Hi Kai Xin, tell us about yourself!

Hi, I’m Kai Xin! I’m from Dunman High School and am a Year 3 student taking a Double Degree Programme in Business and Communications & New Media (CNM). I’m also in the University Scholars Programme.

What drew you to NUS Business School?

The number one reason why I chose NUS was because of the Double Degree Programme (DDP).

I knew right after graduating from JC that I wanted to study something related to marketing and communications, and when I heard about the DDP, I thought it was the best of both worlds! I love that NUS offers students the flexibility to study a range of different things they are interested in–I also know friends who take Double Degrees in Biz and Economics, Biz and Business Analytics, and more.

What were some resources you had at NUSBIZ that helped you discover and develop yourself through the years?

NUS has truly given me so many opportunities to take part in exciting things like competitions and hackathons.

In 2019, I took part in the 48-hour Hack.asia hackathon by Jardine Matheson and Daimler, where my team was selected as one of the finalists out of 800 students for developing a machine learning programme to detect and predict traffic accidents.

In the same year, I also took part in PRISM, a social hackathon, and clinched first place for a VR mental health concept.

In 2020, I created an animated short film for one of my CNM classes on Digital Storytelling and it was shortlisted for the Jury Award in the Viddsee Awards competition.

In the midst of the pandemic, I recreated the National Gallery of Singapore on Minecraft so that people could virtually “visit” the museum. And just for fun, I submitted it to the A List Content Creation Competition and was selected as one of the top 5 finalists. I didn’t win, but to me, it’s not the winning that matters. As clichéd as it may sound, it’s not the result that is important, but the process.

If you had one word to share with the juniors, what would it be and why?

Be AGILE, Be BOLD! University is a time for you to explore.

All the most memorable and amazing things I did in university were all because I was bold enough to dare and try. I’ve been to Thailand to learn painting, I’ve camped at Pulau Ubin to catch insects, and I’ve worked in a social enterprise in Singapore and a tech startup in Indonesia.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, my Student Exchange Programme to Beijing was cancelled and my internship plans were also affected, but I guess this is all part of being agile and adapting to the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world we live in, right?

Hi Nigel, you are currently the Head of Community and Marketing Partnerships at iSTOX. What does that entail and how it has been for you?

Hi everyone, I am Nigel. I am currently working in a highly exciting and fast-growing Fintech company, iSTOX. Back at NUS, I specialised in Finance.

My role includes building a community of like-minded investors that use the iSTOX platform. I also form strategic and marketing partnerships with ecosystem partners such as family offices, investment banks, and other fintech firms to collaborate and help each other grow.

What made you choose NUSBIZ?

I chose NUS Business School for its broad and diverse offerings. I knew from my research that a degree here would open many opportunities for me to pursue a career which I would find a passion in. I was also looking forward to learning in collaborative project-based classes among highly motivated peers.

What were some interesting NUSBIZ experiences you had?

I was fortunate enough to have travelled to Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand when I represented NUS in international case competitions. I also made many friends during my time in New York as an exchange student. NUS Business enabled me to experience many different cultures and learn how business was done all around the world. Most importantly, I still talk to these friends I made up till today!

How has your NUS BIZ education helped in the transition from corporate role at consulting to start-up environment?

When the pandemic hit, I took a hard look at where our world was headed. Digital transformation was top of mind for many finance executives and the recent pandemic has only increased the urgency for fully online experiences. I then took the leap of faith to join iSTOX which was at the forefront of digitalisation and democratisation of private markets.

The lessons you get at NUSBIZ are so diverse, spanning from corporate finance to marketing. Startups are inherently less structured and require quick adaptation. The ability to change gears quickly while at NUS BIZ unknowingly helped me to embrace the constant challenges in the workplace.

If you had one word to share with the juniors, what would it be and why?

Be AGILE, Be Curious – the journey of learning and experiencing is far more important than what society defines as success.

Hi Avinash, tell us about yourself!

Hi, I’m Avinash, a Year 4 Accountancy student also specialising in Finance! Before NUS, I was an AC boy, studying in ACS (Independent) and then ACJC.

What drew you to NUS Business School?

One big reason was the flexibility that NUS provides when it comes to choosing our curriculum. There are so many different elective modules including majors and minors that we can choose from. For instance, one of my general electives was the “Life, the Universe, and Everything”, an interesting module that serves as an introduction to Philosophy. I felt that NUS catered to the students the most in letting us decide how we want to complete our degree.

What were some interesting NUSBIZ experiences you had that helped you discover and develop yourself through the years?

In particular, my two overseas experiences – the first being Bizad Abroad to Japan in 2019, and the second being my Student Exchange Programme to the US – probably had the biggest impact on me. It was a great opportunity for me to represent NUSBIZ overseas and share about our school as well as our country. I also learnt to be a lot more independent and adaptable during my time overseas.

What characteristics do you identify yourself with and why?

1. Adaptable – As a kid, I lived in India, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before finally settling down in Singapore and hence, I’ve got used to things constantly changing. My time in NUSBIZ has further reinforced this as I was able to experience many new things like hall life, overseas exchange, and different types of internships.
2. Outgoing – Joining the BIZAD Club and attending numerous networking events throughout my time in school has also given me plenty of opportunities to meet new people and I’ve become a lot more extraverted in the process.
3. Generous – In NUSBIZ, everyone was so eager to help me since Day 1, with the seniors giving plenty of advice and sharing their precious study notes. This resonated with me as someone who is generous and willing to share. It definitely fostered a sense of community and encouraged me to pay it forward as I progressed through school too.

If you had one word to share with the juniors, what would it be and why?

Be AGILE, Be ACTIVE!

I would recommend all my juniors to be active and always on the lookout for different experiences that would be sure to help them grow. I hope that juniors can participate in as many things as they can so that can have a truly holistic time here!

Hi Natalie! Could you start us off by describing yourself to our readers!

Hello! I am Natalie, a recent graduate from NUS Business School with a specialisation in Marketing. Prior to NUS, I pursued a Diploma in Marketing at Temasek Polytechnic.

I’ve always believed in creating meaningful customer experiences and connecting people through the impact of Marketing. My current role as a Marketing Specialist in Amazon gives me the opportunity to do just that, and I couldn’t be more thankful to join such a fun and dynamic company upon graduation!

What does your job entail and how it has been for you?

As a Marketing Specialist in Amazon, my scope focuses on Events and Partnerships for Amazon Global Selling Singapore. I am in the E-Commerce arm of Amazon where I focus on the B2B business. I organise events and activities to drive recruitment of new sellers and help Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) go online to find success by selling across Amazon stores worldwide.

It has been especially meaningful and relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic where SMBs are realising the importance of diversifying their business models to find new avenues to succeed. Selling on Amazon opens doors for businesses, aspiring entrepreneurs and individuals – like you and me – to reach millions of customers in Singapore and across the world.

How has the NUS Business School facilitated your growth journey?

Internships are important to every NUSBIZ student. At NUSBIZ, we’re always exposed to different internship roadshows, career talks/fairs and internship opportunities via email and BIZ Symplicity (the NUSBIZ job portal) that helps us stay updated with the latest opportunities. I think timing is really important when applying for an internship and BIZ Symplicity does a really good job at notifying me whenever an opportunity of my interest opens up. Before I joined Amazon full-time, I did an internship first, which landed me my current role. I actually applied for that internship via BIZ Symplicity 😊.

If you had one word to share with the juniors on what to be, what would it be and why??

Be AGILE, Be daring.

Don’t be afraid to take risks and go at your own pace. I actually graduated one semester after most of my peers as I took a Leave-Of-Absence to intern with Amazon and it couldn’t be at a more apt timing. We can’t always anticipate what will happen in the future (who knew COVID would hit) so do what you think is best for yourself. Most importantly, find good mentors and peers. I was fortunate to learn from the most kind and nurturing bosses – Anna and Parvej during my internship with Amazon who really cared about my growth.

Hi Kelvin could you start us off by describing yourself to our readers!

I’m the co-founder of Funding Societies | Modalku. Launched in 2015, today we’re the largest SME digital financing platform in Southeast Asia, having given out S$2 billion in loans to 65,000 SMEs. After graduating from NUSBIZ as the valedictorian, I have followed the ‘traditional’ career path of becoming a management consultant with Accenture, before moving on to McKinsey, KKR and finally Harvard Business School for MBA. Sharing the same vision and values, my MBA classmate Reynold and I decided to start Funding Societies (otherwise known as “Modalku” or My Capital in Indonesia).

Going back a few steps, what made you decide to do Accountancy?

Well, no one ever goes hungry doing Accountancy. It is a professional degree. And it unlocks the mystery of a company through numbers, which I believe is important to understand first-hand.

What were some interesting NUSBIZ experiences you had that helped you discover and develop yourself through the years?

Many. I was fortunate to be given tremendous exposure to figure out what I want to do, thanks to the kind support of Dr Helen Chai. I was able to specialise in Accountancy, join the University Scholars Programme (“USP”), complete a Technopreneurship minor in US via the NUS Overseas College (“NOC”) Programme, and represent NUS in international case competitions with successes. Nowadays, I find many young graduates with much richer experience. But it was relatively rare in those days and such cross-disciplinary learning has been fundamental to innovation for me.

What is one challenge you experienced in your career journey and how did your time in NUSBIZ help you overcome it?

I was passionate about management consulting, because if companies could be better run, lives of many could be better too. However, the big 3 firms did not hire undergrad consultants from local universities at that time, given returning Singaporeans from the Ivy League. The experience from international case competitions helped me to break into Accenture and later McKinsey, as the first consultant from NUS.

How has your NUS BIZ education helped in the transition from corporate role to start-up environment?

The biggest adjustment from a corporate to a start-up environment is mindset. The start-up scene was relatively new in 2010, with investment banking being the preeminent career choice. Founding or joining a start-up was uncommon and not looked up to. Thanks to the encouragement and exposure of NUS (BIZ), there was a budding community with Startup@Singapore competition, NUS Overseas College and NUS Entrepreneurship Society. NUS senior Darius Cheung became the first entrepreneur we knew to have a successful exit. The late-night brainstorming, evening entrepreneur sharing sessions and after-class chat of the community instilled a start-up mindset and made the transition relatively smooth.

If you had one word to share with the juniors on what to be, what would it be and why?

Be AGILE, Be Humble.

Given knowledge, hard work and smarts are becoming commodities. One has to differentiate with wisdom, and with humility comes wisdom.

A growing cynicism is capturing our society. While there is a place for healthy skepticism, I believe faith and hope are a more steadfast compass to guide one’s journey.