Transcription
this one your car? Yes, it is. How much was this car, uh, brand new? It was going for about, uh, north of 1 million Singapore dollars.
So when I was really young, when I was 23, I, I bought a Mercedes convertible. And the more I earn, the more my expenses increase. So if you lost everything today, oh how would you rebuild your wealth?
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Let's hit the streets to talk to some millionaires. Singapore is perceived by the outside world to be one of the richest countries in the world, with many millionaires.
Okay, would you feel comfortable stating that you're a self-made millionaire?
Yes, I'm comfortable stating that I'm a self-made millionaire.
So could you give our audience a rough idea of how much you made last year, for example?
Uh, I won't reveal the exact number, but my company does, uh, low seven figures in, you know, annual basis.
So what kind of business do you do?
I run a sales agency in Singapore. Uh, we help educational institutes, uh, do their sales and marketing. So we train sales teams, and we help, uh, these schools bring in students for them.
Could you give our audience a rough idea of how much you made last year, for example?
Uh, last year? Okay, so last year, uh, last year isn't a particular big harvest year, uh, for myself because a lot of money were, were invested, uh, but based on asset, uh, you know, uh, I've managed to increase the asset value of about, uh, 2 million Singapore dollars, uh, largely because of real estate.
What do you exactly do?
Uh, I currently run a few businesses. Uh, I have a, uh, F&B, uh, business where we do corporate, uh, catering and pantry services as well, uh, but at the same time I also invest, uh, you know, a number of funds, right, uh, limited partner in a number of funds like Sequoia, which is a US-based, uh, private equity fund.
Is most of your wealth in cash investments or other business assets?
Most of my wealth is definitely within the company, right? Because we spend so much of our time, effort, basically everything we, we do, uh, like in terms of work goes into the company itself, uh, but I think like what liquidity I do have, I did place into investments, right? So, um, some of the robo-advisors have been helpful, uh, and just making sure that this, you know, passively gets to grow over time as well. Yeah, I wouldn't say like I'm a stock market expert, but I do take tips from my family. Uh, I would say my portfolio is pretty diversified right now. I have properties; I bought, I bought a property recently, and I also invest in crypto and stocks, uh, but one of the principles that I hold for my wealth is I set aside at least 12 months of emergency funds for personal use and for my business actually.
Singapore isn't properties expensive here?
Property is really expensive in Singapore. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for your place?
Uh, the place is 2.5 million, and, uh, you need to put a down payment of, uh, 25%, and because I am an entrepreneur, I don't have CPF, so I need to pay, uh, using cash. Yeah, and in Singapore there's this thing called stamp duty, uh, it's up to 5%, so for a 2.5 million property, you need to set aside close to $800,000.
Most of my wealth are in investments, right? I, I think a lot of single parents actually, we, we have the mindset that we got to make the money work, you know, as, as things get a little bit more expensive, we are trying ways to, to beat inflation. So rather than keeping cash in the bank, we invest them, uh, it could be safe havens like fixed deposits or even investing in the S&P 500 in the US, uh, that's what we do. And for us, you know, we, we spread, spread our cash a little bit further by investing in funds like, like I've mentioned earlier.
Yeah, why did you decide to do your own company?
It was a combination of factors, um, without getting too deep into the AI, so the previous startup we were at was an AI, AI company. What we wanted to do was find a way to connect AI with like the common person, right, and people who had, um, disabilities or they were underprivileged. So we wanted to do that with AI, and we felt that we couldn't necessarily do that within the confines of the previous startup, so we set out to do our own thing, uh, and also like to build something of our own, right, so to, in a sense, maybe find a way to leave a legacy.
Do you think there was a specific opportunity that just changed everything?
Yes, yeah, um, there were two in my life I would think so, uh, the first one was when I decided that, um, I didn't want to chase the entire law rat race. Um, I, I respect lawyers, um, my wife is one, she's a great one, uh, but I don't think that was it for me. So that was when I decided I wanted to pursue something that was more towards my passions, uh, with tech, with AI, and that's when I decided to leave the legal industry and go into like the, the tech world, the startup world, join an AI company. That was the first big shift because it really opened up the entire possibility of what we could do, um, like individually and maybe take the road a bit less traveled.
Well, I, I started off as a chef, actually went to pursue a diploma in, in culinary arts and management, uh, thereafter worked for a couple Michelin star chefs, um, yeah, so, so that's how I started. I started as a cook, uh, saved some money, uh, I was accepted to go to, study at Le Cordon Bleu America, but I decided to not go to save some money. Then I used that, that cost that I was supposed to spend, right, look it as a loan, uh, from my parents, uh, and then I, I started off with, uh, $50,000 Singapore dollars, uh, investing, you know, anything from, uh, a seafood trading company, uh, to a backpack brand, which I eventually sold off, uh, that company to, to another, uh, retail company, uh, slowly I, I built wealth across the years. Only after that, uh, then I could have the liberty to invest.
Did you ever think you'd be able to get to the current financial position you're in?
Okay, so when I was younger, uh, in fact, I came from a pretty okay family, but in the year 2008, my family really struggled with money, uh, so I witnessed how money disrupted the harmony of family. So when I was 16, I made a promise to myself that when I grew older, I wanted to be financially free and not to let my future family worry about money. So I did, I did have that ambition when I was younger, uh, but when I was, when I first started doing sales at the age of 19, honestly, I only wanted to make like a graduate pay. I never thought that, that will snowball into what I'm achieving today, and I'm really grateful for that.
How old are you right now, if you don't mind me asking?
I'm 30 this year.
So do you feel financially free at this moment?
I say yes. I'll say yes. Uh, my life is pretty comfortable. I find myself worrying a lot less about money, and I, I actually live a very simple life. So most people think that millionaires will drive fancy cars, but I don't drive, uh, I take public transport sometimes as well.
So do you feel you're financially free at this moment?
Well, uh, I don't think a lot of single parents will feel entirely financially free, I think, because, you know, like I said, our costs are always rising, uh, but you know, since I'm young, I'm still willing to go, um, go hard, right, and work harder to, to make myself more, uh, you know, financially free in a sense.
How old are you?
35 this year.
35 this year. Yeah, yeah. Is this one your car?
Yes, it is. It is. How much was this car, uh, brand new?
It was going for about north of 1 million Singapore dollars.
Wow. Yeah, but I, I, I got it at a, at a pretty good price. Yeah, yeah. That's how I managed to, to buy it. Yeah, yeah.
What was the biggest mindset shift or learning that helped you make the first million?
Yeah, so, um, since everything is within the company itself, like I think the biggest mindset shift I had, uh, and I think this was a realization between all three of us, like co-founders within Tic Tac, uh, was that no one's going to be there to hand it out to you. There's no more salary anymore, right? You can pay yourself like a, like a pittance so that you can survive, right? But at the end of the day, the only way that you can grow now, uh, is not to ask your boss for a raise; it's literally the god that hunt for deals, uh, hunt for people who will believe in you, and hunt for, or, you know, um, people who will join you that will help you to grow this company.
The reason why I left my previous company, uh, was because although I made a decent sum of money back then, but I didn't feel fully aligned with the values that my previous companies, uh, was teaching. So back then, uh, in an Asian environment, I think this is very common: they over-glorify the need to buy material stuff. So when I was really young, when I was 23, I, I bought a Mercedes convertible, and the more I earn, the more my expenses increase. So I'll say one of the biggest shifts I had is to avoid this thing called lifestyle inflation, uh, where you do not need to increase your expenses despite making more. I believe that money, the best thing that money can buy is freedom; the best thing money can buy is this called peace of mind, and I don't want to be a slave to these material possessions.
Is it possible to make millions doing what you're passionate about, or do you just have to do boring business stuff and really focus on money to become a millionaire?
Um, look, I, I think the, the truth is this: we have to do what we like to do, right? But when you do what you like to do, you have to still find ways to monetize that, right? I, I think that was my biggest lesson. So I think putting on hold what you want to do at your final stage and then do what you are able to with your passion to work towards that goal, I think that's very important.
Do you think this was possible because you, you live in Singapore, or is this possible for anyone in any country as well?
Well, I, I think, uh, Singaporeans, we, we are very blessed, uh, we have a great system that's very transparent; you're able to know about, uh, the ins and outs of business, how to set up a company, you know, how to go about navigating, uh, different laws, you know, how to get grants where the government is very pro-enterprise. That is very helpful for, for us as Singaporeans. Yeah, I will say that the economy in Singapore is a lot better, but I believe that as long as you have the right mindset, as long as you have the right heart and the right dreams, you can succeed anywhere, right? Unless you are from like really developing countries like Africa where you, you are, you lack basic infrastructure like water, food. Yeah, but if you have a phone, if you have access to the internet, I believe that anyone can really make it.
What do you see as the biggest mistake that people, especially young people, make with money?
One thing that my parents have always told me is never to spend beyond your means. Yeah, I think that's like I've always kept that in, in mind, um, you know, like never go, like never leave your credit card bills unpaid, uh, don't try and buy something that like is well beyond your, your, your status in life. I, I think a lot of us, uh, as young people, we, we are very tempted, we are, especially with social media now. We see the glitz and glamour of, of everyone's social media, the nice cars, you know, nice houses, nice watches, and then we want to get them too quickly, right? Uh, I made a mistake myself, uh, I was not well-to-do, uh, then, but I was craving to, to get a Rolex for myself, so I, I, I saved up, bought my first Rolex, and eventually realized that, um, it's better to have cash, right? I needed cash to function and build something, so I sold that Rolex off and, and then went on to, to do what I had to, to do. So I think instant gratification is a big mistake that many young people are indulging in these days. I think a lot of young people have avoidance when it comes to the topic of money; they are not willing to face reality, and they overestimate, uh, their financial situation. I believe that good financial literacy starts with being aware of where your money is going.
Is it possible to work 9 to 5 in a regular job and save your way to wealth in 2025?
Yes, I believe so. You do not need to be an entrepreneur to, uh, be financially wealthy today if you have the right money management principles.
How do you do it?
I believe there's this, there's this term called being an entrepreneur, so being an entrepreneur means that you have an entrepreneur mindset without taking the risk of an entrepreneur. So if you're working a 9 to 5, could you find ways to add value to your boss so that instead of getting a fixed pay, you, you can be remunerated by a variable income? So you can be getting more commissions, or if you can help the company bring more revenue, I believe that, and a, a good employee will know how to negotiate with their boss to give more. So if I have a team member that can help me make an extra 100K a month, I'll, I'll gladly remunerate and increase the person's remuneration. Singapore's wages, as I mentioned, are, um, not that low; I think they're, they're pretty decent, uh, definitely not as high as maybe in the US or Europe, uh, but I think the talent that we have commands quite a high wage, uh, and these days, like if you save up correctly and also like put your money into like the right places, like, uh, the right investments, you can definitely grow that within a few years, like, and of course, um, you know, making sure that you do well at your 9 to 5 job, getting the relevant promotions and raises and everything, and eventually, yes, you will definitely get to a point, uh, where you can, uh, easily get, I mean, I wouldn't say easily, but like at some point, get to a million.
So do you try to follow a strict budget and save every dollar?
Oh, my wife asked me to say yes, but no, not really. Uh, I'm like a, I'm like a techie, so like when there's something like really, really cool in the tech world, I, I can't resist, but I have to be careful with how we spend as well. All right, so again, never beyond means, but something, if it's something that I feel like really improves my life, then I will definitely go for it. Um, for me, no, uh, I'll be very frank, I, I do not follow a very strict budget; I don't have an Excel sheet of how much to spend every month, uh, but I, I know that, uh, what I have to pay every month, I know what are bills upcoming, uh, and I try to take as little loan as possible for whatever I buy.
How important is using a credit card the right way for you?
Uh, I think it's very important. A credit card, uh, enables you to, to unlock value again, right? You're going to spend the money anyway, and if you know that you can pay off that bill in the month, uh, why not make use of that, you know, earn miles, let's say for example, so you can, can travel with, with lower costs, right? I think that's one, or, or there are even credit cards that can give you cashback on your purchases, so that's another way to save money as well. What I realized was that like if you just use the same credit card for everything, uh, you're not going to maximize how many, like cash, how much cashback or like miles you get because every credit card has a limit. Yeah, so, um, I do have multiple credit cards that I use for like different occasions. So, uh, if you're not, firstly, if you're not using a credit card, that's probably a mistake, uh, and then secondly, if you're using the same credit card for everything, that's also probably a mistake. So it's nice to do some research every once in a while; there are a lot of online sources that you can get.
Do you think it's still possible for young people to become self-made millionaires in Singapore today?
Uh, 100%. Uh, in fact, I believe that it is getting more and more possible for young adults in Singapore to be self-made millionaires. Uh, when I was 20 years old, 10 years ago, becoming a millionaire by 30 was the dream, right? Today, I have seen people who became a millionaire before they even turned 25. We are living in a world where social media, the internet, and technology has created so many opportunities for people to really create wealth, and I think what's stopping a lot of young adults from creating wealth is really their mindset and their ego. Yeah, so many people have a lot of self-sabotaging beliefs and negative mindsets that are stopping them from realizing all these opportunities.
Yes, yes. I fully think that an average Joe can be a millionaire in Singapore today. Um, I'm an example; I, I came from, from nothing as well, you know, from a regular, uh, HDB family to where I am today. A lot of people nowadays are working towards that. I see 9 to 5 office, uh, workers having side hustles, right? And these side hustles end up becoming their, their main hustle. I think that's, that's the way to go, right? And I, I'm fully supportive of people like that. I think the underdogs can make it big as well in Singapore. We've got a good infrastructure; we've got a good government here; there's no reason why we can't succeed, right? It's, it's down to yourself, what are you willing to sacrifice, right? How many, how many hours are you willing to work towards that? Another interesting part is because there's just like so many, you know, AI is just taking over everything right now and just wiping out jobs as well, like especially for young people right now.
What is necessary in order to make millions, you think?
I think there are a couple, um, the top two off the top of my head would be, firstly, the ability to communicate, um, being able to just communicate, put yourself out there, network. I think that's a really critical skill for anybody to have in, in this current society, right, uh, where a lot of like maybe hard skills can be augmented or almost entirely replaced by AI. I think it's super critical for people, uh, to retain the ability to talk to each other and to convince, to negotiate; all these are really critical skills to have. Another, maybe like I'm not, not sure if it's a hard skill or a soft skill, but I would say problem-solving, uh, because these days, like, um, I, I, I feel like people start to lose the ability to problem-solve when they think that everything can just be solved for them through AI, uh, but even when you're prompting ChatGPT, you need to make sure that that prompt always goes in the right direction. If the answer isn't what you're expecting, you need to modify that and make sure that like whatever it's spitting out to you sounds good, and then after that, you fix whatever it has spit out to you as well. I would say that sales has really helped me create my wealth, uh, everything in life revolves around sales, right? When you go for a job, you're selling yourself, right? When you are finding a partner, you are selling yourself, uh, but besides, besides skills, I think that having the right mindset and having the right belief system is very important as well. I think most people are broke because they have a victim mentality; whenever something bad happens to them, they like to complain, they like to wallow in self-pity, but the moment you do that, you lose the power to change, and I think it's important to take responsibility instead of becoming a victim. Yeah, and using everything around you as a way to improve and become better.
So if you lost everything today, oh how would you rebuild your wealth?
Firstly, I think I would be humble. Um, probably the first thing I would do is probably reach out to the network I built out over the years, uh, see if there's something that I can contribute to, uh, at least get, um, like a living wage, right, uh, and then like through that, hopefully, I can build up my experience within that company, without a salary as well, contribute quite a bit, uh, and then at some point as well, you know, get back to doing what I do best, which is like really, um, starting something cool, uh, and carrying on and building it up.
What are some common misconceptions that people have about you when they find out how much money you have?
I think the, the most common misconception is that you start a company, like a startup, and then you immediately, like, flush. I don't think that's ever the case; like, that's there's a long, long, long journey you take before you get to the point where you're, you know, driving a BMW around. Oh, they think that I'm doing something shady; they think that I got my wealth by doing things that are not legal. Yeah, and that's far from the truth as well, because if you're living in Singapore, uh, you, you definitely need to abide, uh, by the law. Yeah, well, I think, uh, many people would, would assume, uh, I came from a rich family, uh, because of age, and I look quite young, um, so, you know, and people always, uh, think that it's easy because of social media, but you know, we don't really showcase the entire day, right? So maybe we spend, I don't know, 10, 12, 14 hours working a day; we take 5 minutes to post something on social media, and that's something nice, right? And people assume that our, our lives are very nice and beautiful, but sacrifices are things people don't see.
So what's that one thing you wish that people knew about you as a millionaire?
Um, well, I, I wish people knew that, uh, I've had my struggles as well, um, I've not said this in, in public before, but, uh, you know, in 2021, uh, during COVID, I had, uh, a very bad, um, you know, mental health struggle, you know, I, I, I couldn't sleep, I had anxiety, uh, and, uh, I eventually had to seek help, medical help, right? So this, uh, that was kind of like a, a mindset shift for me as well. I started to realize that, you know, money is not everything, uh, we've got to really take care of our body, and it helps you when, when the body is not able to take it anymore, uh, and to seek help, right, uh, as a male, I, I used to laugh and, and say that hey, mental health is whatever, man, just a joke, just a western thing, um, but it happens to everybody, you know, and, and I would say that, um, people don't see the struggles that I go through, the kind of, um, changes that I have to make in order to, you know, answer to my body as well. So these…
Are things that people don't see, and I, I wish uh, more people would pay attention to their mental health. Yeah, I wish that people can also understand that although we are good at money, not everything we do is in a pursuit of profits.
Uh, my dream is to really share my experience, my and my knowledge to the younger crowd, so that they themselves can also achieve more financial stability when they grow older and explore ways that are not conventional. I have many people in my life that uh, taught me many important lessons, and without this influence, I'll not be where I am today. Yeah, and I think the key thing is surrounding yourself with people that empower you; surrounding yourself with people that are able to point out your blind spots.
Uh, when I was really young, I had many weaknesses; I had many flaws, and in order to get to where I am today, I had to put down my ego and accept that I'm not as good as I am. I think the key thing is to make as many mistakes as possible, but most importantly, learn from the mistakes. Yeah, and don't be afraid of making mistakes, and don't be afraid of failing, because eventually, the best way to learn is by making mistakes. [Music] the [Music]