for people discovering their place in web3, has a newsletter, YouTube channel and 2 podcasts!We had such a wide-ranging conversation that the episode has been split into 2. This is Part 1.Highlights:4:22 Becoming a professional poker player6:27 Money is a tool10:24 What success means for a poker player13:58 Going back to crypto in 202016:35 When everything “clicked” for Zeneca about the NFT space21:57 Best NFT learning resources24:13 The “infinite regret” behind Zeneca’s 1st NFT purchase25:20 FOMO30:42 Deciding on an NFT investment in 10-15 seconds based on gut instinct31:44 Goblintown.wtf33:56 Why no roadmap?36:42 CC0 NFTs have no copyright?39:37 Why Cryptopunks got so huge41:52 Cryptopunks v Bored Apes Yacht Club45:27 What it’s actually like being part of the BAYC community48:14 Is BAYC overhyped?50:49 What would it take for BAYC’s valuation to crash?53:28 Buy a Punk, Sell an Ape?55:04 What is generative art & why is Zeneca so bullish about it?58:05 No copyright for generative art like Artblock?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/86-1 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 💌 Get the latest STIMY alpha/exclusive updates: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

#ICYMI Back in STIMY Ep 30, we met Dr Finian Tan - Chairman & Co-Founder of Vickers Venture Partners - a $3 billion deep tech venture capital fund based out of Singapore. Some things he’s done: founder of J.Aron (APAC trading arm of Goldman Sachs)Deputy Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, where he was tasked with creating Chairman of Singapore’s  $1 billion TIF Fund, to create the Silicon Valley of the East in SingaporeExecutive deputy chairman of A*Star Founding partner of Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet, a Silicon Valley VC that invested in Skype & Hotmail. While at DFJ, Dr Finian Tan made his first & most well-known investment in a little-known startup called Baidu. This is a ICYMI snippet that I felt really illustrates Dr Finian’s character & it happened all the way back when he was still a student.He swept ALL the book prizes, and got perfect scores while at university.How did he do it?By planning it like a WAR.🎙️Listen to the rest of Dr Finian's episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJELxqip89M 📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/30 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy me a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy  💌 Be the 1st to learn about upcoming STIMY guests & exclusive events: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 👉 Leave a review!  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

How many friends do you have?50?100?Now how about close friends?If you’ll recall back in the early days of Facebook, everyone was busy adding every single friend, casual acquaintance and stranger that they came across as a “friend” until it became too much and a “purge” took place. A purging that was partly influenced by a burger chain and this thing called Dunbar’s number: which concerns the maximum number of friends that one person can have at any one time. The person who formulated it?Professor Robin Dunbar: Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford, who was awarded the Huxley Memorial Medal for services to anthropology by the Council of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, the highest honour at the disposal of the RAI.Fun fact: Robin was a featured character in the adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari’s book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind into a graphic novel in 2020!In this episode you’ll learn about who Robin is, how he went from philosophy to tracking primates in Africa to formulating Dunbar’s Number, why we can only have 150 friends, the psychology behind romantic scams and what he thinks of the Web 3.0 space.Do you agree that one person can only have 150 friends?Highlights:2:56 How Robin got hooked onto human evolution7:18 Why Robin wanted to do philosophy8:50 Tracking monkeys & antelopes in Africa in the early 1970s24:50 The 7 pillars of friendship30:35 Do opposites attract?35:47 Where Dunbar’s Number came from40:11 Why 150?45:06 Even dogs can be part of your 15051:54 Can you guard yourself against romantic scammers?55:05 The problem with Web 3.01:02:21 How do you build a strong virtual community?1:10:58 Common misconception with Dunbar’s Number1:13:18 Challenging 1501:16:34 How listeners can help Robin📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/85💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy Please leave a review & rating here! - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442 

Eric Toda has built the American Dream.He’s the Global Head of Social Marketing & Head of Meta Prosper at Meta as well as an advisory board member of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Prior to Meta, Eric was the CMO at Gap Inc, Global Head of Social Marketing and Editorial Content at Airbnb and Global Digital Brand Marketing Director at Nike. But Eric’s path has hardly been an easy one.He’s had to deal with racism his entire life, despite being a fourth generation American and having a World War II veteran as his grandfather. When he landed his first job at Facebook, he was told that the key to succeeding was to never look a white executive in the eye. And even when he reached the pinnacle of his career - becoming CMO at Gap Inc - he was eventually fired. But Eric Toda has also had tremendous successes and his work was awarded by Cannes Lions, Webbys, Clios, Effie, Adweek ARC Awards, Brand Innovators amongst others for combining purpose, creativity, and business results. You might’ve seen some of them - Airbnb’s #LiveInTheMovies and the launch of Gap Inc’s Hill City brand.So how has racism and failure moulded Eric into becoming a greater leader?How do you become best friends with your executives?And who is… Jonathan Mildenhall?If you want to learn how to be a great leader and triumph over adversity and discrimination, then this is the episode for you.And if you liked this episode, do share this episode and leave a review!Highlights:2:38 How Eric’s grandfather fought for him before he was born10:05 Why Eric wanted to become a lawyer12:08 Joining a little startup called… Facebook15:59 Don’t look a white executive in the eye20:42 Getting credit for your work23:21 Being fired from Gap Inc as Chief Marketing Officer25:09 Why Eric failed to challenge the status quo28:19 Becoming friends with executives30:35 Being an approachable leader32:25 Jonathan Mildenhall34:48 “Oi, you coming?”36:28 Airbnb’s successful 2016 campaign during the Oscars40:24 #WeAccept44:54 You can’t teach ambition & fire46:22 Launching the hardest, but right thing in Eric’s career - Meta Prosper51:01 My people are dying in silence & I’m here with a megaphone 53:31 Why Eric doesn’t want his children to remember him only as a businessman or marketer56:01 Not being allowed to go to the Smithsonian57:38 The challenges of Web 3.0 today 1:01:48 Why is Eric Toda so easy to contact?! (p/s: his mobile number is available😅)📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/84         💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

It’s always exciting for me to introduce another podcaster on STIMY, and today’s guest has not 1, but 2 highly successful podcasts:Creator Lab: an entrepreneurship podcast & growth marketing consultancy Not Investment Advice: a weekly business podcast covering the latest in business, tech & web 3Bilal Zaidi has interviewed some of the world's best, including people like Jim Mckelvey, the billionaire co-founder of Square, Tim Urban from Wait But Why, Kat Cole, president of Athletic Greens, Daymond John from Shark Tank & Gary Vee.Beyond entrepreneurship - he's interviewed a wide range of creators ranging from Hollywood actors, Emmy-winning performers, leading writers, billionaire investors & non-profit founders. He started his first company, an e-commence business, aged 16yrs old after selling sim cards, CDs & clothes at school & also an Arsenal Review blog that racked over 500,000 views. He later spent 7.5yrs working at Google managing a $100mil+ business. After meeting the founder of leading social enterprise, charity: water, Bilal left his job to join their leadership team full time as their first ever Director of Brand Partnerships, partnering with brands like Saint Laurent, J Crew, Amazon & 100+ others to raise money & awareness for clean water. To date, charity: water has helped almost 15mil+ people get access to clean drinking water in 29 countries.Bilal is now a full time entrepreneur & creator, working on several ventures as a podcaster, consultant & investor. Highlights:3:40 Growing up in East London as a Pakistani British6:52 Being a fan of Nars the rapper7:42 Taking money seriously9:47 Starting his first company, Street Vibes, as a student12:49 Learning the art of selling from the vendors at London street markets15:24 Running an Arsenal Review website with over 500,000 readers18:44 Being headhunted by Google on LinkedIn22:14 Almost turning down the opportunity to work at Google23:25 Being seen as a drug dealer?!25:37 Spending 7.5 years at Google27:19 Shutting down a $300M company within Google29:19 Getting out of his low period32:16 Starting the Creator Lab podcast36:43 How Bilal lands amazing guests 43:49 Focus on one platform48:26 Landing podcast sponsorship deals53:05 Milestones in Bilal’s podcasting journey55:30 Meeting the Winklevoss twins58:40 Interviewing Gary Vee1:05:39 Jack Butcher - going from cold DMs to close friends1:14:40 How much personality should you show?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/83💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy

Jamilia Grier is a privacy and regulatory attorney with over fifteen years of experience. She is licensed in New York and Connecticut and has worked in a wide range of industries including financial services, technology, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is also experienced in working with different countries and cultures and has significant expertise in cross-border transactions. She handles matters concerning corporate law and contracts and is well-versed in data privacy and protection.She currently serves as CEO & managing partner of ByteBao. Her experience includes leading Data & Privacy Operations at Standard Chartered Bank and the Legal Compliance team for Marriott International based out of China and Singapore.Ever wanted to know more about the laws surrounding NFTs and DAOs?Then this is the episode for you.Highlights:6:55 What are NFTs?8:26 IPRs in NFTs 9:44 Where does copyright subsist?11:32 Copyright in a high drop NFT project?13:58 What happens if there is no licensing agreement?15:16 Any legal recourse for NFT holders?16:44 Effectiveness of DMCAs18:44 How can you mitigate the scope of your liabilities?19:41 Liability for copyright infringement if your NFT infringes the original owner’s IP rights?20:45 Are NFTs a type of security?25:45 Would you face greater regulation from the SEC if your NFT has a social purpose?27:55 Hearing about WOW Pixies28:37 The role of a lawyer in a DAO29:35 What is a DAO?30:53 Why DAOs aren’t a decentralised VC32:58 Incorporating Web2 legal structures for a DAO37:51 Legal documentations for a DAO41:27 Giveaways44:14 Airdrop issues📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/82                💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

It’s time to meet our 5th #Web3 #NFT guest on STIMY!Mai Akiyoshi is a Silicon Valley engineer from Japan who has had a rather unconventional route littered with what one might conventionally consider to be “failures”.And it all began… with Mai applying for a sales position at a Japanese company. The company decided unilaterally that they would train her up as a software engineer instead and it proved to be really difficult. She was consistently at the bottom of her cohort, but still made it through the training and… got into the most technically demanding department of the company, where she was treated like an alien!Mai then got into a startup by accident - applying for a position she had no prior qualifications in, and even tried to rescind her application! That position eventually led her to the States, where she met Ben Yu (her co-founder & partner) through Nuseir of Nasdaily/Nas Academy and where her Web3 journey began. Now, Mai is the CEO and co-founder of Curious Addys, a Web3 startup building the best educational platform and community for newcomers to Web3 while celebrating ADHD. She is building ember.help, a platform where anyone can ask questions on Web3 and get guaranteed answers from experts. If you’re interested in all things Web3/thriving despite all the difficulties that life throws at you, then this is definitely the episode for you.Highlights:2:32 Growing up in Japan4:35 Being diagnosed with ADHD5:55 Being influenced by her grandparents, who founded their own company after World War II7:02 Wanting to go to the US8:27 Applying for a sales position & becoming a software engineer10:02 Japan’s shaming culture11:29 Feeling like she’d landed on an alien planet 12:24 Moving to a new startup, Logbar14:18 Moving to the US15:03 How Nuseir of Nas Academy introduced her to Ben Yu & is the “mother” of Curious Addys16:56 Studying at App Academy 19:19 Becoming the senior software engineer at Gusto21:55 How Mai first entered the Web3 space22:51 Why Ethereum is so interesting23:37 Meeting Zeneca & helping him with his smart contract 24:47 Starting a Tamagochi education platform?26:54 Why NFTs are here to stay28:23 NFTs are the best way to bootstrap a community29:32 The vision behind Curious Addys’ Trading Club: Education, Cute, NFTs32:07 Why an octopus for a mascot?33:56 The early days of building Curious Addys36:01 Finding her founding team members37:24 Maintaining the right values as the community grows39:28 100% refund policy40:15 Why release only 5,000 in the initial launch40:51 How they promoted Curious Addys’ Trading Club42:02 Building partnerships 42:59 The type of products under Curious Addys’ Trading Club44:39 What is Ember?47:03 NFT portfolio tracker 50:12 Reading smart contracts52:35 Mai’s favourite NFT 53:53 What Mai believes in that most people don’t in the crypto space54:15 Biggest mistake Mai has done in the Web3 space55:03 How to spot NFT/crypto scams📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/81         💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Ee Ling Lim leads the Global Programs team at 500 Global, overseeing the strategic development and implementation of programs for 500's network of startups all over the world. In her role, she also advises governments, corporations, and foundations in designing and developing startup ecosystems and innovation programs. Prior to 500 Global, Ee Ling was an Investment Banker with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and CIMB Investment Bank, executing M&A, equity and debt capital market transactions in Southeast Asia.Ee Ling is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Smarter Me, a K-12 edutech startup headquartered in Singapore, that equips primary and secondary school students with the skillset, mindset, and heartset to define their own success and happiness in the future. Through digital technology and entrepreneurship education, students develop mastery in problem-solving, critical-thinking, collaboration, and creativity. She also hosts Young Founders Summit Asia, a leading startup program in Asia that provides aspiring teenage founders with workshops and mentorship to launch impact-based startups.  In this episode, we discussed Ee Ling’s journey as an entrepreneur - including why for the longest time, she never considered herself an entrepreneur and how that perception changed, and how she shares her struggles with her own daughters, including having to fire people. We also delved into the topic of youth entrepreneurship: whether children are too young to learn about entrepreneurship, what they care about, and setting up a DAO.Highlights:3:13 Setting up her own preschool4:43 Founding her first startup7:49 The problem that Smarter Me is trying to solve10:23 Determining the curriculum12:08 Are children too young to learn about entrepreneurship?14:49 Why Ee Ling wasn’t comfortable with calling herself an entrepreneur17:10 Sharing her struggles with her girls18:43 Young Founders Summit Asia19:56 Organising the inaugural summit28:53 What the youth care about most30:30 Launching an NFT project with a DAO element33:22 Managing the community35:09 How funds in a DAO are managed36:14 Biggest challenges37:39 Why kids were writing off NFTs/DAOs39:29 How to bring people from the Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 world40:51 Great DAOs to look at42:23 Being the Executive Directorof Global Programs at 500 Global44:17 Main elements of a successful accelerator45:23 How founders can make full use of accelerators46:46 Going virtual49:17 Having “People & Intention” as her 2022 driving words52:40 How to be a good leader & lead others📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/80               💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Nicole Quinn is a General Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where she focuses on consumer and FinTech investing. Consumer behaviour, founder insights, and company brand are core in Nicole’s mind. Nicknamed the “Celebrity Whisperer”, she has led the Series A in Cameo and Lady Gaga's Haus Labs and seed rounds in Girlboss, Illumix and Sagely. She also invested in the Series B in Calm and Series C in Goop and sourced Rothy's and Zola.In this episode, we learn how Nicole went from helping her dad run his online pharmacy chain as a child to spending around 8 years at Morgan Stanley to finally entering the VC space.Nicole shares what a true brand is, how she measures an engaged followship, what it’s like working with celebrity-led companies, how to separate the celebrity from the company, the due diligence she did prior to investing in Lady Gaga’s company, what make founders like Sophia Amoruso of Girlboss stand out and why she produced a sizable term sheet to Lunchclub in less than 7 days. If you’ve been interested in consumer products and wondering what it’s like to spot & invest in future trends, then this is the episode for you. Highlights:2:56 Learning the value of money4:04 Working at Morgan Stanley for 8 years5:06 Angel Investing6:04 Joining an European fintech startup7:40 Focus on your strengths & make them stronger (in Stanford)9:46 Meeting members of Lightspeed Venture Partners, including Jeremy Liew12:22 How founders find the thing they were born to do14:40 Working with Lady Gaga to build Haus Laboratories16:13 Doing due diligence on Lady Gaga to measure engagement17:42 Separating the celebrity from the company19:26 Leading indicators of a true brand being built20:23 Why Nicole invests in early stage founders (e.g. Girlboss & Rothy’s)22:03 How Lightspeed spots new trends22:47 Being wrong about future trends24:42 Why Nicole offered Lunchclub a sizable term sheet in less than 7 days26:58 The ICE Influencer policy at Calm29:50 Companies incorporating NFTs well into their business📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/79 💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy

Debbie Soon is the co-founder of HUG alongside Randi Zuckerberg - a Web3 platform that supports creators and collectors through: HUGhub (curate-to-earn discovery platform for NFTs), groupHUG (NFT growth accelerator), and hedgeHUG (early stage pre-mint program).Prior to Web3, Debbie was an equity investor where she managed over $1 billion of global consumer sector investments for one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, GIC. She then pivoted into the world of startups where she founded Singapore and Southeast Asia's first boutique indoor cycling studio before going on to build three businesses from scratch for one of the most successful unicorns in Southeast Asia, Sequoia Capital-backed ONE Championship. While there, she was Chief of Staff to the CEO, Chatri Sityodtong - yes, she was the OG Chief of Staff. Her colleagues joked that when she was promoted to VP, Head of Consumer Products, Chatri had to launch an entire reality show just to find her replacement! While at ONE Championship, Debbie spearheaded ONE Championship’s expansion into Japan, launched ONE Esports and ONE Shop, amongst many other things. As for how Debbie got into the Web3 world?Well, it all began with her making a wish at the Wishing Well.You’ll have to listen to find out more. 😉Highlights:4:20 “Accept the changeable, change the unacceptable”6:00 Launching 7Cycle Pte - Southeast Asia’s first boutique indoor cycling studio8:26 Joining ONE Championship10:36 Being the OG (“The Apprentice”) Chief of Staff to CEO, Chatri Sityodtong12:49 Establishing ONE Esports15:50 Launching ONE Shop as VP, Head of Consumer Products17:42 Moving to LA19:52 Nearly stealing the furniture of a homeless person in LA21:20 Launching her second startup26:23 Meta Angels NFT & the Wishing Well31:43 Getting on a Zoom call with Randi Zuckerberg33:16 Getting a Web3 job without any relevant Web3 experience35:25 The problem that HUG is trying to solve - discovery for creatives38:48 Scaling HUG’s Curator Club from 300 to 3,000?41:17 Making HUG’s Discord channel the go-to channel for people42:03 Hosting weekly Twitter Spaces with Randi Zuckerberg43:10 Analysing 3,000 reviews of NFT projects44:46 Is art an important factor?45:36 Analysing roadmaps for NFT projects46:55 HUGhub - the curate-to-earn discovery platform for NFTs49:00 How to make HUG unique from other NFT accelerators/platforms51:04 Sharing of confidential information?52:32 How groupHUG is different from a typical Web2 startup accelerator53:39 How the groupHUG cohorts are curated55:12 Biggest needs of NFT founders56:03 Raising USD $5 million in VC funding for NFT projects in 1 month57:32 When is a NFT project ready to pitch for VC funding?58:51 Web 2.51:01:03 How NFT Collection founders can pitch for partnerships1:04:13 Web3 influencers that Debbie recommends following1:05:22 What a Web3 dating app might look like📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/78                  💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Welcome to the 3rd guest in STIMY’s NFT/Web3 series!Lily Wu is currently the Startup Partner Lead, SEA at Stripe and co-founder of WOW Pixies, the first DAO to invest in the women-led web3 ecosystem. DAO stands for decentralised autonomous organisation where rather than decision making being centred at the very top, that decision making power is given away to everyone (aka all WOW Pixies NFT holders). Which is something that is being made possible in the Web3 world.But how did Lily get into the world of NFTs and DAOs? Well, Lily has her grounding in the startup world. When she was 16, she founded her first startup - and ended up making half a million dollars selling shoes.At age 19, she started her second business in the education space, Austern International, which ended up generating over 7-figures in revenue with over 1,000 students attending physical Career Bootcamps in New York, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne.Thereafter, she became the Head of Programs for NewCampus, a Series A edutech startup based in Singapore before joining Stripe as the Startup Partner Lead. She is the founding ambassador of Future Females Singapore, a global organisation dedicated to helping female entrepreneurs get the resources and connections. To learn about all things startups, growth hacking, NFTs, DAOs and what it means to be part of groupHUG - an NFT accelerator co-founded by Randi Zuckerberg & Debbie Soon, then listen on!Highlights:3:56 Being taught by her parents to not ask for permission, ask for forgiveness6:15 How being left with $100, led to Lily starting her first startup at the age of 168:19 Adidas Jeremy Scott wing shoes and the power of arbitrage12:00 Spreading by word of mouth15:43 Accounting20:27 Finding her own internship in China (and getting 20 friends to do the same for $2000!)25:06 Having the police called on her28:47 Starting Austern International30:11 Building the curriculum at Austern International34:42 Helping Uber launch Uber Eats36:50 Marketing Austern International42:39 Working at New Campus47:48 Becoming Startup Partner Lead at Stripe50:44 What is an NFT?55:04 WOW Pixies as a Venture DAO56:55 Investing in women-led NFT projects1:03:12 Decision-making process at WOW Pixies1:06:29 Marketing efforts for WOW Pixies, which sold out in 5 days1:08:37 The “thunderclap”1:11:26 Roadmap for WOW Pixies1:21:25 Metrics of success1:23:41 How to invest in NFT projects📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/77                    💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Nicole Yap, co-founder of the 8SIAN NFT Collection, began her cryptocurrency journey back in 2013 when she stumbled across an article on digital currency and its future implications while she was in high school. Despite its challenges & the dodgy sites available then, she figured out a way to purchase Bitcoin (it was being sold for $60!!) and soon after, managed to buy a Chanel bag from her crypto investments!She joined the world of NFTs in early 2021 after noticing the serious lack of representation of Asians and Women in the space. Together with 2 other co-founders, she launched 8SIAN: 8,888 NFTs of beautiful, Asian women painstakingly-crafted where even the most intricate details are steeped in historical significance. 8SIAN became the number 1 project ranked on OpenSea in 24hours based on percentage increase of traded volume with over 3k+ Eth!If you’ve ever been curious about what it’s like to launch an NFT collection, from hustling in the lead up to the launch to building a team (reputable, experienced web3 developers aren’t exactly easy to find!), building a community on Discord with 15k members, and continuing to bring value by purchasing virtual land, building collaborations, setting up a legal entity and more… then this is the episode for you!Highlights:3:29 Getting into crypto/Bitcoin in 2013 & buying her first Chanel bag6:48 Discovering NFTs8:17 What is an NFT?9:10 Not a scam?10:30 Being told she didn’t belong in the NFT/crypto space because she was a female12:49 How Nicole figured out the way to create and launch an NFT collection14:43 Finding a Web3 developer (that doesn’t rug pull!)16:42 Why NFTs?17:57 The roadmap for 8SIAN19:31 The launch of Genesis and Goddess collection before the main 8SIAN collection was dropped22:24 Marketing 8SIAN & the hustle you don’t see24:14 Launching the main collection & getting Steve Aoki as an 8SIAN NFT holder 25:09 What’s next for 8SIAN?26:33 Why companies in Asia haven’t jumped into the NFT space yet27:36 The plans for building Chinatown in the metaverse29:37 Managing a 15k strong Discord community30:59 Creating value while still generating revenue from royalties 32:56 How the 8SIAN 8% royalties are split35:02 Why 8SIAN is setting up a legal entity35:49 Are we in an NFT bubble?36:29 Advice to females looking to get into tech📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/76                   💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy

Welcome to the start of STIMY’s mini NFT sub-series. Our first NFT guest is Mumu the Stan, aka MOON HMZ. She’s a young Muslim mother from Malaysia who’s an artist, poet, and published author and illustrator, while also being an advocate for diversity, inclusion, mental health and environmental awareness in the NFT space. She is the founder of MalaysiaNFT and a member of the local art collective, NFXT.io, and her work has been exhibited at Art Basel Miami 2021!Moon shares how she first got into the world of NFTs - because the lead singer for Linkin Park, Mike Shinoda, encouraged her to do so and promised to buy her first NFT!! Her thoughts on why it’s exciting for artists, the reality of being a female in the crypto space, how the Malaysian NFT space is evolving, how to spot scams in the NFT space and how you can get involved/learn more about NFTs (if you aren’t already down the rabbit hole!).P/S: This interview starts off with Moon battle with depression so please take note if that is of concern!Highlights:4:34 Battling depression7:10 Spending 7 years feeling lost & how Moon got out of it9:01 Creating a stan account9:57 Mike Shinoda takes notice of Moon’s art11:40 What are NFTs?13:09 How to create an NFT16:08 Environmental impact is linked to minority representation18:28 Finding her NFT community18:55 What the Malaysian NFT space is like22:53 Getting Malaysian artists onto the international NFT scene25:14 Being blacklisted25:55 NFTs v traditional digital art collection28:07 Has NFTs enhanced Moon’s art?28:52 Do artists need to know the tech to get into NFTs?29:23 Identifying the scams in the NFT space (aka the rug pulls)31:52 Identifying when an artwork has been copied📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/75 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy

Michael Lints is currently a Partner at the Singapore-based venture capital firm Golden Gate Ventures. He joined the firm in 2013 and is currently leading growth venture efforts, which include LP fundraising and portfolio management for Golden Gate Venture's investments at Series B and beyond. He has helped to raise over USD $60M for Golden Gate Ventures and its portfolio companies, including helping to raise later stage rounds from external investors as well as leading two early strategic acquisitions. In this episode, we uncover what Michael was like as a child (he took apart the first computer he received), how he convinced his dean to let him skip a year at university, before selling his house and car to start his first IT managed services startup. That startup was acquired by a large data and telecom company six years later. In 2007, Michael founded a venture fund focused on Dutch small- and medium-sized enterprises to help them with capital financing, business development, and strategy. During the same period, he was invited to join the Economic Development Board Rotterdam as Vice Chairman. In that role, he launched the Young Economic Development Board where he brought together a highly influential Dutch network to develop a sustainable framework for public-private relationships that increased local business investment while leveraging the public infrastructure.In this episode, we cover all things startup, investments and also his recent documentary, Broken Chains - mending the missing links in the racial wealth gap.Highlights:2:53 Taking apart his first computer3:59 Being on the Dutch National Karate Team5:00 Skipping a year at university6:20 Getting into insurance & realising he never wanted to work for another corporation again8:14 Selling his car & house to co-founder his first IT startup9:40 Pivoting from being a comparison site to a data center10:51 Being on the same board as the CEO of ING & Unilever, Prime Minister of New Zealand & Head of the UN15:53 Obsession with focus17:00 Studying at Harvard17:53 Discovering the venture scene in Singapore/Southeast Asia19:38 How can I be helpful?21:29 Raising over USD 60 million22:54 Getting a foot in the door24:46 Experience fundraising in the Middle East & Europe26:20 How the Southeast Asia startup scene has evolved29:39 What Michael looks for in a founder31:54 Importance of local knowledge34:32 Getting deal flow35:46 Investment mistakes made 36:59 Investment thesis37:49 Areas of interest to Michael40:17 How the pandemic has impacted Michael’s portfolio companies41:37 Fundraising in the pandemic/post-pandemic era43:44 Framework for maintaining focus45:36 How to find good mentors for yourself47:06 Broken Chains📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/74        💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Lee Williamson is the Regional Editorial Director of Generation T, Tatler Asia Group and currently oversees three of Tatler’s flagship brands: Gen.T, Front & Female and Asia’s Most Influential. He was previously the Editor at Time Out Beijing and Editor-in-Chief at That’s China and was selected as a WAN-IFRA Young Media Leaders Fellow 2020.If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to work as a foreign journalist in China, dealing with state censorship, producing “controversial” editorials and also producing media products like the Generation T list, then this is the episode for you!Highlights:6:48 Moving to China8:58 Working as a journalist at That’s China 11:33 “You’ll Never Be Chinese”15:19 Censorship in China17:26 Relaunching 18:21 Being Editor at Time Out Beijing21:12 Publishing Ai Wei Wei’s first interview following his detainment in China23:14 Working at Tatler25:05 Why Gen.T?26:21 Defining success, influence and power27:17 What’s the point of another “list”?29:42 Building the Gen.T community34:48 Gaining trust35:52 Getting people to share what they really want even after they say “I don’t really need anything”39:05 Seeing Gen.T’s brand value increase43:11 Deciding who gets on Gen.T45:08 Tribes47:21 Safeguards48:57 Trends among Gen.T honourees 50:22 What’s in it for Gen.T?51:09 The Crazy Smart Asia podcast 56:21 Planning for the future of Gen.T📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/73     💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Vincent Wei is the Head of Growth (Product & growth) at VEED.IO, one of the fastest growing startups by revenue in the world. He was first introduced to the world of startups when he began CodeCreate, one of Australia’s first coding school for kids, while still at university. The school generated 6-figure revenue but his next startup unfortunately didn’t do so well.Burnt out, Vincent decided to take a break and travel the world before returning as Employee #3 on the growth team at AirTasker - which later became one of Australia’s largest marketplace for services. That was no mean feat, given that the startup was burning $35 million annually and on the verge on collapse then!They managed to turn the startup around but Vincent left before AirTasker IPOed in 2021 (and we discuss why in this episode!) to join VEED.io - the Canva of video editing - as Head of Growth. VEED recently raised $35M from Sequoia and is currently going through an exciting growth phase, so this is definitely a startup to keep an eye on!Highlights:3:32 How Harry Potter helped Vincent learn English5:20 Being driven to succeed8:41 Not wanting to be a dropkick13:51 Founding CodeCreate to teach kids how to build Minecraft18:48 How CodeCreate’s cohort went from 3 to 86 kids23:00 Getting a contract role at Suncorp29:29 Founding his 2nd startup32:37 How Lambda School inspired them35:48 Why Cody failed38:16 Travelling the world42:35 The power of LinkedIn outreach & chatting with James Clear47:26 Joining AirTasker when it was burning $30 million annually49:27 How they turned AirTasker around54:51 Why Vincent left AirTasker56:25 How Vincent’s role at VEED has evolved over time59:09 What Vincent looks for when he hires1:01:08 Influencing others virtually📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/72                💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy P/S: "Dropkick" is an Australian slang that refers to someone who isn't very smart & hasn't made it very far in life.

WARNING: This episode may have some trigger points as we talk about things like depression, suicide and death. Sabrina Ooi is the co-founder and CEO of Calm Collective Asia - a community that was established during Singapore’s first circuit breaker to talk about all things mental health in Asia.To understand how Sabrina ended up establishing Calm Collective Asia, it’s necessary to dive into her story. She shares why she felt like an imposter while studying at Raffles Girls’ School (Singapore’s top school), how she started DJing for the likes of Dior & Rolls Royce, getting through debilitating depressive episodes since the age of 11, how she was initially misdiagnosed as being depressive only to discover that she was bipolar, being “arrested” for attempting to end her life and her journey to recovery. This is STIMY’s first mental health episode and I felt that Sabrina’s story is so incredibly powerful and important. It is time to destigmatise discussions around mental health and I hope that this episode contributes a little to that ongoing conversation, particularly in Asia.  Highlights:3:41 Being told by her mum to be “average”5:23 Having her first depressive episode at age 1112:33 How her DJ career began 17:35 Triggers for her depressive episodes21:59 Going for therapy23:55 Not going for private practice25:05 Having suicidal thoughts27:36 Taking antidepressants 29:52 Depression v Bipolar31:49 Survive, Live and Thrive35:11 Journey to recovery36:52 “How I went from Leaving to Living”42:36 Starting Calm Collective Asia47:24 The vision51:13 Symptoms to look out for52:31 How to find the right therapist📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/71                💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy Please leave a review & rating here! - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

London has plenty of incredible food. Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern.. And the bakeries are something to behold too. So it makes sense when you’re in town to try some of its best offerings and Beigel Bake should certainly be at the top of your list!Which brings me to today’s guest: Daniel Cohen, Managing Director of Beigel Bake Limited - one of London’s most iconic Jewish beigel shops, located along Brick Lane (also an iconic location in the City).Beigel (or bagel, depending on where you’re from) is a second-generation family Jewish bakery that Daniel’s father began with two uncles back in 1974. Serving 7,000 dense and chewy Jewish beigels daily, 24/7, it has since been rated 3 stars by Time Out London in 2010 (4 stars by its online users) and featured by the photographic pictorial Life in the East End by London-based cabaret duo, EastEnd Cabaret.In this episode, Daniel shares how Beigel Bake first came to be, what his father was like, how he got involved in the family business, the story behind its “rivalry” with a neighbouring Jewish beigel shop, how it fared during the pandemic and so much more.If you’re ever in London, I’d recommend a visit to Beigel Bake!Highlights:4:10 Growing up with Beigel Bake as a prominent part of his life5:01 The Jewish history of beigels (or bagels)7:02 Brick Lane history8:57 How Beigel Bake began & its ongoing “rivalry” with a neighbouring Jewish beigel shop10:34 How Beigel Bake went from being a wholesaler to serving the public12:37 Growing by word of mouth (no advertising!)14:24 Most popular fillings14:43 The story behind the salt beef/pastrami filling served at Beigel Bake16:26 What was Daniel’s dad like?20:28 Did Daniel feel obliged to join the family business?21:55 Why Beigel Bake started serving sandwiches 24/724:14 Realities of running a family business 25:54 Becoming managing director28:58 Why Daniel released the recipe for their Jewish beigel29:49 Will Beigel Bake ever open a branch?30:53 Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic34:34 Launching their own delivery app (and some mishaps!)38:38 Working with charities 40:12 Having the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge come to visit42:23 How the business is currently faring📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/70               💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy P/S: For recommendations, try Beigel Bake’s hot salt beef with mustard and gherkins, and/or cream cheese and salmon flavours!

Nnenna Nwakanma is the Chief Web Advocate at the World Wide Web Foundation. She is also a Nigerian FOSS activist, community organiser, co-founder of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa. In 2018, she was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in the field of digital government and has over 15 years of experience working with the UN in areas such as the information society, gender and digital equality.In this episode, we learn about what it was like growing up in Nigeria - and why she wasn’t even given a name for the first 3 months of her life because of her gender! - how she became one of the very first to use the internet in Africa, why she views the internet as a tool for social justice, how she has learned to walk with her adversaries (as Mandela used to say), and what drives her to create an internet that is free and open to all.  Highlights:2:40 Why Nnenna was born & not given a name for the first 3 months of her life4:43 Being human is enough7:21 “Nnenna from the Internet”8:57 Being one of the first Africans to be exposed to the internet12:08 Use of the internet in African villages16:44 Being a FOSS activist & walking with your adversaries18:31 Attitudes are like ass holes22:39 The mission of the World Wide Web Foundation25:01 Running the global coalition, the Web We Want28:39 Backstory to Brazil’s Internet Bill of Rights (first in the world)32:56 How close are we to an open and free internet for all?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/69              💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Neal Freyman is the Managing Editor at Morning Brew, a new media company that provides informative and digestive business news to over 3 million subscribers. He oversees Morning Brew’s flagship product - a daily newsletter, as well as the weekend light Roast edition and native advertisements. The Morning Brew happens to be one of my favourite newsletters so I was excited to dive into the behind-the-scenes with Neal!Highlights:4:43 Studying at the University of Maryland College Park7:16 Teaching geography and urban studies 8:07 Applying to work at Morning Brew as a writer (and being rejected!)9:00 Sending a nice rejection letter10:05 The newsletter industry in 201713:05 Working as a young newsletter startup out of a room in NYU14:41 Morning Brew’s ideal customer and how that definition has evolved over time18:12 Having readers get super pi**ed at them18:45 Creating a political newsletter20:18 “Write, grow and sell” as the tactic for Morning Brew’s explosive growth from 2016-2019 22:51 Writing continuously for 5 years 24:24 Milestones that contributed to Morning Brew’s growth26:19 Main reasons for Morning Brew’s subscriber count going from 100k to 1.5 million in the 2018/19 period27:01 The importance of Morning Brew having its own in-house referral system29:40 How Morning Brew manages to get 25% of its signups from its referral program32:29 Capitalising on momentum, as Alex Lieberman discussed34:24 How Morning Brew launched the Emerging Tech newsletter37:18 The importance of having a strong online following like Alex Lieberman & Austin Rief41:44 Checks & balances42:49 Becoming Managing Editor of Morning Brew44:23 Maintaining a close knit working culture45:43 When Neal felt that they had created a great product with the newsletter47:59 Staying relevant49:35 Retaining talent staff51:40 Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic53:01 The Essentials54:02 Impact of Morning Brew’s reported $75 million acquisition by Business Insider54:35 Creating the podcast arm of Morning Brew: Business Casual & Founder’s Journal56:23 Building in public59:39 Entering the education space with the MBA Accelerator📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/68       💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Daniel Flynn, co-founder of Thankyou, is one of Australia’s most recognisable & successful social entrepreneurs. He is the recipient of EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Southern Region) and Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs.Thankyou was conceived while Daniel was still in college and he learned, to his horror, that there were 900 million people who didn’t have access to clean water. 4500 kids were dying every day from water-borne disease and the women needed to trek 20km by foot to obtain clean water (they even risked being raped along that trecherous journey!).Determined to make a difference, Daniel, his girlfriend (now wife) Justine and friend, Jared Burns, got together as first-year university students to launch the consumer brand now known as Thankyou.Since 2008, Thankyou has raised over $17 million and impacted the lives of people across 22 countries. Thankyou’s products can be found in major retailers across Australia & 100% of its profits go towards ending extreme global poverty.Thankyou has run many viral campaigns. To get 7-Eleven to stock Thankyou Water, they produced a youTube video that asked their followers to visit the 7-Eleven Australia Facebook page to promise to buy Thankyou water if it was stocked. Within two weeks, they had fans singing, dancing and rapping, and it was covered all over the media. 7-Eleven said yes & Thankyou became the third best selling brand (they were also top at certain points in time).A similar viral campaign happened when they tried to get Coles and Woolworths, which controlled over 70% of Australia’s grocery market share, to stock Thankyou products. This time, they launched a video called the Coles and Woolworths campaign and also had two helicopters flown over Coles and Woolworths’ respective headquarters in Melbourne and Sydney. Unsurprisingly, both said yes!And again in 2015, Daniel wrote a bestselling book, Chapter One, which generated over $1.4 million in sales & sold over 55,000 copies in its first month using an unorthodox ‘pay-what-you-want’ model.However, these viral successes came after Daniel and his team experienced a great deal of setbacks. We explore all that and more in this episode. Highlights:4:00 Selling helicopters, yabbies & gobstoppers as a child5:15 Wanting to enter property development6:14 Learning about how 900 million people don’t have access to clean water (the genesis of Thankyou)10:17 Whether Daniel knew what a “social enterprise” was in the early days11:21 Figuring out how to enter the water industry as 19-year-olds13:39 Getting his business coach to donate $20,00017:57 Experiencing huge setbacks21:39 Deciding to not pivot22:54 The idea behind the viral 7-Eleven campaign to stock Thankyou water24:54 Running the viral Coles & Woolworths campaign27:37 Building a core base of fans29:46 Managing the risks behind each campaign33:22 The “uncomfortable middle”34:46 Being almost crushed by the pressure42:19 Deciding to leave the water industry44:16 How Daniel & the Thankyou team celebrate their wins45:27 Any big idea Daniel has changed his mind on recently📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/67  💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Lauren Hom is a California-born designer, illustrator & hand lettering artist with a 250k strong following on Instagram. She is known for her use of bright colour palettes & playful letterings and has worked for clients such as Starbucks, YouTube, TIME Magazine, Google and AT&T. She has also been recognised by Communications Arts, the Art Directors Club, the One Club, the Type Directors Club and the Webby Awards. But how did it all start?As with all STIMY episodes, we start from the very beginning: with Lauren’s childhood & how she ended up studying at the School of Visual Arts for, of all courses, advertising! While there, she met influential figures who had a deep influence on her decision to become a freelance artist. Turns out, being the junior director of a big ad agency in New York wasn’t the dream job she’d thought it would be!  Lauren also peels back the layers on some of her most popular passion projects, beginning with Daily Dishonesty - which landed her a book deal upon graduation! That proved pivotal, as it gave her a financial cushion to launch a freelance career. Three things stood out with Lauren’s life story:her talent in lettering;her ability to use passion projects to change the trajectory of her freelance career, repeatedly; andher willingness to be open about how she executes her projects, markets them and what she earns! And finally, why she is now going on a sabbatical and entering culinary school.If you’ve ever been curious about the business side of an artist’s career, then this is the episode for you.Highlights4:58 Work hard, snack hard5:38 Doing advertising11:40 Becoming a Junior Art Director in a big New York city ad firm13:36 Daily Dishonesty16:52 Seeing Daily Dishonesty go viral18:51 Getting an illustration agent20:14 Knowing when to say no to a client22:59 Planning to go freelance24:17 Earning $100,000 by Year 3 of freelancing25:12 Growing an audience on Instagram28:27 “Will Letter for Lunch” side project31:28 Getting clients like Microsoft & LinkedIn in less than 1 year34:12 Flour Crown & Peen Cuisine39:30 Traveling 1.5 years around the world40:47 Being inspired more by every day life44:35 Taking Back Sunday46:36 Taking a creative sabbatical to go to culinary school54:48 Would Lauren ever do street art?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/66  💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Ansgar Koene is the Global AI Ethics & Regulatory Leader at EY, Senior Research Fellow at Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute at the University of Nottingham, a Trustee at 5Rights and chair of the IEEE Working Group P7003 Standard for Algorithm Bias Considerations.Today with Ansgar, we’ll be talking about all things artificial intelligence.AI is an inescapable part of life. Whether it's the songs that Spotify recommends to us or the similar videos that pop up on our YouTube feed after watching one cat video, AI is monitoring & downloading data about us which is used to enhance our experiences on these social platforms. But there are darker elements to this, where it ends up manipulating our behaviour without us even realising it.So how can and should AI be regulated? What are the issues surrounding algorithm bias? Have recent legislations like the GDPR helped to better define the boundaries surrounding the use of AI? And what does Ansgar think about some of the current developments e.g. Facebook choosing to stop the use of its facial recognition software?If you want to learn more about the current state of AI, and the ethical and regulatory concerns surrounding its use, then this is the episode for you.Highlights:8:50 Every model is wrong, but some models are useful16:49 Ethical concerns around use of Twitter18:12 Issue of consent & privacy20:56 Types of recommender systems used by online platforms26:07 Using youth juries in the Unbias Project27:25 A series of “nudges” that manipulate our behaviour 29:59: An oversight committee 31:52 Who should bear editorial responsibility?36:25 Inherent algorithm bias40:30 Opening & streamlining access to platforms also restricts your freedom of expression44:19 How effective current regulation is49:23 Ansgar’s thoughts on Facebook stopping use of its facial recognition technology51:31 How effective is the #deleteFacebook movement?55:22 Why young people feel “disempowered” when using social media1:00:50 YouTube Kids versus Instagram Kids📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/65     💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Esther Hochman Wojcicki is an author, journalist, educator, vice-chair of the Creative Commons Advisory Council and founder of the highly regarded Palo Alto High School Media Arts program (the largest journalism program in the States). She is also known as the “Godmother of Silicon Valley”. And has raised 3 daughters, regarded as some of the most successful women in Silicon Valley. There’s Susan Wojcicki, the oldest, who is the CEO of YouTube; Janet Wojcicki, a Fulbright-winning anthropologist & professor of pediatrics at the University of California, and Anne Wojcicki - co-founder of 23andme: a genomics company that lets you test for ancestry and health risks. Anne was most recently listed as number 93 in Forbes List of World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2020!But what does it take to raise successful people? What is Esther Wojcicki’s famed T.R.I.C.K. methodology & how do those principles translate into the classroom? What was Steve Jobs like in person?Is it good to be a tiger mum sometimes?And what has she been up to during the COVID-19 pandemic and what advice does she have for parents raising children during this strange period in time?All that and more in this episode.Highlights:3:54: Growing up as a Russian Jewish immigrant7:02 Why Esther thought education was necessary for her survival10:41 Being disowned for pursuing a university degree13:59 Becoming a mother16:51 Figuring out how to be a parent19:41: The lemon girls20:59: Swimming at 12 months old!23:05: Table manners27:38: Teaching at Palo Alto High School33:09: Steve Jobs & 7 free Macintosh 36:54: “How to Raise Successful People” 38:34: Defining “success”40:09: What the T.R.I.C.K. methodology48:58: How tiger mums can help kids become more independent49:45: Are there instances when you need to be a tiger mum?50:43: Founding the Tract with Ari Memar56:41: The 20% rule📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/64  💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Have you ever thought about taking a sabbatical? Or have taken one yourself?If so, then this week’s STIMY guest will be of interest to you. DJ DiDonna is the founder of the Sabbatical Project, which is the first-of-its kind research into when and why sabbaticals are being taken by professionals, and how they lead to positive outcomes and an opportunity to tap into their inner self. DJ shares his personal story of first completing his MBA at Harvard Business School before spending the next 7 years of his life building Entrepreneurial Finance Lab: a microfinance startup he founded because was deeply passionate about pursuing access to finance and credit. It was a highly successful startup and they succeeded in unlocking over $1 billion for entrepreneurs and individuals that would otherwise not have access to such funding. However, no one told him that you could burn out from doing the job you loved.And that’s exactly what happened.In this episode, we dive deep into DJ’s experiences being burnt out, what he did during his sabbaticals as well as the findings that the Sabbatical Project has produced to date.Highlights:4:08 Doing an MBA at Harvard Business School6:37 Launching a microfinance startup that would unlock over $1 billion for entrepreneurs & be featured in the New York Times8:58 Burning out from doing a job you love10:01 Burning out versus just needing a vacation12:13 Guilt12:49 Maximising productivity during his sabbatical as a Type A15:10 Completing the 900 mile (1200 km) Shikoku Pilgrimage in Japan 16:13 “Ossentai”22:51 Collaborating with Professor Matt Bloom24:00 Founding the Sabbatical Project26:26 Defining what a “sabbatical” is27:33 Is there such a thing as a sabbatical that’s gone on for “too long”?30:06 Travel doesn’t guarantee disconnection 33:11 Getting in touch with your inner self 34:20 Testing your assumptions with others35:52 Has anyone ever regretted taking a sabbatical?37:19 Sabbaticals help to fight FOMO38:03 How to structure a sabbatical40:08 Designing a system to capture your learnings from your sabbatical43:16 Employers who want to implement sabbatical policies in their companies45:24 Forced sabbaticals46:56 When people should think about taking sabbaticals (without waiting for burnouts or something bad to happen in life)48:13 Best way to ask employers for sabbaticals50:42 Functional workaholism 📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/63 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

Hawker Chef Chan Hon Meng is a Malaysian-born, Michelin-starred chef who is best known for serving the world’s least expensive Michelin-starred meal.He won his first Michelin star back in 2016 for his $2.50 soy sauce chicken noodle dish, and proceeded to do so for the next four consecutive years. Since then, his chicken rice store has exploded from one store in Chinatown to a franchise restaurants in 7 countries & 17 outlets within 2 years. In Singapore alone, there are 6,000 stalls in over 100 hawker stalls.In this episode, Hawker Chan shares: what it was like growing up in Ipoh, Malaysia;how he obtained his apprenticeship under a Hong Kong chef, where he learned and perfected his famed soya sauce chicken recipe; starting his Liao Fan Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle in Chinatown Complex Food Centre in 2019;what it was like first obtaining a Michelin star in 2016;how his business developed as a franchise; the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on his business; and advice for others seeking to follow in his footsteps.Note: This interview was conducted entirely in Mandarin!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/62     💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy

Austen Allred is the co-founder & CEO of Lambda School: a virtual coding school that is completely free to attend, until its graduates earn at least $50,000/year. Lambda School is betting on its student’s success as its success, and has seen its graduates go on to work as developers in Fortune 100 companies and prominent startups including Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and more.But even prior to founding Lambda School & being accepted into Y Combinator, Austen has had a wealth of interesting experiences. From working for two years as a Mormon missionary in Eastern Ukraine - where every foreigner was viewed as a spy - to dropping out of college, vagabonding around China, blogging while being homeless in Silicon Valley (which eventually led to him securing his first funding & job in the Valley!) & going through 5 rounds of interviews before being accepted onto Y Combinator.We explore all that, including his viral & controversially titled article in 2012, “Successful Entrepreneurs Are Usually Liars” in this STIMY episode. Highlights:3:17 Growing up in a Mormon family6:12 Learning HTML at age of 1110:06 Going on a mission trip in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine15:18 Founding Stubtopia25:27 Dropping out of college29:44 Vagabonding around China31:22 Writing the viral 2012 article, “Successful Entrepreneurs Are Usually Liars”33:49 Blogging while homeless in Silicon Valley (which led to his first job in Silicon Valley & investment for his own startup!)38:24 Noticing the discrepancy between Utah & Silicon Valley in terms of opportunities & pay39:31 How the concept of Lambda School came about51:21 The right time to raise VC money54:58 Getting into Y Combinator59:13 Biggest takeaway from working with Geoff Rolston (now President of Y Combinator) & Daniel Gross1:03:54 Issues surrounding the Income Sharing Agreements (ISA)1:06:47 How COVID-19 has impacted Lambda School📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/61 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 

David Grief is the CEO of David Grief International Consultancy Pte & former Senior Clerk at Essex Court Chambers - known as one of the UK's most prominent commercial sets with a multimillion-pound turnover. Described in a recent TIMES article as a “giant among clerks”, David has spent over 40 plus years managing barristers’ chambers including at Gray’s Inn Chambers, 17 Old Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn and finally, as Senior Clerk and Head of Administration at Essex Court Chambers. But what does a barristers’ clerk actually do?This might be a bit of a struggle to understand if you’re unfamiliar with how the UK legal system works and indeed even for practicing lawyers. Unless you’ve worked in chambers in London before, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what they do!But the short of it is this: barristers’ clerks are traditionally referred to as “the Law’s Middleman” and are known to “make or break” a barrister’s career. They manage the diaries of their barristers in chambers, the client relationships, the negotiations and collecting of fees and general running of chambers. They are also a barrister’s therapist, marriage counsellor, discipline master, agent, debt collector and some might even say, ‘pimp’!Much has been written about the clerking world but less so in the modern day and in this episode, David peels back the layers.He shares how he first got into the world of clerking, his love of flying, how he manages and grows his relationships with instructing solicitors and barristers, and how he has moulded the careers of his barristers, helping them become silks and even getting onto the bench.Some of the barristers he used to clerk for include the former Chief Justice of England & Wales and other barristers who have gone on to sit at the UK Supreme Court, International Court of Justice and Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.David also shares his plans in helping to develop the legal industry in Singapore and his plans moving forward with the establishment of his new consultancy - David Grief International Consultancy Pte. Highlights:4:46 Being passionate about flying8:30 His interviews to become a junior clerk9:45 Clerking before the age of the Internet11:46 What a barristers’ clerk actually does17:19 Knowing the breaking points of a barrister19:40 Collection of fees22:49 Going through the 1974 UK Miners’ Strike & 3-Day Work Week24:47 Building relationships with instructing solicitors30:02 Being the only clerk with a license to fly35:18 Working with barristers37:06 Direct access38:53 Managing situations when a barrister cops out43:09 Identifying barristers with star quality & when they’re ready to take the silk48:17 People who have most influenced David’s career50:47 Joining Essex Court Chambers57:05 Why David moved to Singapore1:01:32 Challenges in establishing Singapore’s first pure chambers practice 1:04:41 Innovations that David anticipates happening in the legal sector1:06:26 “Don’t ask, don’t get”📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/60  🪙 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sothisismywhy 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Ooi Boon Hoe is the current Director and Chief Executive Officer of Jurong Port Pte Ltd, which is one of Singapore’s two main commercial terminal operators.In this episode, we explore how Boon Hoe went from working in the military, where he obtained a 1st Class Pass from Britannia Royal Naval College, was a recipient of the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Training Award, and a Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship.Boon Hoe later worked in corporate finance in DBS Bank before moving into the port and shipping industry first with Portek International in 2002 (where he discovered his faith!), then Jurong Port Pte Ltd in 2014. Highlights:3:30 Growing up in Singapore in 1960s4:28 Having a flourishing military career7:27 Working in corporate finance at DBS Bank9:21 Becoming COO of Portek International10:46 Why Boon Hoe transitioned into the port & shipping business12:04 Discovering God14:46 Reading the Gospels18:29 Making Portek’s maiden investment in Algeria26:30 Creating the world’s largest port based facility27:33 Creating an ecosystem centered around LNG31:31 Maintaining safety during the global pandemic📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/59  💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Nigel Stanislaus is a highly celebrated makeup artist who’s been a part of international television shows like Project Runway, X-Factor, Make Me A Supermodel and also a judge on Australia’s Next Top Model and Asia’s Next Top Model. His editorial works span the likes of Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan L’Officiel, Elle, Marie Claire, GQ, and Esquire and he has worked with celebrities like John Legend, Suki Waterhouse, Kelly Osborne, Gigi & Bella Hadid, Scary Spice - Melanie Brown, and most recently, Jenna Dewan and Tina Arena.But what is it really like being such a celebrated makeup artist who was known for almost a decade as “Mr Maybelline”? What did it take to get to where he is today?In this episode, we dive into what it was like growing up in Singapore, how he almost became a professional sniper, discovering the world of fashion and makeup as well as the realities of living the jet-setting life, and what he is now up to since leaving his position as Makeup Director at Maybelline, where he had represented Singapore in NYFW.Highlights:1:59 The story behind the name “Stanislaus”2:44 Being influenced by the feminine energy around him4:59 Discovering his “front of house”7:22 Being different from other guys8:27 Studying apparel design & merchandising at Temasek Polytechnic 11:19 Obtaining an internship in New York & attending his first catwalk (which included meeting Kate Moss!)17:45 Completing national service in Singapore & discovering a talent for being a sniper20:20 Excelling at Monash University 22:41 Doing freelance makeup on the side 23:40 Being told he would never make it as he “didn’t fit the profile”25:39 Getting over his rejections27:20 Getting his first agent28:53 The importance of social media 30:52 Nigel’s wildest briefs32:51 How Nigel constantly upskills34:32 Admiring “stalker-ish” persistence in his assistants37:39 The reality of living a jet-setting life44:14 Appearing on television47:21 How Nigel decided to stop being the Makeup Director of Maybelline aka Mr Maybelline54:33 How Nigel overcomes loneliness📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/58 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Robert James Ashe is a 4-time Emmy nominated editor and title designer, best known for being the Head of Post Production on Conan for nearly 8 years. He has also worked for Conan O'Brien on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour, The 2014 MTV Movie Awards, and his show CONAN on TBS. Rob also served as the announcer, title designer, and lead editor for The Pete Holmes Show on TBS.Here, Robert shares how he went from being an army brat and Disney kid, to life in musical theatre and how he ended up working in post production in Hollywood. As well as what it’s like being a parent to three young children with physical challenges.Highlights:2:43 Being a Disney kid4:40 The realities of being in musical theatre8:45 How Robert first got into production in Hollywood15:51 Designing the original Conan logo & incorporating his daughter’s silhouette into it17:40 Delivering a 42 minute show in 19 minutes20:06 Knowing what to cut22:59 The most time-consuming parts of travel segments25:27 Why editing is like speed chess27:09 Finding a rhythm to editing29:47 Cutting for the Notebook 2 with Ryan Reynolds & Conan O’Brien38:09 Most memorable parts of working on Conan38:09 How Robert first heard that the Conan show would be ending41:05 Advice for people who want to make it44:31 Figuring out how to ace interviews in Hollywood45:48 Caring for children with physical challenges51:14 Advice for parents looking to adopt children with physical challenges 55:06 Breaking into Hollywood through charities📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/57 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Amra Naidoo is the co-founder of Accelerating Asia, an early stage venture capital fund that runs programs for startups and investors, and General Partner at Accelerating Asia Ventures. Prior to that, she was the Head of Corporate Partnerships at UN Women, including Project Inspire (a UN Women global social entrepreneurship program) and a part of muru-D’s, which was one of the top startup accelerators in Asia. She is also the APAC Regional Lead for Shaper Impact Capital and Outgoing Curator for the Global Shapers Singapore Hub, an initiative of the World Economic Forum and is the host and creator of the Doing Good Podcast. She has been interviewed and featured as a guest author on industry blogs, including The Straits Times, Techcrunch, Reuters and named as one of Harper's Bazaar’s Women Who Inspire Others.Highlights1:56 Growing up in Zimbabwee3:14 Moving to Australia5:23 Why Amra started dreaming of working at the UN7:26 Selling SKII & Shiseido13:53 Deciding on how to change her life16:18 Getting a UN internship20:03 Becoming Head of Corporate Partnerships at UN Women21:00 Running Project Inspire25:50 How startups can run successful crowdfunding campaigns27:28 The struggle with marketing 31:35 Why Amra ended up leaving the UN34:17 Obtaining a marketing degree from the University of Newcastle36:30 Meeting Craig, her current co-founder, at muru-D37:19 How the idea of Accelerating Asia began39:20 The “missing middle”41:26 The biggest challenges in setting up an independent accelerator43:21 Bootstrapping to set up a consultancy program44:16 Running the 100 days accelerator program47:22 The regulatory challenges behind running a venture fund48:24 Fundraising for their venture fund50:37 Why selling a fund is similar to selling Chanel56:25 Why Accelerating Asia focuses on pre-Series A companies58:48 Whether Amra looks for social impact in their startups1:04:00 Starting the Doing Good podcast1:05:44 What Amra thinks about the creator economy & how VCs/startup founders should get into the space1:07:31 How Amra ended up joining the Payment’s Race - MoneyAsia 2020📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/56 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Karl Mak is a Singaporean entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of HEPMIL Media Group: a holding company that owns SGAG, MGAG, PGAG, SGEEK and HEPMIL Creators’ Network.If you’re a fan of memes, then you’re in for a treat because that is precisely what HEPMIL specialises in!Karl shares how he almost became a professional swimmer, how he built a flourishing real estate career while in school, his experiences (and failure) with his first startup & how he ended up co-founding SGAG with Adrian Ang, whom he had first met back in 2005 in junior college. Highlights:3:32 Swimming competitively9:53 Entering the real estate business13:28 The gift of the gab20:26 Learning from Professor Soon Loo22:23 Attending a coding bootcamp to find a co-founder26:26 “Crazy” things Karl did to get enterprise clients28:22 Why Televate, Karl’s first startup, failed33:43 Meeting Adrian & starting SGAG38:27 How they come up with memes40:32 The Ah Lian meme, which was picked up by mainstream media42:36 Milestones to track47:47 The early days of SGAG49:04 Land grabbing tactics used by SGAG51:42 Distinguishing SGAG from other similar pages56:40 Selling vulgar T-shirts59:18 How the business deal with Scoot happened1:00:57 Changing the engine of a plane in mid-air1:06:03 Your failure makes you more valuable1:07:26 Building a creators’ network1:15:58 How COVID-19 impacted Karl & HEPMIL Media Group📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/55 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Yulia Brodskaya is a Russian artist and illustrator known for painting with paper. Pioneering contemporary paper quilling, she uses thick, coloured paper to compose stunningly detailed 3d portraits. And her work is owned by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Hermés, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Paramount Pictures, Country Music Association, The New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, New York Observer, and Issey Miyake. She also designed the official poster for the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, designed a Google Chrome theme, created a Forever stamp design for the United States Postal Service in 2016 and Christmas 2017 stamps for New Zealand Post. In 2019, she was named a “Breakthrough Star” by Creative Review and featured among other leading UK-based artists in the BBC programme Making Art Work: First Idea to Final Piece.Highlights:2:32 Growing up in Moscow in the 1980s8:27 Learning to see the world with an artist’s eye10:12 Picking up a love of typography12:43 Discovering a love of paper art16:59 Creating the Christmas cover for the G2 supplement of the Guardian19:27 What “paper quilling” is21:54 Being protective of her own style23:40 The process of creating her work27:19 When she knows a piece of work is complete30:18 Creating portraits of old folks39:20 Publishing a book41:52 Creating her own mobile app44:16 Creating her first NFT📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/54 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Rahul Chaudhary is the Managing Director & CEO at CG Corp Global and CG Hospitality Holdings. And the second son of Binod Chaudhary, who is the first & only Forbes-listed multi-billionaire from Nepal! In this STIMY episode, Rahul shares what it’s like being the 4th-generation heir of a 140-year family business empire, starting from being a sporting champion at boarding school to striking his first business deal in New York, where everything that could possibly go wrong, did!And how the CG Hospitality arm has grown and even thrived during the global pandemic.Highlights:3:12 Rahul’s great-grandfather, whose birth is taken as the genesis of the Chaudhary Group6:48 Core family values10:43 Always focusing on the good18:02 Civil war in Nepal20:30 Striking his first business deal, where everything went wrong28:34 Leaving the US for opportunities in Asia31:54 Forging a partnership with the Taj Group39:44 Creating CG’s own hospitality brand, Zinc42:19 Entering Dubai46:25 Starting Prestellar Ventures, CG’s own VC fund51:17 The CG Foundation & how it’s helped out during the 2015 earthquake in Nepal & the global pandemic54:45 Becoming aware of the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic59:36 Changes that have allowed CG’s hotels to thrive during the pandemic📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/53 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Kendrick Nguyen is the co-founder & CEO of Republic - one of the US’s top equity crowdfunding platforms where over USD$ 100 million has already been raised in just 2021 alone. And boasts a heavily curated list of startups that, according to Kendrick, is harder to get into than Harvard!Before Republic, Kendrick was a trading and securities lawyer at Wall Street. Knowing that this wasn’t for him, he eventually transitioned into becoming a Stanford teaching fellow and COO of Kanbar Enterprises. He later became the General Counsel of Angellist (also its first non-engineering hire!) and simultaneously spearheaded Angellist’s expansion into Canada and Europe and the launch of various products. That is, until the JOBS Act passed, which changed the investment landscape and allowed non-accredited investors (i.e. anyone regardless of net worth) invest in startups. With the blessing (and investment!) of Angellist before him, Kendrick decided to launch his own startup, Republic, with the ultimate aim of becoming the Amazon of private investing. Where anyone can invest in the next potential Uber or Airbnb for as little as $10.  Highlights:3:26 Studying neuroscience & law at Berkeley and Oxford4:38 Becoming a securities & patent litigator 7:20 Becoming a teaching fellow at Stanford University11:48 Joining AngelList as its General Counsel & first non-engineering hire14:22 The JOBS Act16:04 The vision for Republic to become the Amazon of private investing17:51 Telling the AngelList board that he wanted to quit & launch his own startup19:46 Getting 2 investments out of 250 VCs in 8 months25:12 Republic’s curation process28:25 The different lens between Republic and VCs31:38 Allowing a 12-year-old founder to raise funds on Republic?!34:48 Getting deal flow37:43 Why startups would raise on Republic & not from other VCs39:47 Republic’s business model42:12 Hallmarks of successful campaigns on Republic43:53 How Sahil Lavingia (founder of Gumroad) raised USD $5 million in 12 hours from just under 7,000 investors45:51 How founders can activate their community51:06 Distinguishing Republic from other competitors52:54 Republic Notes - launching Republic’s own digital tokens54:29 Partnership with Meet the Drapers television show1:00:21 Use of Republic’s recent $36 million for Series A📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/52 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Nick Bernstein is the Senior Vice President of Late Night Programming (West Coast) at ViacomCBS & is the executive in charge of the Late Late Show with James Corden. In Part 2 of this STIMY episode with Nick, we explore how the Comcast's 51% acquisition of NBC Universal impacted Nick personally, how he ended up being the executive producer of the Pete Holmes show & ultimately (currently!) the executive in charge of the Late Late Show with James Corden. Nick talks about all things related to the Late Late show including his initial conversation with Nina Tassler (then President of CBS), how the show has transformed over the past 5 years, the impact the global pandemic has had on them and not forgetting, how Nick ended up in front of the cameras (with his own camera and mic!).Highlights:16:19 The announcement that James Corden would take over the 12.30 show17:58 Speaking with Nina Tassler (then President of CBS)19:45 The mad dash to get the Late, Late show ready for launch23:25 How Carpool Karaoke came about26:14 Why the Justin Bieber Carpool Karaoke video exploded on YouTube27:38 When Nick felt that the Late, Late show had “made it”31:37 Jumping out of a plane with Tom Cruise33:01 Having a direct relationship with fans of the show36:58 “Kidnap One Direction”?38:30 Impact of the global pandemic on the Late, Late show43:57 How Nick ended up on the show itself!47:47 GAP clothes, Carnival Cruise… updates?52:17 Advice for those wanting to be just like Nick Bernstein📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/51-2 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Nick Bernstein is the Senior Vice President of Late Night Programming (West Coast) at ViacomCBS & is the executive in charge of the Late Late Show with James Corden. In Part 1 of this episode with Nick, we explore what it was like growing up in Maryland and how he would spend 4 hours every Sunday morning charting America’s Top 40 biggest hits on radio, the impact that Camp Taconic had & continues to have in his life, and how he ended up being an NBC page and working with legendary late night television executive, Rick Ludwin.Highlights:7:04: Why summer camps were & continue to be so important to Nick15:13: Majoring in broadcast journalism at Syracuse University19:28: How Nick became a NBC page 24:39: How Nick ended up working for Rick Ludwin, who’s worked with every The Tonight Show host from Steve Allen to Jimmy Fallon30:28: What makes a good host33:11: Why Rick was a “man of conviction” who stood behind hosts like Conan O’Brien when no one else would39:05: Believing that Conan O’Brien & Jimmy Fallon were the future of late night back in 200242:41: Replacing late night hosts48:41: The Conan/Jay Leno debacle56:00: Giving as much runway to shows as possible or… not?📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/51-1 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

PART 2 of STIMY’s interview with Ning-Geng Ong - Artisan chocolate maker, farmer, and founder of Chocolate Concierge & Culture Cacao.For Part 1, please refer to the earlier episode. Highlights:2:48: How the signature flavours of chocolate are brought out4:34: What Ning means by saying he is “fiercely unbending”12:10: Why Ning runs fermentation anywhere between 6 to 71 days!18:23: The sheltered, sun-drying process21:54: Creating some of Chocolate Concierge’s signature flavours, including Assam laksa and nasi kerabu bon bon34:10: Impact of the global pandemic37:24: Advice for those seeking to be chocolate makers too📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/50-2 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Part 1 of STIMY's episode with Ning-Geng Ong - a farmer, chocolate marker, flavour fanatic and founder of Chocolate Concierge & Culture Cacao, where he makes incredible single-origin Malaysian chocolate. In this episode, Ning shares his journey from majoring in physics and computer science, to founding a business in chocolate making. In particular, what it is like working with the indigenous community (including stories involving tigers, a durian thief and a murder!).Highlights:2:31: Loving the outdoors (the dangers of being a boy scout!)5:52: Backpacking in Europe6:59: Doing programming work11:53: Diving into the world of fermentation17:37: Why chocolate making stood out21:39: Cocoa seeds taste like.. Unicorn milk?!24:26: Obsessing over creating Malaysian single origin flavour25:08: Chocolate-making process26:33: Creating the universe27:08: Why Ning struggled to find reliable cocoa beans30:13: Starting Culture Cacao32:11: Living with the Semai community38:38: Tigers40:15: Durian thief!44:17: Not having a contractual arrangement with the indigenous community49:08: Struggling to get cocoa beans from the indigenous community50:52: Giving up?Stay tuned for PART 2 of Ning's episode, coming out this Wednesday!📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/50-1 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Dato’ Thomas Mun Lung Lee is a Senior Partner & founding member of Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill - one of the largest law firms in Malaysia. He was also previously Chairman of AIA Public Takaful Bhd and AIA Malaysia Berhad, had directorships at AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, was a member of the Appeals Committee of Bursa Malaysia Berhad and Chairman and Non-Executive Director Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd & Alliance Merchant Bank Berhad. He also served on the Board of UMW Holdings Berhad, Saujana Resort (M) Berhad and Bank of America Malaysia Berhad.In addition, Dato’ Thomas was an arbitrator with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland and a member of the Ad Hoc Panel of Arbitrators at the 1988 Commonwealth games at KL, the Commonwealth Games 2006 at Melbourne, the Olympic Games 2000 at Sydney, Olympic Games 2008 at Beijing & Olympic Games 2012 at London.Last but not least, he is also the son of Tun HS Lee - Malaysia’s first Finance Minister!In this episode, we cover Dato’ Thomas’ life story, beginning with his earliest memories (of air raid sirens & bombs dropping over Kuala Lumpur!) to then fleeing to India after the Japanese placed a bounty on his father’s head, and how he eventually made his way to the UK with his brother for his studies at the age of 13. And his fascinating legal career, which included being in the same pupil batch as Tun Hussein Onn (who eventually became Malaysia’s 3rd Prime Minister) & Chan Sek Keong (who became the 3rd Chief Justice of Singapore).Highlights:1:57: Earliest memories of air raid sirens & bombs2:40: Fleeing to India7:52: Living under the British imposed emergency rule during the height of the communist insurgency9:42: Travelling to the UK from Malaysia via a 3-week boat through the Suez Canal10:42: Studying at Leys School, Cambridge14:14: Being guided to study law at St John’s, Cambridge University16:29: Working as a tourist guide at Costa Brava, Spain18:36: Completing a pupillage at 2 Crown Office in the 1950/60s27:20: What KL & the Malaysian legal scene was like in the 1960s28:54: Beginning his career in debt collection30:34: Seeing Bannon & Bailey dissolve in 1963 & joining Skrine & Co31:15: Why Dato’ Thomas wanted to be like John Skrine32:19: “Don’t harbour a grudge. Life is too short for that.” - John Skrine34:24: Working in the same pupil batch as Hussein Onn36:12: Impact of 13 May 196937:57: Royal Selangor Golf Club39:30: What Tunku Abdul Rahman was like in person40:29: What Tun Dr Ismail was like in person41:06: Setting up of Lee Hishammuddin in 199344:06: Turning down 2 offers to join the judiciary (including the Court of Appeal!)45:03: Whether he ever felt pressured by his father’s legacy📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/49 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Oz Pearlman is an Emmy award-winning mentalist & magician who recently emerged as the runner up & finalist in America’s Got Talent Season 10 in 2015. In this STIMY, Oz shares what he was like as a child, discovering magic on a cruise ship to Bermuda and how that transformed his life as he obsessed over mastering magic. Oz got so good, he paid his own way through college and even continued it as a side hustle while working at Merrill Lynch before deciding to take the leap & become a full-time mentalist. He hasn’t looked back since. Oz Pearlman has performed for an impressive list of A-list celebrities, Fortune 500 companies, politicians and professional athletes, and also appeared on numerous networks including NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The TODAY Show & ABC World News. He is also an avid marathon & ultra-marathon runner, having competed in events like the Badwater 135 Miler, Hawaii Ironman World Championships, Western States 100 and Spartathlon.Highlights:3:47: Being a child math prodigy (scored a perfect 800 for his SATs at age 12)4:36: Discovering a love of magic6:19: Meeting Ryan Hertz & Bruce Kessler9:41: Getting his first magic gig at age 1412:13: Knowing how to break the ice with strangers16:34: Deciding to stay behind in USA & pay for himself through college19:00: Finding his own magic community20:49: The balance between sharing magic tricks & keeping your secrets to yourself26:54: Simple magic tricks for anyone to learn31:30: The Off Broadway Show, Watch Magic, that attracted Ethan Hawke & the New York Times35:44: “Making it” as a full-time, freelance magician37:46: Why Oz thinks he didn’t make it the first time he applied for America’s Got Talent in 201238:46: Coming up with new magic tricks on AGT within days39:56: Competing on America’s Got Talent while training for 3 marathons!43:17: Impact of COVID-19 on Oz’s business📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/48 

Lincoln Lee Ming is a Malaysian social entrepreneur, biomedical science graduate from University College London, UK & founder of a social enterprise called Rice Inc., which seeks to combat the 26 million tons of rice wasted during production every year & help smallholder rice farmers break through the convoluted supply chain In this STIMY episode, we cover how Lincoln’s entrepreneurial streak first came up in his childhood in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (beginning at the age of 13!) and how he tried to organise a Pokemon Walkathon just before leaving for his university studies.Having arrived at UCL, Lincoln quickly realised in his second year that he wanted to pivot to business / entrepreneurship. He also learned about the most prestigious startup competition for university students: the $1 million HULT Prize - which is said to be harder to win than the lottery!The HULT Prize took an entire year & came with lots of ups and down. Lincoln shares the experience of being at the finals (judges included Arianna Huffington!), how they have used the $1 million investment they won from the HULT Prize, the impact of Brexit & COVID-19 on Rice Inc's operations, and what drives him to do what he is now doing.Highlights:4:43: Losing his parents’ money at age 13 when dabbling in entrepreneurship8:10: Running a past year paper printing startup (by pretending to still be students!)12:17: Organising a Pokemon Walkathon19:04: Learning about the $1 million HULT Prize21:52: Finding a problem to solve33:29: Introducing big changes after UCL & regional HULT Prize rounds34:54: Raising $20,000 in funds to visit Myanmar & run a pilot program45:58: Adventures in Myanmar 51:29: Girls following Kisum53:38: Attending the HULT Prize accelerator at Henry VII’s former residence 55:46: Working & playing (too) hard59:59: Building connections with high-ranking people1:03:16: How a UN security guard helped Sunrice / Rice Inc win the HULT Prize competition in New York1:13:21: Getting stuck inside the UN building at midnight1:17:33: Balancing winning the HULT Prize with getting a 1st class at UCL1:20:33: What to do with an investment of $1 million at age 191:22:34: Impact of Brexit on Rice Inc’s operation1:24:02: Getting into the top 5 caterer distribution services & meeting with the Board1:28:47: What keeps Lincoln going1:30:07: When Lincoln knew that there was nothing else he would rather be doing than this (Rice Inc)📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/47 

Azran Osman-Rani is one of Malaysia's most well-known CEOs & entrepreneur and in this STIMY episode, we cover his colourful & highly impressive career that has included being:CEO and Co-Founder, Naluri Hidup (now)CEO of iflix Malaysia. Dragon-Keeper of the TaoCEO, AirAsia X BerhadSenior Director, Business Development, Astro All Asia Networks plcSenior Vice President, Kuala Lumpur Stock ExchangeAssociate Partner, McKinsey & CompanyAssociate, Booz Allen & Hamilton But how did it all begin?ChildhoodGrowing up with two professors for parents, Azran was always encouraged to speak up and speak out. This began when he was just 4 years old, where he would participate in adult conversations with his parents’ visiting guests that other professors.Stanford UniversityAzran eventually went to Stanford University to pursue a degree in electrical engineering although he did end up doing the barest minimum amount of engineering classes required. Instead, he ended up taking lessons in history, culture, psychology, economics, ballroom dancing and even sailing! After completing his masters, Azran ended up becoming a management consultant first at Booz Allen Hamilton, then McKinsey. He eventually left for Bursa Malaysia, which set him on his incredible path as an entrepreneur.Highlights:6:37: Studying at Stanford University before the dot com boom8:01: Ultimate frisbee13:45: Working at Booz Allen Hamilton14:25: Bombing his client presentation & being warned he would be kicked out if he repeated his performance14:25: Moving to Korea for work16:18: Earning the trust of his Korean clients20:28: Working to turn the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange from a nonprofit government linked organisation to a for-profit company (Bursa Malaysia)25:14: Phone call 1 that led him to Astro All Asia Networks27:06: His big failure at Astro, where he had to shut down their Indonesian business & letting go of 450 staff28:42: Phone call 2 from Tony Fernandes that led to him becoming CEO of AirAsia X30:16: AirAsia X’s value proposition31:27: Building a sustainable airline business model36:47: Making the pitch of a lifetime to the European export credit agency to save AirAsia X39:34: Securing an upward flow of information47:06: AirAsia X’s $15 million in-flight entertainment mistake50:47: Staying ahead of the competition51:47: Becoming CEO of iFlix54:13: Starting iFlix with a few people & laptops, but no product!56:14: How iFlix gained 1 million subscribers, 6 months after its launch1:00:03: Learning about Omada Health1:01:41: Launching Naluri Hidup1:02:59: Why Azran bet his kids’ education, life savings etc. on Naluri Hidup1:07:00: The importance of localisation1:10:25: Educating the public about digital health1:11:10: Why Azran is a YouTuber & active content creator1:11:58: A life-changing car accident in May 20181:12:32: How Azran kept going & completed his Ironman 6 months after his brutal car accident!1:15:31: Fundraising before & during COVID-191:17:05: Azran’s mirrors to deal with his confirmation bias📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/46    💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Lim Pui Wan is a Malaysian miniature artist who discovered her love of miniatures at the age of 14 and has, since 2014 under “Picoworm”, become a full-time professional miniature artist. In 2020, she was even part of Ryan Reynold’s “Ryan Doesn’t Know” Snapchat series!In this STIMY episode, Pui Wan shares what it takes to forge a path to becoming a professional miniature artist. Highlights:4:10: Figuring out how to make miniature art8:02: Making her first miniature art9:08: Joining her first competition by remaking a Studio Ghibli dollhouse!11:25: Behind-the-scenes of najubg nubuatyre art14:17: Why she loves capturing dirt16:52: Why Pui Wan loves Chinatown22:42: Why she ended up studying mechanical engineering24:08: Being tempted to drop out of university early27:31: Turning a hobby into a business28:15: Doing market testing31:23: Pricing her works33:33: Her first commercial sell34:43: Giving up?36:45: Filming with Ryan Reynolds40:06: Advice for those who want to become miniature artists 43:33: Making personal miniature art every week for the year 2021 📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/45 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Best Known as director of the George Town Festival, Joe Sidek has established himself as one of Malaysia’s strong advocates for the arts.Prior to becoming a festival director, Joe Sidek played major roles in various forms of art expression – from event management, art curator-ship, restaurant ownership and even costume design. He also still runs his family–owned textile chemical factory, Chemdyes Sdn Bhd.Since 2010 when he began GTF, in 2018, Joe also directed the 3-year-old Rainforest Fringe Festival in Kuching, having founded the festival in 2017. He also helmed the Butterworth Fringe Festival for 3 years (2015–2017) and earlier in 2014, he brought Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival to Southeast Asia and showcased the inaugural Tropfest South East Asia in Penang.He is 2020-2022 chairman of Federation of Asian Cultural Promotion, an industry expert on the industry panel of Malaysian federal agency for the arts and culture, Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA), and chairman of Penang Arts Council.In this STIMY episode, Joe shares his fascinating life story: from wanting to do art in Central Saint Martins to returning to Malaysia, recovering from his first “failed’ festival to eventually be one of Malaysia’s biggest, and most well-known advocate for the arts & culture!Highlights:1:52: Joe has noble blood!3:18: Moving to Penang3:42: Why Joe thinks Penangites are “arrogant, confident, and proud of who they are”4:36: Wanting to do art in London & John Galliano5:45: Not wanting to return home6:50: His relationship with his dad10:37: Taking over the family business11:35: Why Joe’s first festival in 2001 failed14:33: Becoming the festival director of the George Town Festival 17:02: Getting help from the Penang Chief Minister19:15: Why Joe brings in not just local, but also international artists21:48: How Ernest Zacharevic got involved in the George Town Festival (resulting in the subsequent street art boom!)24:01: Gentrification & over-commercialisation24:54: GTF’s student and community tickets project31:49: Finding historical, old & meaningful places to stage GTF32:41: The biggest challenges of a festival director35:50: Artists that have adapted well to COVID/virtual world37:50: How artists can build their personal brand & stand out 42:21: How to become a festival director49:45: Where artists can find their community📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/44  💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Nicky Gumbel is an English Anglican priest, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, London and pioneer of the Alpha Course - a course that has reached over 25 million people who are looking to discover the meaning to life!This episode is so special to me not least because I used to attend HTB myself! In this STIMY episode, we explore Nicky’s incredible faith journey - how he went from being an argumentative atheist to someone completely on fire for God! - and what HTB and the Alpha course was like back in the 1970s, including the pivotal moments that led to what it is today. As well as his thoughts on online church and online Alpha!Highlights:3:48: Growing up in London in the 1950s5:13: Having an eventful conversation with his mum at the age of 1411:44: Why Nicky labelled himself a “logical determinist” while at Eton12:50: Why Nicky entered Cambridge University to do economics (before switching to law!)13:56: The Nicky lunches15:02: Coming to faith in February 197419:46: How Nicky ended up in Kitchen with Phil Lawson Johnston22:13: How Sandy Miller came into Nicky’s life24:01: The change in HTB culture from robed choirs to contemporary worship26:25: Why Nicky went from working as a barrister in a tax chamber to criminal then a mix set27:34: Meeting John Wimber in 198128:10: “Come, Holy Spirit” 29:23: Why Nicky studied theology at Oxford30:46: Learning that he had tied his self-esteem to his job32:12: Being rejected from 9 parishes!32:55: How Nicky went from Agnostics Anonymous to the Alpha course35:36: How the first Alpha training conference in May 1993 came about37:58: The 1994 Toronto blessing that spread to HTB39:35: Alpha Asia Pacific40:42: Doing online church & online Alpha42:34: Where Nicky gets his drive fromShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/43 

Wai Ken Wong is the Country Manager of StashAway (Malaysia). He first worked in investments in Khazanah Nasional Berhad, then became the Vice President of the Equity Capital Markets at Affin Hwang Capital, before entering the startup world. Want to learn what it's like working in the fintech startup world, all things investments & the intricacies of how StashAway is set up?This is the episode for you!Highlights:2:38: Using ang pow money to invest in unit trusts6:10: Why he moved to Australia at the age of 167:54: Enjoying business9:24: Whether Wai Ken was ever tempted to drop out of college to launch a startup10:41: What drove Wai Ken to start working while still studying17:56: Working in Khazanah21:33: Working with Dato Hisham22:35: Working at Affin Hwang26:07: Why Wai Ken decided to join StashAway - then a 2-year-old startup that began in Singapore32:13: Whether he had any doubts about joining StashAway33:34: His role as Country Manager from Day 135:36: How Wai Ken built a 5000 person waiting list before StashAway launched in Malaysia41:42: The role of content creation in StashAway44:27: What does “robo advisory” mean?47:38: Robo Advisory v ETFs49:51: StashAway’s investment framework - known as the Economic Regime Base Asset Allocation (ERAA)52:40: How StashAway came up with its risk index54:56: Guaranteeing a 1% chance of your portfolio dropping?57:17: How StashAway categorises risk1:01:58: Will customers get to determine their own assets with StashAway in the future?1:04:44: StashAway Simple1:06:51: Why StashAway Simple doesn’t have PIDM protection1:09:01: What guarantees StashAway has for its customers1:11:51: How StashAway came up with its projected rate of 2.4% for StashAway Simple1:14:05: How StashAway compares to Wahed & MyTheo1:15:47: Whether StashAway will ever invest in crypto1:17:53: StashAway’s Series B & Series C fundraising rounds1:22: What do the rich know, that the poor should know?📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/42💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Richard Lui is a TV news anchor for MSNBC and NBC News and was previously at CNN Worldwide, where he became the first Asian American male to anchor a daily, national cable news show. He also earned the Peabody and Emmy awards for his team reporting at CNN during Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Oil Spill. Mediaite ranked Richard among the top 100 in news buzz on its "Power Grid Influence Index of TV Anchors and Hosts" & was also listed by Business Insider as one of 21 dynamic careers to watch alongside Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban.In addition, Richard is also a columnist for USA Today, Politico, The Seattle Times, Detroit Free Press and San Francisco Chronicles.Prior to journalism, Richard spent 15 years working with Fortune 500 and tech companies, including at Citibank where he co-founded the first bank-centric payment system. But how did it all begin?Highlight:3:12: Why Richard’s real last name is “Wong”, not “Lui”6:05: Learning to be selfless11:10: Learning kungfu from a Shaolin temple master12:23: Working at Mrs Fields Cookies15:41: Being exposed to politics20:25: Going back to college21:32: Working at KALX radio station, reporting on Senor Dianne Feinstein, Magic Johnson and Rodney King24:04: How Mike Breslin influenced Richard at Clean Environment Equipment16:18: Working at Citibank in Singapore29:38: Working at Channelnews Asia31:19: Working at CNN Worldwide35:36: Winning the Peabody & Emmy awards38:19: Reporting on humanitarian issues & offering a helping hand40:00: Being a 7-year-old feminist42:02: What feminism means to Richard43:36: Learning of his father’s Alzheimers46:59: Traveling ⅕ million miles a year47:48: Coming up with a family caregiving plan48:36: Knowing when to let go & whether they are keeping their dad around for too long52:59: Richard’s new book, Enough About Me: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness54:49: Three lunches56:26: Why Richard produced Sky Blossom58:07: The meaning behind “Sky Blossom”1:00:59: Why joy is featured so prominently in Sky Blossom📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/41 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

He Ruiming & Goh Wei Choon are the Singaporean/Malaysia duo behind The Woke Salaryman: an incredible personal finance page that educates people about making better financial and life choices through the use of simple albeit beautiful comics. Since 2019, they have rapidly grown to over 204k followers on Instagram & 218k on Facebook - and we spend this STIMY interview uncovering how they first met and began building their Woke Salaryman brand: creating a consistent publishing schedule, dividing the work among themselves, getting their first piece of sponsored content, negotiating with clients, their thoughts on what the secrets are to virality, expanding the team and more.3:27: Wei Choon’s love of animation since young4:39: The impact that the 1997 economic crisis had on Ruiming5:53: How Ruiming was blogging & writing gossipy columns in school7:44: How Wei Choon & Ruiming met at Ngee Ann Polytechnic12:23: Not letting anything sully his art13:57: Wei Choon’s wake up moment when he graduated with a $25k debt21:23: The meaning behind creating “impact” 25:27: The “secret” to creating viral content26:14: Where virality was attached to their sense of self-worth31:52: How Wei Choon got into personal finance33:03: What “being rich” means to Wei Choon34:10: Writing the viral article on saving $100,000 before turning 3037:48: The start of the Woke Salaryman39:31: Figuring out the division of labour42:40: How they stayed consistent in publishing regular content46:56: Discovering that financial planners were stealing the Woke Salaryman content53:38: Planning to go full-time on the Woke Salaryman56:34: The “secret” behind the virality of the Woke Salaryman, which is now over 204k strong on Instagram!57:18: Building a passionate community 59:35: Getting their first sponsored post from CPF 1:01:49: Staying true to their values & turning away opportunities 1:06:02: Negotiating with clients 1:07:25: Expanding the team for the Woke Salaryman1:15:45: Biggest highlights to date 1:17:31: What drives Wei Choon & Ruiming1:21:32: Tangible steps for people to begin their personal finance journey1:25:27: Advice for content creators 1:28:32: What Clubhouse means to them📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/40💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the creator of Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People podcast. He is an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley) and an adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales. He was the chief evangelist of Apple and a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation. He has written Wise Guy, The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and eleven other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.   In this STIMY episode, we explore what it was like growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii and the important people/events that set Guy on the path to becoming one of the world's most well-known brand evangelists!Highlights: 3:09: Growing up in Kalihi Valley4:17: Harold Keebles - one of the toughest teachers Guy ever had5:11: Stanford in the 1970s5:45: Why Guy quit law school after 2 weeks6:59: Working at a jewellery manufacture company7:26: Why Guy describes sales as hand-to-hand combat9:28: Getting into Apple through nepotism10:22: What it was like working at Apple in the 1980s11:24: How Apple was set up then13:29: Why Guy quit Apple for the first time15:00: Why Apple rejoined Apple in the 1990s, when everyone thought the company would die15:41: What a Chief Evangelist does16:11: The Evange-List18:02: How Guy first got involved in Canva19:29: Guy’s role in Canva 21:19: Building brand awareness22:54: Getting into podcasting 24:33: Getting Jane Goodall as his first podcast guest28:08: How Guy first got onto Clubhouse29:32: How Guy decides who to let onto the Clubhouse stage in his AMA rooms 31:02: What Guy thinks Clubhouse needs to achieve to go mainstream32:19: Why Guy keeps giving out his personal email freelyShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/39

John Yohan Kim serves as Managing Partner at Amasia, a cross-border venture capital firm that helps technology companies get global. He is a Kauffman Fellow, a Term Member at the Council of Foreign Relations, a member of the Young Leader's Circle at the Milken Institute and serves on various corporate and non-profit boards including those of Dialpad Communications, Kairos Society Asean and the Choson Exchange.But before all that, John began his career as a serial entrepreneur, founding a music internet and e-consulting business called The Y Group before joining as a violinist in the Ally, where he toured around the US and collaborated with top artists across the US and Korea, most notably receiving a platinum record for contributing to an album with Grammy Award winner, Brandy. All of that ended when John realised that he was still depressed despite pursuing his passion in music and during one performance, he heard God’s voice calling him to come home. Which kickstarted a journey that took him from the USA to Korea and now, Singapore. Highlights:3:36: Being a rebel to be accepted by society6:04: Suffering senioritis & nearly losing his place in University of Pennsylvania! 9:04: Hearing God telling him to “Come home”17:56: Joining the rock band, The Ally, as a performing musician19:09: Getting a platinum record for contributing to Grammy award-winning Brandy’s album22:25: Crossing paths with John… Legend!29:35: Pivoting from music to hedge funds31:56: Corporate culture in Asia versus the West33:18: Co-founding his own VC firm, Amasia41:22: God is not a vending machine43:25: Workplace conflict when work clashes with faith 54:57: Amasia’s 4Rs of Behaviour Change58:01: Investing in Dialpad1:05:00: Hearing God tell him to become a vlogger1:06:00: Meeting Nuseir Yassin of Nasdaily1:09:00: What Nas advised John to go from 200 views to 170k views and now, almost 1 million views!1:12:23: Involving his family in his vlogs1:17:14: Thoughts on Clubhouse📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/38 💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

Ng Kai Yuan is the co-founder of Our Grandfather Story: a Singapore-based digital publisher dedicated to uncovering timeless and overlooked stories across Southeast Asia.Founded in 2017 with three other co-founders, Our Grandfather Story started as a school project! More specifically, an assignment for an Advance Photojournalism module at Nanyang Technological University. All four college students were tasked with coming up with a digital startup and the first video they created was on Singapore’s distinctive green & pink ice-cream sandwich bread. To their surprise, the video went viral! And after acquiring investors (while still in college) and big corporate clients including Nippon Paint, Temasek Holdings & Singapore’s National Heritage Board, the four friends decided to turn their assignment into a real startup.And in this STIMY episode, Kai Yuan shares exactly how that happened. Highlights:4:51: Getting an advance photojournalism assignment that sparked the genesis of Our Grandfather Story6:40: Why they named it ‘Our Grandfather Story”7:17: Coming up with the concept of Singapore’s Ice-cream bread video, which went viral!10:50: Turning a college assignment into a full-fledged digital media publishing company, OGS11:30: Obtaining a seed investment of $50,00012:09: Reaction from friends & family14:46: Securing corporate clients without any track record17:20: Managing budget while growing the team in the early days of OGS18:18: OGS’ target market20:16: Focusing on food content23:11: How OGS uncovered “untold” stories24:06: The most unique & “kepo” way that OGS has used to obtain a story26:22: OGS’ biggest success - the Can Ask Meh? Series28:56: How OGS created the video on “Parents Who Lost a Child” for the Can Ask Meh series30:35: Remaining sensitive to the questions asked32:57: Creating O+ - the animation illustration arm of OGS34:38: Creating the Something Private podcast37:13: How OGS has gained its dedicated following - in 3 years, OGS has grown to over 300k on Facebook, 250k on YouTube & 70k on Instagram. 39:07: Sharing Southeast Asian stories during the COVID-19 pandemic40:01: Who OGS is looking for to join the team41:34: Maintaining relationships with the people they meet for OGS stories📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/37💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

Kyne is the stage name of Kyne Santos: a mathematician, YouTube/Tik Tok star with nearly 1 million followers collectively, Drag Queen & contestant in Season 1 of Canada’s Drag Race.Born in Manila, Philippines, Kyne moved to Kitchener, Ontario at the age of 5 with his family. Since young, mathematics and academics were a priority at home and he developed a love and knack for it.In Grade, 9, Kyne began experimenting with makeup. What started out as almost invisible men’s makeup turned into full-blown, dramatic horror makeup that he would then post on his YouTube channel as part of his repertoire of makeup tutorials! This consequently led him down the path to becoming a Tik Tok drag queen star & contestant on Canada's Drag Race!Highlights:2:34: Maths & academics as a priority since childhood3:27: Wanting to be a priest at the age of 125:07: Coming out6:28: Experimenting with makeup at the age of 14/1510:15: Wearing makeup to school 12:46: How Kyne’s understanding of drag evolved over time15:18: Coming up with his drag aesthetics16:04: Finding maths to be very beautiful and elegant19:45: Maths can be used for evil or for the social good22:01: Joining Tik Tok & posting short educational math videos while in drag26:30: How Kyne’s video showed that the graph for Georgia’s coronavirus cases was misleading, and how it resulted in officials changing the graph and issuing an apology27:13: What constitutes a faulty graph?28:36: Participating in Canada’s Drag Race30:46: Facing backlash after Canada’s Drag Race premiered32:15: Advice for those wanting to get into drag📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/36💌  Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605​ 

Chye Neo Chong is the former Managing Director of IBM Malaysia with over 30 years in the information technology industry, and current independent director at Hong Leong Financial Group and Bursa Malaysia. Chye was appointed to the role of MD in 2015, becoming the first woman to helm the company in its 57-year history in Malaysia and was also awarded the CEO Champion Award by Talentcorp in 2015 and recognised by the Malaysian Business publication as one of Malaysia’s Women of Influence in April 2018.Highlights:1:36: Growing up with 5 siblings (including an elder twin sister!)3:22: Why Chye studied computer science at University of Science, Malaysia4:47: Working as a software development engineer in Penang10:26: How Chye managed to get so many work opportunities coming her way (without applying for them!)12:06: Why Chye turned down the opportunity to be the MD/CEO of IBM Malaysia in 200714:36: Does Chye regret her decision to reject the position of CEO?16:08: Taking 2 sabbaticals at the peak of her career19:03: What am I worth without my (work) title?23:33: Staying relevant while being on year-long sabbaticals25:26: Returning to IBM & becoming MD/CEO of IBM Malaysia (the first woman to do so in its 57-year history in Malaysia!)32:49: Leaving a legacy behind38:32: Chye’s succession plan40:20: The best way to ask for a salary increase42:07: How do you find out that you’re being paid what you’re worth?42:59: Networking with people 44:54: What value can you bring as a young person to a CEO?46:33: Reinventing the wheel at IBM49:45: Why Chye took early retirement📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/35💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605​

Shawn Chong is one of Malaysia’s top mixologist, a three-time Diageo World Class Malaysia champion, once listed as the No. 25 Bartender in the world and co-founder of Kuala Lumpur’s pioneering speakeasy, Omakase + Appreciate. A speakeasy that was listed in the Top 10 of Asia’s 50 Best Bars Award 2016. He is also the founder of Bar Class Academy Asia. Today, Shawn shares why he decided to enter the F&B industry, which led to him finding his calling as a bartender!Highlights:3:03: Having his first sip of alcohol at age… 5!3:53: Moving back to Kuala Lumpur from France5:07: When Shawn decided he wanted to enter the F&B industry8:30: Working in the fine dining restaurant at Hilton Kuala Lumpur11:50: How Shawn entered his first bartending competition18:16: Why Shawn left Hilton KL for an independent restaurant20:31: Opening Omakase + Appreciate - Kuala Lumpur’s very first omakase bar22:57: Being inspired by the 1920s Prohibition Era in America25:13: Coming up with the omakase concept, and mixing their Japanese/Western approaches26:14: Changing the drinks menu every 6-8 weeks28:05: The unique marketing tactics used by Omakase + Appreciate29:02: Inviting big-name guest bartenders30:57: Mise en place33:13: Reaching the global finals for the Diageo World Champion competition for the second time33:13: Winning the 10th spot of Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 201637:30: Finances40:02: Deciding to close Omakase + Appreciate in December 201941:43: Starting Bar Class Academy Asia42:23: Why Shawn’s endeavour in PJ failed47:33: Best way to enter the bartending industry 🌍 Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/34 👉  Sign up for STIMY Newsletter here: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605 

Maurizio Leo is a software engineer-turned-baker from Albuquerque, Mexico whose blog, The Perfect Loaf, remains one of the most authoritative sources when it comes to all things sourdough! To date, The Perfect Loaf is a two-time Saveur Magazine Blog Award winner. In 2016 The Perfect Loaf won both Editors' and Readers' Choice Awards in The Food Obsessive category and the 2018 Readers' Choice Award for Best Special Interest Blog. In addition, The Perfect Loaf was a 2019 Webby Award nominee.Maurizio is a regular contributor to the King Arthur Baking blog and is the Resident Bread Baker at Food52. Maurizio has written articles on bread baking for Edible Magazine, the Bread Baker's Guild of America, and Bread Magazine.But how did it all begin?3:21: Growing up with Italian cooking6:27: Latching onto things obsessively8:07: Entering the world of computers & softwares11:41: Founding Terminal Eleven & creating the stargazing app, Skyview17:02: Seeing Skyview go viral (it’s achieved over 10 million downloads!)18:21: How Maurizio first got into the sourdough making world through the book, the Tartine Bread by Chad Robinson 20:37: Meticulously planning for his first sourdough bake (and how it turned out)23:25: Using the same starter from 10 years ago25:14: How The Perfect Loaf blog started 29:06: The biggest challenges Maurizio faced from a baking & business perspective 34:46: How Maurizio experiments to create the perfect sourdough recipes36:01: Impact of baking at high altitude in Albuquerque 37:27: Why Maurizio mills his own flour39:14: Learning from Jeffrey Handelman 40:19: Being known in the sourdough community 46:04: Best places to find & get plugged into sourdough communities 50:04: Maurizio’s favourite baking techniques 51:17: Whether he uses high hydration to achieve open crumb52:08: A recipe that Maurizio makes over and over again53:40: Impact of COVID-19 on sourdough making55:23: Why Maurizio uses so much rye flour in his baking59:10: The best investment Maurizio made in his baking journeyShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/33

Darrion Nguyen is currently a lab research technician at Baylor College of Medicine & the face behind “Lab Shenanigans”: a social media brand that makes fun, easily digestible science content that has garnered over 600,000 followers to date (½ million on Tik Tok!)!But who is Darrion? What led him down this path towards marrying his twin loves of theatre & science, quickly becoming the Asian Millennial Tik Tok version of Bill Nye the Science Guy? And how can others do the same?!We unpack all that and more in this STIMY Episode.Highlights:3:18: Incident at Darrion’s family’s convenience store that led to his father's unfortunate passing :(5:40: The moment he discovered a talent (and love!!) of improvisation9:07: Watching Bill Nye at his grandma’s tailor shop10:21: Realising he was gay & coming out to his friends and family (except his mum?! 😅🤣)13:46: Why Darrion ended up pursuing science when he also loved theatre18:13: His love of organic chemistry & biochemistry in high school21:57: Getting into voice acting & coming to terms with his higher pitched voice as part of his identity24:14: Creating fun videos that went viral on Facebook meme pages25:48: Creating Lab Shenanigans27:43: Why Darrion decided to take a gap year rather than immediately doing his PhD31:09: His work as a research technician32:13: The ecosystem of a lab & their stereotypes (as seen in his Lab Shenanigan videos!)34:00: What is the “mfing tea”?!37:35: How Darrion first ended up on Tik Tok (P/S: As a joke!)42:30: Suffering burnout 43:58: Creating 10-15 second Tik Tok videos anywhere between a 5-10 minutes to 3 hours, and why it takes so long!46:00: How Darrion’s PI (aka boss) reacted when she first learned about his lab shenanigans lates at night in the lab!49:16: Collabs with other fun science content creators like Chris Sutherland, Raven & Nick Uhas50:08: How Darrion builds his passionate online community51:51: Facing keyboard warriors as an Asian gay man53:36: Advice for those wanting to venture into the world of Tik Tok57:13: Splitting his time between his work as a scientist (yes, he does do real work!) and a content creator1:00:14: Advice on monetization for content creators 1:01:11: Launching his Lab Shenanigans merchandise store Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/32 Subscribe to STIMY Newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605

Kenji Chai Vui Yung is a popular Malaysian graffiti artist most known for his alter ego, Chaigo the Stray. A dog that, if you’ve ever been to Kuala Lumpur, you’ll have probably seen spray painted all over!But more than that, Kenji Chai has done plenty of mural art and collaborations with companies such as Tiger Beer, Netflix, Volkswagen, Uniqlo, and CIMB. His drawing of a giant cockerel on the side of Nando’s building at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock even made it into the Lonely Planet Pocket Kuala Lumpur guidebook and Lonely Planet Malaysia, SG & Brunei guidebook.In this STIMY episode, Kenji Chai shares:1:46: Coming from a broken home2:41: Childhood love of comics, cartoons & storybooks like Ninja Turtles4:05: Changing his name to Kenji at the age of 154:57: Why Kenji thought all his dreams could be fulfilled in Kuala Lumpur10:31: His former street name, Black Fryday14:35: Getting a job at Sakai Sushi19:40: Doing free work to get his name out20:18: Winning the Character Licensing eSport Asia 2010 Thailand’s Custom Toy Design Contest24:57: Being hired to draw a giant cockerel for Nandos (his first building mural artwork commission)30:31: How Kenji got his numerous commissions while just starting out31:35: How “Chaigo”, his alter ego, was formed34:07: The first time he (illegally) drew Chaigo at Kampung Attap36:33: The rules of street art to avoid getting caught!37:42: Why does Kenji keep doing street art when it can land you in jail?!38:26: Why Kenji doesn’t always sign off on his art & how people can trace it back to him39:51: Working on 25-storey RED by Sirocco mural art over 21 days46:04: Being filmed for art projects49:13: How Kenji’s collaborations with other street artists come about51:06: Working with international artists like Gus Eagleton52:19: Life transforming experience painting in Mongolia54:26: How street artists like @Kaws make it big on the international stage58:31: What up & coming artists should do to build their careers1:00:43: Don’t waste time on haters1:01:48: The importance of social media Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/31 

Dr Finian Tan is a Singaporean venture capitalist and Chairman of Vickers Venture Partners: a VC he founded in 2005 with 4 other partners and which is now ranked the 5th most consistently performing fund manager worldwide.Prior to Vickers, Finian was inter alia:Regional Director & Head at J.Aron - Goldman Sachs’ Asian trading arm;Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the Singapore Government, where he oversaw the creation of the $1 billion dollar TIF fund (he was subsequently appointed as chairman of the said fund); andA Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet & the founding partner of its Asia Pacific Operations, where he led the investment into Baidu and remained its largest backer until IPO.But how did it all begin?Born on St Finian of Clonard’s Day, Finian had what might be considered an ‘unconventional’ childhood for someone who grew up in Singapore. He would spend his days on the beach with friends and family crabbing, spearfishing, snorkeling, and swimming in the sea!He ended up studying engineering at Singapore Polytechnic before pursuing a degree at Glasgow University where he swept all of the academic awards.In this STIMY episode, Finian shares:4:10: What it was like growing up in Singapore in the 1960s 6:14: How he ended up studying engineering at Singapore Polytechnic 8:19: How the bankruptcy of his father’s company impacted his family9:15: Planning it “like a war” to win all the academic awards at Glasgow University13:09: Completing his Masters & PhD at Cambridge University15:05: Working as a Chief Trader at Shell15:51: Being poached by Goldman Sachs & later heading J.Aron - the Asian arm of Goldman Sachs18:12: Why Finian decided to leave Goldman Sachs to become the Deputy Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade & Industry24:21: Joining Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet & figuring out where to invest by drawing a line in his book27:01: Why Finian chose Baidu to be his first & only investment (at $7.5 million!)28:57: Big decisions made by the Baidu board 31:51: Founding Vickers Venture Partners34:15: Building Vicker’s reputation in the VC space35:07: Best platforms to generate deal flow36:44: Why Vickers pivoted into the deep tech space 44:24: Investing in Samumed, which is working to reverse aging by drugging the Wnt signaling pathway!47:05: How Emergex is involved in the COVID-19 vaccine fight55:31: RWDC - a company that is creating 100% biodegradable plastic that looks, feels & costs like plastic 58:01: The silver bullet1:00:28: Spending time with entrepreneurs1:01:52: Values that Finian looks for 1:03:01: What went wrong with 24 Quan (Finian’s biggest investment failure)1:05:31: How Eavor is making breakthroughs in the geothermal space1:12:13: Plans for Vicker’s Fund IV1:15:21: Institutionalising knowledge as part of Vicker’s succession plan1:17:11: What Finian looks for when hiring someone1:32:17: “To whom much is given, much is required”1:37:16: Charity Water & education in AfricaShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/30

Chef Darren Teoh Min Guo is the head chef and restaurant owner of Dewakan, where in April 2019, it became the first Malaysian restaurant on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list at 46th place with the title Best Restaurant in Malaysia.“Dewakan” derives its name from a combination of two Malay words: Dewa (meaning “God”) and “makan” (meaning “to eat”). And at Dewakan, Chef Darren is known for taking rare and forgotten ingredients from peninsular Malaysia – including the sea, mountain, jungle and farmlands – and elevating them into unique dishes that diners have described as ‘modern art’.But how did it all begin?In this STIMY episode, we talked about:2:00: Why Darren once considered doing fashion or graphic design3:38: Being good with his hands5:15: Studying at Ternas, which had a dual programme with Institute Cartel7:13: Why he moved to Singapore to work10:25: Being caught sauteing mushrooms in a pan that wasn’t hot enough14:58: Working in the cafeteria of KDU15:46: Lecturing on molecular gastronomy at KDU17:14: Unexpected challenges in running Dewakan18:44: Diving into the history of “Malaysian” cuisine 21:12: Figuring out how to use local, often forgotten, ingredients in Dewakan’s menu23:17: Developing relationships with local producers like Langit, Chocolate Concierge & A Little Farm on the Hill24:09: Differentiating good/bad local producers29:04: Impact of being on Asia’s Top 50 Restaurants List in 201931:55: How listeners can help Darren36:38: Be very, very good at failingShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/29 

Lily Xu Lijia (徐莉佳) is a Chinese sailboat racer who won the bronze medal in the women’s Laser Radial class at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London where she was also the flag bearer for China at the closing ceremony. She also medalled at the 2006, 2008 and 2012 World Championships. In this STIMY Episode, Lily shared:3:38: Why Lily had short hair until the age of 154:49: Why Lily told her mother to consider a divorce7:55: Growing up with her disabilities10:45: How Zhang Ning, her first coach, discovered and chose her to attend the Shanghai sailing training camp13:30: Life in the Shanghai sailing program15:43: The consequences of disagreeing with what they were told to do in the sailing program16:35: The incident that led Lily to seriously study English19:10: How Lily narrowly escaped death during a training session off the coast of Wujian;21:46: Discovering a tumour in her left knee 24:33: Why Lily loves sailing27:12: Why she adopted the name Lily28:38: Her experience at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics36:02: Communicating with Jon Emmett during the 2012 London Olympics 41:48: Being China’s flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony at the 2012 London Olympics 44:00: Retiring from the sport after the 2012 London Olympics 45:01: Participating in her third Olympics at Rio;47:34: Working in media53:01: How COVID-19 has impacted her life & career54:44: Being an author55:31: One thing Lily would do differently56:03: What Lily believes in that most people don’tShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/28

Freda Liu is one of Malaysia’s most prominent radio-television hosts, having worked at BFM 89.9 - Malaysia’s only business radio station, for over 12 years. She has conducted over 5000 interviews and some prominent names include Martin Cooper, author Stephen Covey, motivational speaker Nick Vujicic, former GE CEO Jack Welch, the Duke of York HRH Prince Andrew to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.At BFM, her show Enterprise provides the tools to help businesses succeed covering topics with the startup scene, personal development, technology to organizational development. While HerVantage talks about women of leadership and influence to showcase women representation in all strata of society from sports, the arts & sciences to entrepreneurship. Freda has authored 5 books called "PR Yourself" and “Shake & Spear Your Business: The Romeo & Juliet Way, ” and "Everybody Loves Ray" (biography) “Bursting Fixed Mindsets” and her latest “In Your Skin”.She also contributes to The Star, one of the leading English newspapers. She was recently awarded the ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards for Malaysia Startup Journalist Of The Year and a nominee for MaGIC’s Social Enterprise journalist. Freda is a member of the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs Malaysia (NAWEM) and the Malaysian Association of Professional Speakers (MAS). She started her Lean In Circle called Think and the Malaysian chapter and has over 100 members in her group.In this STIMY interview, we cover:3:05: Growing up in Seria, Brunei & swimming in the open sea4:55: Listening to the British Forces Broadcasting Services (radio) as a child6:30: Moving from Brunei to Kuching, Sarawak at the age of 149:47: Returning to Kuching after graduation to look after her father10:21: Having the opportunity to appear on RTM’s live telecast, which launched her career in news reading 12:51: Working in PR at Edelman in Kuala Lumpur14:00: Leading the #duakerja life (i.e. working 2 jobs at the same time)16:41: Being headhunted to work at IBM19:24: The Gideon test20:57: The early days of working at a startup called BFM 89.922:22: Crafting BFM 89.9’s working culture of Educate, Entertain, Enlighten24:57: A typical day as a BFM 89.9 radio host26:29: Whether Freda’s interview process has changed after conducting over 5,000 interviews (which includes Julian Assange & HRH Prince Andrew!)27:56: How Freda finds the unique guests she brings onto her show28:30: Interviews she has felt she couldn’t air29:13: How Freda got Nick Vujicic to appear on her show31:31: Getting into book writing33:58: Writing her book, Everybody Loves Raymond, on the life of Raymond Chew36:04: Writing her 6th book during COVID-1938:25: Being better, not bitter41:43: How COVID-19 has impacted Freda42:58: The importance of goal setting & putting it down in writing43:57: What Freda would tell her 21 year old self47:30: A new story about Freda that isn’t already covered in the media!Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/27

Cesar Kuriyama is a video maker, director, producer, animator, and founder of 1 Second Every Day - a mobile application that allows users to record one second of video every day and then chronologically mashes them together into a single film. And an app that is well on track to being the No.1 Downloaded Free App in the App Store!In this STIMY episode, we covered:2:42: His struggles in picking up the English language3:16: Growing up as a science & math nerd 4:50: Wanting to be an architect6:13: Wanting to work on the Stars Wars movies after graduation8:23: Studying at Pratt Institute11:29: Being a Marvel intern17:03: Finally breaking into the NYC advertising scene & getting into Curious Pictures21:43: Shooting 45,000 photos to create the music video for Fat Cat Reprise (Long Gone)23:56: Impact of Stefan Sagmeister’s TED talk, Power of Time Off26:38: Writing a future email to himself on futureme.org 28:36: How he first came across the idea to shoot 1 second of video every day as a form of a private diary34:03: How Cesar ended up giving a TED talk that went viral & changed his life38:11: Filming 1 sec of every difficult day he experienced40:57: How Cesar figured out how to build a mobile app from scratch41:37: Meeting Tim Ferriss & the advice he gave45:29: Running a highly successful Kickstarter campaign48:54: Getting 50,000 on Day 1 of the launch of 1 Second Every Day51:52: What Cesar had planned to do next after the launch of 1 Second Every Day53:54: The tweet Cesar sent that resulted in Marvel Director & Actor, Jon Favreau, featuring 1 Second Every Day in his 2004 movie, Chef1:00:42: The value proposition for 1 Second Every Day1:03:44: Impact of COVID-191:04:49: The future for 1 Second Every Day1:06:44: What Cesar would do differently1:10:35: The best sources to find information/get help from Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/26

Chong Chan-Yau is the CEO of CarbonCare InnoLab, the President of the Hong Kong Blind Union, former Chairman and current Director of The Board of the Dialogue in the Dark Hong Kong Foundation, former Chairman of and current Board Director of Carbon Care Asia, former Executive Director of Oxfam Hong Kong.He has received many awards including Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award, MBE, China Poverty Alleviation Award, and Honorary Fellowship from the University of Hong Kong. Chan-Yau grew up in Kowloon City, Hong Kong and became blind at the age of 6. However, Chan-Yau has never allowed his blindness to hold him back from defying society’s expectations & creating great impact whether it’s in the area of fighting for equal rights for the disabled to combating global poverty and climate change. In this STIMY episode, we discuss:1:41: Growing up in a large family of 10 in Kowloon City, Hong Kong3:49: Going blind at the age of 67:37: Studying at the Ebenezer School for the Blind & why it took 1 year for his family to decide to let him go (including learning Braille)9:28: What it’s like learning Braille 12:03: Being rebellious & defying expectations of what being blind could do as students16:04: Aspiring to further education & not doing what was expected of blind people then (being telephone operators or fortune tellers)20:44: What drove Chan-Yau to constantly prove others wrong, that “our ability is not affected by our blindness”21:39: Attending regular school & receiving assistance from Sister Moira of the Maryknoll Convent School25:10: Entering the University of Hong Kong as one of its first blind students27:07: Petitioning the Governor of Hong Kong to provide more equal rights and opportunities to blind people30:44: Studying at the London School of Economics33:35: Becoming the first Hong Kong government administrative officer34:48: Reason for joining Oxfam and becoming the Director of Fundraising36:06: How Chan-Yau developed the monthly donor base for Oxfam Hong Kong from 3000 to over 100,00039:47: Developing Oxfam rice & why rice was the medium chosen42:07: The development of rights of the blind in Hong Kong44:48: Founding the Dialogue in the Dark Hong Kong46:40: How can employers create a more inclusive workplace for the blind?48:31: Entering the climate change spaceShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/25

Malek Ali is a former lawyer turned serial entrepreneur most known for founding BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel, and Fi Life, Malaysia’s first online life insurance service. Malek shares a ton of fascinating insights on what it’s like being an entrepreneur & trust me when I say he hasn’t had it easy! It seems as though every time he starts a business, a financial crisis hits! Some highlights of our STIMY episode include: 2:52: His childhood & being asked to decide on which parent to stay with during their divorce at the age of 5;4:55: Accompanying his father (and later, brother) on their many overseas business trips particularly in France;7:52: The 1985 recession that crushed the slimming center business chain that his father was running;8:46: Why Malek initially studied law when his first love was in business;10:22: Working at Allen & Overy in London, including on a deal that involved the bankruptcy of Canary Wharf;11:48: Studying for his Harvard MBA & the lessons he drew from that (he was classmates with Sheryl Sandberg!);15:43: Founding KL Classifieds, his first startup, in 1997 & why that landed him RM300,000 in debt;16:50: How Malek got out of his debt & ended up working at JobStreet;21:26: What he learned from his time as Head of Mobile at Maxis, then Yahoo;23:20: What Sue Decker, then CFO of Yahoo, taught him about the importance of creating good products;25:29: What pushed Malek to start BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel;30:50: The challenges he faced in getting investors on board;34:08: How Malek obtained a dormant frequency for broadcasting BFM 89.9;36:10: The collapse of Lehman Brothers & BFM 89.9’s struggle to cover relevant content with their threadbare staff;38:18: Getting sponsors for BFM 89.9 including from Malaysia Airlines;40:51: Sensitive topics that can’t be discussed on air;42:12: Listening to customer feedback & how to handle complaints;43:47: The different interviewees that have come through BFM’s doors & how their attitude informs their character;45:47: Whether radio will ever be obsolete;48:41: Why Malek started Fi Life;50:27: Reading up on the investment portfolios of many other people on Fi Life’s “This Is How I Invest” blog series;50:56: Impact of COVID-19 on the media space; and 53:18: How listeners can help Malek.Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/24

Sarah Chen is many things but she is above all. a powerful advocate & role model for women empowerment. She is the co-founder of Lean In Malaysia, which boasts over 5,000 women within the network, bringing women back into the workforce, accelerating women into leadership positions. And also sits on multiple boards including 131 & counting, which is a bipartisan effort to fete the unprecedented number of women serving in the House and Senate, to encourage more women to run for office in the United States.Sarah is also a global investment professional. She previously worked in the corporate venture capital unit of Sime Darby, a $13 billion Asian conglomerate investing in late-stage biotech stageups, and is now the co-founder and managing partner of The Billion Dollar Fund for Women: a global consortium of venture capital funds that have now pledged beyond US$1Bn to be invested into women-founded companies; now known as Beyond The Billion. Specifically, she works with limited partner investors to diversify their portfolio through venture as a returns strategy.In addition, Sarah was named World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and Forbes 30 Under 30, and has also been featured amongst others on Der Spiegel, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes.But what is her story? In this STIMY Episode, we explore:4:27: Her parent’s parenting style of “dream big, aim high”;5:43: Becoming a national child TV host for the Golden Kids Club on TV2 RTM (a Malaysian channel) at the age of 9;8:49: How Sarah’s dad gave her the push she needed to audition for the Golden Kids Club;10:42: Family dinner conversations that included listening to her dad advise her mom on her career;14:17: The ping pong competition story;18:54: How Sarah was told, “Hey as a girl, I think you’re too ambitious” 21:11: Why Sarah did law at King’s College London;26:27: Why Sarah ended up being the interim director of MRI Network at the age of 21;30:25: How Sarah ended up working in the corporate venture capital unit of Sime Darby (p/s: by taking initiative & asking for a coffee chat!);35:41: Appearing on the reality TV Show, The Apartment, with her brother (Chef Brian Cheng);39:40: Becoming aware of women doing the work, but not getting the recognition for it;40:40: Of how no matter how good a woman is at her job, “she was not good enough unless she had a ring on her finger”;50:03: How Sarah met Shelly Porges, who became her co-founder of the Billion Dollar Fund;52:05: The state of the VC industry in 2017;1:03:02: The reception they got at the World Bank when the Billion Dollar Fund was launched in October 2018;1:04:23: Key misconceptions people have about gender diversification in investments;1:07:58: How they gained public attention on the Billion Dollar Fund’s mission;1:10:08: The role of Billion Dollar Breakfast events & how the Billion Dollar Fund helps female entrepreneurs;1:14:12: The difference between an LP (Limited Partner) and a GP (General Partner);1:17:49: Impact of COVID-19 on the venture capital space;🎙️Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/23

Alena Ose’ Murang is a Sarawakian sape player singer, teacher, speaker, social entrepreneur, visual artist & heritage advocate. Born in Kuching, Sarawak, to a Kelabit father, Ose Murang and English-Italian mother Valerie Mashman, Alena and her older brother were immersed in their local heritage from young including dance and the local lute instrument, the sape. While Alena has never formally studied music, she answered her calling to be a keeper of stories for her people and in 2016, released her first EP, Flight - a collection of traditional Kenyah & Kelabit songs.Since then, Alena has performed at many renowned world music festivals including the SXSW (USA), Colors of Ostrava (Czech Republic), Paris Fashion Week (France), Rudolstadt Festival (Germany), OzAsia Festival (Australia), and Rainforest World Music Festival (Malaysia). She was a youth representative at the UNESCO Youth Forum in Paris, and UNESCO Asia-Pacific for her work in intangible cultural heritage.Some of the things we talked about include:3.20: What is was like growing up in Kuching & being immersed in the local culture including visiting villages, studying rituals like basket weaving & hiking6:08: How at the age of 6, Alena & her cousins began to learn the arang kadang (long dance) & solo Hornbill dance from her aunties, before half of them decided to pick up the sape7:26: Getting Uncle Mathew Ngau to teach them the sape & why that was such a contentious issue because of their gender 8:46: The difference between the “spirit” & “human” sape17:45: Identity & heritage20:13: Her love of art21:35: Studying fine arts at the Lasalle College of the Arts22:37: Why Alena’s fine arts teacher did not encourage her to pursue art as a career23:59: How she ended up on a US tour with the Diplomats of Drum as a sape player25:58: Her discovery of how the sape could move people26:31: Why she became a fellow with Teach for Malaysia28:28: How she started her social enterprise, ART4 Studio (now known as Kanid Studio)30:35: What led Alena to pursuing world music as a full-time career31:53: How Alena produced & released her first EP, Flight33:45: Working with life coaches 35:15: If Alena was ever plagued with imposter syndrom 35:44: When Alena knew that she was doing exactly what she was meant to be doing36:44: How Alena ended up participating in the Norway Fjord Festival (Scandinavia’s largest traditional music festival) & Paris Fashion Week38:47: Whether Alena ever felt she had to get out of Malaysia to grow her musical career41:48: Working with her village elders 43:09: Being a part of the Small Island Big Song Austronesian production44:53: Why beads are so important to Alena’s indigenous heritage46:56: How COVID-19 has impacted Alena & her career49:14: What listeners can do to help Alena & any other world musician Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/22

Saw Teong Hin is an award-winning, Malaysian director, producer and screenwriter for film, TV and theatre and was Louis Vuitton Malaysia’s Generation Next (2003), was Tatler’s 100 People You Must Know In Asia (2006), received the CHT Essence Art Award (2009), was August Man, Men Of The Year (2017) and was Chinese Film Association Malaysia Leading Film Industry Person (2018). He is best known for his directorial debut of “Puteri Gunung Ledang” (2004) - the first Malaysian submission for the Academy Awards and the first Malaysian film invited to the Venice International Film Festival. And his production company, Real Films, provided production support for Ang Lee’s “Lust: Caution”, produced the Sudirman-tribute musical film, “Hoore! Hoore!” (2012) and the Penang Hokkien film “You Mean The World To Me”(2017).ChildhoodBorn in Georgetown, Penang in 1962, Teong grew up the youngest son of six siblings. He later obtained a scholarship to study double physics and mathematics at the National University of Singapore; the first of his generation to head to university. However, he never graduated. Teong Hin’s parents were incredibly understanding and encouraged him to return as after he was kicked out of NUS, but the shame of what had happened meant that he couldn’t do so and moved instead to Kuala Lumpur.Moving to Kuala LumpurTeong Hin started off couch surfing among his friends, before landing a model gig for Shell. We then discussed:How he ended up as a production assistant to Joe Hasham;Learned the ropes as a production assistant before rising to become a producer in 3 months; andSet up his own company and made a name for himself in the TV commercial and music video (e.g. KRU “Fanatik”) world.Puteri Gunung LedangWhat really allowed Teong Hin to enter the public eye was with his directorial debut of “Puteri Gunung Ledang” in 2004. But it was hardly an easy journey.We discussed:How boredom pushed Teong Hin to spend the next 2 years trying to break into the film industry as a director - but failed;How he was on the verge of quitting when a phone call with Tiara Jacqueline changed everything;Why he changed the direction of the Puteri Gunung Ledang script into that of a love story at 2am;The pushback he received for being chosen as the director of one of Malaysia’s largest film productions to date at the time;What it was like directing the Puteri Gunung Ledang film;His experience at the Venice Film Festival (hint: Johnny Depp & Tom Cruise!); Why the success of Puteri Gunung Ledang backfired on him; andHow Mi Fang (Astro at the time) & a feng shui master changed his fortunes!You Mean the World To Me (Hai Ki Xin Lor)In 2009, Teong Hin began writing a semi-autobiography of his life. A script that was written as a tribute to his now deceased mother. Teong Hin faced a lot of pushback, with many asking why he would be willing to air his dirty laundry. But Teong Hin persevered and we discussed:Why Hai Ki Xin Lor first debuted as a stage performance during the Georgetown Festival;The storm that threw everything into chaos on the eve of the performance;The reception he received from viewers & also family members;What it was like filming the silver screen version of Hai Ki Xin Lor; The impact that the film had on moviegoers;Whether he would’ve still proceeded to create the film version if his family had been strongly opposed to its production;Whether Teong Hin found his “voice” with Hai Ki Xin Lor;Whether he would do anything differentlyOther Things We Talked AboutBeing the creative director for opening (19 Aug) & closing ceremonies of 2017 Southeast Asian Games Impact of COVID on his life and career;The challenges of creating a regional film directing career; Whether it’s important to move to other locations to obtain “better” career opportunities; Teong Hin’s advice for those seeking to break into the industry. Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/21

Tan Kheng Hua is a popular award-winning actress/producer in Singapore and Malaysia. Kheng has appeared on stage, and in TV series and movies that include Phua Chu Kang, The Philanthropist (NBC), The Patriarch (UFA), Serangoon Road (HBO Asia Original Series), Netflix’s Original Series, Marco Polo, and most recently, as “Kerry Chu”, the mother to Constance Wu in in the movie adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians. She is currently filming CW’s Kung Fu series. In this STIMY episode, we dive deep into:What it was like growing up in the 1960s in Singapore; How Kheng first discovered her love for acting in Indiana University;How Kheng balanced her corporate day job with her love of theatre; The moment she decided to take a leap of faith & become a full-time actress;Her experience as a cast member of Masters of the Sea, Singapore’s first English language movie; Some of her fondest memories filming Singapore’s popular sitcom, Phua Chu Kang;How they hid Kheng’s 7-month pregnancy while filming Phua Chu Kang!At what point Kheng felt secure being a full-time actress;Her experience on the set of Crazy Rich Asians;The impact of Crazy Rich Asians on her career; The reality of going for auditions & working in Hollywood; How COVID has affected her life and career;What Kheng considers to be a “good” role; andSo much more!Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com.20

Patricia Kelikani is a multiple Emmy award-winning filmmaker and videographer. Having spent 12 years working at Loma Linda University where she became Director of Advancement Films, she is also the producer, director and cinematographer of the 12-time Emmy award winning TV documentary series, “Life on the Line”, narrated by Lisa Ling. In 2014, Patricia became a freelancer and founded Kelikani Films & Kelikani Consulting, where she teaches people how to make lucrative videos from home. Some of the things we discussed in this STIMY episode include:Why Patricia & her twin sister wanted to be the Doublemint twins;How God spoke to her while mountain biking before graduation;What she learned during her student missionary trip in Prague;Why the Albania trip was a turning point in her career; How she learned to edit videos herself back in 2003, before YouTube even existed!;Why her trip to Ethiopia - which raised over $1 million - was so impactful; An unfortunate filming incident involving Ryan Reynolds & Matthew Perry;Producing “ Loma Linda 360”, which eventually turned into “Life on the Line” - the 12-time Emmy award winning documentary focusing on the resilience on mankind;What it was like filming some of the episodes for Life on the Line, including the San Bernardino shooting; How Lisa Ling became involved in the documentary; What it was like winning the Emmys; Why she decided to quit & become a freelancer; How she built her freelance video production company; andHow COVID has impacted her life & career since.Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/19 

Dr Jason Leong is a former doctor turned Malaysian stand-up comedian star who has been enthralling his audience since 2010 when he did his first open mic gig at Zouk, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Since then, he has gone on to, amongst others, Be the first Malaysian to win the 7th International HK Comedy Competition 2013 & win the title of Crowd Favourite;Perform at Comedy Central’s Stand-Up Asia, Hollywood’s Laugh Factory & New York’s Gotham Comedy Club; andHave his own Netflix Special called Hashtag Blessed!!But how did this all come about? What is Dr Jason’s story & has he found his “why”?In this STIMY podcast episode, we dig into:1.57: What Dr Jason Leong was like as a child3:23: His experience studying as a medical student in Dublin & experience of working at an Irish pub; 6:06: His first open mic gig at Zouk KL & why that experience was so transformative; 8:17: How he ended up joining the Malaysia Association of Chinese Comedians;13:45: Dr Jason’s first major bomb - which almost caused him to cry on his birthday!!;15;29: Winning the 7th International HK Comedy Competition 2013 and performing at Hollywood’s Laugh Factory & New York’s Gotham Comedy Club (where he got to see Jerry Seinfield perform in the flesh!)20:38: Why he won’t be less Malaysian in his stand-up jokes (to appeal to an international crowd);24:21: His experience watching the live taping of the Stephen Colbert Report; 27:22: Why he spent RM150,000 of his own money to film his Netflix Special (with no guarantee that anyone would ever buy it!)28:47: The process of trying to get Netflix to buy his Special for 2 years;31:52: What Jason has been up to during this crazy COVID-19 period; 33:27: Why not all stand-up comedy jokes translate well to online platforms/social media;34:47: The most contentious joke Jason has ever put forward & why he feels he has never gone “too far”37:56: The “Fight for Gotcha” Brazillian jiu jitsu fight he will be having with Ean of Hitz;39:25: Why stand-up comedy is one of the hardest art forms you can do; andSo much more!Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/18 

Louisa Jane Gurski is a two-time British Olympian who competed as a sprint kayaker in the London 2012 Olympic Games (5th place) and Rio 2016 Olympic Games (7th place) and the inaugural European Games in Baku. She has obtained incredible achievements including the gold medal in the K-1 5000m at the World Championships, and the silver and bronze in 2013 Montemor-o-Velho and 2009 Brandenburg respectively for the European ChampionshipsLouisa spent nearly 20 years as an elite athlete and she shared:What it was like growing up in Walton-Upon Thames, England;How she got started in kayaking;What her training schedule was like;How she overcame doubt; The difference between being a great athlete and the best athlete; Her most fond memories from competing in the London 2012 (home game) & Rio 2016;The moment she decided to retire after nearly 2 decades of being an elite athlete; What it was like to no longer be an athlete;Finding a new future for herself when she was no longer an athlete;Why she decided to pivot from a corporate job to being a personal trainer; Whether she would recommend her daughter be an elite athlete; How to encourage more sports in a child’s life; andHow COVID has impacted her life. Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/17 

Renyi is the co-founder of MyBurgerLab, MyPizzaLab and MyBobaLab alongside his friends and partners, Chang Ming and Wee Kiat. If you live in KL, you will probably have heard of MyBurgerLab: the burger joint that went completely viral several years ago with their charcoal buns & continue to hit the headlines due to their innovative flavours. Quirky options that include the nasi lemak burger, the salted egg yolk burger and the upcoming flavour, The World’s Smelliest Burger!Renyi is a university dropout and the path towards founding MyBurgerLab was hardly an easy one, but there were many significant incidents that happened that resulted in Renyi entering the F&B industry. Some of the things we talked about include:Why he chose to work at Yellowstone park for three 3-month summers straight & the impact this left on him; His prior businesses leading up to founding MyBurgerLab;How he got Wee Kiat and Chang Ming involved in his idea of starting a cafe and why that later turned into a burger joint; The 10 R&D sessions that they conducted to perfect their products - p/s: they almost burned the kitchen down!!How Renyi came up with their signature charcoal burgers; The 2 critical incidents that happened which made MyBurgerLab go viral, resulting in people queuing for 2 hours every day for their charcoal burgers!Running MyBurgerLabRenyi & his team succeeded in maintaining the virality around MyBurgerLab for 2 years but MyBurgerLab is a business, so we talked about:The scary drop that hit MyBurgerLab when their virality tapered out; How Renyi came out with unicorn products to boost sales;How they created MyBurgerLab’s signature level-up company culture;Why MyBurgerlab’s staff consists mainly of university students; The secret to MyBurgerLab’s patty;How Renyi came up with some of their most innovative flavours including the Nasi Lemak Burger & Jammin’ with Elvis Burger (aka peanut butter and jelly fillings!); How MyBurgerLab responded to COVID with kindness; andSo much more. If you love burgers, or want to know how MyBurgerLab creates the culture they’re so known for, then this is definitely the episode for you!Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/16

Yi Jun Loh is a Malaysian food blogger at Jun & Tonic (nominated for the Saveur Blog Award 2018), a food writer for TASTE, Saveur & Food52 & podcaster for Malaysian’s national radio channel BFM (Baking Bread) & his own podcast, Take a Bao. If you’ve ever wondered how you can break into the Malaysian food industry, then this is the podcast episode for you!Who is Yi Jun Loh?Now you would’ve expected for one in the creative industry, that Yi Jun always had a deep love of food & pushing the boundaries of what he can do. But that was not the case.While completing his engineering degree at Cambridge University, he ended up rooming with a friend, Andrew, who brought him into the world of food. Cooking elaborate dishes in their shared kitchen awakened the chef in him. An awakening that led him to consider breaking the convention upon graduation. Rather than taking on an engineering or consulting job, why not give Le Cordon Bleu a go?Le Cordon Bleu & Blue Hill at Stone BarnsIn this STIMY episode, Yi Jun shares his experiences:Studying at Le Cordon Bleu & whether he thinks every food aspirant should attend the school;Why he chose to starge at Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns restaurant at New York; andWhat he learned from working in a professional kitchen & alongside farmers growing unique strains of crops.Returning home to MalaysiaAfter his working stint in the US, Yi Jun returned to Malaysia and worked to establish himself in the Malaysian food scene. He sharesHow he first started writing for Food52 & the process of pitching to such publications;How he ended up hosting BFM’s food channel, Breaking Bread;His favourite episodes & why that stood out for him;How he comes up with the quirky recipes found on his blog, Jun and Tonic; andHow he eventually started his own podcast, Take a Bao, and the challenges behind producing investigative food episodes.Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhycom/15

Joey Law is the mother of 15-year-old Founder & CEO of MinorMynas, Hillary Yip, who was our STIMY Episode 13 guest!Joey & Hillary are STIMY’s very first mother-daughter pairing and I’m so honoured to have them on board. This episode is particularly dear to my heart because even before I’d launched STIMY, I knew that I wanted to feature inspiring mothers like Joey on the podcast. I really want STIMY to be a place that features the amazing, life-changing, self-sacrificing work that mothers are doing every day, behind-the-scenes, and put them on the exact same platform as people society would typically consider to be “successful”. Because while they might not be featured on the front page of The Economist, their work is no less important and amazing.  Who is Joey Law?Joey came from a humble background. A time where her parents were busy with work and she had to fend for herself.But she was also adventurous and brave, and we talked about what it was like selecting her own school for her education (despite a gruelling 1.5 hour ride to school every day!), and her motivation for eventually joining the Hong Kong police force! Senior Inspector of Police, Hong Kong Police ForceSome of the things we discussed about her career with the Hong Kong police force included:The different ranks within the Hong Kong police force;What it was like working in the force, and rising to become a Senior Inspector of Police as a woman;Her biggest lesson from being a bomb disposal officer (which can be applied to our own lives!); andWhy she quit the force after 12 years.Life After the ForceJoey is not a person to raise on her laurels. Soon after she quit the force, she started an online children’s bookstore & she shared her WHY behind that move, and also some of the big challenges she faced with this new online endeavour. Being a MotherBut running her children’s online bookstore and blog was ancillary to being a mother, and we dive deep into her experiences. Something you might not know (and probably won’t have detected from Hillary’s episode) - which we discussed at length - is the intense bullying that Hillary faced in school at the age of 8. Joey shared how she discovered what was happening, her advice to other young parents on detecting potential bullying in school and things she might’ve done differently if she was to face the same issue again. While bullying isn’t something typically covered on STIMY, I felt that it was important to do so here because these things do happen. And perhaps a little awareness can go a long way in preventing the same situation from arising in another child’s life.Apart from bullying, we also discussed:The realities of schooling in Hong Kong (for certain schools, you have to start filling out application forms before your child is even born!); Why Joey opted for homeschooling for both Hillary and Alexis (her second child); How she ensures that her children have a well-balanced education covering not just the academics but also socially and physically;What it’s like being the mother to a teenager CEO - quite a different perspective to the one Hillary gave!; andSo much more. This is a very different and special STIMY episode and I hope you love it as much as I did!Show notes: http://www.sothisismywhy.com/14 

Hillary Yip is the CEO of MinorMynas, a startup that creates fun, immersive, online products for children worldwide in a safe environment. And as at the time of this interview being recorded, she is a mere 15 years old! She founded MinorMynas at the age of 10 - which makes her one of the youngest CEOs in the World, and has been featured in places such as the BBC, CCTV, Yitiao, Yeti and the South China Morning Post. She is also a popular keynote speaker and has appeared on TEDx stages, events by HSBC and Microsoft and most recently, at the Global Women Forum 2020 in Dubai. Who is Hillary YipHillary was born & raised in Hong Kong and her amazing entrepreneurial journey began with a summer camp for Mandarin in Taiwan. Upon her return, she soon came across the AIA Emerging Entrepreneur Challenge 2016 in Hong Kong and decided to participate. Despite having teammates that dropped out at the last minute, she came up with a proposal within the final 3 hours and went on to win the First Prize and Business Prize! She also met with a number of business leaders who gave her advice and encouragement, and proceeded with the steps needed to bring MinorMynas from being a mere idea to an actual startup!Building MinorMynasIn this STIMY podcast, we discussed:How Hillary found her first customers;Her first MVP & the main findings she obtained;How she scaled from a mere 4 users (2 of them consisted of herself and her brother, Alexis!) to around 4,000 downloads from over 20 countries in the 9th month!MinorMynas’ approach to privacy;How MinorMynas differs from other similar apps; The role of parents on MinorMynas;The behind-the-scenes of launching the 2nd iteration of MinorMynas;Financing & why she chose crowdfunding; andAnd the future of MinorMynas.Apart from MinorMynas…But lest we forget, Hillary is only 15 years old! So we also talk about:Her homeschooling life; Her favourite things to learn about; andWhy Gary Vaynerchuk is her idol.Hillary is a true testament that age is no barrier to the extraordinary things you can already achieve. And I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/13

Danielle Merlyn Kettlewell is an Australian synchronised swimmer who competed in the team synchronised swimming event in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. She was vice-captain of the Australian team which placed eighth overall with 75.4333 in the free routine and 74.0667 in the technical. She was also selected as Australia’s first Mixed Duet in the sport of artistic swimming for the 2019 FINA World Aquatic Championships. She is now a coach and motivational speaker. Who is Danielle Merlyn Kettlewell?Danielle was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada to Australian parents, the youngest of 5 siblings (2 brothers and 2 sisters). Since young, she was exposed to the world of swimming and gymnastics and at the age of 8, entered the world of synchronised swimming (now known as “artistic swimming”).Now, you might think that she is a “typical” elite athlete who has always topped her year, had a natural affinity for her sport and ended up, inevitably, on the Olympic world stage. You couldn’t be further from the truth.The Unlikely OlympianDanielle is the first to point out that she is an “unlikely Olympian”.She didn’t have the right body type. Was never flexible enough. Was the “chubby one” on the team. The reserved at Nationals and didn’t even rank in the top 100 in Canada!To top all that in October 2013, she was involved in a horrifying incident at training that resulted in her having a major concussion and needing to drop out of university to recover. A situation that resulted in her feeling extremely depressed. 2013/14But in the worst of times, something quite unexpected happened. She had the chance to compete for a spot on the Australian national team seeking to qualify for the Rio Olympics!Rio Olympics 2016And in this STIMY interview, we dived deep into:The process of being qualifying to be a part of the Olympic synchronised swimming team; What she did to go from No.16 out of 16 to No.4 in the team rankings; How synchronised swimming teams were selected to participate in the Rio Olympics 2016 (p/s: it’s not really about being the best in the world!);What it was like to participate in the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics;What it was like training and participating in the Rio Olympics; andTransitioning back to the “real world” after the Olympics.Olympic Myth BustersWe do a lot of myth busters in this episode when it comes to the world of Olympics, and also the fact that men are discriminated against in the artistic swimming sport! Some things we discussed include:Do all Olympians end up becoming rich and famous? (spoiler: she finished the Rio Olympics with $300 in her bank account!!);What it is like to train to be a synchronised swimmer (now known as artistic swimming);Why she decided to retire a second time & not try for her second Olympics;The inherent sexism against men in the sport; andWhy the mixed duet was rejected from the 2020 Olympics (and why there is hope that this might change for the 2024 Olympics).The FutureDanielle has now retired for the second time for the sport and is passionate about coaching people to pursue their dreams. Some advice she shares include:What are the 3 questions you should ask yourself every day to transform yourself just like the Olympians do?Her CLARITY CodeFor more details, visit the show notes at https://www.sothisismywhy.com/12

Morgan Then is the Sarawakian half of the popular Australian electronic duo, Slumberjack. Since launching their career with a No. 1 track on Triple J’s influential sister station, Unearthed, SLUMBERJACK have released four EPs—including their newest effort, Black & Blue—and over 10 singles. They’ve received 2 ARIA Gold Records (for their 2014 self-titled debut and their 2017 single, “Fracture”), while their second EP, Fracture, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes Australia’s electronic chart.ChildhoodWe talked about Morgan's childhood: what it was like growing up in our hometown of Kuching, Sarawak, and that moment where he was first determined to learn the piano. Something that he had to enter into an “agreement” with his dad on.Moving to Perth, AustraliaMorgan eventually moved to Perth, Australia where he triple majored in economics, finance and commerce. And at the time, he was even determined to become the best accountant there was! But he had amazing friends who lent him instruments - including a Taylor guitar! - and that kept the fire going.Entering the Music WorldHaving spent time playing at weddings & music gigs, there came a point where Morgan graduated and he was faced with the choice of taking on a full-time graduate role, or pursuing the world of music. And we talked about:How he ended up participating in the Limelight DJ Competition in 2012, when he didn’t even know what DJing was about!Meeting Fletcher & how they first got together to make music and form Slumberjack; andWhat it means to have synesthesia & what the Slumberjack sound “tastes” like to Morgan.In addition, we talked about:What it was like when Fracture came out & started going viral;How Morgan first found & channeled his inner Freddie Mercury when performing on stage to crowds of up to 15,000.Meeting real skulls kept in rucksacks when in Sarawak;Getting a hand tapped tattoo; What it was like meeting real Hollywood stardom aka Jason Day (Lifehouse) and collaborating with Corey Enemy (producer and songwriter for Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, will.i.am, David Guetta etc.);How Slumberjack has been staying connecting with their fans during the COVID-19 season;His biggest advice for those seeking to follow in their footsteps; andKnowing when to quitShow notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/11To chat further with past STIMY guests & be a part of the exclusive STIMY community, visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/523851861591311 

Benjamin Von Wong is Canadian mining engineer turned social artivist/photographer who designs campaigns around social impact and has succeeded in raising over 100 million views for different causes including plastics, fast fashion and electronic waste. He has a Guinness Book Record, a community of over 500,000 followers and tries to change the world through amplifying positive impact.Who is Benjamin Von Wong?Von was born in Canada and his parents are first-generation Chinese Malaysian immigrants. With something of a “chaotic” childhood - he went to 13 different schools in 3 different countries - there was nothing in his background that suggested that he would end up with an artistic career. Instead, he became a mining engineer in Nevada. Until one day, driven by a breakup, he purchased his first $100 camera from Walmart. A purchase that set him down the crazy, artistic trajectory he is currently on. I just woke up one day and realized that I didn't want to be an engineer for the rest of my life.Becoming a PhotographerThe transition into being a full-time creative wasn’t immediate, and some of the things we discussed included:Why quitting his engineering job was less a question of courage, and more out of “fear”Why photography ended up being the thing that drew him in for the long term;How he first got his start in the industry, and the most popular platforms to use at the time;How he ran a Kickstarter to fund his Von Wong Does Europe Tour; Some of his projects including the 365 day project; andVon’s 3 most impactful work prior to entering the social impact space.Within 3 years, Von obtained the highly sought after global campaign with Huawei where he had to create an angel with fire wings. Entering the Social ImpactAfter the Huawei campaign, he felt empty. And this signified another pivotal point in his life, only this time it was into the social impact space: Why was it so hard to enter the social impact space?Why was the mermaid with 10,000 plastic bottles project so successful?How does he measure the impact of art?Does he worry about alienating potential clients after entering the social impact space?What is his metric of success?To learn more, visit: www.sothisismywhy.com/10

Rabi Chandra Malla is the founder of KOLPA - a social enterprise based in Kathmandu, Nepal that aims to promote sustainable & exclusive handmade goods produced by various indigenous communities from across the country (including the nomadic Raute tribe!).Who is Rabi Chandra Malla?Rabi was born in Bhaktapur and grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal. Having spent his formative years in a boarding school for the children of ex-police officers, Rabi became aware of the growing mental health issues in Nepal. With that in mind, he applied to study psychology in the US in 1998. Living in the USA In the 12-13 years he spent in the US, Rabi would read news about Nepal being an underdeveloped country and felt that Nepal needed to have its own self-sustainable economy or they would always be dependent on foreign countries and donations. It was 1998. The time of Yahoo, Netscape, and Lycos with Alta Vista as a search engine. Google was in its primitive form and no one had heard of Amazon. Due to the influences of other Nepalis in his university, he switched to the field of IT and ended up with a Bachelors in IT. Returning to NepalThe first time he returned to Nepal, there was political turmoil in the country where businesses were ordered to be shut. He therefore returned to the USA to pursue a Masters in IT and returned again to Nepal in 2011 with his wife and two daughters. For the next 3 years, he would look after his daughters at home while his wife pursued her career. But during that time, he did an extensive amount of research. Met local craftsmen and attended fairs, understanding the local artisan landscape. Starting KOLPAThe beginnings of KOLPA were difficult. People didn’t know him and he had to build trust with each and every person from the ground up. And in STIMY Episode 8, we dig deep into how Rabi faced & overcame each of these challenges. From working in his basement to moving to his first physical store at Lazimpat (and why that was important!) and how he ended up in his current location at Jhamsikhel. Other things we talked about:The lives of the various indigenous tribes scattered across Nepal;how he first gained the trust of the communities;How he gained attention from perspective buyers both locally and internationally; The challenges of running his business (hint: transporting local products on the backs of humans through some of the world’s highest mountainous regions down to Kathmandu!);How he determined a fair price for producers and customers alike; The changes that have been introduced to the communities;How COVID-19 has impacted KOLPA & the local communities; andKOLPA’s future. Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/9

Barbara Woolsey is a Canadian freelance journalist currently based in Berlin, Germany and our guest for Episode 8 of the So This Is My Why podcast. Who is Barbara Woolsey?Barbara Woolsey was raised on the Canadian prairies in a culturally-vibrant family. She is of Filipino, Scottish and Irish heritage - a unique background that meant that she was quite unlike anyone else she knew while growing up!We explore the question of identity, particularly as a first generation immigrant in Canada, as well as her first exposure and reconciliation with the Filipino part of her identity while carrying out an internship with Bangkok Post - Thailand’s leading English daily. Prior to becoming a freelance journalist, Barbara worked for the Bangkok Post, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a television and radio reporter, and In Channel (formerly True Visions 92), a former English-language channel in Bangkok. Some of the things we discussed included: working in a country where she was not versed in the local language; and the realities of being on camera and being exposed to harsh criticism concerning her looks on social media. Life as a Freelance JournalistAs a freelance journalist, Barbara has covered a wide range of topics, including lifestyle, culture, food, travel, and politics, for a variety of publications: Reuters, The Guardian, The Telegraph, USA Today, AFAR, Condé Nast Traveler, Tasting Table, Thrillist, Time Out, Roads & Kingdoms, Vice, and others.She has also interviewed a wide range of people including politicians, Berlin DJs, hotel maids, Venezuelan gang members, transgender sex workers in the Netherlands & Bernard Trink (who wrote weekly column “Nite Owl” for 40 years in Bangkok World - a publication then known as Bangkok Post)If you have ever wondered what it’s like to become a freelance journalist, then this is the episode for you!Other Topics Discussed:How Barbara reinvented herself time and again while living in Thailand and therefore, Germany;How she submerged herself in the local journalism scene;How she uncovered writing opportunities for herself & established herself as a journalist; Fees generated as a freelance journalist; Some of her more “dangerous” writing assignments (hint: hanging out with Venezuelan gang members!); How she crafted a work/life balance for herself; How Barbara stands out with her writing; The impact of COVID-19; andWhether journalism work done virtually is as good as when done in person. Fun Fact: Barbara has also emceed the Digital Innovation Awards (DIA) in Bangkok in 2013, and participated in a panel on travel journalism in 2014. And in 2018, she moderated the Digital Science Match, a gathering of over 1,000 science and tech specialists, put on by the German daily newspaper Tagesspiegel in Berlin.Show Notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/8

Jan Wong is a Forbes 30 Under 30, Malaysian serial entrepreneur, youth advocate & founder of OpenMinds - a data-driven martech company he bootstrapped for 8 years & generates millions in revenue with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong and at one point, Kazakhstan!Jan’s entrepreneurial spirit was present from a very young age. He pursued an IT course at University College of Technology & Innovation.At the age of 17, he spotted a gap in the market & established his first company while still in college: Genesis IT Solutions & Services. Genesis started off with him reformatting computers for his friends - given that he had no prior knowledge in this area, his services didn’t always bear fruit!And yet he preserved. And when he spotted a gap (again) for data recovery services, he pivoted. And grew a business so successful, it attracted the attention and partnership of conglomerates like Seagate, Microsoft, Fujitsu and Samsung.The Entrepreneurial JourneyJan’s story is full of tremendous highs but also tremendous lows. Some of them include overcoming a teacher’s “prediction” when he was 10 years old that he would never amount to anything. Of facing the lack of support and confidence from those around him when he first established Genesis. And how he had to confront the heavy consequences of allowing his pride to get in the way of his business. We dig in deep into those low points. Of how Jan approached them and continued on his journey. And how he was willing to go out of his comfort zone, even till this day!Founding OpenMindsIn 2009, Jan founded OpenMinds Resources. Some of the things we discussed included:Why he decided to not pay himself a salary for the first year & a very low stipend for the next few years; His priorities in the early startup days;OpenMind’s unique selling point;Things Jan would’ve done differently;How Jan created a people first work culture; andHow he led OpenMinds to tripling its revenue in 2015 and expanding to Singapore, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan!Other Things We DiscussedJan’s drive of always seeking to “stand out” & doing something that no one else can easily copy;His biggest mistake behind starting his first company at the age of 17 in college;The role of faith in his life; Why he continues to invest in other people;The impact that being Forbes 30 under 30 had on him; The impact that COVID-19 has had on him and OpenMinds; andHis biggest piece of advice for those wanting to start a new venture in this day and age. Jan’s story is truly one of great perseverance and a willingness to always learn & never let fear hold you back. I have nothing but admiration for him.Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/7

Ashley Dean is a South African dancer and a First Artist at the Royal Ballet in London, which is the premier ballet company in the UK. I was just blown away by her love & talent for dancing, her grit, her bravery in dropping out of school at the age of 15 in pursuit of that dream, her love of family and unwavering trust & faith in God no matter what came her way. Ashley, I’m in awe of you & feel so privileged to be able to feature you on this podcast!Who is Ashley Dean?Ashley Dean grew up in Johannesburg, where all the little girls did ballet as a hobby. But it was an international competition she attended at the age of 15 that proved to be a turning point for her. She realised that if she was serious, she would need to put in a serious amount of hours practicing, and even dropping out of school with no guarantee of even entering a ballet company! English National BalletWe talked about the experience of applying for ballet schools & also the experience of moving all the way to London to be with the English National Ballet.And thereafter, how she got into the Royal Ballet and being on the pilot scheme of the Aud Jebsen Dancers Program, which was a complete miracle! Life at the Royal BalletThe life of a professional ballerina is quite unlike any other career I know of! And we talked in depth over:Dealing with perfection, when it is something expected from you every single day;Handling the injuries & constant pain that are part and parcel of a dancer’s lifeThe way she manages her diet given her strenuous schedule; Balancing said career with her family life; How she got into the Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Program;The magical backstage world that the audience never sees;Her faith; andHow COVID-19 has impacted her & the ballet world. BonusStick to the end of the interview to find out how you can get a free backstage pass to the Royal Opera House!Show noteshttps://www.sothisismywhy.com/6

Being in a quartet is like being in a marriage, says Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, violist and founding member of the world renowned award-winning Dover Quartet & our guest for Episode 5 of the So This Is My Why Podcast. Holding dual citizenship in the US and the Netherlands, Milena considers herself to have grown up “a little bit of everywhere” including in Oxford (UK), Baltimore and Jacksonville. Her father taught her the piano before, feeling fed up with the instrument, she chose the violin as her next musical endeavour. An instrument she picked up after hearing a musician busk on the streets of Oxford. At the age of 10 years old, having moved back to Jacksonville by then, she picked up the trombone and also (eagerly!) volunteered to play the viola when her younger brother wanted to form a quartet. We explore all that including a pivotal moment in the summer of 2005, where she met and learned from Michael Klotz, violist of Amernet Quartet & her first viola teacher, at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. A meeting that resulted in her “sudden immersion in the viola world”.Curtis Institute of MusicWe also discuss the considerations she had in place when applying for music schools and how she dropped all other applications the moment she got into her dream school - the Curtis Institute of Music! There, she studied with the likes of Michael Tree (of the Guarneri Quartet) & Roberto Diaz (President & CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music).It was also at Curtis that the members of what would be the Dover Quartet came together - not unlike the tentative start of a budding relationship! They bonded so well, one of their teachers, Shmuel Ashkenasi (Vermeer Quartet) asked them, “Have you considered getting married (to each other)?” because you’re always together. To which Milena said:We could not have been more giddy than when he said that to us because we had looked up to him so much and he notoriously is one of the most demanding coaches we've ever had. And so to get that kind of encouragement from someone we looked up to… I think that definitely had a huge thing to do with our morale and decision to be kind of brave enough to commit to one another.From there, they decided to show “commitment” to each other by attending the graduate residency program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as a quartet. Realities of Life As a String Quartet MemberThe life of a string quartet member is so very unique & some of the things we explore include: What is your schedule like as a string quartet? How often are you on the road?What was it like participating in competitions (e.g. Fischoff Competition) and in particular, your memories of those incredible wins at the Banff Competition 2013 which launched the Dover Quartet into the spotlight?Importance of competitions to the careers of string quartetsWays of dealing with disagreements between quartet members, particularly in musical interpretations of piecesManaging personal space while on the road;Staying in touch with loved ones while on the road Collaborations with other musicians & how that comes aboutGiving live performances versus making studio recordings;The role of social media & the power of collaborations - e.g. with Avi Avital, Edgar Meyer, Ray Chen, Roomful of Teeth & the Brooklyn Duo; The Importance of public speaking as a means of connecting with the audience;Dealing with concert reviewsGiving back to the community through Music For Food; and“Balancing” a solo career with being in a quartet.String InstrumentsAs the instrument itself is so important to a musician, we talk about:The two violas she plays on & their different purposesModern v old instruments - which is better? Does it even matter?How do you choose your violin?Are violins with an unknown maker a good investment? Impact of COVID-19 on her personal life & the life of the Dover QuartetRole of Parents in a Child’s EducationFor parents with young kids or those thinking of pursuing music, we also deal with questions on:Should all children be exposed to music / have music lessons?How should parents handle children who don’t want to practice, especially if they want to just quit after trying it for a short while?At what age should a child learn a musical instrument?What should people looking to pursue music think about & do?Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/5/**Official Bio of the Dover QuartetThe phenomenal Dover Quartet catapulted to international stardom following a stunning sweep of the 2013 Banff Competition, at which they won every prize. Named the Cleveland Quartet Award-winner, and honored with the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Dover has become one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world.The Quartet’s rise from up-and-coming young ensemble to occupying a spot at the top of their field has been “practically meteoric” (Strings). With its burnished warmth, incisive rhythms, and natural phrasing, the Quartet’s distinctive sound has helped confirm its status as “the young American string quartet of the moment” (New Yorker). The Quartet serves as the quartet-in-residence for the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Chamber Music Northwest, Artosphere, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and Peoples’ Symphony in New York, and was recently named the first-ever quartet-in-residence for the Kennedy Center. In 2018-19 the Dover Quartet performs more than a hundred concerts around North America, including performances at the Kennedy Center, San Francisco Performances, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Spivey Hall, Boston’s Celebrity Series, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, and Carnegie Hall. In addition, the Dover’s season features tours of Hong Kong, Europe, and Australia, collaborations with Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Peter Serkin, Anthony McGill, and Roomful of Teeth, and premieres of new works by Caroline Shaw and Matan Porat. The Quartet was thrilled to be invited by the maverick filmmaker and cultural icon David Lynch to be featured at his Los Angeles Festival of Disruption. Cedille Records released the Quartet’s sophomore album, entitled Voices of Defiance: 1943, 1944, 1945 in October 2017. The recording takes listeners on a powerful journey through works written during World War II by Viktor Ullmann, Dimitri Shostakovich, and Simon Laks. The 2016-17 season saw the release of its all-Mozart debut recording on the Cedille label, a nod to the 1965 debut album of the Guarneri Quartet, whose founding violist, the late Michael Tree, joined the Dover Quartet on the recording. In addition, the group has participated in three complete Beethoven quartet cycles, including the University at Buffalo’s famous “Slee Cycle” – which has presented annual Beethoven quartet cycles since 1955 and has featured the likes of the Budapest, Guarneri, and Cleveland Quartets – and will record the cycle over the next three seasons. The group’s world-class collaborators have included pianists Anne-Marie McDermott, Emanuel Ax, Marc-André Hamelin, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Peter Serkin, and Jon Kimura Parker; violists Roberto Díaz and Cynthia Phelps; bassist Edgar Meyer; and the Pacifica and Escher Quartets.In the spring of 2016, the Dover Quartet was recognized with the Hunt Family Award, one of the inaugural Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awards, and in past years has taken top prizes at the Fischoff Competition and the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.All four Quartet members are consummate solo artists: first violinist Joel Link took first prize at the Menuhin Competition; violinist Bryan Lee and violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt have appeared as soloists with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Tokyo Philharmonic, respectively; and cellist Camden Shaw released a solo album debut on the Unipheye Music label.As Strad observes, “With their exceptional interpretative maturity, tonal refinement, and taut ensemble,” the Dover Quartet is “pulling away from their peers.”Hailed as “the next Guarneri Quartet” (Chicago Tribune), the Dover Quartet draws from the lineage of that distinguished ensemble, as well that of the Cleveland and Vermeer Quartets; its members studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where they were mentored extensively by Shmuel Ashkenasi, James Dunham, Norman Fischer, Kenneth Goldsmith, Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tree, and Peter Wiley. It was at Curtis that the Quartet first formed, and its name pays tribute toDover Beach by fellow Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber. The group has since returned for residencies to Rice in 2011-13, and to Curtis, where it became the conservatory’s first Quartet-in-Residence, in 2013-14. In addition, in 2015 the Dover was appointed the first Resident Ensemble of Peoples’ Symphony Concerts in the 116-year history of New York City’s oldest concert series.The Dover Quartet is dedicated to sharing its music with under-served communities and is actively involved with Music for Food, an initiative enabling musicians to raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger.The Dover Quartet plays on the following instruments:Joel Link: Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris circa 1857, on loan by Desirée RuhstratBryan Lee: Riccardo Antoniazzi, Milan 1904Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt: Michele Deconet, Venice, 1780, the ‘Kroyt,’ generously on loan from the grandson of Boris Kroyt of the Budapest QuartetCamden Shaw: Frank Ravatin, France, 2010

Today’s guest is Sara Holden and she, well, has been shot, strangled, bludgeoned, suffocated & died in pretty much every imaginable way possible on the big & small screens! Sounds crazy?Not at all. She’s pretty used to it, given her career as a Hollywood stunt actress!A quick look at her IMDb profile will reveal an impressive CV with appearances in I’m Your Woman, Batwoman, General Hospital, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Veronica Mars, NCIS, American Horror Story, Venom, The Walking Dead, Transformers, Divergent, Man of Steel, Oz the Great and Powerful, Sons of Anarchy… the list just goes on and on!!But who exactly is Sara Holden?Sara hails from Detroit, Michigan and she always had a love of theatre while growing up. And while she had no idea what stunts even were back then, retrospectively, it seems as though it was all meant to be. She was a tomboy not afraid to get down and dirty. Played soccer, gymnast and also competitive cheerleading before joining the women’s rugby team in Western Michigan University. The story of how she even ended up in the rugby team is pretty hilarious and involves, surprisingly, the offer of beer! And being smashed into the ground at every match (which she seems to relish! ;)).Moving to Los AngelesUpon graduation, she did an 8-month advertising stint before deciding to quit to give acting a shot. Her reasoning?I've always wanted to do this acting thing... and if I don't do this now, I don't know that I'll ever do it. It was kind of like my time, let's just take the jump leap of faith, if you will, and just see what happens. And so I did, I just moved to Hollywood. And I packed whatever I had into my car and drove out there.But you know what makes that decision especially remarkable?I didn't know anybody. I did not have a job. I did have some money saved up… and I remember I kind of told a little white lie to my parents and said that I had this job. I didn't really have a job at all... And yeah, I just drove out there and got a job as a hostess in Beverly Hills and just started networking. One of the many pieces of evidence of her “what is the worst that can happen?” go-getter attitude. Establishing A Presence In HollywoodEstablishing herself in Hollywood with no contacts, no job and more importantly, no SAG card, was difficult. And we explore:The art of networking in LA/Hollywood;The realities of being one of the many faceless “extras”;How she first discovered the world of stunts;How she got into the exclusive invite-only stunt training facility run by circus-trained Bob Yerkes;What it was like doubling for Pamela Anderson & executing her first professional stunt on a 80mph speed boat; The turning point where she knew she could “make it” in Hollywood; andThe Realities of Life as a Stunt ActressWe also get real on some of the challenges, includingHow she got booked onto stunt jobs;How much stunt person make & the realities of the Hollywood freelance life; The competitive nature of the stunt industry; How she handles the injuries & risks taken on every day; The difference in career opportunities between men and female stunt workers; Why Sara is self-funding a car flip gag;The role of social media in as a stunt person; Managing life at home with young children during the COVID-19; What the future could hold for stunt work in a social distancing era; andWhat you should do if you want to be a stunt actress in Hollywood.  For more details, check out https://www.sothisismywhy.com And don’t forget - if you’re looking to flip your own cars, make sure you give Sara a holler first!!

Dr Julian Tan is the Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports in Formula 1 (London), and someone I got to meet while studying in the UK.Perhaps a little selfishly, I’ve loved how this podcast gives me the “excuse” to reconnect with old friends and Julian is definitely one of them. You’ll find out soon enough because my goodness, there is just soo much to unpack from our conversation! We recorded this way back in May 2020 & I’m still blown away by everything I’ve learned and I’m sure you will too. :)So buckle up & get ready for this ride! Who is Julian Tan?Julian spent some of his earliest years in Hong Kong but moved back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for primary school in Sri Subang, and were some of his happiest years. But unfortunately, all that changed when he moved to secondary school (around the age of 13) because:In Standard Six, I got along with everybody. Everybody was my friend. and then suddenly you come into high school and then you immediately get picked on because at the time, I was a little bit overweight. Weight, a natural inclination towards rule keeping & always doing academically well meant that Julian stood out. And not, at least to his peers, in a good way. But you know what I was blown away? It was the way in which Julian handled that challenge:And it was, I would say, at the age of 13, 14. I remember writing it down on a note, like, don't care what other people think. Just keep doing what's important to you and also surround yourself with people who can support you because at that age, I felt like the more time that you spend with people, you either morph into them or they'll morph into you.So make sure you pick your company very wisely. Wow. I do not know if I would have had the wisdom to do that in his shoes!The Oxbridge ExperienceJulian ended up going to Oxford University to do a Bachelors & Masters in Engineering Science. And in the process, graduating in the top 3rd percentile with First class Honours, being the top engineering student & scholar of Jesus College & the recipient of numerous department and collection prizes. But soon after graduating, he wrote a viral Huffington Post entitled: A First Class Degree from Oxbridge - So What?. And we explore that article in the podcast and why looking back, he would have wanted to have handled his time in Oxford differently. Which is not to say he “regretted” doing what he did!Cambridge University was his second chance to get the university experience he wanted, which is where he went to next for his PhD in composites engineering. And we talk about his experiences there as a PhD student and also the age-ago debate of Oxford v Cambridge: are they really all that different? But all good things must come to an end & as with any “adulting” process, there comes the need to find a job. Boston Consulting Group, LondonLet’s be real. Julian has an academic CV that anyone would kill for. But reality is a bitter pill and as Julian puts it in his May 2012 Huffington Post article, “people rely too much on education being the silver bullet to every conceivable problem.” Even with the grades he had, the rejections kept coming. And we talk about that: the emphasis on education & false myth that the world is your oyster when you have the grades. Julian eventually ended up at Boston Consulting Group and it was there that he first became exposed to Formula One. Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports, Formula OneJulian, alongside Frank Arthofer, helped to establish the digital & esports division in Formula One. Most prominently to date, Julian’s team was responsible for the Virtual Grand Prixs that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic when no other races were being held! At the end of the Virtual Grand Prix run, F1 Esports achieved a stunning 30 million in views, and up to 85 million when social media is thrown in the mix!In the podcast, we unravel the genesis of those results. Touching on topics such as:The process used to establish the corporate structure for a digital and esports department (F1 had never had a marketing campaign before)!What the esports field was like back in 2017;How the different F1 offerings were conceptualised e.g. the Pro series v the Virtual Grand Prix races; Esport opportunities for gamers like Brendan Leigh (who is now signed on to Mercedes, a F1 team!), even though Brendan didn’t even have a driver’s licence!What it was like putting the Virtual Grand Prix races together; andHow F1 intends to stay ahead of its competitors. And if you haven’t already done so, go check out one of the F1 races! I did and kudos to Julian and his team, because I was hooked. This, from a girl who has never watched a race in her life. Because the races really were that thrilling! I even have a favourite F1 driver that I now follow - who would’ve thought?Other Topics DiscussedThe question of identity: Who am I? If I have also been “special” because of my academic achievements, who am I when I enter an environment (like Oxford or Cambridge) where everyone is exactly the same as me with the same background and I find out that actually, I’m not that “special”?How pursuing a PhD differs from an undergraduate degree?Is consulting at one of the prestigious MBB firms really a “dream” job? What qualities someone should have to succeed as he has?For show notes & more, visit https://www.sothisismywhy.com/episode3

Today’s guest is Red Hong Yi – a Malaysian architect turned full-time artist known for painting without a paintbrush! One of the sweetest, friendliest and most talented people I know and am privileged to call a friend. 🙂 You might have heard of her or seen her work displayed somewhere, whether in publications like the South China Morning Post, Straits Time, Prestige, artventures with Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia, or more recently on Mashable about her “I Am Not A Virus” 2020 series. Who is Red Hong Yi?Hong Yi grew up in Sabah, which is located on the East coast of Malaysia (yay, East Malaysians!). We discuss what her childhood was like, her influences, and the kind of art she did.Fun fact: In her pre-teen years, Red Hong Yi used to draw comics with her friends and “rent” them to her classmates for RM 0.10 until their teacher called them out for it because it was distracting everyone from UPSR exam preparations (a pivotal national exam in Malaysia that students take before entering secondary school)!Working as an ArchitectWhile she had a desire to go into art, and even once dreamt of working for PIXAR, she decided, in the end, to study architecture at the University of Melbourne. Upon graduation, she moved over to Shanghai and we talked about what that was like. The people, the culture, and again, the entrepreneurial spirit that was so prevalent among the youth of Shanghai! And how those influences, including an important trip to Yiwu International Trade Market, resulted in her friend filming a timelapse video of her Yao Ming portrait. Quite unexpectedly, her portrait of the famous Chinese NBA player went viral and was picked up by the likes of NBA and Gizmodo.com!Pivoting into ArtWhile this craziness was happening, Hong Yi was still working at her architecture firm, HASSELL. Soon after, she received a call from Michael Hawley who invited her to the EG Conference (who wrote the commencement speeches for Larry Page & Steve Jobs amongst others!). This conference proved to be a huge turning point for her as she became exposed to people doing incredible things, including other artists, musicians, astronauts, and chefs. Her parents also attend the EG Conference and as Hong Yi put it:"So they (Hong Yi's parents) came with me and that was when they realized that, Oh, my daughter is not that crazy after all. There is a room filled with crazy, you see?"The Artist Who Paints without a PaintbrushSoon after, Hong Yi decided to quit her job as an architect to give art a shot. And we discuss what those initial days were like, the financial considerations and how she decided on the kind of “brand” she wanted to be. Her trademark approach to art is painting without a paintbrush and she achieves this by creating mixed-media installations by reinterpreting everyday materials through the accumulation of objects. By combining traditional craftsmanship and digital technology, she creates work that considers perceptual habits and preconceptions on the chosen objects and subjects, expressing the themes of women and race.Achievements to DateNeedless to say, she has achieved extraordinary success! And her work has been exhibited at H Queens in Hong Kong, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, World Economic Forum in Davos (the Teh Tarik Man!), and Anchorage Museum in Alaska. Collectors of her work include JP Morgan Chase Bank and actor Jackie Chan.Her art has also been featured in publications including Wall Street Journal, TIME, and New York Times, as well as in JP Morgan Chase’s commercial campaign, “Gift for Baba”, in 2018 where she performed the leading and critical role of artist. She created an artwork made of tea leaves and that commercial was aired throughout North America during some of the biggest sporting events of the year including Super Bowl LII, which was viewed by 103.4 million viewers, and the 2018 World Cup, which was seen by an average of 1.98 million viewers per game.Hong Yi has spoken in conferences around the world, including EG Conference in California, the ASEAN Young Entrepreneur’s Conference in Beijing, TEDx in Kuala Lumpur, and in institutions such as Domus Academy in Italy, Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts in Shanghai, and the MIT Media Lab in Boston. She has been offered art residencies at 18th Street Art Centre in Los Angeles and the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai in 2020.Sotheby’s Institute has named her one of the “11 art world entrepreneurs you should know”. Tatler Magazine has named her one of Asia’s most influential voices in 2020.How did she do it? What’s next?Hong Yi’s journey has been anything but conventional and I loved how we went deep into the behind-the-scenes of what it took to get to where she is, including: How she put together some of her most popular work including the Teh Tarik Man and the Jackie Chan bamboo stick collaboration;Where she gets her inspiration from;Who “gave” her name “Red”;The role of social media in her work;How she charges clients for her work;The realities of being your own boss & why that might not be for everyone (and that’s ok!);Striking a balance behind taking on work for financial reasons versus artistic inclinations;Creating impact behind her work;How COVID-19 has affected her & how she stays connected with other creatives like Von Wong (another guest on the STIMY podcast); Collaborating with other local artists back in her hometown of Sabah; What it takes for someone to succeed as she has; andWhat the future holds for her.External LinksYou can reach Red Hong Yi via her blog, Facebook and Instagram For the show notes for this episode, visit https://www.sothisismywhy.com/episode2/

WARNING: The content gets slightly graphic when discussing the realities of poaching in South Africa.Our guest for today is Chloe Buiting – an Australian vet & wildlife conservationist who grew up in Lord Howe Island, Australia. She knew from a young age that she wanted to dedicate herself to protect wildlife and ended up going to veterinary school.One of her more interesting placements was in South Africa, where she was involved in things like capturing giraffes, dehorning rhinos (to try to protect them from poachers) & working with wild cats. We also learn of a unique men's Calvin Klein scent that draws in the wild cats - which you will learn about once you listen!We also talk about: - Life as a veterinary student, including placements;- The realities of poaching in South Africa & the big debate over what to do with the horns of the rhinoceros;- What it’s like to capture a giraffe in the wild (hint: you need a helicopter!);- The importance of ecotourism (including gorilla work in the DRC, Rwanda & Uganda), Thailand’s first - Working with amputee elephants out of the world’s first prosthetic hospital for elephants in Chiang Mai;- Being on the front line in the 2020 Australian Wildlife (the fire went right up to her backyard in Kangaroo Island!); - The future of veterinary medicine (hint: 3D printing beaks for toucan is already a reality!);- Whether you can make money as a vet; and- What WE can do to support wildlife conservation efforts.If you're interested in wildlife conservation or just want to know more about this fascinating world, this is the episode for you. The show notes can be found at https://www.sothisismywhy.com/episode1/ Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to get all the latest episodes and behind-the-scenes sneak preview!

Hello everyone!I'm Ling Yah, the host & producer of the So This Is My Why podcast. A show featuring a range of inspiring people every week about their WHY journey. This trailer episode gives a sneak preview of what to expect in the STIMW podcast and the questions asked including:their childhood;the decisions they made how they first got started; their successes and failures;whether they think they've found their WHY at this point;the kind of legacy they want to leave behind; andhow others can do the same.New episodes will be released EVERY SUNDAY.For more information about STIMY, the latest episodes & guests (past & upcoming), visit https://www.sothisismywhy.com/