As we celebrated International Women’s Day last month; many people rallied together to celebrate the successes of women in all fields. While big names in the startup scene are often mentioned to laud their achievements, it is also imperative that we commend the successes of everyday women around us.
We usually hear about how full-time founders navigated through obstacles and persevered through challenges, inspiring us to believe that we too can do the same.
Thus, I felt that it would be refreshing for a chance to hear about a founder who is currently at the start of her entrepreneurship journey while being a student.
I was fortunate enough to be able to jump into a call with Ho Zhi Hui, to hear more about her experiences as a student founder and advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Zhi Hui is currently the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Skilio, a softs skills measurement and analytics platform that empowers organisations to track soft skill development.
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Just last year, Skilio emerged as the National Champion for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards 2020 and was also the winner in the Singapore leg of the Startup World Championship.
When asked about how she decided to start a company, she said laughingly, “Now that’s a funny story.”
Zhi Hui met her Founder, Felix, as they were in the same Orientation group in school two years ago. She is currently an undergraduate studying Psychology at the National University of Singapore.
She then realised that both had very similar interests and were able to get along very well (no wonder they say that finding a cofounder is akin to finding a partner).
I asked Zhi Hui if she had any tips or advice for aspiring students who wish to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
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Here’s what she shared:
Look at entrepreneurship as a process, and not an end goal
Many students yearn to be able to give out sleekly designed name cards, with “Co-Founder” printed cleanly under their names. However, how many of them understand what it entails?
The glamour and pride of being able to be the boss of your own company is merely the tip of the iceberg. What keeps the iceberg afloat is the heavy foundation of countless cups of coffee and innumerable hours spent in the office.
“Don’t make being a startup founder your driving force, but instead let the purpose behind it push you.”
For Zhi Hui, starting a company was never an end goal, but a means to fulfil her purpose and vision in life.
Falling back to herself as an example, she reflected that starting a company was not on her mind when she first joined university.
Instead, it was through various projects and activities she planned that she gradually learned what she wanted to do in life: Engage other people and help them seek their potential.
When Felix shared about Skilio, she realised that it was a way to bring her purpose to life and have a real impact on people.
Whenever she feels lost or burnt out, what keeps her going can be boiled down to one word: Purpose. The reason she started it all in the first place. As we all know, the most challenging part of starting a company is making it last.
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Having a definite purpose is the bedrock in keeping the flames burning, to always have something concrete to fall back on in times of uncertainty.
Starting your own company is an opportunity, not an excuse
As a student, one’s schedule is often already packed with lectures and tutorials. Not to mention the various activities and projects that students have outside the classroom – time always seems to be never enough.
Along with the workload and responsibility of running a startup, it is easy to use this as a reason to justify when things do not go well.
Zhi Hui, too, agreed that it is not easy to juggle between studies and Skilio.
With lessons taking the bulk of her time, she had to make productive use of whatever time left. She fondly recalled that nearing her finals examinations last year, Skilio managed to clinch their first paying customer.
As the timeline given by their client was tight, the team had to spend many nights rushing out the deliverables, while finding pockets of time to prepare for their exams. “You just have to get it done”, she quips.
Instead, she encourages aspiring future student founders to make full use of the opportunity available to expand your scope beyond your comfort zone. People, in general, tend to stick to what they are familiar with, due to the fear of trying something new or the lack of avenues even to do so.
Being a founder gives you that extra push
Startups in the early stages usually rely on a lean and agile team. This enables one to have the opportunity to put on many hats and try their hand at different things.
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For students, being relatively fresh in the workforce, this is especially important to learn more about themselves – what makes them tick or gets them excited. There is a more definite sense of direction in what they wish to pursue in their future careers.
Being a student founder gives purpose to your learning
How many times have we heard about students questioning the practicality of what they learn? While students usually understand the theory of the concepts they learn, the problem arises when they do not have the practical experience to put ideas into action.
Therefore, much of their learning is based on past case studies and not first-hand experiences, leaving students unconvinced of the value of what they are learning.
“Whenever I attend lessons, a constant thought that runs through my head would be how could this be applied to Skilio”, Zhi Hui said.
Running a startup concurrently while studying, therefore, gives purpose to what students learn in lessons as they get to put it into use in real-life situations.
For her, the Psychology and Business modules she learnt could be applied in Skilio, which provides a soft skills measurement and analytics platform.
“Learning is also immediate as what I learn today can be applied right after the lesson,” she adds.
Referring to past examples would not be able to replicate the level of understanding that first-hand application would be able to provide. Being able to try, make mistakes and learn from them produces a different experience altogether.
However, this would also mean that the learning curve would be steeper as one has to be quick in picking up concepts to be able to apply them immediately. This is a challenge that Zhi Hui relishes.
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On hiring
I was genuinely interested in how she and her other co-founders approached hiring for the team, given their relative lack of work experience. “So far, some of the interns that we hired were older than me, some who I do admit are more experienced than myself”, Zhi Hui remarked.
She mentioned that when looking for potential hires, the most important indicator that strikes her is the willingness to learn. It never mattered co-founders themselves were younger or had less experience. This actually meant that there is always something to learn from each hire that joins.
In the end, they made it a point to ensure that interns that come aboard are genuinely picking up useful skills and knowledge.
This is done through a milestones approach where the founding team guides interns closely through different checkpoints.
Once the interns start to get the hang of their work, will they then give them more freedom.
It is also interesting to note that many of the interns that come aboard willingly work for free. In return, Skilio uses its grants to send them to courses that enable them to upskill themselves. Valuable opportunities such as meeting investors and attending conferences were also opened to interns.
Funnily enough, Zhi Hui, is currently an intern at another Israeli startup, Inception as part of her school’s NUS Overseas College programme.
This unique situation allows her to understand the perspectives of those working under her. Observing how her founders carry themselves and work with a larger team gives her insights into what kind of a founder she wants to be as well.
For example, the founder at Inception made it a point to check up on her weekly on the work she was doing. If it is too menial and operational, rather than brainwork that is purposeful, she will make the necessary adjustments to ensure that she was always learning.
Also Read: Rethinking the way we do student internships
Similarly, at Skilio, she makes learning a priority for her interns and that they were still making meaningful contributions through their work.
Give it a chance!
Not everybody is meant to be a startup founder. However, given the opportunity, I truly believe that it is something worth trying for. After all, many other full-time entrepreneurs start their own companies but ultimately fail in the end.
There is little harm in starting early. Even if you do not decide to pursue it full-time, you might discover something that you could be passionate about or adept at. Being a founder would bring new perspectives and lessons that an internship might not be able to provide.
Like Zhi Hui, you might never know, your passion could lead you to the start of your entrepreneurial journey!
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