Plunging into F&B after 20 years within the semiconductor industry — A Fireside Chat with Stanley, Founder of MuYoo
Written by Sean
Edited by Jacob Yeo, Kellie Sim
An NTU graduate with a Bachelor’s in Electrical & Electronic Engineering (Second Class Upper), Stanley started off his career in NCS. Shortly after, he went on to the semiconductor industry. Climbing the corporate ladder within the semiconductor industry, he eventually reached the position of Vice President of a Multi-National Company (MNC). He then came to a crossroads when he was offered two seemingly irresistible opportunities to choose from — to helm global operations from the United States, or to introduce fruit teas into the Singaporean F&B scene. Due to family commitments, travel fatigue and his love for Asia, he chose the latter. Currently, he is the founder of MuYoo, a local bakery that sells both bread and fruit teas. MuYoo specialises in Taiwanese baked goods and breads filled with mochi. Also, during Stanley’s spare time, he enjoys playing golf (before the pandemic) and online shopping.
PS: While Stanley does not have a favourite kind of bread, ‘Heavenly Rose Wine’ left him with the deepest impression. This delicacy is a sourdough bread embedded with longan and fig that has been infused with rum and red wine for 7 to 10 days.
Additionally, Stanley personally donates leftover bread to Willing Hearts on a daily basis!
Read more about what MuYoo represents on their official website here.
Before we go on…
As a foodie, I first met Stanley serendipitously at Changi City Point within the MuYoo outlet premises.
This was his latest outlet, and I was both amazed and yet worried that this bakery had the audacity to expand amidst current economic conditions. Back then, I had no idea who the founder was, but amidst my indecision in picking out bread, I was recommended to a select few by a kind individual with a friendly demeanour. He was not dressed in staff attire but I noticed him packing bread behind the staff counter. My curiosity piqued, I approached him soon after. A testament to his good-hearted and amiable nature, our conversation soon translated into a meeting born out of his own goodwill to share his experiences with a random stranger…
#1: Stay open-minded and remain hungry to learn. Opportunities will come sooner or later.
“Let’s start with somewhere first, you can pursue your dreams later. Don’t keep pursuing what you want, sometimes it is very difficult to get there in the first place.”
While Stanley had hoped to work in the electronics industry upon graduation, the first few years of his career was spent within NCS and HP. Still, he was thankful for the experience. It gave him lifelong connections with individuals across the globe, while equipping him with invaluable soft skills gleaned from his interactions with clients.
While managing MuYoo amidst the pandemic, Stanley received a last-minute notice that one of his delivery drivers was required to undergo a swab test. Instead of delaying the bread delivery due to the absence of his driver, Stanley willingly substituted him instead, which left him with a deeper appreciation for the work his delivery drivers do. More saliently, he believes that adopting the mindset of a life-long learner is incredibly important, regardless of one’s role.
#2: 3 soft skills that everybody should be proficient in
“I worked under 4 bosses within the span of 10 years while staying in the same position. So you have to understand their style and what they need, but I think once you manage to do that, they are very open to you, they can accept your working style.”
Stanley oversaw the operations for a US semiconductor company within Asia, helping to establish offices across different countries. During our conversation, he emphasised the need to learn how to interact with others in a work setting, regardless of who they are. But how can a university undergraduate go about picking up such skills?
For Stanley, while he did not manage to apply such soft skills extensively during his time in university [1], he valued his university education for the opportunity to hone his thinking process. He learnt most of his soft skills during his time in sales.
And while most people are unlikely to ever receive such training in life, Stanley does clarify that in any trade, people ought to be equipped with the following key skills:
1. Negotiation Skills
2. Presentation Skills
3. Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) Analysis
To start, he recommends everyone to enrol in courses that teach the fundamentals.
Which courses?
“There are a lot of courses in the market and they are all about the same.”
At this point, I was sceptical. How much can I really learn about soft skills from courses? Is it not a lot more beneficial to just start practising?
Well, for those who lack the basics, Stanley disagrees. If you were to consider negotiation skills for instance, one of the key things you learn is, “Don’t keep asking questions to your customer. You have to listen to your customer, ask your customer (what issues they are facing).”
#3: Keeping the F&B Business Alive: Remain committed to your vision. Remain humble and receptive to your staff.
“I think the toughest challenge is facing the challenges that come your way. One of the toughest times came when my co-founder left. It meant that I had to single-handedly manage the day-to-day operations of the business.”
Stanley’s day-to-day life is a reflection of just about any start-up founder. He has been dabbling in marketing, business development, finance, human resource, and so on. This means that when his co-founder took the back seat due to personal reasons, his already immeasurable workload doubled. But, when asked how he dealt with this setback, he remarked stoically, “Maybe it’s just because I want to make things work, I want to make my staff stay.”
He does not stop there. Highlighting the contributions of his staff, he feels blessed to have had hired some incredibly talented employees who have inspired him to rebrand MuYoo. He shares that his bakers have the flexibility to innovate and bring new goods to the shelf quickly [2]. While MuYoo may have started off specialising in fruit teas, he hopes to rebrand it to be known for its Taiwanese baked goods and specialising in all things mochi. “People go to BreadTalk for their pork floss, to Four Leaves for their small bread. I want people to come to MuYoo for the mochi.”
In addition to the ideas that his new employees have provided, he adds that this pivot helps his business remain competitive, “From my experience in F&B, if a product is too easy to copy (e.g.: bubble tea), it is harder to maintain a competitive advantage. A bakery has a higher barrier-to-entry because there is a higher initial capital, and you need to have a good baker.”
#4: Keeping the F&B Business Alive: Beware of the sunk cost fallacy.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Stanley consolidated and downsized his business, deciding to focus solely on MuYoo.
“Every brand you come up with will cost you at least $150k and that’s just the starting cost. To maintain the business, this cost just goes up. However, most people feel that the cost to maintain the business is negligible compared to their starting capital, making them reluctant to close the business.”
Deciding to close a business is one thing, but deciding when to close it is another issue altogether. For Stanley, the economic recession may have just been a blessing in disguise, as it gave him the opportunity to focus on a single brand — MuYoo.
#5: Keeping the F&B Business Alive: Know your customer. Know your industry. Know your market.
Managing an F&B business is unquestionably different from life in the semiconductor industry. While Stanley leveraged his prior work experience to help him with his new venture, he stressed that there is still a steep learning curve. For instance, managing full-time workers within a Multi-National Company (MNC) is arguably the complete opposite of managing part-time workers within the F&B industry. Full-time employees are aware that there is room for career progression, and will devote the time to producing high-quality work if they are treated well. On the other hand, part-time employees look for spare cash or to spend their free time more productively. It is thus important to be aware of what incentivises your employees.
Stanley has plans to expand overseas, with partners based abroad at present. Naturally, this presents its own set of challenges, as the F&B scene within every country is different. He vividly recalls his partner’s bewilderment at the slow pace of Singapore’s F&B scene, at least when compared to China’s, “I came to Singapore three years ago and now that I am back, I see the same thing being sold at every shopping mall. Do Singaporeans not crave something new? Is there some sort of monopoly?” As a consumer and a foodie, I do wish that there was more variety. However, this is possibly a natural result of
1. Singapore’s small domestic market: Low revenue for a single shop at a single location
2. Singapore’s land constraints: High rental costs increase the barriers-to-entry for new F&B players
While managing the internal operations of a company is important, it is also crucial to understand how and why an industry operates from a macro perspective.
And one last thing…
“The first thing is that your pay will drop drastically. Secondly, you will lose all of your perks (business class tickets, choosing the hotels you would like to stay at, patronising fine-dining restaurants and etc.). I assumed that I could take this F&B business as a part-time job but no, it’s definitely a full-time job. It’s really tiring.”
Stanley still maintains that one ought to work in an MNC before establishing a start-up. For aspiring entrepreneurs, he strongly encourages all founders to start slow and learn quickly. Never neglect your own personal development during your start-up journey. If your start-up fails, these skills are transferable to the next phase of your career. Next, take time to find the right partner. While 99% of the time your first business partner is not going to be the right one, that’s just how life works. Ending off, he reiterates that there is really no need to worry incessantly about one’s future career. Learn the basics as a student first and be open-minded. After all, life is full of surprises.
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[1] There were no internships for universities back then
[2] He’s not kidding, as far as I am aware, these bread no longer exist
