No Ordinary Challenge — NOC Shanghai
Written by Tan Wee Liang (Batch 32)
“How would a person who has yet to set foot in Shanghai for NOC be in a position to share his NOC Shanghai experience?”
While I am obviously unable to provide a retrospective nor reflective perspective of an NOC experience, I can share my excitement for the upcoming year instead- my first brush with start-ups, my motivations behind applying for NOC and my upcoming internship experience in Shanghai. I hope that some of my thoughts and reasons may be relevant to you and aid you in deciding whether to embark on this journey too. Well, my views in this article will likely change over the months after I arrive in Shanghai. But hey, isn’t this what NOC is all about- provide you with a changed perspective?
My first brush with start-ups
I appreciated how start-ups added value to society or created value, and this sparked my interest in entrepreneurship. I believe that there are two kinds of start-ups — those that improve on something that already exists and those that come up with a completely new idea. However, regardless of which, the successful start-ups always add or create value. There are also start-ups that take on the grander task of creating new economies. e.g. Uber and AirBnb kickstarted the sharing economy; Taobao and Amazon sparked the e-commerce industry. These disruptors created or added value to society.
My desire to understand the process of turning an idea that adds value into reality prompted me to intern at a company’s start-up unit for 6 months. Among other lessons, this internship opened me up to a shift in mindset from that of an employee to an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, increasing revenue and profit, the need to rush out a product to minimise fixed costs, and the responsibility of being accountable to various stakeholders are always on your mind. This short stint was my first foray into entrepreneurship, and I decided to apply for NOC after that.
Motivations behind applying for NOC Shanghai
Is applying for NOC a suitable decision for me? Perhaps, or perhaps not. Only time will tell. But one thing is certain- 千里之行，始於足下 (A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step).
Through NOC, I look forward to sharpening my business mindset and immersing myself into a community of aspiring entrepreneurs. I believe NOC Shanghai sharpens our business mindset in three ways. First, it equips us with the basic know-how of entrepreneurship via entrepreneurship classes taught by our NUS professors. As a law student, I have not yet taken any non-law modules. However, as part of an NOC entrepreneurship module (TR 4049), I recently finished a 1-week workshop on market validation. When validating our hypothesis through interviews, it was challenging asking questions without bias. Subconsciously, we were sometimes biased in demonstrating that our idea addressed a pressing problem, and we had to remind ourselves of this bias when framing our interview questions. It was also my first time interviewing strangers on the streets, so conducting these interviews encouraged me to venture beyond my comfort zone. Amidst the rejections to our interview requests, it was heartening whenever we encountered a passionate interviewee who was willing to educate us about the industry. Some interviews evolved into conversations that lasted almost an hour! Second, NOC sharpens our business mindset by teaching us the local environment via entrepreneurship courses at Fudan University. Third, the internship in NOC affords us the opportunity to put these theoretical concepts into practice. In addition, by providing us with a community of aspiring entrepreneurs, we will be able to bounce ideas off each other, join various case competitions, and possibly form a co-founding team if one such idea takes off.
I chose Shanghai for its buzzing start-up scene, unique ecosystem, and synergy between government policies and market forces. Shanghai has a buzzing start-up scene, partially due to government efforts to support entrepreneurship and homegrown start-ups with funding. For example, the Shanghai government partially compensates investment firms for losses incurred while investing in early-stage and seed-funded technology start-ups (report by Shanghai Science and Technology Committee). Encouraging investment firms to fund start-ups nurtures a generation of innovators willing to take risks, and such a buzzing scene provides countless opportunities for me to understand Shanghai’s entrepreneurial culture, focus and support system (e.g. start-up funding, incubators and accelerators). In addition, its unique ecosystem stems from it being a melting pot between Eastern and Western culture. This may be due to the Free Trade Zone, which encourages international firms to invest in China and conduct business within the Chinese market in the Chinese way. On a more personal level, having lived in Singapore, Germany and Hong Kong, this fusion of East and West appeals to me greatly. Hopefully, living in Shanghai allows me to experience how the fused culture of a mainland Chinese city differs from that of Singapore and Hong Kong.
Interning in Shanghai
In Shanghai, I will be interning at BitsxBites (“BxB”), China’s first food-tech Venture Capital fund that invests in sustainable food start-ups globally (among their start-ups is a Singaporean one- Alchemy Foodtech!) A quick glance at BxB’s portfolio on their website indicates BxB’s focus on food nutrition, production methods and sustainability. I will likely assist the business analysts in providing recommendations for their investment portfolio. This probably entails understanding BxB’s investment mandate and crafting research frameworks.
I applied to intern at BxB as I wanted to experience what it was like to be on the other end of a financing deal, after my previous start-up internship experience. I also wanted to expose myself to a more macro perspective, by learning how various start-ups were evaluated, which might be difficult to achieve when interning at a start-up. I hoped to gain insights into the Chinese consumer market as well, which the BxB team understood well. It is, however, important to add that interning at a Venture Capital fund does not mean missing out on the start-up experience- the BxB members have start-up experience too! Additionally, and most importantly, such a food-tech firm complements my innate foodie nature!
On a more reflective note, in the internship application process, my greatest challenge was definitely assuring the interviewers of my Chinese language abilities. That aside, another challenge was convincing the interviewers to take a chance on a law student who, besides a short internship at an accounting firm’s assurance department, had no prior finance/accounting/business-related exposure.
Nuggets of wisdom from my wise housemates
For the next 11 months, I will be sharing a house with these 4 people…but fortunately, you do not have to share a house with them too. Instead, they will only be sharing with you some words of wisdom below. (I’m kidding; I’ve awesome housemates. We have already had house bonding sessions and we even have a house name!) And so, their words of wisdom:
Jeraldine on why NOC:
“I thought this would be a really good opportunity to experience both working and studying overseas at the same time. I will get to pursue my interest in entrepreneurship and innovation, and get to work in a start-up! Beyond modules and projects in school, I really appreciate a chance to learn from the real world, when things move beyond concepts and we got to adapt and learn from a different working style, pace of life, culture and language. And of course, NOC being financially neutral is definitely another pull factor!”
David on why Shanghai:
“I chose NOC Shanghai because I think having the opportunity to work and live in China is quite hard to come by. If I were to travel to the US or Europe on my own, I would probably be able to get by. In China, that might not be the case so, I decided to explore this opportunity knowing that I have the backing of NOC’s support systems, as well as my wonderful batch mates. I’m also interested in Shanghai as a city because it is one of the most populous cities in the world and a global hub for finance and commerce. Plus, I’ve heard it’s a beautiful city with lots of things to do. As a Com Sci major, I chose China because I’m interested in seeing first-hand how their advanced cashless systems and AI technology impact the daily lives of people. I am fascinated by how their technology has penetrated Chinese society right down to street vendors and elderly folks!”
And if you’re still on the fence about whether to apply for NOC, Junxiang has some wise words for you:
“Just do it. If you’re even the slightest interested in the program, I’d urge you to find out more from the many friendly alumni/staff here over at NOC. The environment and community formed over here is honestly very helpful!”
I hope that this article has shed some light on my thoughts and experiences so far, and is of some help in your decision on whether to take the first step. Even before departing for Shanghai, I have already had many takeaways, and I encourage you to consider this program, what you want to get out of it, and how it aligns with your long-term goals!
