Bossming: Up and Up and Up
Hello world! Welcome to my revamped site. This space has been neglected for the longest time, but its back now!
In Feb of this year, I stepped down as CEO of Netccentric. It was not a planned or expected move, and I’ll let you read in between the lines of the released statement to figure out what went down.
It was not an easy time for me, as Netccentric was my life, all that I knew after I graduated from LSE in 2006, 11 years earlier.
I did not have time to prepare, or think about what came after Netccentric.
It happened like many other things in life. Where you are cruelly thrust into an unsavoury situation, and all you can do is react, and roll with the punches.
You just got to get through the “Six Degrees of Separation” as the Song by The Script goes.
“You’ve read the books, you’ve watched the shows
What’s the best way, no one knows
Meditate, yea, hypnotized
Anything to take it from your mind
But it won’t go
You’re doing all these things out of desperation
You’re going through six degrees of separation
You had the drink, you take a toke
Watch the past go up in smoke
You fake a smile, ya, lie and say
You’re better now than ever and your life’s okay
But it’s not, no
You’re doing all these things out of desperation
You’re going through six degrees of separation”
And so I did.
Went through all six degrees, of the breakup of my professional life as I knew it.
Anger, Sadness, Sense of Loss, Nostalgia, Self Discovery … to where I am today.
Not all of it was bad of course, and I am so thankful for my family, friends and colleagues who stuck by me.
Offering not what I had lost, but helping remind me what I had, and in doing, what I could build once again.
So what’s the 6th stage? Where am I today?
REBIRTH!
As I was travelling the world, living out my six degrees of separation, and meeting people from all over, I realized, for the first time in 11 years, I had no professional identity, no calling card!
And it also begged the question, Who was private citizen Ming? What did he do for work? n.b. Although the title Chief Lifestyle Officer was fun, it wouldnt do forever haha 🙁
That’s where this site comes in and answers both those questions.
I AM a culmination of all the things I’ve done, succeeded in, failed in, but ALSO, all the things I am doing, and will do too.
I am an Entrepreneur, Investor and Strategist.
Entrepreneur
Running businesses is my passion. Having a crack at problems, solving them, making money, hiring people, giving them purpose, and making them useful contributors to society at large.
I have been doing it in so many forms over the last 11 years. On this site and blog, you can follow my past, learning from my successes but more importantly my failures too.
Many people would know of Netccentric, Nuffnang or Dayre, the successes in my entrepreneurial journey.
But what about Jipaban? An online shopping mall, pre-dating Zalora, Lazada and Qoo10 my team and I worked very hard on, but in the end had to shut down?
Of course my journey as an entrepreneur is far from over too. There are several ideas I’m toying with at the moment, and this is the space you will hear about it first.
Investor
Investing in other aspiring entrepreneurs, is something I have been doing for a while now. And something I want to continue doing.
Few people would know, I helped fund Velda Tan, and Collate The Label, after she left Love Bonito.
The saying goes that you do not invest in a business, you invest in the people behind the business.
Thats the reason why I invested.
I knew Velda as a person, and I knew of her determination to succeed and strike it out on her own.
She has done well so far, and continues to evolve and innovate. Getting better with each turn.
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur seeking investment, do holler me, and perhaps we can sit down and chat over a Teh Peng.
Strategist
Everybody is a consultant nowadays. But it was only after my departure from Netccentric, when some people came knocking on my door (I was too busy being CLO then), that I realized I had over a decade of continuous practise, honed a skill, in the area of Social Media Marketing.
In fact, its more than a job to me. Its become a deep area of interest, and I continue to keep up to date in the space.
From my personal experience of running campaigns for hundreds of clients, my own businesses (like Jipaban), and even my wifés fashion label (innitbangkok), I understand the power and inner workings of Social Media Marketing. It is part art and part science, and truly excites me.
If the right project comes along, working on an explosive outcome for an external organisation, it is something I would consider.
Wow, that’s quite alot of verbal diarrhoea. Sorry! But it was also pretty cathartic for me. I hope you enjoy my site, and will check back often to find updates on this blog, and on the projects I’m embarking on. Leave a comment to say hi!
I leave you with the song I’ve been getting high on this morning haha!
Searching for the water, hoping for the rain
Up and up, Up and up
Waiting for a chance to pick your orange field
Up and up, Up and up
See a bird soaring high above the flood
It’s in your blood, It’s in your blood
Sitting with the poison takes away the pain
Up and up, Up and up
I know we’re gonna get it, get it together somehow
We’re gonna get it, get it together and flower
Follow me UP & UP & UP!