2223T1 Seoul/Participant Information/Toh Ying Hui

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Express Yourself

About Ying Hui

SMU email: yinghui.toh.2019@scis.smu.edu.sg
Linkedin: LinkedIn - Happy to Connect! (:
Academic Year: Year 3 (2019)
Degree: BSc Information Systems (Major in Business Analytics)
Hobbies & Interest: Photography, Travelling, Baking

First solo photoshoot in SMU!

Why Virtual TSM?

  • What motivates you to join TSM?

Exploring the businesses (specifically start-ups) in other countries has always been my interest. I believe that there is a lot to learn from all these businesses that have gone through the different stages of entrepreneurship and these are transferrable skills that I could apply to my future technopreneurship journey. I have also heard from friends how attending TSM was an eye-opener to the different types of start-up businesses overseas and they also learnt about how companies have overcame challenges, especially during the pandemic. South Korea was known to not be start-up friendly until the implementation of government support schemes in the recent years such as the Tech Incubator Program for Startups (TIPS). It can be difficult for start-ups in Korea to thrive especially with the presence of chaebols, which are highly supported by the government in terms of R&D and several aspects. It would thus be an eye-opening experience to learn more about start-ups which have now become successful in South Korea and their journey.

  • Where would you like to visit?

Seoul!! Other than Seoul, it would be United States, United Kingdom and India. These places are pretty good locations for tech start-ups, and it would be great to learn more about both tech and non-tech companies there as well as the macro environment. Specifically for Seoul, I hope to visit Dot Inc., Coupang, Miso, Korea University and SMARTSTUDY!! The following are my reasons!

Dot Inc.: As someone who is interested in businesses that make a positive impact in the community, I am interested to understand the challenges that they face while trying to focus on the African market (e.g., language barrier) and how they overcame such challenges.
Coupang: I'm really curious how they managed surpass Amazon in becoming South Korea's biggest online retailer, especially since they have such similar offerings (last mile delivery etc.).
Miso: Feels similar to UrbanCompany in Singapore. Miso was also started with a meaningful purpose of providing cleaners with more job opportunities. It also uses algorithms to create more jobs for the cleaners within the same amount of work hours so that they get to earn more income.
Korea University: They have one of the best startup incubation programs in Korea, known as KUBS Startup Station. I think it will be a good opportunity for us to visit them (they can arrange for student ambassadors to bring us around if there's >20 of us) and network with the students who are aspiring entrepreneurs as well (:
SMARTSTUDY (The Pinkfong Company): Would be interesting to find out how the founders decide between specialising in games and entertainment or just education, and also what made them decide to change their corporate name to "The Pinkfong Company" after the character became successful and popular in the market.

Starting a business

  • What types of business interest you?

To be very honest, there is no specific industry that is of interest, but I keep an open mind towards businesses from every industry. That's because every industry and business has its own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. They may have their own struggles, but what differentiates them is the way they innovate and how they try to overcome each of the obstacles that come along the way. If I really have to choose one type of business, that would be businesses that try to create a positive social impact in the community with their products and services.

  • What plan do you have in starting a business?

As someone who is passionate about analytics, I have thought about setting up an analytics consulting firm (not right out of school, perhaps at least several years later) to provide affordable solutions to companies who are looking to start their journey in using analytics to better innovate and improve their businesses. That is also the reason why I am exploring analytics in different industries through internships currently. It helps me to at least get a brief understanding of the challenges that businesses from different industries face when trying to leverage on analytics (or data that they have) to further innovate their business and keep up with the fast-growing technology not just in Singapore but globally, and to have a competitive edge over competitors in the same industry.

Past Experiences

Internships

  • Incoming People Analytics Intern at Foodpanda (Starting End April 2022)
  • (Start-Up) Data Scientist Intern at Crowdo Holdings Pte Ltd (December 2021 - March 2022)
  • (Start-Up) Data Analyst Intern at Plano Pte Ltd (May 2021 - January 2022)
  • (Start-Up) Software Tester at FastJobs (November 2020 - January 2021)
  • (Start-Up) Project Operations Temp at FastJobs (July 2020 - July 2020)
  • (Start-Up) Customer Intelligence Analyst Intern at JUMO World (February 2019 - July 2019)
  • Presales Intern at SAS Institute Pte Ltd (July 2018 - January 2019)

Co-Curricular Activities

  • President at SMU Career Champions (March 2022 - Present)
  • Honorary General Secretary at SMU Business Intelligence and Analytics (April 2021 - Present)
  • Vice President at SMU Career Champions (May 2021 - March 2022)
  • Business Development Executive at SMU Career Champions (August 2020 - May 2021)
  • Programmes and Operations Director at SMU Career Champions Professional Networking Night 2021 (December 2020 - March 2021)
  • SMU Patrons Day 2020 Helper (September 2019 - January 2020)
  • SMU Japanese Cultural Club Member

Other School Activities and Achievements

Volunteering

  • Volunteer with Governance Team at Sree Narayana Mission Singapore (February 2022 - Present)
  • Data Analyst Lead at Skills for Good (February 2021 - February 2022)
  • Volunteer with National Kidney Foundation (NKF) (February 2021 - December 2021)
  • Research Volunteer at CampusImpact (July 2020 - December 2020)

What keeps you ticking?

Keeping myself busy at all times! Life is really short. Got to make full use of the time we have to keep learning and gaining new experiences over the world. Everywhere works pretty much differently, and it is interesting to learn how everything gets integrated in one way or another. There is so much around the world to learn about! :D It is even better when you enjoy the whole process, you'll stay motivated no matter how hard it gets, or even if you face challenges along the way~

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