1516T2g1 South Korea/Participant Information/Andrew LIM Chang Jun

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About Andrew

SMU email: andrew.lim.2013@sis.smu.edu.sg
Facebook: Andrew Lim
Academic Year: 3
Degree: Information Systems
2nd Major: Analytics (Advanced Technology)
Hobbies: Pool, Table Tennis, Travelling

Why TSM South Korea?

What motivates you to join TSM?

Throughout my past 2 and a half years at SMU, I've picked up numerous technical skills as well as vital knowledge on how technology can be used to shape businesses. I strongly believe that by joining TSM, I would be able to put these skills and knowledge into practice and gain insights as to how startups operate in South Korea and the challenges that they may encounter along the way. Moreover, it would be a great opportunity to broaden my perspective of South Korea's technology industry and immerse myself in its diverse culture.

Why pick South Korea?

When I think about countries with a great startup environment, USA's Silicon Valley comes straight to my mind. But what can be said of the startup environment when it comes to Asia? Is there an equivalent to Silicon Valley? In my opinion, I believe that it is common for entrepreneurs to monitor where exactly in the world has greater opportunities for investment and media exposure before even considering to startup or even expand their business. South Korea is probably one of the world's wealthiest nations, with one of the fastest internet connections and one of the most advanced mobile markets in the world. It seemed to me that, unlike overly saturated startup hubs like Silicon Valley, South Korea has only recently begun to see an exponential increase in startups. Hence, I want to understand how the main reasons for this sudden rise where successful startups such as KakaoTalk and Coupang have managed to leverage on the opportunities presented to them.

Starting a business

What types of business interest you?

• Businesses that deal with areas like Travel, Social Media and Food
• Involves some form of analytics

What plan do you have in starting a business?

As an avid traveller, I often travel with my friends and family several times a year. As such, I began to develop a strong interest and motivation to improve the travelling experience in some way or another. One idea I have in mind is an application that can severely improve the ease of travelling with friends, be it through tours or free & easy, which currently maybe hard to coordinate. I would also love to look into how to better cater to travellers who like to travel spontaneously i.e last minute travels. Even though it might be abit far-fetched to think of these ideas due to my lack of knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship, I am hoping that this TSM would help me bridge the present gap.

Past Experiences (optional)

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

During summer break in 2015, I had the opportunity to work at a local startup called Tocco Studios. It primarily offers interactive touch panel solutions, mobile application development, media tracking and integrated digital marketing solutions. In the past year, it managed to deliver these solutions to various corporate enterprises, especially to those in the travel industry.

Through the course of my 3-month stint, I managed to assist as a Web Development Intern in the development of various core modules in some of their main travel projects. One such project was the Mobility Project which was developed to help clients, UOB Travel, develop and manage travel packages with ease. At the same time, I managed to grasp the workflow and responsibilities of a full stack developer in such a startup as well as widen my knowledge as to how local startups operate and overcome challenges.

What keeps you ticking?

“If not us, who? If not now, when?”

― John F. Kennedy