Misfits: Wisdoms with unconventional Singaporean

Steve Schlafman (@schlaf) is a work-life transition coach.He's certified with various coaching and therapeutic schools and programs including (but not limited to) The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, Coaching for Transformation, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Men's Emotional Leadership (MELT) and Enneagram.Previously, Steve was a partner at a multi-billion venture capital firm, RRE. And graduated from Northeastern University.He has been sober for more than 10 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seth Godin (@thisissethsblog) is the author of 21 bestsellers book. That includes Tribes, Purple Cow, Linchpin, The Dip, and This Is Marketing.His blog (which you can find by typing “Seth” into Google) is one of the most popular in the world. In 2013, Godin was inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame.Two of his TED talks are among the most popular of all time. He is also the founder of the altMBA, Squidoo (the social media pioneer) and Yoyodyne (one of the first internet companies).In this conversation, we spoke about:How to attract talent to your companyAs an employee, How to create change in big organizationAnd how Seth write books and ship projects at lighting speed Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Lee (@chrisasylum) is the founder of Asylum Creative, since 1999. His client list includes Aesop, Johnie Walker, Sony, Hublot, Harley-Davidson and more. The cross-disciplinary studio design logo, website to entire hotel and cafe interior. Most notably, The Warehouse Hotel, 4fingers and Tangs.His works can be found around Singapore, Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing, Paris, Bali, Los Angeles, New York, Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, Venice, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul.After winning all the awards (D&AD, Red Dot Design Award, Singapore President*s Design Award, Hong Kong Design Award and more), he judges them now (D&AD, Red Dot Design Awards, Golden Pin Design Award, The One Show, Tokyo Type Directors Club and more).Chris also founded many businesses and organisations which include (but not limited to), Artifactt, Fred Perry (SG, MY, ID), The Design Society, Asylum Shop, Assembly, CA4LA, Ally Social, Chocolate Research Facility and Fifth Ave Shoe Repair.Chris never went to a university.George Cluny, might or might not, be related to him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lin Tan, MCC is an executive and mentor coach and also a founder of Collective Change Institute (CCI). She is the youngest Master Certified Coach (ICF) in Singapore, making her 1 of 6 Master Coaches in Singapore. Lin also served as the president of ICF Singapore in 2020.Her clients include DHL, Royal Bank of Scotland, Burberry, Discovery Channel, and diverse agencies of the Singapore government.She has a Bachelor's degree in Business Communications from Murdoch University, Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You don’t want to do what they do, you want to see how they see”.– Nate GreenNate Green, is an author of multiple books, marketing strategist at Precision Nutrition and a recovering fitness junkie.Nate barely graduated high school with 1.7 GPA. Despite all odds, he became one of the most sought after writers and strategists in the fitness industry. He wrote one of the most popular blog post on Tim Ferriss' blog, The Extreme Weight Cutting Secrets of UFC Fighters. In this conversation, we spoke about:When it's time be aloneHow to make celebrity friends 80/20 guide to be good at marketing See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tynan, is an entrepreneur, personal coach and minimalist nomad. He is the author of best-selling books, Superhuman by Habit and Forever Nomad. Tynan also pioneered the idea of Empire housing, to share homeownership with friends. With this, he brought an island in Canada and homes in Hawaii, Budapest, Tokyo and Vegas.In his former life, he is a pickup artist and instructor, best known as Herbal in The Game by Neil Strauss.In this conversation, we spoke about:What he learnt as a pickup artistHow to make friends as an adult How to give advice that people listen See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nina Barber, is an executive and CEO coach & matchmaker. In 2 years, she is billing $2,500 - $10,000/month per client for her coaching services.  She is also the founder of Prismaticco, a matchmaking service for startup executives to find coaches. Nina has also co-founded a social enterprise, Nika that brings clean water to more than 40,000 people every day. In this conversation, we spoke about: Why Nina spends $50,000 a year on self-development The emotional journey of operation to closing a $3 million dollar start-up How did Nina build her coaching practice in record speed

Dr Stephen Snyder is a sex and couple therapist for over 30 years. His goal, to help you have great sex.  He is also the author of Love Worth Making: How to Have Ridiculously Great Sex in a Long-Lasting Relationship. Stephen is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine. In this conversation, we spoke about: Why you should be sexually selfish How the idea of “desire” can mess up your sex life Why our thinking brain is stopping us from having "great sex" and how to "turn it off"

Derek Sivers, is a kind of a reluctant entrepreneur, circus-clown musician turned author. In 1998, Derek created CD Baby by helping his friends sell their CDs. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100 million in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22 million, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. He went to speak at the TED Conference, for 3 times in 2010 (which is unheard of), with more than 18 million views of his talks. Since 2011, he has published 34 books, including “Anything You Want,” which I love so much.  In this conversation, we spoke about: What Derek love about Singapore  Things he learn about sex  How and when to use "feeling" when making decisons This is one of my favourite interview, enjoy!

Ali Abdaal, is a YouTuber and junior doctor in the UK. His YouTube channel has more than 30 millions view and 500K subscribers.  He is also the founder of 6med, the largest medical exam preparation crash course in the world.  Ali holds a doctorate from Cambridge University. In this conversation, we spoke about: Ali's battle-tested learning techniques How to choose your doctors  How to grow a YouTube while having a 50 hours/workweek doctor gig and much more!

Michelle Florendo, is a coach for Type-A professionals and executives. She has served on the inaugural coaching team for Seth Godin’s altMBA, guest-taught on Stanford’s famous Design Your Life course, and is a founding member of the Forbes Coaches Council. Michelle is also a mother of 2, admits these achievements. Her coaching philosophy is a blend of decision engineering, design thinking, and lean startup principles. Michelle holds a bachelor from Stanford University and an MBA from UC Berkeley. In this conversation, we spoke about: Michelle’s evolution as a coach What is travel roulette? The hard truth about being a coach and much more!

Steph Smith (@stephsmithio), 25 is a senior analyst working on Trends, tracking up-and-coming trends.  After less than a year of learning to code (while having a full-time job), she has won the Golden Kitty award for inclusion, on Product Hunt.  Steph writes a blog about remote work, women in tech and learning to code.  These days when she is not at work, she is building Upread, a tool connecting indie publishers with their readers. In this conversation, we spoke about: Things women face in the tech industry Steph’s transition from consulting to remote work The ups and downs of remote work and much more!  

Khailee Ng is a managing partner of 500 Startups, a venture capital firm. He has led more than 180 startup investments, with a few “unicorn” successes such as Grab and Bukalapa. Khailee has previously founded Groupsmore which got acquired by Groupon and Says.com, which got subsequently acquired by Media Prima, Malaysia’s largest online media company. BUT, even if you have zero interest in startups, this episode is well worth the time. This is really about the habits and beliefs of a successful (and fun) person. Enjoy this conversation with a curious character! In this conversation, we spoke about: Lesson learnt at Richard’s Branson Necker Island How does Khailee study and prepare for marriage Principal to a kick-ass pitch

Alvin Poh is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Vodien, a cloud hosting company. Vodien was founded in 2002. It was later acquired by Dreamscape in 2017, and was valued for S$ 30million. Shortly after being a millionaire at 33 years old, he sold most of his belongings (including his Lamborghini) and embraced minimalism. Alvin holds a masters in Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon. He is now travelling and snowboarding around the world. In this conversation, we spoke about: Why Alvin sold his Lamborghini and embrace minimalism The evolution of Alvin’s fitness routine How Alvin apply the 80/20 principle to business Links Mentioned Connect with Alvin Poh: Website | Instagram At 34, Alvin Poh Is A Multi-Millionaire. But He Doesn’t Think He’s Rich by Justin Vanderstraaten I Became a Millionaire at 33 And It Was A Disappointment by Alvin Poh Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat Naval Ravikant interview on Farnam Street by Shane Parrish (Transcript) Interactive BrokersSAXOVanguard Total Index Fund Accumulating Capital Class Withholding tax on ETFs for Singaporeans Powerlifting Callisthenics The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman Book review by Derek Sivers Notepad++Tasker (Andriod) Foxit (Andriod)  PDFpen (Mac OS and iOS) Transporter 95 by Osprey Show Notes How does Alvin network during his time at Vodien? [02:48] When did Alvin know he was an entrepreneur? [24:21] Alvin sharing how his childhood influence his outlook on materialism [27:08] What does happiness means to Alvin now? [30:05] What did Alvin do after exiting Vodien? [44:23] Why did Alvin decide to drop out of Junior College and enrol in Polytechnic? [56:01] What is one thing Alvin wished he learnt earlier as a leader? [01:05:18] How does Alvin identity and form his inner circle? [01:14:15] What are the pro & cons of SAXO and InteractiveBrokers? [01:17:09] What is the evolution of Alvin’s fitness routine? [01:20:48]

JR Hinds is the owner of Hinds and Associates, specialising in employer-sponsored health insurance plans. Today, over 90% of his business is developed through referrals. He has a private pilot’s license and flies a Cessna 172. He also jumped out of an airplane twice (but never one that he was flying). JR rappelled down the building the day before his wedding day and threw a surprise wedding for his 50 guests. One of his favourite things to do is to spend time with his 4 nephews and his niece. In this conversation, we spoke about Learnings from the World Domination Summit Conference hacking JR's personal mission statement and much more! JR apologise for the wrong mention of "Yes Marsha Marsha". It's Yes Yes Marsha. There was a lot of nervous laughter in this episode - mainly from me. Listen to the podcast to know why. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

“I don't think we ask deep enough questions and give young people enough credit for being able to have those answer within themselves.”– Michelle Jones Michelle Jones is the founder of a higher education institution, Wayfinding Academy. It is a new 2-year college aiming to revolutionize higher education. They have been approved to offer Associate’s degrees by Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission. She has taught in traditional colleges for 15 years. Some of the institutions include (but not limited to) Boston University,  University of New Mexico and Concordia University of Portland. Michelle is also the organizer of TEDx Mt Hood for the last 8 years. Wayfinding Academy is currently having a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign from June 17th - July 27th to raise $60,000. Thier goals are to double their student body size, launch a second program, and impact twice as many lives. Donate here. In the podcast episode [02:40:00], you can listen to a conversation with a student (Meg Lamberger) of the Wayfinding Academy about her experiences. Enjoy this incredible conversation! It was very eye-opening for me. In this conversation, we spoke about How Michelle started Wayfinding Academy with a personal budget of $15,000 for 2 years Why Wayfinding Academy doesn't have grades The importance of guides in a student's growth and much more!

“It is not a failure if there are lessons to be learnt from it.” – Daniel Lim Daniel Lim is an entrepreneur and business coach. His coaching and training practice aims to help people to redefine success, build businesses and do work which is aligned with their values and purpose. Daniel's former design studio, Studio MDS work with clients such as Capella Hotels, Singapore Flyer and National Heritage Board. In 2017, he designed and ran a retreat called #howtohuman for DesignSingapore Council. In this conversation, we spoke about The story of Daniel's burnout Toxic behaviour in the workplace Characteristics of people that who should not be an entrepreneur and much more!

Annabelle Kwok, 25 is the founder of NeuralBay, an Artificial Intelligence company that specialises in vision analytics. She consults with companies on A.I. driven solutions and was previously the founding CEO of SmartCow. At 20, she travelled alone for 6 weeks to Togo, West Africa. She has witness people fainting from malaria, getting robbed at knife-point, and balanced buckets of water on her head. At 22, she met U.S. President Barack Obama under a youth programme representing Singapore. Annabelle is a black-belt in Taekwondo, a licensed windsurfer, and an avid runner. In this conversation, we spoke about Why did Annabelle has joined the 10 days silent retreat, twice Why she decided to run a marathon in North Korea Her experiences of travelling alone in Togo, West Africa and much more! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. --- In 2018, I am getting my health in order. I have already lost 5kg in one month. If you have similar goals, and tried a bunch of diet and regime that didn't help. I want to work with you. I have enough time for 3 people at the moment to help achieve their health goals. The session would be free of charge, as I learning and testing things out. I also ask that you only sign up if you are really ready to make some changes. I will motivate you and keep you accountable, but you'll get the most out of my time if we can spend the bulk of our time analysing what you've done and implementing changes. If you are interested, please email me a little introduction of yourself and your goals. Amongst potential candidate who I think we are a good fit, I'll accept people first come first serve. Get in touch by emailing to ask [at] bryanvictor.com.   

"No one says that decided to start drinking because my ambition in life is to be an alcoholic. It’s rubbish.” – Dr Munidasa Winslow Munidasa Winslow is a psychiatrist and the executive director of Promises Healthcare. He has been practising psychiatry since 1988 and is known for his work in addiction medicine and impulse control disorders. He was also responsible for the setting up the Addiction Management Department at the Institute of Mental Health. His last appointment at IMH was the Chief of the Department of Addiction Medicine Department at IMH Singapore. Dr Winslow is accredited as a master addiction counsellor and a clinical supervisor. In this conversation, we spoke about Simple yardstick to test if one has an addiction The framework recovery process for addictions Dr Winslow’s views on ADHD and much more!

Lim Der Shing is currently a private investor, Venture Advisor with Jungle Seedplus and board member with several organizations. Huang Shao-Ning is the Managing Partner of Hub Ventures Fund and a Partner at Entrepreneur First, the world’s leading company builder. Together, they are the co-founders of JobsCentral Group and manage a regional portfolio of over 17 angel investments in startups. JobCentral grew from a 2-man startup into an organization with 150 employees over a period of 14 years.  In 2011, JobsCentral was acquired by CareerBuilder, making it one of Singapore’s largest tech exits at the time. They did all of that while raising a family of 4 kids. In this conversation, we spoke about How to discern good advice from noise Strategies for hiring and managing talents Effective communication between a couple and much more! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! Show Notes Huang Shao-Ning shares about her childhood [01:04] Lim Der Shing shares about his childhood [04:18] How did Der Shing and Shao-Ning end up at Ann Habour University [08:17] How did Der Shing first meet Shao Ning? [12:10] Shao-Ning and Der Shing shares views about taking advice from the elderly [17:14] How do Der Shing and Shao Ning discern good advice from noise? [26:01] Why did Shao-Ning and Der Shing quit their jobs to start JobCentral? [37:10] What are the different stages of JobsCentral's growth? [46:13] Shao Ning and Der Shing shares insights on hiring [51:52] How do you develop a "bullshit" meter for sussing out candidates? [56:12] How do Shao Ning and Der Shing define and view entrepreneurship? [59:14] What did Shao Ning learn from Der Shing? [01:06:23] Links Mentioned Connect with Lim Der Shing and Huang Shao-Ning: Website (Der Shing) | LinkedIn (Shao-Ning) Thanks for listening! And if you have any experience with anything we talked about, I’d love for you to open up in the comments. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Share your story in the comments. Also, please leave an honest review for Misfits Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. Special thanks to Shao-Ning and Der Shing. Until next time!  

Peter Ho is the CEO of HOPE Technik, an engineering company specializing in Unmanned systems, Defence, Bio-medical, Smart Logistics and Special Vehicles. The company has delivered over 400 projects across 18 countries to date and projects included (but not limited to) the last 4 versions of Red Rhino for the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). HOPE Technik was awarded the Most Technologically Disruptive Collaboration (Collaboration Towards Smart Factory Using Autonomous Guided Vehicles) from SICC in 2017. Peter is an adjunct professor at National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Peter is also a board member of Composite Cluster Singapore and Airgo Design. In this conversation, we spoke about The story of how Peter brought the rarest vintage car in Singapore How did Hope Technik clinch the Red Rhino project? Why did Peter leave his job as a Chief Engineer at Petronas? I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

Michael Sng is the principal designer of Machination Studio. He is the creator of the Codename Colossus - a Walking War Machine with 435 individually 3D-printed parts. Michael is the first Singaporean who spoke on the main stage at the TED Conference (2016) in Vancouver. He holds a Bachelor of Graphic Design (Advertising) from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (2000). In this conversation, we spoke about: Tools and skills to design and build a 3D printed & moving toy Hacking Kickstarter to conclude a 442% funded Campaign Michael’s experience preparing for TED and much more!

“If you allow all these barriers and challenges around you to impact you, you’ll never walk out of the house and have terrible mental health. So, get over it.” – Claire Chiang Claire Chiang is the co-founder of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts. She was the Singapore's Woman of the Year (1999). She was the first of two women who to break the long-standing tradition of an all-male member of Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI). Claire is the chairperson of the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund, the Shirin Fozdar Program and the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS). She occasionally contributes to and leads various committees in the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, National Arts Council and Raffles Girls’ Secondary School. In this conversation, we spoke about How to deal with the "glass ceiling" How to be a mum while running a business What Claire learnt from the study of Sociology and much more! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I do.

Pek Jin Shen, 25, better known by his stage name ShiGGa Shay is a Singaporean hip-hop artist, songwriter, director, and music producer. In 2012, ShiGGa was named the "Unsigned Talent of The Week" by WorldStarHipHop. He was the first Singaporean hip-hop Artist that made it to iTunes top chart with his song, LimPeh. In 2016, ShiGGa Shay was invited by the US Ambassador to perform at the White House State Dinner after-party. ShiGGa is also a founder member of hip hop group Grizzle Grind Crew, as well as production company Grizzle Films. He films and art-directs most of his music videos. In this conversation, we spoke about ShiGGa Shay's vision for his career How ShiGGa Shay dealt with the passing of his father ShiGGa's advice for young budding artists

Tay Kheng Soon is the founder and principal partner of the architect firm, Akitek Tenggara. In the span of his career, he was responsible for many iconic buildings around Singapore. Some of these include (but not limited to) People's park Complex, Golden Mile Complex and KK Woman's and Children hospital. He was president of the Singapore Institute of Architects (1991-1993); the founding member and chairman of the Singapore Planning and Urban Research Group (1970-1971); chairman of The Substation and founding member of DP Architects (1967-1974). On the side, he is an adjunct architecture professor at the National University of Singapore. In this conversation, we spoke about Kheng Soon’s backpacking experience in the 1960s Kheng Soon’s encounter with our late PM Lee Kuan Yew The relationship between architecture and politics

Wayne Cheong is the head writer for Esquire Singapore. He is a two-time recipient of the MPAS (Media Publishers Association of Singapore) "Journalist of The Year”, for both 2014 and 2015. He has interviewed numerous iconic personalities, including Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Dev Patel, Colin Schooling, "The SMRT Vigilanteh" and Eric Bana, amongst others. On the side, Wayne performs standup comedy regularly. He has performed at Singapore Comedy Fringe Festival, Talk Cock Comedy 2015 as well as regular improv nights together with other comedians. In this episode, we talked about Wayne's interview process: from crafting questions to writing the article Esquire's hiring process Recommendations for Japan and much much more...

Aaron Maniam is the Director (Industry Division) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore. He has received numerous awards including (but not limited to), Asia Society’s “Asia 21 Young Leaders’ (2006), Singapore Youth Award (2012), and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (2013). Aaron's poems have won many awards including the National Arts Council’s Golden Point Award  (2003). His poems have been featured in online journals such as Stylus and Softblow and in print publications such as Fifty on 50, From Walden to Woodlands, La Traductiere, Journal des Poètes, and Becoming Poets. He is also the author of Morning at Memory's Border - one of the three books shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2007. In 1995, Aaron was Singapore's top student in the Cambridge GCE 'O' Level Examination. Aaron holds a Master of Arts in International & Development Economics from Yale University and a Master of Public Policy from the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University. In this conversation, we spoke about Strengths of a Polymath How can introverts develop the skills of an extrovert? Tools for a 21st-century innovator and a whole more!

Benny Se Teo is the co-founder of Eighteen Chefs. Benny spent 10 years getting in and out of prison. At the age of 45 in 2005, he opened Goshen and started cooking professionally. Benny is also the author of Honest Good Food - a book where he shares his collection of comfort food recipes that are inspired by his childhood memories and personal experiences. In this conversation, we spoke about Benny's childhood packing opium Why is it so hard to kick the drug habit? Benny's experience working at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Foundation and much more!

Richard Chong retired from the Australian Army at the peak of his military career as a Paratrooper after more than 13 years of service, serving in multiple deployments at several theatres of conflict around the globe. He is also a practitioner of several martial arts codes including Krav Maga, Silat, Filipino Martial Arts, slacklining and body flying. In 2010, Richard was my first Couchsurfing host in Melbourne and he had opened up my world. We became good friends and he brought me to my first indoor skydiving experience in KL. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to interview him when he passed by Singapore. In this conversation, we spoke about: Richard stories as a paratrooper in the Australian army How Richard became one of the first person to be paid for teaching slacklining in Melbourne Self-defence advice for solo-travellers and much more...

Violet Lim is the co-founder and CEO of Lunch Actually, the largest dating company in South East Asia, which started humbly in Singapore. Since 2004, Lunch Actually has acquired 5 companies and now have offices in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Bangkok. She is also the CEO of esync, an online-to-offline dating platform and LunchClick, a dating app that prides itself on disallowing the messaging function. Violet is also the president of Matchmaking Institute in Singapore and President of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Singapore. She is also the first Asian to be certified by the Matchmaking Institute, United States (New York).

Gina Tow is the founder and owner of Happy Rollies. Happy Rollies was started in 2015 and has since grown from a humble flea market stall selling ice cream at Geylang Serai market to having 20 ice-cream carts and 2 mini-vans now. Gina Tow has since developed other food items such as Churros, Watermelon Volcano, Toasted Smores and Cheese Chicken Cubes. If you are heading down to Geylang Serai Bazaar this year, keep a look-out for her stall(s). She is cooking up some excitement for all of us. In this conversation, we spoke about: How Gina Tow earned 10K a month by trading second-hand luxury bags? Gina's experience of being bullied in school How Gina start a successful ice-cream cart business

"Success is a satisfying state of the mind, failure is when you stop trying." - Koh Seng Choon Koh Seng Choon is the founder and managing director of Dignity Kitchen, Singapore's first hawker training centre for people with disabilities and the disadvantaged. Dignity Kitchen has trained over 400 individuals and successfully given job placements to all of them. Project Dignity's mission is to build and return dignity to the disadvantaged and people with disabilities through vocation with passion. Under Project Dignity, it runs several other programs which including Dignity Mama Stall, Dignity Cottage, Lunch Treat for the Elderly and more. Koh Seng Choon is also the author of 3 books - Elements of Success: Business, Elements of Success: Education and Elements of Success: Living. Elements of Success: Business is a best-seller in India. Koh Seng Choon is the owner and management consultant of Christopher Benjamin Consultancy Services.  On the side, he is a professor at SP Jain School of Global Management.  In this conversation, we spoke about: How Koh Seng Choon negotiated a scholarship with William Cook PLC How Koh Seng Choon built a network in India in a record time Teaching entrepreneurship at SP Jain school of management, Changi Prison and lots more

Adrian Pang is an artistic director, actor and host. He is also the co-founder of PangdemoniumTheatre Company with his wife, Tracie Pang. He has won “Best Actor” award at the national Life! Theatre Awards and the 14th Asian Television Awards (ATA). Adrian has appeared in numerous local and international films including Forever Fever, The Carrot Cake Conversations, Unlucky Plaza and Blackhat. He also co-wrote, produced and starred in Six Weeks, which aired on MediaWorks in 2004.

“Chefs need arrogance, business that wants to build a brand needs arrogance” – Bjorn Shen Bjorn Shen (IG: @bjornshen) is the chef-owner of Artichoke, Bird Bird and an ice-cream brand, Neh Neh Pop - their Instagram feed make my stomach growl. Bjorn Shen is also the author of the Artichoke cookbook and writes a monthly column titled “Bjorn says” for Time Out Magazine. On the side, he also is a lecturer at Culinary Institute of America. In this conversation, we spoke about: Story of Bjorn getting robbed while working in a 7/11 store Advice on structuring rental agreement How Bjorn lost $230,000 in 3 months with OverDough Why does Bjorn insist taking his staff on oversea trips and lots more

Kuik Shiao-Yin is the co-founder and creative director of The Thought Collective. It is comprised of various companies – School of Thought, which offers tuition for General Paper and Language Arts; Food for Thought, a socially ethical restaurant chain and Think Tank, a branding and content curation agency. She is also a two-term Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP).

Jack Sim is the founder of the World Toilet Organization (WTO), Base of Pyramid Hub (BoP Hub), World Toilet College (WTC) and the Restroom Association of Singapore.   At the age of 40, he attained financial independence after creating a series of 16 successful businesses. Thereafter, he decided to retire and devote his life to social work.   Jack has been named the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur and is an Ashoka Global fellow. Jack also sits on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils (GAC) for Water Security and the GAC for Social Entrepreneurship.

Adrian Tan is the author of The Teenage Textbook and The Teenage Workbook which were both national bestsellers. The two books sold over 50,000 copies. The books were made into a film - The Teenage Textbook Movie, which topped the box office in Singapore for four weeks. In 2015, The Teenage Textbook was selected by The Business Times as one of the Top 10 English Singapore books from 1965–2015. Adrian is currently a lawyer with Morgan Lewis in Singapore and specialises in intellectual property and information technology law. On his off-duty days, Adrian also judges on the International Emmy Award-nominated debate TV show - The Arena.

Loh Lik Peng is the owner and director of Unlisted Collection. His career began as a litigator during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. He mainly dealt with company bankruptcy. His transition to hospitality occurred in 2000 when he bought a property, now known as Hotel 1929, on a bargain and treated it as a passion project. Today, he owns several boutique hotels and restaurants in Singapore, London, Shanghai and Sydney. Some of these include (but not limited to) New Majestic Hotel, Wanderlust Hotel,  Burnt Ends and Pollen. He also chairs the Shatec Institute and Singapore Hotel Association and holds directorships at the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum.

Dharni Ng (@dharniofficial) started beatboxing at age 15.He studied at Temasek Polytechnic Singapore. In 2011, he won Emperor of the The Mic in Canada. He is the first person in history to win The Grand Beatbox Battle Championship twice in a row. He has also has opened for artistes like Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, Lady Gaga and performed during Mariah Carey's concert.

Daniel Ong is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Twelve Cupcakes, with more than 40 stores around the region. He was a well-loved radio deejay from Singapore's MediaCorp Radio 987FM and won the most popular radio personality awards in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Daniel also managed the radio station for 15 months. In 2010, he announced that he was leaving the radio industry at large. In 2011, Twelve Cupcakes was born and it has grown to more than 40 stores today.

The 21 Year Old Founders of Staple Magazine, Emily Tay and Clara Lee. Their pilot issue is themed Dizziness of Youth, whereby the notion of “arriving to an age” or the awkward manoeuvre between childhood to adulthood is the topic of interest.   We dived into topics including: - The world of publishing; finding contents, curating and marketing the magazine - How they started a magazine at the age of 21 while being full-time students who lived in different time zones - Why one should work before entering university - Explore being a youth and loads more    

Rafie Chua is the founder and creator behind custom furniture studio, Plane and Bevel. In a fast paced consumerism society that demands for cheap and the good, he left banking and dived into this sunset industry of woodworking. He has since created a sustainable business. Rafie's creation can found in restaurant, cafes such as Odette, Merely Ice Cream and Choice Cuts. He has most recently been featured on Michelin Guide Singapore. In the interview, we spoke about: The woodworking scene in Singapore Machinery and wood working technique Lessons learnt from traveling around the globe Difference that separate a hobbyist and professional Schools of thoughts in woodworking

Fakkah Fuzz is undoubtedly one of the funniest man in Singapore. I first saw him years ago in a Freestyle Rap Battle where he is “Eminem–Roasting” the opposing rappers. I was cheering. Fuzz, unlike any of us, he DID not do well in school in Malacca. After coming back to Singapore, he took whatever jobs that were available. If that means being a security guard or a waiter, he took it. Fast forward, he “nailed” it at his very own stand-up comedy special – “In Fuzz We Trust” at the Singapore Comedy Fringe 2016. 

Calvin Soh is one of the most sought after admen in Singapore. He entered the advertising industry at the bottom of the rung as a traffic and worked his way up to becoming the vice chairman and later chief creative officer for Publicis Asia.

George Cherian Abhishek is the owner of The Spiffy Dapper, the WORST bar in the world and Dapper Coffee that created the Unicorn Tears and Merlion Blood. 

At the young age of 60 years old, Betty Lee packed her bag, sealed away her belongings and embarked on the next chapter of her life – travelling solo for the next 400 days of her life!

Jeremy Tong is a traveller, adventurer and mountaineer. He has conquered many mountains throughout his 12 years of climbing. Some of these mountains include Mera Peak in Nepal, Aconcagua in Argentina and Lenin peak at Kyrgyzstan. He currently plotting his way to the highest mountain in the world, Mt Everest next year.

Dr Loretta Chen is a person with the most extensive range of life experiences I’ve ever met. You might know Loretta as a consultant for Bhutan or the director of thought-provoking theatre shows, but that’s a tiny piece of the story.

This is the intro music created by Stew Bamrah.