CALLUM CONNECTS PIYASAK UKRITNUKUN, MD Abandoning his hopes of studying for an MBA, Piyasak Ukritnukun has turned a relatively small lending company into a billion dollar financial inclusion company. What’s your story? I was born in the US and came back to Thailand to study at Thammasat Business School in 1999. After college, I spent two years with Boston Consulting Group […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS ALEX NG, Founder and Director Never one to be constrained by convention, Alex Ng has created Singapore’s first unstaffed store, powered by AI. What’s your story? Since I was young, I have had the habit of choosing less popular or niche decisions. For example, instead of playing computer games during my secondary school days, I found more enjoyment in selling […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS MINESH PORE, Co-Founder and CEO Minesh Pore has used his global trade expertise to create a ‘dating’ agency where buyers can meet suppliers and BuyHive does the crucial bits in the middle. What’s your story? BuyHive wanted to solve the problem of trust and transparency in sourcing to improve buyers’ outcomes, especially with the assumptions that the growing segment of […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS SCHWIN CHIARAVANONT, Founder & Managing Partner After being educated in the USA, Schwin returned to his native Thailand and began his career into asset management What’s your story? I grew up in Thailand and was sent to the US at the age of 12, where I studied for 10 years. I have a very entrepreneurial nature and am also very passionate […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS TRISTAN HAHNER, Co-founder A commitment to knowledge and truth was the basis of Tristan Hahner’s desire to enable patients to access an online resource of medical information. What’s your story? As a firm believer in education, I’m passionate about healthcare and trying to improve the quality of people’s lives. Through DoctorxDentist, people have access to free, expert knowledge […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS MAXWELL KIMBERLEY-THOMPSON, CEO A far-sighted gift from his grandfather set Maxwell Kimberley-Thompson on a technological path which could not have been conceived of at the time. What’s your story? Ever since my grandfather handed me a pile of papers with HTML, how to build a website, I have been hooked on digital tech and marketing. Building websites gave […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS MIKE SIM, Chief Executive Officer A mid-life career change set Mike Sim on a route that led to him starting a fund management company managing high-value clients throughout Asia. What’s your story? After a mid-life career switch, I started as a banker and slowly moved up the ranks. I survived some major restructuring as my Team Manager had faith in […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS Xin Hong Tan, Youtuber – Women’s advocate Xin Hong Transforms Women’s Lives What’s your story? I came from a broken family. My father was hot-tempered and my mum was a hard headed woman. Since my youth their relationship was awful. Domestic violence often happened in my family. Sometimes we were awakened by their fighting in the middle of night and it was […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS Nerissa Low, Founder at Lihtorganics Nerissa Created Organic Makeup That Actually Improves Skin What’s your story? I battled with adult acne and sensitive skin in my 20s which caused a huge dent in my self esteem. After years of steroid injections and harmful medication, I did tons of research into product formulations and decided to eliminate all the harmful chemicals […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CALLUM CONNECTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERVIEWS Mike Mastroyiannis, Writer and Business Growth Consultant Mike Enables Exponential Growth And Reshapes Industry Boundaries What’s your story? I left Greece 38 years ago, travelled around the world, lived in 5 countries (Greece, The Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Hong Kong), studied in 3 countries, led 3 global businesses with Multinationals (Philips and Siemens), led and/or founded 5 start-ups, created or introduced to the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How China Makes Economic Plans Key Takeaway China’s decision-making calendar is structured with key moments when it makes plans for its economic and political future. These include two sessions, study sessions of the politburo, and the declaration of President Xi Jinping’s third term as general secretary. The Chinese political calendar features seven plenary sessions to establish a unified vision for […] Written by Mark Greeven May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Science Of Cringe Key Takeaway Cringe is a physical and emotional emotion that can help people better understand themselves and one another. A recent study showed that cringe-filled entertainment can actually help people better understand themselves and one another. The study found that binge-watching a show with cringeworthy moments can be therapeutic, as it reminds us of the […] Written by Anuja Anil Pradhan May 23, 2023May 23, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Concept Of Beauty In The Middle Ages Key Takeaway: Standards of beauty have been embedded in different cultures since time immemorial, often based on binary notions of idealised forms of femininity or masculinity. Eleanor Janega’s book explores medieval women’s social roles to consider the ways that women’s roles have and haven’t changed. Religious women in the middle ages used weaponised beauty to […] Written by Empirics Asia May 5, 2023May 5, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
What It Means To Be Authentic In The Age Of A.I. Key Takeaway: Authenticity is important for both individuals and society, as it is a social glue that reinforces trust. People need to reexamine and recalibrate how authenticity is judged. Social science offers guidance on what makes something feel authentic. George Newman found three dimensions of authenticity: historical authenticity, categorical authenticity, and values and beliefs. Generative […] Written by Victor Lee May 3, 2023May 3, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Importance Of Solitude Key Takeaway: Solitude is different from loneliness, as it can be found in public spaces and can have a positive impact on our daily mood. It can help us deal with feelings of frustration, agitation or anger. Spending time alone can be difficult and lonely, so it is important to have something to do during […] Written by Thuy-vy Nguyen May 2, 2023May 2, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Future Of Digital Journalism After BuzzFeed Key Takeaway: Buzzfeed News has announced it will shut its award-winning news division for good, laying off 60 journalists. This is bad news for those involved and a tragedy for the wider digital news media, as it produced hard-edged, scoop-heavy journalism. Media companies sought to emulate Buzzfeed’s irreverent and flippant style, but its quality journalism […] Written by Sean Dodson May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Will The Earth Last Forever? Key Takeaway: The Earth formed from a nebula 4.6 billion years ago, and the atmosphere of the early Earth was not oxygen-rich. Cyanobacteria were the first organisms to produce oxygen, and humans emerged 200,000-2 million years ago. The Sun provides energy and plants for food and oxygen. The Earth’s surface is constantly changing, leading to […] Written by Shichun Huang April 20, 2023April 20, 2023 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
