2021T2 VirtualTSM/Participant Information/Xavier Quek
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About Xavier
SMU email: xavier.quek.2018@sis.smu.edu.sg
Academic Year: 3
Degree: Information Systems
Major: AI, Fintech
Why Virtual TSM?
- What motivates you to join TSM?
I consider TSM to be an opportunity for me to understand how different countries approach entrepreneurship or technopreneurship. I am also interested to find out how the economic factors of their country drive their IT industry.
- Where would you like to visit virtually?
There are a few countries in Asia that I think would be interesting to visit.
Korea. Korea seems to have a really competitive IT industry, especially with their government supporting foreign tech startups in their country. Korea's opening of the K-Startup Centre in Singapore also makes it all the more interesting as to why they would make such a move, and would make for a really interesting place to visit.
China. Home to tech giants such as Alibaba and Tencent, China's IT industry also seems to also vary across regions. It would be interesting to gain insight into how companies cope under such a competitive landscape.
Vietnam. It would be interesting to see how Vietnam's IT industry would continue to grow along with the development of their country and their emerging market.
Starting a business
- What types of business interest you?
It is always intriguing when smaller or newer players dare to compete with larger established players, and how they are able to do so, especially when they are able to dominate their competition. I believe that a tech company's success is not only defined by the type of technology they use, but rather how they use it. One company that comes to mind is Robinhood and what I consider a rather smart business model (despite their controversial business practices). They did not need to utilise any groundbreaking forms of technology, but the ingenuity of their approach in the financial services market has ensured that they have left their mark in the industry.
- What plan do you have in starting a business?
None at the moment. I am aware of the amount of dedication and risk required in starting a business that I am not yet ready to commit. There are still a lot of things that I feel I need to familiarise myself with before jumping into a journey of entrepreneurship. But in the event that an opportunity does come in the future, I'd like to know that I would be able to leverage on the knowledge that I've acquired to seize that opportunity.
What keeps you ticking?
Problems that forces me to think outside the box or to look at from many perspectives are always a challenge, but the satisfaction of reaching that end goal and being able to do so successfully is what drives me.
