2324T1 Tokyo/Participant Information/Megan Thong Jia Yi
Contents
About Yourself
SMU email: megan.thong.2020@scis.smu.edu.sg
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-thong/
Academic Year: Year 3 (2020)
Degree: BSc Information Systems (Major in Business Analytics)
Why Virtual TSM?
What motivates you to join TSM?
I ignored the email calling for applications at first, because I wasn’t sure how interested I was in entrepreneurship. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised I had actually been quite involved with startups throughout my life, whether intentionally or just because so many startups surround us.
I went to high school in Auckland, New Zealand, and I joined the Young Enterprise Scheme, for students to set up and run a business with the guidance of mentors through the ideation and execution phases. My team and I made gluten-free popcorn in various flavours to sell. We thought this was a silly idea and just didn’t have any better ones, but ironically a year later, a popcorn shop opened up in Auckland and became very popular selling a wide range of flavours. Although our own start-up experiment had failed terribly, we realised that sometimes it is not the idea that is a problem, but the execution and interest behind the idea. We were just young students at the time, floundering and more interested in eating the product than marketing it.
I interned at 2 startups before university, and 1 during university. They were all in different industries, and based in different countries, and by working directly with the founders, I realised the very different challenges startups face compared to big companies. I felt like I could not contribute as much to the startups as my coding skills were not good enough at the time, and they needed experienced people to quickly release new features. However, it was also interesting to hear about their experiences securing funding for their startups, their daily struggles, and see more into the backend operations of a company.
Thus, I would like to join TSM to gain a more hands-on perspective and intentionally understand entrepreneurship instead of learning about it as a by-product of my experiences, as I have previously only engaged in startups in a more passive way.
What do I want to get out of TSM?
As an international student, I don’t even know much about the startup scene in Singapore, so I can’t say things like ‘I want to compare the Japanese startup scene to Singapore’, but I’m sure this course will help me learn about both countries and be able to compare them. Having lived in 5 different countries mostly as an international student, I’ve had the privilege to call myself a global citizen while experiencing the good parts of each culture, without the burden of worrying about making a living. But I’ve heard how culture can affect the way businesses are run, whether for better or worse. I think taking a course in technopreneurship and experiencing Japan while intentionally thinking about the challenges of running a startup will give me greater insight into the realities of starting a business.
Where would you like to visit?
Gaming startups: Playco, Thirdverse, PlayBrain (gaming is fun)
Web3 startups: Saishu Mirai Shoujo, iChain, PassPay (Japan is a potential future web3 hub, with DAO Tokyo being held in a few days as I write this)
Starting a business
What types of business interest you?
I really like software startups Figma and Notion, because I actually personally enjoy using these products. Despite there being so many other design (Canva, Adobe) and productivity software (Evernote, Trello, OneNote, Google Drive, etc.) out there, these were still able to make a mark in their respective markets. I feel like they had significant USPs, or simply did the same thing as existing solutions, but with better individual features. I think I would be more interested in starting or working in a business that is creating something I would personally use with innovative features, even if the idea itself is not new.
I also recognise the importance of using technology to empower those in less developed countries, or marginalised communities. A good example are neobanks, banks without physical branches, that can help those without easy access to banks to attain financial goals, e.g. Daylight which serves the LGBTQ+ community in America.
What plans do you have in starting a business?
No concrete plans, but as an aspiring software engineer with experience in data analytics, I want to leverage tech to make the world a better place.
I volunteered for nearly 2 years at a fair trade organisation, Trade Aid, which ensures that the individual producers in their supply chain (mostly communities in Africa and South and Southeast Asia) get the full and fair financial compensation for their products, without any large corporation taking away their profits. With this in mind, I want any business I start or end up working in to benefit underprivileged communities in some way.
Past Experiences (optional)
Startup:
- Software Engineer Intern - Glance.sg - platform for freelance gigs (Feb - April 2022)
- Software Engineer Intern - Red Ink Review - university admissions essay review service (Sept - Oct 2020)
- Research Intern - Levels Ventures - management consulting company for SMEs (July - Sept 2020)
Internships:
- Incoming CTO Intern (specific role/team not yet confirmed) - Bank of America (June - Aug 2023)
- Data Analytics Intern - HP (Aug - Dec 2022)
- Data Analytics Intern - Shell (based on Jurong Island 🥴) (May - Aug 2022)
- Research Intern - NUS (June - Aug 2021, and Dec 2021 - Jan 2022)
CCAs:
- Honorary General Secretary - SMU Francophiles (2023)
- Business Development Director - SMU Career Champions (AY2021-23)
- Partnership Lead - SMU Artificial Intelligence Executive Committee (AY2021-22)
- organised a panel discussion among founders of international AI startups and venture capitalists
- Community Deputy Director - Atomos Watch Club (AY2021-22)
- Business Development Executive - SMU Career Champions (AY2020-21)
- organised a talk featuring founders of Singapore-based startups
- Subcommittee member - SMU Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee (AY2020-21)
Other:
- Winner of SMU Excellence in Student Life Bronze Award 2022
- Dean’s List (AY2021-22)
- Teaching Assistant for Economics & Society, Big Questions (AY2020-21), Introductory Statistics SMU-X (AY2021-22)
- Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award (2019)
- 1st place - New Zealand Secondary Schools Case Competition (2018)
