Ghee Kian, from our 2019 Cohort, recounts his experience in YSI SEA’s Innovation Programme and his words of wisdom for aspiring young entrepreneurs.
What an experience!
I joined the Young Sustainable Impact Southeast Asia (YSI SEA) Innovation Programme knowing barely anything about start-ups and hoping to find like-minded youth who believed and wanted to collaborate in start-ups that solves sustainability issues. But I came out of it with so much more than I could've imagined.
I do have a strong belief in the potential and success of sustainable start-ups and businesses, and joined the programme with the aim of solving an aspect of the multi-faceted issue of climate change. The way I see it, the only way for our global economy to continue developing, is to progress with a focal point always aimed at environmental responsibility.
The Programme
The YSI SEA programme was 5 months long, and had 2 main phases: a 4.5 month long online ideation and solution development phase, and a final two-week Singapore Innovation Programme (SIP) where the teams finalise and prepare their pitches for the Demo Day and Showcase. Since it was a regional innovation programme, working online to communicate with teammates overseas initially seemed both unique and intriguing.
For me, it was an opportunity to communicate with like-minded youth beyond my fellow Singaporeans; but as the participants were from ASEAN, it was still regionally relevant. I thought that these interactions would definitely broaden my horizons in terms of wider perspectives on similar sustainability issues. I was definitely not disappointed.
Before entering the programme, there were 3 rounds in the applications process which included written answers and online interviews . Having no prior start-up experience, when I was able to make through all the rounds by expressing my values and perspectives on the sustainability challenges and solutions in the region, I cemented my own conviction that I should dedicate myself to this. Then came our selection of team members. Looking at how far we’ve come now, I am truly glad for how we were all placed together, and would have it no other way.
Finding time week-in and week-out to work on our project was definitely not easy. Having only an online presence meant trusting your teammates to do their parts and knowing that they trust you to do yours. Nevertheless, while having our personal lives and commitments throughout the months of developing our problem and solution, it was always heartening to be assured that we’re all still committed to our project, which I felt was constantly communicated through our weekly calls. We each knew our roles and worked independently, covering for each other at times. Our smooth teamwork was also made possible by the Impact Partners assigned to our team. The Impact Partners were volunteer members of YSI SEA who facilitate and mentor each team. I know for a fact that each of us are grateful for all that they’ve done for our team, and are still doing for our team.
YSI SEA puts each participating team through rigorous brainstorming processes throughout the 5-month programme. The process ensures that our solutions are not only unique and effective, but also potentially scalable and thus made attractive to investors. This may seem paradoxical at times, but I do understand the objective here. Not only is it to show that youth can drive sustainable impact through start-ups, but also that these solutions aren’t just pipe dreams that couldn’t be feasibly executed. In the event of success, I too hope that youth impact start-ups succeeding in driving sustainable impact whilst growing further as businesses will become a testament to what businesses of today should realistically model after.
Our LEGA S.E.A
My team’s impact start-up is LEGA S.E.A.: a platform to connect sustainability-conscious consumers with businesses to repurpose denim products. LEGA S.E.A. connects consumers keen on upcycling their unworn or pre-loved denim items with responsible upcycling businesses and designers in the Philippines. This curbs the consumption of additional raw materials by slowing down the consumption rate, and allows consumers to add value every time they use existing materials, thereby aligning to a more minimalist lifestyle. Every transaction through the LEGA S.E.A. platform is equivalent to one less new item purchased, and by extension, resources are saved from the production of a new item. (To find out more, please visit our Facebook/Instagram @legasea.earth or demo landing page and app design at legasea.earth!)
Pitching our start-up idea to investors and numerous members of the public was truly an eye-opening experience, and also the first of its kind for me. The positive feedback and belief by those who listened to our solution was greatly encouraging, and served to further steel our resolve to make our start-up a reality. I’d never forget the days and nights in the two-week SIP where we struggled to create a convincing and viable solution; one that each of us also truly believes in. It would be pointless to pitch an idea that we ourselves weren’t convinced of.
The opportunity to work with amazing like-minded youths in my team who became friends, the mentorship (and friendship) from the YSI SEA team, the interactions with the other dedicated and accomplished participants in this programme as well as the YSI Global founders; the privilege to witness the belief in both youth and sustainability by corporate mentors and investors - all these have helped me to realise more of the vast potential of the growing sustainability start-up scene and gave me hope for a better future.
I have since reinforced my own belief in the innovation of youth in changing things for the better. Not subscribing to greenwashing, nor tokenistic eco-behaviours, nor self-blame; but taking issues that matter into our own hands and showing how it can be addressed properly. To any youth entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-to-be also concerned with these sustainability issues or UN Sustainable Development Goals, my two-cents would be to definitely chase that goal. You may start with the passion of wanting to solve the countless large-scale issues that ails the global community and it may make you feel powerless and insignificant as compared to your dreams.
I too, once struggled with this immense hopelessness. But you know what they say, it’s always about taking the first step. The most effective solutions have a systemic impact. So even if you start small, make sure it is one step in the right direction. The world will only see more and more of the importance of sustainability, and there is no better time for youth to step up and fight to create a sustainable future.
The past 5 months has definitely been tough, but fulfilling nonetheless. But this is only the beginning for us, for myself and for LEGA S.E.A. There's much to be done, and we'll persevere.
I am immensely thankful for this opportunity, and will not waste it (zero-waste pun intended).
