2223T2 Silicon Valley/Participant Information/Heng Wei Shin
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About Wei Shin
SMU email: wsheng.2019@accountancy.smu.edu.sg
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hengweishin/
Content Creation Portfolio: https://hengweishin.wixsite.com/portfolio
Academic Year: Year 4 (2019)
Degree: Bachelor of Accountancy (2nd Major in Accounting Data and Analytics) + BSc Information Systems (Major in Digitalisation and Cloud Solutions)
Why Virtual TSM?
- What motivates you to join TSM?
My first brush with entrepreneurship began before I even knew what it was. In secondary school, I spearheaded the creation of a Student Lounge, and along with it, the school’s first mini-cafe. With the initial seed funding from our Student Council Mentor, we bought drinks and snacks from wholesalers, and resold them to students at a slight profit. The profits subsequently transferred back to the Student Welfare fund. The initiative was the confluence of a bright idea, passionate team members, and a supportive mentor - key ingredients of any successful startup.
I would continue to gravitate myself to startups and entrepreneurship related engagement in the years ahead. To hone my passion in Content Creation, I joined the homegrown company TheSmartLocal as a Creative; while it was no longer a startup by then, it still retained several hallmarks of its nascent years - an open office, flat hierarchy, communal dining room etc. These allowed the free flow of creative ideas, some of which even made it onto social media and monetised!
Over the past year, I have worked on the SMU IIE-incubated startup, AfterClass, along with some friends, serving as part of the C-Suite. Here, my team and I were confronted with real challenges - funding, investment pitches, day-to-day operations, hitting KPIs, and all while managing on a very lean team.
Despite knowing that being an entrepreneur is not going to be an easy journey, I still aspire to create more startups in the future. I hope the TSM module will help me use my passion and hone my technical skills to create something exciting for all to enjoy. More importantly, to interact with peers and industry players equally passionate as I am, to inspire one another. Of course, having the opportunity to travel overseas for this module is the cherry on top!
- Where would you like to visit?
I would love to visit any of the major Tech MNCs at present, but also hope to get a chance to visit smaller startups, where we would more likely be able to speak with the C-Suite members and learn about their founding stories.
Starting a business
- What types of business interest you?
As a foodie, I would love to start something in the F&B industry; it may not have to deal with food itself, but the journey from Farm to Consumer provides limitless opportunities to be tech-enabled. Tech4Good is another area of interest for me, having served in various Student Bodies (e.g. Councils) and Community projects in my life, so I can see there are gaps that can be filled from the ground up, including through startups.
- What plans do you have in starting a business?
I am already working in a startup (AfterClass), and fully intend to be a serial entrepreneur at some point in my life. This would be in various industries, perhaps even going beyond the areas of interest mentioned above. I firmly believe in having a good idea and a good team in order to bring a business idea to life. After which, it is far easier to obtain seed funding and mentorship these days, through various institutional and private incubators, and schemes such as StartupSG.
Past Experiences
Startup:
- UniPal / AfterClass (https://www.afterclass.io/) One stop solution for student needs, e.g. Course Reviews, Student Deals etc. Founders: Bill Wong (CEO), Heng Wei Shin (COO) and others. Years: Jan '22 - Present. Unipal is incubated by the SMU IIE under the BIG Incubation Programme.
Internships:
- OCBC Bank - Role: Program Management Office (Data Analytics) Intern. Years Mar '22 - Aug '22
- Ernst & Young LLP - Role: Business Consulting Intern (Technology Risk Analytics). Years Aug '21
- Ernst & Young LLP - Role: Audit Intern (Real Estate, Hospitality and Construction Sector). Years May '21 - Jul '21
- Heng Lee Seng LLP - Role: Audit Intern. Years Dec '20 - Jan '21
- TheSmartLocal - Role: Creative Intern. Years Jan '19 - July '19
CCA / Other Experiences:
- Bukit Timah Youth Network (GRO of People's Association) - Role: Chairman. Years Nov'22 - Present. Organised inaugural Entrepreneurship Forum in collaboration with the SMU Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, graced by GOH Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, MFA & MND.
- SMU Students' Association (SMUSA) - Role: Council Member. Years Jan'21 - Dec'21.
- SMU Accounting Society (SMU ASoc) - Role: President. Years Jan'21 - Dec'21.
- SMU Accounting Society (SMU ASoc) - Role: Marketing Director. Years Jan'20 - Dec'20.
- SMU Broadcast & Entertainment (SMUBE) - Role: Campus Television Deputy Director. Years Jan'20 - Dec'20.
- SMU-MCCY Charity Transparency Assessment - Role: Project Leader. Years Jan'20 - Sep'20
