THE BLOG.

On brand positioning, social media and entrepreneurship.

Is Personal Branding Still Important in 2021?

jan wong on digital branding
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The short answer: Yes.

Think about that time when you were looking for a gift, your next restaurant for food delivery or that item on a marketplace…

Where did you look?

What did you look for?

What caused you to make the final decision?

My guess would be search engines, reviews, ratings, testimonials and maybe even media features. This behaviour is unlikely to change in the coming years as we consumers are increasingly independent (or dependant) in searching for information to validate our decisions and this is the same if we were to look for someone to hire for a job, a company to invest in, or a service to be rendered – we rely on digital cues.

In fact, personal branding is becoming more important in being discovered or establishing your credibility to others that may not know you. Similar to product branding, having just a good product does not guarantee discovery or conversion. You may have an excellent track record in your career or maybe you’re a top student in your university but unless you have your CV published or a wide network for referrals, employers will have no clue of your existence.

The harsh truth is that we rely on digital cues even in people discovery. We take cues from the content you create, the content others create about you, the level of participation you have in events, webinars, groups or LinkedIn, your activity on key social media channels, your website, and your digital portfolio. And it’s really NOT about being a stalker, but that’s just how it is today – we search and discover – from food, ideas, to people.

So stop neglecting your own digital presence and start investing into your own brand! Ask yourself questions like:

What am I planning to achieve? A job? A career advancement? A new opportunity? Receive investment? Be part of a network?

Where do these people hangout at? LinkedIn? TikTok? Facebook Groups? YouTube? Clubhouse? Telegram?

What will they be interested in? Are there specific topics or content types?

Why can I be interesting to them? Is there something I can offer that is unique and original to myself?

How can I appear on their radar? Can I post more often, comment or share more content that is relevant to them?

If you’re able to answer the 5 simple questions above, you’ve already begun your journey on making your personal brand known digitally!

Start Showing Up

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If you knew me well, you would know that I love running (other than playing badminton, of course). While I can’t say I am a good runner, I do enjoy the process of just going out and about, letting the mind wander whilst breaking out good sweat. Going for a short run in the morning also helps me stay focused throughout the day (but I will leave this for another post).

Through this little hobby of mind, I have participated in a few long distance races and it usually go something like this:

Gets very excited to sign up for it > Stays motivated while training > Show up during race day > Start strong > And half way through the race, I start asking the question…

“Why did I put myself this torture?”

Did that sound a little like you, too?

The truth is, it is very easy to start something, but it is never easy to see it through. Be it starting up a new business, going to the gym, breaking a habit, or just sticking to the new year’s resolution you’ve written.

We give ourselves really good excuses like having a busy schedule, commitments, circumstances… but the one that takes the cake has to be – luck.

“I’m just not as lucky”

Yes, that is an excuse. I believe that this thing called ‘luck’ is merely a result of hard work, perseverance, relentlessness… and you being present. Most people ‘miss’ out on opportunities to be ‘lucky’ simply because they are unequipped, unprepared or simply not present to take up what it takes.

Our definition of luck is warped. We want to enjoy the final outcome without having to go through any of the process, expecting for it to literally just present itself at your doorstep – but it does not.

Imagine completing a full marathon without training, preparation, conditioning or actually showing up for the race – you will never complete it, let alone receiving the finishing medal. Luck will not auto-magically teleport you to the finishing line of the race! You will need to show up, run, and create possibilities for yourself. Maybe the weather will be great, maybe you’ll find a buddy to cheer you on, maybe there’ll be some special drink that will boost your energy along the way, and heck, maybe they’ll even give you a ride to a finish line and still award you anyway.

The thing is, you won’t get to experience the ‘luck’ or opportunity if you’re not even there to begin with!

So if you’ve been wondering why you haven’t got that physique you’ve been aiming for, or that dream career; you haven’t been exhausting your options to be in a position for that opportunity or ‘luck’ to happen.

Opportunity only comes to those who knock.

Start showing up!

How Words in Your Company Builds Culture

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Words are powerful. The right words used can motivate, inspire, build and encourage; but also to tear down, hurt and crush.

While that sounds like common sense, the words we use tend to roll out a little too freely and we justify that by calling it a freedom of speech or as a form of expression. And this freedom contributes to the culture you are building in your company, be it a startup or corporate organisation.

Culture is not something where you frame up in your board room nor is it a string of (vague) fancy words to sound cool. It starts and sticks with the smallest detail – like the conversations that happens surrounding work.

A negative complaint, a passing remark, a jab toward your superiors, clients or vendors, sarcastic responses, a common curse word or phrase when faced with an unfavourable situation may all seem very normal in a social context but can very well be contributing factors to productivity, morale and growth both individually and collectively within the company, and here’s why:

#1: Words stick

If you recall a random not-so-nice remark made by someone towards you, or just a simple compliment about your hair, that already shows that words do stick – and they do, no matter whether you like it or not. And for many, these words stay with you consciously or unconsciously for the rest of your career / life; and the negative ones haunt you at your lowest.

#2: Words affect your team

Words said in in jest are the worst! You may not have meant it literally when you said “Yea, the dude has always been lazy and useless to the team.” but this sentence alone can spark off many political sidelining within the team.

#3: Words affect yourself

“Crap! I’m an idiot!”. Say that often enough in every mistake you make and you’ll successfully crush your self worth, esteem and confidence over time.

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying we should all be constantly positive with rainbows and unicorns in the sky, or that we should always be hyper-sensitive with what people may feel when we speak – that’s self limiting and frankly, will drive you crazy.

Instead, remember that the words we use are a choice. It’s easier said than done but if we remind ourselves of the bigger picture of what we want to achieve in our workplace and as a career, we can redefine and switch the words we choose to say to create a better workplace culture.

Culture starts with people, and that’s you.

Read: How to build company culture

My One Big Lesson Learnt in 2017

jan wong blog - lesson learnt in 2017
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The year was a train wreck, an avalanche, a catastrophe. I started the year with so much hope, aspirations and dreams. In fact, it was a year I felt that it will be the best yet; only to end the year with everything that can go wrong. Everything collided, went up in flames and caused much distraught from all aspects including mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. I hated the days, the nights, the celebrations – Christmas, now the new year, and practically everyday.

2017 became the longest year in my life

I never knew time could pass so slowly. As I struggled daily, I was still required to a strong front with friends, colleagues and at home. At other times, I’ll need to be the positive, motivational and entrepreneurial person I’m expected to be. People told me to “talk to someone”, “take things easy”, “chill”, “the darker it is, the brighter the light will be”, “pray”, and the list goes on but really, it’s easier said than done. Not forgetting those that gives “advice” but what they are really doing is to judge.

It has been a really dark year and when the K-Pop celebrity Jonghyun left his final note, I could relate. The words he wrote perfectly described how I felt – the emptiness, loneliness, the people around, their expectations vs mine, and why things aren’t exactly working out despite “encouragements”.

Nonetheless, here I am, typing this post 4 hours before 2017 ends, still alive and breathing despite still at my lows.

Through the many months of thinking, pondering, debating, evaluating, analysing and questioning, I came to realise the cause of all of it was a fundamental one.

I let my guard down

You see, I’ve spent my entire life building my career, trying to achieve what is expected of me as a business partner, an entrepreneur, the oldest son in the family, a leader in church, and a partner in my relationship. Does that sound okay to you? If you answered yes, that’s exactly where the problem was for me.

In my pursuit of career, I allowed other areas that are more important to slip, thinking that they could be compensated when the time comes and that I am capable to do that. I continued to pursue “success” over the years, having grown OpenMinds to where it is today with a growing valuation y-o-y in the millions with regional presence, having the privilege to coach and mentor startups, having the opportunities to share my knowledge across different media channels including TV, radio, printed and online media, and of course, the prestigious recognition given by Forbes on the 30 Under 30 Asia list.

I thought I was careful enough and that I could manage all of it – and that’s where I let my guard down. To be honest, I didn’t even know that happened. I allowed myself to be swept away by all that is happening thinking I am fully aware and capable.. only to realise that I am not in the end.

Because of that, I made a ton of mistakes, huge unforgivable ones that has caused many to hurt and severed relationships that I worked so hard to protect.. both knowingly and unknowingly. The guilt combined with the realisation, created months of dark, suffocating days.

What I’ve learnt (the extremely hard way) is that you should never, ever, let your guard down. It’s great to have big dreams and aspirations but in your journey of achieving them, never let your guard down. Never allow yourself to say “It’s okay, I’m bigger than the situation” no matter how capable you think you are.

The higher you go, the higher and greater the guard you need.

That’s my take on 2017 going into 2018. I’ll need to pick up whatever pieces I can find, rebuild my fundamentals, and put up my guards again. There’s no sugar coating it – it’s going to be an extremely tough one, but I’ll do it to the best I can.

6 Types of Founders I’ve Met

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I just got back from mentoring at Startup Weekend KL last weekend and had the privilege to meet over 60 enthusiastic aspiring entrepreneurs and founders, all eager to get their ideas off the ground.

Based on all my conversations with founders from different age, background and industry over the years, skills and mindset aside, they seem to fall into either one of the below category of founders. Are you one of them?

The fundraisers

More common in younger founders these days, they are all about the market size, market potential and valuation – in hopes to raise funds. While there’s nothing wrong with that, the tendency of these founders is to first raise, then build. They are usually driven by monetary goals, acquisitions and funding rounds, sometimes to the extent of losing their product and purpose; thus often leading to giving up even in the early stages especially when there are no desired monetary results.

The problem solver

Problem solvers are founders that cannot sit still. They are always on the look out for problems and are not satisfied with existing solutions; believing that there is a better, more engaging, optimised or cost effective experience out there – and takes it upon themselves to solve it. These are founders that believes in scratching their own itch. If they can code, all the better as they’ll attempt to build a solution out of it, sometimes even just for the fun of it. However, it is also a challenge for them to stay put on a single idea for long – they are always on the move for a new problem once the previous is solved or when the novelty runs out.

The show off

You may have come across some of these. These founders are often found in networking events and seen flaunting their lavish entrepreneurial lifestyle across social media leaving motivational quotes or videos. When asked, they usually run multiple ‘companies’ but aren’t able to tell you exactly what they do, there’s no clear product or service, doesn’t really have a team, or more commonly, are involved in multiple multilevel marketing schemes instead. Also, they build their reputation by associating themselves with other founders in fear of losing out through selfies with them.

The been-there-done-that

Founders from this category consist of those that has either made it and is satisfied of their achievement, or those that are still in it but has became complacent for various reasons. The former are usually veterans (not necessarily in age but in experience too!) that has been in business, seen returns and is happy with what they already have thus decided to sit it out. They can be challenging to speak to at times, as they often result to give you advice even when not asked. The latter though, are usually in business and has become sustainable, but has no intention of innovating and growing it further. They tend to think this is the most they can do and is reluctant to step out of their comfort zone.

The ‘forever founder’

These are, in my opinion, the most annoying bunch. They are usually found in startup events, conferences, accelerator programmes, pitching competitions, hackathons and exchange programmes – and never came out of them. While the intention behind is always understandably good, these founders would typically have built nothing sustainable past the 6 to 12 months mark. Some would’ve won competitions and received recognitions, they understand the ins, the outs, and usually passionate about startups and are always out for new ideas, learning and networking; but hardly has anything down.

The hustlers

My favourite people are the hustlers. These are founders that have put their backs to it and built their companies through grit and sacrifice. They are not perfect and will never claim to be, has the ability to build a team that covers where they lack and believes in their value proposition – and they show it, be it with or without funding, support and experience, they find ways to make things work. Speaking to them is always most interesting and inspiring but they can be the most lonely primarily because this bunch devote their lives to their passion; often sacrificing casual activities and not many can keep up with them.

Do you know anyone from any of the categories above? Note that this list is not conclusive and has no scientific research whatsoever and is compiled based on just me getting to know founders over the years. As such, it may not best represent every founder out there as founders are typically complex creatures

The 10/90 Rule

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You’ve probably heard about Pareto’s 80/20 rule, but what about the 10/90 rule?

While usually used in statistics, I recently found that it is also relevant in how we live our lives, run a business, or when making a decision.

Think about it, was there a moment you wished you could go back to change a decision you’ve made that brought you to where you are today? These pivotal moments are pretty much the instances where the 10/90 rule comes in. Sometimes, it just takes a single decision to change your entire life – for better, or for worse.

Knowing this, are you willing to take that one decision, knowing that it may change the course of your life? Whether it is to be that 1 successful startup out of the 9 other that fails, to be that 1 that makes it into that dream job where it’s impossible to get into, or to be that 1 that successfully acquires a dream that is otherwise not attainable, knowing that there is a 90% possibility of not making it?

What if that 1 thing you did ignites that 90% in you, will you take the risk, knowing that the failure is equally as high?

Someone once told me that living a 10/90 life is pretty much the path less taken. That’s why it’s tough, and that’s why only the alternatives dare take that route, despite the consequences and outcome that you’ll need to deal with after.

Just like the chorus in Disney’s Moana:
“I know everybody on this island seems so happy,
on this island everything is by design…
See the light as it shines on the see?
It’s blinding. But no one knows, how deep it goes.
And it seems to be calling out to me, so come find me.
And let me know, what’s beyond that line, will I cross that line?”

I believe risks in defining moments are meant to be taken. These are the moments where one decision can make a world of a difference. The wager is great, but the rewards are also greater.

When were your defining moments in life?

Have you discovered that one thing that ignites the 90% in you?

Will you cross that line despite everything is set by design and it may capsize you?

I have.

5 Things Startups Should Lookout For

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They say 9 out of 10 startups fail, and about 50% of businesses out there don’t survive past the 5th year.

OpenMinds celebrated our 5th year just a couple of days ago and I am thankful that we are able to beat the statistical odds in coming this far as a MarTech company. Speaking about stats, here are some interesting ones we found over the past 5 years hustling:

100% bootstrapped
0 debts
2 offices, in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong (was at Kazakhstan before)
50 media features including Forbes Asia, BFM and more
900+ job applications received via our website alone
433 invited for interviews
78 made the cut
132 business enquiries received via our website
0 marketing dollars spent for customer acquisition
52 brands served, in over
10 countries across APAC and Europe
60 speaking engagements in corporations, organisations, and universities
15 startups mentored one-on-one
4 startups invested
5 internal products developed, 3 successfully launched, 2 running

Despite all that we’ve accomplished as a team, the past five years have been a gruelling one. We’ve experienced many ups and downs and below I’ve listed 5 things that startups should look out for from my experience throughout the course of OpenMinds:

OpenMinds fifth anniversary

#1: Make the tough decisions

Whether it is a business, team, finance or product matter, if it is for the better of the company, do it. Procrastinating or being sentimental over the matter usually results to decision paralysis – and that’s critical for startups as it not only waste time, but money. You don’t need to be ruthless in making tough decisions, but you’ll definitely need to make them!

#2: Put people first

People has always been our biggest assets and has always been part of our culture. As important it is to build and ship products and services, it is equally, if not even more important to put your team first. By that, I don’t mean you should give everything that are asked for, but to always ensure that their wellbeing, growth, productivity and successes are clear and achievable.

#3: Guard your cash

Be prudent on what you choose to spend money on, and always brace for rainy days ahead. From the beginning, we made effort to ensure we had enough savings to survive at least 6 months without income, and have allocations for business development (which includes scaling and investing into startups). It was a huge challenge and we had to go without salary for some time, but the results today are worth it.

#4: Put action to words

It is very easy to get caught up in a grand vision or ideas thrown across meetings. Don’t let words wander off without an action plan. Take time to strategise and put-to-paper steps to make that vision or idea a reality. Never leave it to be “we’ll come back to this” or “let’s take time to think about it”. Put it down, assign a lead to it and start making things happen.

#5: Never settle for ‘now’

You are only as good as you were yesterday. Always invest back into your own company by consistently innovating. This is usually easier said than done because most effort will usually be placed into building sustainability where the results are more prominent and clear. However, neglecting continuous improvement and scalability will cause a plateau over time that can hurt the company more than you think.

What is Company Culture?

Building a culture for your startup or business
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Company culture is one of the most talked about topics but also the most elusive and challenging to introduce, build and sustain over time. In fact, it is also a much talked about topic among startups and even corporates today in hopes to attract and retain talent.

But what exactly is company culture? Many think it’s about the working environment, flexible working hours, bean bags, ping pong tables, unlimited snacks, and so on but is that really it?

While OpenMinds is known for 25-category (and growing) perks, flexible hours, transparency and flat communications, we realized that there’s more to culture than just creating a fun and productive working environment; and it is definitely more than a few polished statements inside a company handbook or in a fancy frame on the wall.

Culture is people.

Just as how you experience different cultures in different countries, people is the best reflection of culture and the best way to see if a company’s culture is practiced is to speak with the team. A team that lives the culture believes in the company’s cause and practices it naturally. And the only way for this to be achieved is for your team to know how can it be practiced in a real environment.

To do: Make sure your team understands the underlying whys and hows of the culture set. Empower your team to champion conversations and be active in practicing them.

Culture is education.

People forget, and that is okay. It takes time for people to build habits, especially if it’s something out of their usual. However, it’s also you and the team’s role to actively remind each other on what needs to be practiced through conversations. It is important to create an environment where culture is not seen as a disciplinary action but instead, something where the people decides to build.

To do: Practice makes permanent. Find ways to talk and practice culture regularly. Start from onboarding or even during the final interview. Use your culture to inspire, present use cases, show results, commend best practices and get your team involved in the process.

Culture is organic.

It is important to recognize that culture evolves over time and it is only normal. With changing technology, lifestyle demands and industry movements, the people’s and the company’s needs change. This means that what you have set out to be 3 years ago may no longer be relevant. Sure, there are companies that managed to retain their culture for decades (or even a century) but really, there are only a handful doing so that they too are facing the challenge today.

To do: Understand why some cultures are not being kept and don’t be afraid to change. Is it because of a change in needs or it’s simply laziness? Get to the root and decide if a realignment is needed.

Culture is aligned to your goals.

A common observation among different company cultures is that they usually do not align with the company’s goals. It is usually created to be inspiring and vague (or disciplinary), causing it difficult for the team to relate to what the company is trying to achieve. And that’s a problem right there – a culture that only inspires without tangible output will be easily forgotten.

To do: Regularly check if your culture is helping the team to meet goals or is it slowing down productivity.

Does your company have an interesting culture to share? I would love to hear from you too!

Stop Starting Up

jan wong blog - stop starting up
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Yes, you heard that right – stop starting up!

This may come off as a rant, but hear me out on this one. It’s always a great and exciting thing to hear about startups; their adventures, their pain and gains, but that’s not enough. It’s not enough to run a business.

And that’s the difference right there; between starting up and creating a business. The truth is, it is a lot easier to start something than to sustain and grow it into something greater. That’s the difference between a one-year old company versus one that has been around for a hundred years. Sure, the latter doesn’t sound as cool today but think about it, building a business that lasts a century? That’s beyond startup weekends, community meet ups, business canvases, participating in pitching competitions and raising funds. In fact, it’s about the ‘boring’ stuff – management, operational workflow, processes, SOPs, public relations, customer retention, branding, product innovation, finance planning and more.

But having that said, I don’t blame startups.

Young founders today focus on the desired ending and has subconsciously replaced that with “business”; no thanks to constant focus on the glam on huge fund raising rounds, celebrity entrepreneurs and acquisitions. And to achieve this “exit”, many founders focus on building pitch decks, business plans, canvases, networking opportunities, whatever – but does that matter?

Here’s what I think a startup should really be like:

#1: It should fulfil a cause

No, it doesn’t need to be world peace or to eradicate hunger, but it should be something positive worth hustling for. All these talks about disrupting traditional businesses and industries shouldn’t even be the primary purpose anyway. You don’t disrupt just because you want to, or to sound cool; you disrupt because you believe you have a better solution that fulfils a cause and brings more benefits than its former self.

#2: It should create job opportunities

Isn’t this what businesses are all about? It’s a high calling to build a team and to ensure that not only they have enough to live by, but also to have an environment where people can be at their best, thriving, and finding fulfilment in what they do. People makes businesses, not otherwise. So instead of focusing solely on product fit and scale, pay attention to your people too!

#3: It should make money and stimulates the economy

By that I mean profits! Not through fund raising, glorified exits, winning pitching competitions or at the expense of your team. I’m talking about hard cash that you can actually see and spend without the expense of your business or others. It doesn’t make sense to raise millions but only to squander them all away because of ‘market acquisition’. That just means poor execution, and the only disruption you are making is to yourself.

Want to build something cool and sexy? Stop starting up and build a business.

Will A Degree in Entrepreneurship Help You Become an Entrepreneur?

Do I Need a Degree in Entrepreneurship
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Startups are a trend these days. Most people, especially students dream to live the seemingly exciting life of an entrepreneur, working whenever and wherever they want, making money by the millions as VCs pour in the cash. Ah, what a dream. I don’t blame them though, not when the spotlight is often on individuals that raised millions and have “been there, done that” and universities that are riding the wave by throwing in such courses to help produce entrepreneurs. But do they really work? Now, I don’t mean to generalize every entrepreneurship courses out there as they are some good ones around. I’m referring to courses that are taught from a classroom environment, through a series of textbooks and case studies, gearing up towards their final assignment in creating a business plan, followed by a ‘pitch’. So why NOT a degree in entrepreneurship?

#1: These degree courses are usually led by academicians

With that said, you need to understand that most lecturers (at least in Asia) are true-bred academicians that spent their years inside the academia world. In short, they probably have not started a business, nor worked in a startup-like environment. The result? Textbook based classes that you can get off a book or an article somewhere.

#2: You learn skills that you’ll probably never use again

Okay, I’m 50-50 on this one. You do go through some pretty important sessions learning being forced to learn how to work with numbers, finance and accounting that can really help you along the way. I for one do regret not paying much attention to that bit during my degree but hey, I managed to pick it up years later on my own, too! Then again, I also remember being stuffed with theories and learning technology that were already (or at the brink of being) obsolete like flash, COBOL, ASP and the list goes on (mind you, it was the world of HTML5, .NET and PHP frameworks at that time).

#3: In the end, it’s the grade that counts

Like it or not, the academic system focuses on grades, which means you will actually need to ‘do well’ in your attendance, quizes, assignments and exams. I know it sounds pretty harmless, but until a real subjective marking scheme is introduced (i.e. with no right or wrong answers that support multiple different outcomes), students generally have to provide ‘the right answer’ to achieve good grades – and the truth is, there’s hardly the right answer in starting or running a business.

#4: You graduate to find a job

So 3 to 4 years have passed and you’ve acquired your degree in entrepreneurship, what’s next? Not many universities provide a good network of mentors, investors or follow-up programmes for your degree. More often than not, you’re left alone.. and you eventually get a job because the norm is as such – to graduate and to get a job.

#5: It’s a huge investment of time and money

Those years are a long time and it costs quite a fair bit these days, too! Some argue that the time and money would’ve been better spent on starting up your first businesses, hit some walls and learn what really matters on-the-go. Others argue that your university days are the best to network, build relationships and to discover yourself better. I don’t have an answer to this, but regardless of which path you take, make sure you get your investment back (that’s your first business lesson right there); be it tangible or intangible, you need to make the most out of it.

Don’t get me wrong.

I am not advocating dropouts or belittling education. In fact, it is the reverse. I am a believer of education and the importance of going through a series of structured education as they do help in one way or another, especially if you have yet to discover your passion.

But the question has always been, “how structured or unstructured it should be for it to really work, especially for degrees like entrepreneurship?”.