2122T2 Silicon Valley/Participant Information/Amelia Tay
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About Amelia
SMU email: amelia.tay.2020@scis.smu.edu.sg
Linkedin: LinkedIn
Academic Year: Year 2
Degree: Double Degree - BSc Information Systems (Digitalisation and Cloud Solutions Track), BSc Economics
Why Virtual TSM?
What motivates you to join TSM?
Three main motivations!
- I dream of creating a product and/or service that will one day help millions of people, even if it's just going to be a small part of their lives. As a part of that goal, my conversations with a handful of founders and co-founders have taught me to keep networking with the best and exposing myself to opportunities.
- I'm still on the hunt for a "life purpose/passion". While I hope to bring some form of impact to others, I'm still looking for an area of impact that I find fulfilling. As such, I'm motivated to join TSM to be exposed and inspired.
- Being able to meet other prospective technopreneurs and share such a once-in-a-lifetime immersive experience with new and old SMU friends like Shen Jie, Justin, Trisha and Hein Htet Oo makes the experience all the more appealing!
Where would you like to visit virtually?
Silicon Valley and more broadly, the USA! Since many cities there have become havens for start-ups, incubator and accelerator programmes, and tech talents, the USA will be my top choice given the chance to get an insider perspective. Atlanta, San Diego, Austin and New York City, just to name-drop a few others I'm really keen on visiting!
Starting a business
What types of businesses interest you?
The ones that w0w me are those that I never knew I needed. When ideating potential products, the design thinking process talks about empathising with user pain points first, and follow up by devising a solution to help users overcome that issue. However, it's a lot simpler said than done - When I go through a day in my life, there seems to already be a solution to every issue I encounter. It's only when a start-up launches their product, that I go 'Oh, I actually have an issue like that' and 'Wow, this product solves the need pretty well'.
Services and applications that are so intertwined with the way we function today, could have been solutions to issues that people never knew they had years ago. Businesses that are able to catch onto these problems and turn them into opportunities interest me quite a bit. Learning about how these founders identified the needs would be amazing.
What plans do you have in starting a business?
At the moment, I don't have plans to start a business while in university. I want to take this time to find out more about myself and develop a variety of skillsets. However, I do have recurring thoughts of starting a technology-based business in the future.
The goal I have for myself goes something like this:
- In university, develop key skillsets, talk to people of diverse backgrounds and find out what kind of impact I want to make in this world
- Upon graduation, get a job I'm passionate about and can bring the most to the table
- While earning some capital, talk to founders, network with industry professionals and continually gain critical exposure & knowledge
- Start a/a couple of/several business(es)
All the while exploring different products, side-hustles, sectors and services!
Work experiences
Internships
- SAP - STAR (Student Training & Rotation) Programme Intern (Dec 2021 - Present)
- Quest, Hire a Hero (Start-Up) - Software Engineer Intern (May 2021 - Aug 2021)
- StashAway - Client Engagement Intern (Jan 2020 - Jun 2020)
Client & Research Projects
- Project Lead, Client Project - Worked with an education technology start-up to expand their local and global user bases
- Project Lead, Client Project - Worked with a sports technology start-up to conduct a market validation for their upcoming product
- Project Lead, Research Project - Published a research article detailing COVID-19’s effects on the future uptake of EdTech in Singapore
- Project Associate, Client Project - Worked with social investment start-up to drive social impact by increasing the project incubation success rate of Social Service Agencies in Singapore
Extra-curricular activities
Current SMU CCAs
- President - SMU Product Club
- External Relations Director - SMU Growth-X Consulting
Past SMU CCAs
- Honorary General Secretary - SMU Product Club
- Honorary General Secretary - SMU Badminton Club
- Partnerships Executive - Odyssey 2021, SMU The Mentoring Circle
Ongoing External Activities
- Social Entrepreneurship Mentor - YMCA Youth For Causes Programme
- Partnerships Associate - SMU Women in Business
What keeps me ticking?
The inspirations and people I see all around me.
In small-scale community service projects, we offer what we have to those who aren't as fortunate and this brings a genuine smile to their faces. Companies of all sizes, even those started by my SMU peers, do the exact same thing for different target populations and it's amazing how individuals can make something big out of nothing at all. It's these stories I see every day that keeps me thinking about what I can offer the world, to another person, to another stranger, and make their day just a little better.
And for that purpose, I want to keep exposing myself to the top success stories and grow this ambition in myself, bit by bit. Hence making IS427 an opportunity I want to try out for!
