So This Is My Why Ling Yah

Alvin Chiong's father was an opium addict.

And as for Alvin:

Age 7: Alvin's mother abandoned the family
Age 9: Started sniffing glue & joined the secret society to avoid being bullied
Age 14: Left school to follow his leader
Age 18: Became hooked on heroin & couldn't hold down a job.

Things came to a head in Thailand, where Alvin realised he needed to change his life around.

But opium addiction, while a choice, is not so easy to kick.

And it took many, many halfway houses & attempts before Alvin came clean, turned his life around (after prison!!) and became the person he is today: giving back to society, helping his former brothers find their feet & holding down jobs as a chef as tour guide at Triad Trails.

Alvin's story, like Notle Chew's story in STIMY Episode 102, is an unusual STIMY story, but one that I really want to have shared.

Because there is a lesson to be learned from everyone's life journey.

And the biggest takeaway is this: It's all about mindset & attitude.

If we insist on blaming the world & everyone else in it for our troubles, no matter how 'justified', then you will continue to be held back.

Now Alvin tells his story best, so are you ready?

Let's go!


Highlights:

2:53 Dysfunctional family
4:54 Joining the secret society
10:34 Fighting
12:57 Thailand
14:56 The "price" for leaving the secret society gang
19:04 Being friends with brothers
20:35 Being in prison
23:51 Safeguards to avoid temptation
26:17 Going back to prison to help
30:24 God
31:56 Common misconceptions about drug addicts
32:49 The secret to change
35:13 Knowing when a convict is telling you the truth
38:55 Are Singaporean laws too harsh?
41:41 Common struggles for members of the secret society
43:02 Spiritual journey & finding God
46:43 What Alvin is grateful for this year

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/114

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Everyone wants to start a community while Bryan Pham (with his co-founder, Maggie Chui) has grown a global community from 0 to 200,000+ in 3 years! 😱

#casual

Best of all?

It started as a “screw you” moment. 😅

In all seriousness, Bryan is the founder of Asian Hustle Network (“AHN”), AHNF & AHN Ventures.

And has had quite the unconventional journey:

😮Bryan’s parents fled the Vietnam War & taught him that investments and business were taboo

😮He worked as a software engineer & realised that companies didn’t have his back; you’d be fired even if you’d been working there for 20 years!

😮He tried an Amazon selling side hustle - and lost $22k

Although:

🔥His roommate got him into property investment - and he made $200k+ from his first sale!

🔥He built a real estate investment community of 2,000 in 2 years in the Bay Area.

But for 4 years, Bryan had been thinking about his why. And found himself wanting to build something for the Asian community.

A trip to the Meiji Shrine gave his idea the spark, a rejection gave it the light (you’ll have to listen to find out what! 😏), and within 3 days of AHN being born, the Asian Hustle Network had 1,000 members.

👀 In 11 months: 60k members

👀In 1.5 years: 100k+ members

👀In 2 years: 120k+ members

Talk about fulfilling a need! 😱

But things weren’t easy:

☹️Bryan was receiving hate messages (and wanted to quit after 8 months)

☹️ AHN wasn’t profitable for years.

Things have since turned around

🔥AHN is incorporated in the USA, Singapore & Australia;

🔥Has its own venture fund;

🔥Also runs a non-profit fund; and

🔥Has expanded into Southeast Asia!

To learn the details of this transformation, how AHN grew from a Facebook group to a massive global super connector platform & Bryan’s lesson from launching the Hate Is A Movement, just listen to the latest episode 113 on the So This Is My Why podcast!

And do let us know what you think. 😊

Highlights:

2:17 Growing up with $25
4:02 Investments & business were taboo at home!
5:31 Why computer science?
6:45 Companies aren’t loyal 😕
9:43 Starting his side hustle & losing $22,000 😫
12:01 Getting into real estate investment
18:04 When you’re less reliant on your job, you start seeing what’s wrong with it
20:17 I don’t need to be an employee!
22:47 Depressed over finding the meaning of life
27:03 The Asian community is divided
31:04 Asian Hustle Network’s mission
32:35 Being inspired by the Meiji Shrine
34:33 Going viral (thanks, Subtle Asian Traits!)
39:14 How do you make everyone feel like they belong?
41:11 Wanting to quit after 8 months
41:43 Hate Is A Virus movement
45:44 Running successful events
48:51 The trick to networking
50:09 Constantly innovating
51:18 Becoming profitable
53:04 Sponsorships
55:00 Moving to Southeast Asia
57:57 Difference to EST Media
58:46 The Vietnamese Way
1:03:11 Bing Chen of Gold House


📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/113

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

🥳STIMY episodes are now open to sponsorship! Just email sothisismywhy@gmail.com to find out more.

We've heard from Eric Sim all week.

In Part 1, we learned about his journey from working at his father's prawn noodle hawker stall to becoming the Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank.

In Part 2, Eric explains why he left it all behind, the importance of building a portfolio career, why LinkedIn & his secret to building a 2.9 million following on LinkedIn!

In today's special episode, we asked Eric questions that came from YOU, the STIMY listeners!

YOUR Questions to Eric:
1:10 Framework to evaluate opportunities [Lily Wu]
4:10 What is Eric Sim's life purpose? [Sam Huen]
5:12 What does the creator economy look like in 3 years & what's 1 action that people can take to best position themselves for it? [Lester Chng]
8:36 Lessons learned after writing his book, Small Actions Leading Your Career to Big Success [Craig Davis]


📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/112-questions

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Eric had the world at his feet.

He had gone from selling prawn noodles at his father's hawker stall in Singapore to becoming the Managing Director of UBS Investment Bank.

So why did he throw it all away? 😱

What comes after all that?

For Eric, a lot more.

He was constantly learning skills & combining them in unique ways. From learning to sail to video editing and becoming LinkedIn's top influencer in both Singapore and China thanks to his 2.9 MILLION followers.

In this Part 2, we dive into Eric's life after banking.

How we can & should all be building a portfolio career. Why LinkedIn. His book writing journey & the crazy way he sells his books in China.

If you feel stuck in your career, or don't know how to stand out from your peers, then this is the roadmap to adopt. 😉


Highlights:

2:39 Why stop being the Managing Director?
3:53 Pursuing a portfolio career
5:57 The start of Eric’s LinkedIn journey in Hong Kong
7:45 Content pillars
9:13 How do you gain 2.9 million LinkedIn followers?!
10:01 Why LinkedIn?
13:59 Where’s the line?
16:13 Building community
22:16 Small Actions
25:20 Should I write a book?
26:44 Self-publication & Kinokuniya’s Kenny Chan
28:42 Marketing
30:29 What’s the China market like?


📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/112-2

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

How does a shy boy with no social skills, who failed his mathematics & went to school smelling of prawns every day... become the Managing Director of UBS?

Just ask Eric Sim.

The truth is:

❌ Eric didn't just fail his maths.

He also failed his English Literature & History papers and had to work at his father's prawn noodle shop before going to school.

❌ He bombed his first job in FX Sales role at DBS Bank.

❌ He failed all his job interviews in London (which he attended wearing a chicken suit!).

But Eric's story doesn't end there.

He:

✅ Figured out how to leverage on his unique background, i.e. as the son of a hawker & bartender, to build a unique personal brand & score his first job;

✅ Found an amazing boss, Prasanna Thombre, who believed in him & gave him all the international opportunities he needed; and

✅ Built relationships that meant that his future jobs were all referred to him.

Eric learned very quickly that you need to do more than just your job to thrive.

And we talked about the cultural nuances of working in different Asian cities (including Ulaanbaatar!), what it meant to be the Managing Director, why he would go to the same restaurant x4 a week!! & how he networks to build the relationships he needs.

Highlights:

2.52: Forced to drink oat milk & selling prawn noodles
5:27 Carving potatoes was a lie!
6:43 Developing an inferiority complex (+ learning everything!)
9:16 Sending an unsolicited application to DBS Bank
12:35 Restarting his career at Lancaster University
14:36 Wearing a chicken suit for interviews at London's financial banks
16:15 The Asian Financial Crisis & Prasanna Thombre
20:53 Moving to Citi
23:41 Working in Shanghai & witnessing the liberalisation of China's financial sector
24:52 Chinese business culture
25:55 Cigarettes
28:09 The importance of being friends with all the chefs
30:31 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
31:38 Why Eric keeps getting referrals for jobs
32:33 Why Citi was Eric's dream job
35:09 Did the wealthy look down at Eric?
37:11 Why being a hawker's son helped Eric as a banker
40:14 Meeting Hawker Chan
42:53 Becoming Managing Director at UBS (investment banking)
44:30 Was Eric a successful MD?

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/112

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062


P/S: Part 2 of Eric's episode comes out this WEDNESDAY! And we talked about why Eric left his high-flying role as Managing Director, how he built a 2.9 million LinkedIn follower count, the importance of personal branding & building a second career, and his journey as a published author in Asia and specifically, China.

Amanda Cua is the founder of Backscoop: the hottest newsletter covering all things in the Southeast Asian startup industry.

She’s only 20 years old but:

- Backscoop has already crossed 10,000 subscribers;
- Has attracted funding from Buko Ventures;
- Been featured on CNN; and
- Has moderated a Wild Digital firechat with Jaeson Ma of 88Rising & OP3N.

All this - with no college degree.

Who said COVID-19 pandemic projects can’t go far? 😉

But if you listen to this STIMY episode, you’ll soon realise that Backscoop is so much more than a mere side project.

Amanda envisions it to be a regional media company for the people in Southeast Asian tech.

So if you’re interested in what drives Amanda, what it takes to run a newsletter that publishes x5/week (it now has a podcast!) & also what’s happening in the Southeast Asian startup space, then this is the episode for you.

Highlights:

7:00 Deciding to not go to university
10:11 Maximising her gap year
15:53 Cold outreach tactics
17:38 Launching her own startup, Backscoop
20:36 Why Southeast Asia (and not APAC)?
26:59 Researching other newsletters
29:58 The different iterations of Backscoop
31:24 Dropping Soft Serve
32:44 Most effective growth strategy
34:34 Getting over stagnant growth
35:56 Building a regional media company
37:26 Trends in the Southeast Asian tech scene
39:36 Accepting investment from Buko Ventures
43:39 Launching a new product, One More Scoop
44:55 What’s the value proposition?
47:02 Serendipity
49:37 Personal branding
53:42 Competitor that Amanda admires & why


📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/111

🍦Subscribe to Backscoop: https://sparklp.co/p/9c1a338c2c

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success & build a portfolio career on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442