2122T2 Silicon Valley/Participant Information/Jarod Hong
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About Jarod
SMU email: jarod.hong.2019@scis.smu.edu.sg
Linkedin:LinkedIn
Academic Year: 2019, Year 3
Degree: BSc Information Systems (FinTech)
Why Virtual TSM?
- What motivates you to join TSM?.
Being able to meet new people, sharing of ideas, exposure to foreign startups and learn more about their work culture, mentality and innovation.
Have always been interested in the startup/ VC ecosystem & putting myself out there to network with like-minded individuals, learn about their backstory, meaningful conversations on their beliefs and thoughts on certain sectors.
Given this amazing opportunity, I would love to get to know my fellow friends in TSM better, network with external stakeholders & probably able to collaborate on certain "lobangs" or opportunities in future.
- Where would you like to visit virtually?
Jakarta - Large untapped middle class for startups to disrupt. SEA's breeding ground for the next batch of unicorns
Ho Chi Minh City / Manila / Bangkok - Next frontier for early stage disruption to legacy players. Still nascent compared to Indonesia but I believe they will catch up in no time.
Austin - The new Silicon Valley, heard the startup scene is thriving in Austin due to the strict laws in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley - Learn from established startups about their "why?"
Israel - A thriving startup scene, they are known for innovative ideas such as Wix & are risk takers
Munich / Amsterdam / Copenhagen - seems like the innovative startups from Europe are coming from these places
Starting a business
- What types of business interest you?
Sector Agnostic. Preference of being a growth hacker, business operations to help manage business processes & scaling. I am interested in driving growth exponentially to great businesses with simple, scalable solutions solving valid and irritating pain points.
If given the opportunity, will be more comfortable in the FinTech/ B2C/ B2B2C space, as I have the most experience prior job experiences/ interaction in this area.
- What plan do you have in starting a business?
Personally I believe in figuring out a problem/ pain point that is viable to address and tackle. From there, iterate and figure Product Market Fit and scalability opportunities.
Currently, I have not search or come across problems to solve. The goal is to hopefully be able to be part of a founding team that has complimentary skillsets, addressing a problem that consumers/ users need and see value in the solution. The idea also have to bring positive value to the customers and stakeholders (i.e. no vice businesses or predatory practices).
Past Experiences (optional)
Since my first internship with the Monetary Authority of Singapore & interacted with many Fintech startups from Singapore FinTech Festival 2016. I have decided that my personality is more suited for the startup space & figuring out what roles are more suitable. I have also tried to gain exposure from both startup & venture capitalist point of views to understand their methodology behind every decision.
CCA Experiences
- SMU Eagles, $1M+ funded entrepreneurship club. Organised PAK Challenge, the largest student business competition in SEA, attended by C-suite executives & Member of Parliament.
(21/22) President
(20/21) Vice-President Operations & Partnerships
- Protege Ventures, Student lead VC Fund. Part of a deal team that successfully invested in 1 startup.
(21/22) Associate & ExCo(Operations)
(20/21) Analyst
- SMU FinTech Club - (19/20) Vice President
Work Experiences
- Angel investor in pending deals
- ANTLER, an accelerator/ VC - Programs Intern
- PICUS CAPITAL, VC - Student Venture Scout
- STOCKBIT, Indonesian's Robinhood - Business Analyst Intern
- CARDUP, Sequoia backed credit card enablement platform - Business Operations Intern
- FLYWIRE, Temasek backed cross-border payments platform - Business Development Intern
- ASSOCIATION OF BANKS IN SINGAPORE - Intern
- MONETARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE - Intern, Organiser of Singapore FinTech Festival 2016 & 2017
What keeps you ticking?
- "Every Accomplishment starts with the decision to try" - This quote is on my iPhone wallpaper and have been motivating me to just try, fail fast, learn from mistakes and keep pushing.
- The drive to be 1% better than yesterday. AKA to constantly improve and be the best version of myself. For example, meeting 1 person new or learning 1 new thought everyday will eventually compound to a library of contacts/ knowledge in our mind. Plus its fascinating to learn about others.
- "Put yourself out there" - my favourite advise my boss has given to me. He strongly believes there is no downside in constantly putting yourself at the forefront, as one day, eventually someone will notice your effort and hard work.
