BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK ENTREPRENEURSHIP FINANCE STARTUPS TECHNOLOGY The Cashless Situation in Japan Back in October, I wrote about how Japan’s traditionally cash-centric culture was a barrier to the advent of cashless technologies. At the time, I also noted that the Abe government was seeking to accelerate the trend towards cashless as one way to address the country’s labor crunch. What a difference a few months makes. The end […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS Nicholas Lim, Business Development of Eatsy Nicholas Lim started Eatsy, a food and beverage app, with an old friend over a meal of sushi… What’s your story? After 4 years in Singtel serving corporate clients, and with the big three O (30 years old) looming, I could no longer hold back my desire to do something more challenging and meaningful. My […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS Josephine Chow, Head of International Expansion of ShopBack Josephine Chow sped her way to the top of ShopBack. She recognises, “Speed is truly the crux of the startup industry.” What’s your story? I’m a communications graduate who chanced upon the startup world about 6 years ago at a late night lan-gaming session in Singapore. I had just completed my post-graduation work holiday trip […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS Shaun Heng, Founder of Eatsy Shaun Heng founded Eatsy, a collaborative dining app that allows diners to order, pay and split their bill, and they are rewarded with cashback after each meal. What’s your story? I started out in investment banking – an industry that I fought hard to enter since my NUS days, doing multiple internships to chalk up […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK ENTREPRENEURSHIP Ecommerce in India – 2016’s Online Shopping Destination Ecommerce in India is looking pretty so far, but 99% of the canvas is still unpainted. The country’s online retail sales currently account for less than 1% of the total revenue generated by retail sales. However, it would be inaccurate to label India’s e-commerce state as ‘infantile’, for the industry has seen growth — fast and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
INTERVIEWS Meet the Co-Founders of MilkADeal Wilson Quah graduated from Warwick University with a Masters in Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics (MMORSE) and started his career as an Investment Analyst at an investment bank in London. Wilson is passionate about improving the inefficiencies of the world. One should expect no less from an Operational Research expert! On the other hand, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS Startups Adapt The Cashback Shopping Model To Southeast Asia In a surprisingly short amount of time, cashback websites in Southeast Asia have started to produce results that exceed the expectations of industry experts, and even the very founders themselves. Their rapidly growing consumer base goes to show how more and more Southeast Asians are not only taking their shopping online, but also relying on […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ENTREPRENEURSHIP STARTUPS Singapore start-up ShopBack pays you to shop online! A new Singapore start-up, ShopBack is tapping into South East Asia’s US$60 billion e-commerce market. ShopBack offers a novel approach to online shopping, providing users cashback when they shop at over 300 online stores. Although this is a unique service in Asia, it is a wellknown concept in the West. ShopBack was founded in 2014 […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Humility Is The Secret To Leadership? Key Takeaway: A study has found that humble leaders can become more promotable by growing others through a “humility route”. Human capital theory suggests that employees’ value can be enhanced by investing in their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Humble leaders focus on the learning and growth of their followers, creating human capital value for themselves. […] Written by Elsa Chan April 18, 2024April 18, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Did Ancient Scientists & Philosophers Believe In Aliens? Key Takeaway: In 17th-century Europe, there was a debate about the existence of life on other planets due to the transition from a Ptolemaic view to a Copernican view. This led to the idea that if we were more like other planets and moons close to us that revolved around the Sun, they were more […] Written by Philip Almond April 17, 2024April 17, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Discovering Your Money Attachment Style Key Takeaway: The current economic climate is particularly concerning for young people, who are often financially worse off than their parents. To overcome this, it is important to understand one’s financial attachment style, which can be secure, anxious, or avoidant. Attachment theory, influenced by childhood experiences and education, can help shape one’s relationship with money. […] Written by Ylva Baeckstrom April 9, 2024April 9, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Proven 5 Steps To Psychological Wellness Key Takeaway: Wellness culture, which claims to provide happiness and meaning, has been criticized for its superficial focus on superficial aspects like candles and juice cleanses. Psychological research suggests that long-term wellbeing comes from a committed pursuit of both pleasure and meaning. Martin Seligman’s Perma model, which breaks wellbeing into five pillars: positive emotions, engagement, […] Written by Ben Gibson April 8, 2024April 8, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
When Will Quantum Computers Actually Become Practical? Key Takeaway: Quantum computing, which uses entanglement to represent information, has the potential to revolutionize everyday life. However, the development of quantum computers has been slow due to the need to demonstrate an advantage over classical computers. Only a few notable quantum algorithms have been developed, such as the BB84 protocol and Shor’s algorithm, which […] Written by Adam Lowe April 4, 2024April 4, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Predicting China’s Economy In 2024 Key Takeaway: China’s leaders have declared a GDP growth target of 5% in 2024, despite facing economic problems and a property crisis. The country’s rapid economic growth has been attributed to market incentives, cheap labor, infrastructure investment, exports, and foreign direct investment. However, none of these drivers are working effectively. The government’s determination to deflate […] Written by Hong Bo April 3, 2024April 3, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Future Of Human Computing Key Takeaway: Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk, aims to implant a brain-computer interface (BCI) in people’s brains, allowing them to control computers or phones by thought alone. This technology holds the promise of alleviating human suffering and allowing people with disabilities to regain lost capacities. However, the long-term aspirations of Neuralink include the ability to […] Written by Allan McCay April 2, 2024April 2, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking Education Key Takeaways: The Industrial model of education that fueled the modern era and its dizzying reach did its job incredibly well. In his writing, Flynn illustrates study after study, spanning nations and decades, in which modern educational gift of abstraction — a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Raven’s Matrices — has been […] Written by Anthony Fieldman March 2, 2022October 19, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How China Is Transforming Its Economy Through Learning I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […] Written by Enrique Dans February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why You’re Not Seeing Success With Influencer Marketing With the new year around the corner, now is a good time to re-evaluate your past marketing strategies and gear up for the year ahead. For some businesses, influencer marketing has simply not seemed to live up to its lofty promises of genuine engagement, credibility, and transparency. Some have claimed that it has been failing […] Written by Michael Tan January 14, 2021January 15, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A New Philosophy of Business I’m about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and I’ll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what “community” means for business. “Where should community fit in my organization?” and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked