"Getting Naked” with Me

Why do I write?

At the end of 2023, I started something new in my life called writing.

I began to write about the things I observed, learned, or sometimes even felt, sharing them as articles or stories on publishing platforms like Medium.

To this day, I have never once considered myself a writer. Rather, I see myself as someone who writes to share my personal views.

Believe it or not, writing is oddly satisfying and recuperative, especially if you have a constantly active brain that keeps you awake at 2 in the night.

Quick and Direct Biography About Myself

I spent the first 20+ years of my life living as a typical Singaporean guy, going through Primary School, Secondary School, Polytechnic, and Army. It was after the army that my life became less typical than others.

—> First Milestone, 2017:

Back then, the world was less crazy. Gen Z expressing their views wasn’t even a thing yet, and my choice to explore what I wanted to do rather than pursue further studies was considered a bold move.

The most common advice I received from the people around me was to go into university, spend that 3-4 years and figure out what I wanted to do after getting that degree as a form of insurance.

And yes, I've chosen insurance, but it's not what you think. Instead of going to university, I was poached by my insurance agent which I joined him shortly after.

—> 2018:

I worked as a financial consultant and started freelancing in design as a passion.

My plan? try out a sales job to see where would it take me.

Learning how to talk, with lots of opportunities to practice and take advice from top consultants, that was an unplanned plus point that I gained from this job.

A year later, knowing consistent warm calling is not something that I'm fond of, I left.

—> 2019:

I joined my first startup company, Bountie Holdings, as a UI/UX Designer.

The company built an online gaming platform that uses cryptocurrency as an incentive for gamers who uses the platform to earn extra income from.

—> 2020:

Bountie Holdings seconded me to GBCI Ventures, a venture capital firm that invested $100 million into building a smart city. I primarily worked on the application used as the main payment platform in the smart city called “Fincy”. I worked closely with the product manager who mentored me in product management while I continued designing the app as a UI/UX Designer.

—> Late 2021:

I was poached by the CEO of Fatfish Group to hold the position of Product Design Lead for their newly created subsidiary company "ASEAN Fintech Group", which had acquired multiple tech product companies in Malaysia with the intention to expand it into the Singapore tech market.

I, who so far had a smooth ride in my career, naively asked him if he thought I was too young for the role, me believing that lead roles only belonged to those who had many years of job experience.

His one-sentence reply shattered my whole belief system about how career progression works:

“I was already a self-made millionaire at your age. I think you are too old for this.”

This one sentence made me realise that while most people are taking their own sweet time climbing their career ladder, those who are ambitious have already reached the finish line.

That very year, I incorporated JustBrain, my creative agency to turn my freelance business into a more formalized business.

That same year, I also invested in Digifox, a marketing and community-building company for blockchain projects, and helped out as a Creative Director of the company.

—> 2023:

I took up the role as Head of Product in a new venture founded by my former boss from GBCI. With my understanding of creative, product, and stakeholder management, my main role was to align cross-departments from the product team to developers, marketing, and operations of the business requirements set based on the CEO's vision.

—> End of 2023:

I went in full-time on my business to handle the numerous projects on hand and to build a system for the company itself.

Insights on My Career and My Journey

Looking back at my decision to find what I truly wanted to do over pursuing further studies, though unconventional, I dare to say it has worked out rather well for me.

The perks of doing what I did are that you will always meet and work alongside other bosses from different fields and markets.

You will also get to learn their stories and work ethics, which will give you new insights and working styles you usually wouldn’t learn on your own.