Youths encouraged to establish start-ups while studying

Increased volatility in the job market has led many to consider alternative avenues for making money, such as starting a business.

The Star notes that Malaysia harbours great potential for development in this area as start-ups comprised only 0.25 percent of companies registered in the country as of 2019.

Last month’s tabling of Budget 2022 also saw RM150 million being allocated towards a financing plan for entrepreneurial youth.

It is never too early to become an entrepreneur (Source: Pexels)

To help aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their business goals, the Taylor’s AKPK Club invited Jan Wong, the founder of digital consultancy OpenMinds, to share some of his experiences in a session entitled “How to Rock a Startup”.

Having started his business in college himself, Wong believed that university was the best time to launch a business.

“As a student, you have zero commitment and your schedule is fixed. You will not have that amount of certainty with your time when you get employed.”

He also encouraged participants to integrate their business aspirations with their academic responsibilities, such as picking assignment topics that centred around industries they were keen to do business in.

This would give them opportunities to do actual field research on competing companies.

Wong noted that university group assignments, as demeaning as some could be, was fertile ground for scouting out future business partners, especially if there were members whose visions and goals aligned with those of ours.

He added that the secret to spotting good business opportunities would be to frequently interact with others and question how things are done.

Once an opportunity is found, the most important thing would be to grab it first, even if one has not formulated a clear business plan for the idea beforehand.

Wong mentioned that profitable businesses did not usually need funds to begin with, but there were always things like bank loans and personal savings to rely on should one need them.

Some of Wong’s parting sentiments were for participants to have a strong reason for pursuing entrepreneurship and to not be swayed by others’ expectations.

Chan Ving Zi, the editorial assistant director of Taylor’s AKPK Club, said that the talk was fulfilling as a lot was covered in a short period of time, including the challenges of being an entrepreneur and dealing with unhelpful partners and friends.

She found Wong’s insights into motivation, support systems, and personal progress helpful.

This event was held as part of Taylor’s AKPK Club’s monthly Money Talks series.