1314T2g1 South Korea/Participant Information/Chan Si Hui

About Chan Si Hui

Name: Chan Si Hui
Academic Year: 3
Primary Degree: BSc in Information Systems Management
Secondary Degree: BBM with major in Finance

CCA: Ballare - Competitive (Events Director)
Interest: Dancing, Swimming, Photography
More about me: | My Facebook or follow me on instagram @kelliecsh
Contact me at: sihui.chan.2011@sis.smu.edu.sg

Why TSM South Korea

• What motivates you to join TSM
  

Who is an entrepreneur?
According to the Oxford dictionary, an entrepreneur is defined as a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. That definition, while accurately describes the surface of ‘what’ an entrepreneur may be, is unfortunately lacking when it comes to explaining the true essence of ‘who’ an entrepreneur really is.

We have all heard and read success stories of entrepreneurs before - the lawyer who threw away his career to start a restaurant, the young IT wizard who used up all his savings to launch his creations and the proud owner of that dessert shop who just wanted to share her recipes.

During my recent internship with Lightbridge Analytics, a locally-based IT consultancy firm, I was blessed with the opportunity to work with one such success story too, Mr. Jason Jones, Director of Lightbridge, and founder of Operating Partners Pte Ltd. He started Lightbridge over 11 years ago, seeded by his vision of integrating sophisticated business analytics with IT and today, that same seed has grew to serve over 100 multinational and local businesses across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

It was through my interactions and conversations with Mr Jason that I realize a common theme runs through all of these entrepreneurs’ veins, a theme of dedication to what they want to achieve regardless of obstacles and failures. With that I find my underlying definition of an entrepreneur - An adventurer who dares to dream, believe and reach.

TSM offers an opportunity which is rare, an opportunity to broaden our horizon to South Korea, a country brimming with potential to tip the scales of the global economy, and understand first-hand how their entrepreneurs succeed in the competitive environment.

TSM is an adventure for the bright young minds and, well, I am an adventurer.

• Why pick South Korea
  

South Korea is globally renowned for its cutting edge technology innovations. It is currently among the global leaders in the high-technology industry with leading technology suppliers such as Samsung and LG. South Korea’s entrepreneurship scene was given a boost when President Park Geun-hye was elected. She encouraged the growth and cultivation of startups within the country by channeling money to build their own “Silicon Valley”. Since then, the number startups in South Korea have increased sharply, almost doubling from 15,401 in 2008 to 28,193 in 2012 according to Korea Venture Business Association.

With so many startups around, it is important for each company to differentiate themselves in order to survive. Being part of TSM South Korea will allow me to interact with these entrepreneurs to understand the process of growing and sustaining the business.

Went on a DMC tour, super impressed

KBS visit last winter

Palace in the heart of Seoul

N Seoul Tower

Internship Opportunities

• What types of internship opportunities interest you?
  

I am particularly interested in the scope of business analysis and project management within the Finance or IT industry. Besides that, I am keen to work in a startup firm or SME. This will allow me to gain an in-depth knowledge of the industry and learn from other entrepreneurs at the same time. Additionally, I will like to seize the chance to land myself an internship opportunity from the list of companies that we will visit during the trip. It will give me the best of both personal and professional development.

• Any ideal firms (based in South Korea) that you wishes to join?
  

Below are some of the companies I am interested to intern with:

Company	Description
	One of the three telecommunications operators in South Korea. Its phenomenal growth is attributed to their culture of innovation. Would love to know how they nurture a culture that allows innovation to constantly keep themselves ahead of its competitors.
	Between is a mobile application developed by this company for couples to share memories. It has a similar concept to Avocado, an application that I got inspiration for my IDP assignment. It will be interesting to know how things work behind the scene for this startup company.
	One of the two large conglomerates that compete on a domestic and international scale. Would love to know how are they able to stay current in the rapidly changing world of technology.
	Online auction and shopping portal. It would be great to know the business model of the company since I am interested in the fashion and retail business.

Starting a business

• What types of business interest you?
  

I am interested in 3 kinds of businesses

1. Fashion and Retail
2. Innovation that brings convenience to our every day lives
3. Education related application

• What plan do you have in starting a business?
  

I want to create my own makeup line some days. With the knowledge I have, I would love to leverage on technology to create a beauty mobile application for woman all around the world. It will allow users to

1. Purchase my line of makeup products
2. View makeup/hairstyle tutorials for beauty inspirations
3. Share their own beauty tips with others

Inspiration includes Youtubers like Michelle Phan and Lindy Tsang. Both of them started making beauty videos on Youtube and eventually started their own makeup line!

Michelle Phan's makeup line

Lindy Tsang's (aka bubz) makeup line

Past experiences

• Describe your past experience (entrepreneurship, or works in start ups etc)
  

Being an entrepreneur was never part of my long-term life plan until I interned at Lightbridge Analytics, a Small Medium Enterprise (SME), last summer. Not only was I given the chance to work on a new initiative, but I also had to work closely with the company directors to review the business plan. This inspires me to one day run my own business.

Moreover having modeled for Fabfad, a friend’s blogshop, for about a year had got me interested to start my own business some day. She currently has her own line of clothing. It is definitely something that almost every girl wants! She always say that although it can be very tough at times, the joy from every successful new launch is more than rewarding

Summary

Adventurer