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From Running a Flea Market Stall to a BMW at the Age of 21, Gina Tow

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

If you’ve only got 2 minutes, here’s a short video on (The Danger of your Job when it Shaped your Reality)

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Click “continue reading” for the link and show notes…

This podcast is brought to you by Altizen. If you don’t know already, research is concluding that sitting all day is terrible for you (“Sitting is the new smoking” is the new health phrase).  If you are like me, I went to Ikea and tried one of the self-cranking desk – it’s not for me.

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favourite lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Show Notes
Gina shares her story of how she bought and sold a BMW at the age of 21 [0:00:20]
How does Gina come to the goal of owning a BMW? [0:07:52]
Gina Tow describes her childhood [0:16:09]
Gina Tow shares experience of being bullied in school [0:21:29]
How did Gina Tow lose 25kg? [0:23:29]
Gina Tow shares about her suicidal experience [0:25:29]
Gina Tow shares the story of being proposed to during polytechnic days [0:32:42]
How did Gina start working in insurance while studying in polytechnic? [0:33:24]
How did Gina Tow start a second-hand luxury bag business, Happybagsg? [0:37:13]
How does one colour dye a branded bag? [0:42:39]
Why did Gina start Happy Rollies?[0:44:35]
How did Gina scale up Happy Rollies? [0:55:39]

Links Mentioned
Connect with Gina Tow:
Facebook | Instagram

HappyBagsg (Instagram)
Gina’s BMW

Thanks for listening!

And if you have learnt any lesson 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.

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 everyone of them.

Special thanks to Gina Tow. Hasta la vista, baby!

The First All-Inclusive Hawker School for the Disadvantaged, Koh Seng Choon

“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
  • The difference of teaching entrepreneurship at Changi Prison and SP Jain school of management
  • and lots more

If you’ve only got 2 minutes, here’s a short video on (Why Did A Chinese Man Gatecrash Indian Weddings?)

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Click “continue reading” for the link and show notes…

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Show Notes

Koh Seng Choon on his childhood [2:03]
How did Seng Choon secure his scholarship with William Cook? [5:26]
Koh Seng Choon on working in a steel foundry [10:59]
Koh Seng Choon on “buying and stripping” a company? [16:04]
Koh Seng Choon on starting his own consultancy firm, Christopher and Benjamin Consultancy [26:47]
Why did Seng Choon wrote the Elements of Success? [29:16]
Koh Seng Choon on conducting business in China [40:40]
Koh Seng Choon on building a network in India [46:34]
What is Koh Seng Choon’s process for nurturing a contact after getting the name card? [52:43]
Koh Seng Choon on teaching entrepreneurship to inmates [58:43]
The origin story of Dignity Kitchen [1:02:44]
Why did Koh Seng Choon choose hawker food as a skill to teach people with disabilities? [1:03:58]
What is Koh Seng Choon’s most difficult failure of Dignity Kitchen? [1:10:11]
What are the criteria to apply for Dignity Kitchen’s program? [1:13:32]
How does Koh Seng Choon motivate his students to attend Dignity Kitchen’s lessons? [1:17:32]
Koh Seng Choon on Dignity Cottage [1:23:55]

Links Mentioned

Connect with Koh Seng Choon, Project Dignity:
Website | YouTube | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Thanks for listening!

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 everyone of them.

Special thanks to Koh Seng Choon. Until next time!

Adrian Pang – The Singaporean Actor who Waltzed into Hollywood

Adrian Pang is an artistic director, actor and host. He is also the co-founder of Pangdemonium Theatre 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.

Pangdemonium is currently putting on a play, The Pillowman” till March 2017.

“A writer of short stories is being questioned by the police regarding a series of child murders. What do his stories have to do with the gruesome deaths? Why is his brother, a gentle man-child with special needs, being locked up in the next room? Exactly who, or what, is “The Pillowman”? And “what’s in the box?”…”

I hope you enjoy this episode with Adrian Pang.

you’ve only got 2 minutes, here’s a short video on (Are You Avoiding the Hard Question in Life? | Adrian Pang)

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Click “continue reading” for the link and show notes…

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments. 

 

Show Notes

Adrian Pang on his childhood [1:09]
How has Adrian’s rebellion contributed to Adrian’s success? [14:43]
Adrian Pang on being grateful? [25:30]
How did Adrian end up studying in Keale University in Britain? [35:36]
Why did Adrian give up his law studies? [38:25]
How did Adrian once had ZERO balance in his bank account? [41:59]
How did Adrian find acting jobs in the early days? [46:30]
How did Adrian get selected to act in Forever Fever? [50:22]
Why did Adrian decide to move back to Singapore? [52:30]
Adrian Pang on Six Weeks – a mini-series that he co-wrote [1:01:35]
Does Adrian still write these days? [1:03:13]
How would Adrian compare his acting then and now? [1:07:16]
How does Adrian approach researching when given a new role? [1:15:04]
How would Adrian advice one to effectively spent 5 years to be a professional actor? [1:20:35]
Why does Adrian compare an actor to a garbage collector? [1:25:56]
How does Adrian describe theatre? [1:29:06]
What does Pangdemonium consider before committing to turn a script into a production?? [1:33:14]

 

Links Mentioned

Connect with Adrian Pang (Pangdemonium):
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Forever Fever (1998)
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Seven Up! (Documentary)
Sex. Violence. Family Value. by Ken Kwek

Thanks for listening! And also special thanks to Adrian. Until next time!

Bjorn Shen: Singapore’s Most Rebellious Chef

“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

If you’ve only got 4 minutes, here’s a short video on (How Did Bjorn Shen losing 230K in 3 months?)

This is an interview I will hold close to my heart. Hope you enjoy it!

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Click “continue reading” for the link and show notes…

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Show Notes

Bjorn Shen on his childhood [1:40]
How did Bjorn end up studying hospitality in Brisbane, Australia? [7:52]
What did Bjorn learn from his mentor [19:06]
What other mentors or incidents have contributed to your success? [24:12]
How much money did Bjorn spend to kickstart Artichoke? [29:24]
How much financial leeway should one prepare when opening a restaurant? [30:25]
What were the few breaks that lifted Artichoke off ground zero? [38:35]
How did Bjorn find the current location of Artichoke? [40:07]
Bjorn shares advice on structuring rental agreement [47:10]
Would Artichoke be a success if it was opened 5 years later? [53:09]
What experiences shaped Bjorn anti-fine dining stance? [54:30]
Why does Bjorn place emphasis on his staff? [56:27]
How does Artichoke attract talents? [58:45]
What does the hiring process of Artichoke look like? [1:00:22]
Why does Bjorn close his restaurants to take his staffs on company vacation? [1:01:56]
Bjorn shares his experience of burning out in the F&B industry [1:12:05]
Bjorn shares his experiences working with the new generation of chefs [1:15:50]
Does Bjorn still cook in the kitchen? [1:18:59]
Bjorn shares advice on managing people [1:21:14]
Why did OverDough close 3 months after opening? [1:31:16]
Why does Bjorn teach at Culinary Institute of America (CIA)? [1:36:14]
Bjorn describes the new generation of student chefs from CIA [1:38:13]
Why did Bjorn start Bird Bird? [1:41:33]
Why did Bird Bird move and change its concept? [1:45:42]
How did Bjorn got involve in Bro-Cation? [1:51:22]
How does Bjorn balance his bold character in his relationships? [1:57:06]
How does being a father affect Bjorn’s view his life and business? [1:58:18]

Links Mentioned in the Episode

Connect with Bjorn Shen:
Artichoke | Instagram | PornHub (R21)
Penis Pocky by Christopher Behrens (M18)
Candlenut Restuarant
Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice

Thanks for listening!

And if you have any experiences 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 Bjorn Shen for such generous stories. Until next time!

How to Live Thoughtfully with Passion, Kuik Shiao-Yin

“Who cares if I get you the ‘A’… and then you come out and have a fake idea of the world.”
– Kuik Shiao-Yin

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).

(All at the same time! Where does she find an extra 6 hours in her day?)

School of Thought is celebrating it’s 15th anniversary and is opening up limited slots for the general public to attend it’s school lectures. They are also offering free trial classes for students so parents can take advantage of that offer. Apply here.

In this conversation, we spoke about:

  • Caveats to the advice on “following your passion”
  • A good teacher vs a great teacher
  • Experiences as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP)
  • and much more…

If you’ve only got 2 minutes, here’s a short video on (Drugs, No! Prostitutes, No! Pirated Goods, Yes!)

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Shiao-Yin as much as I did recording it.

Links Mentioned

Connect with Shiao-Yin:
Website | Facebook

Illicit by Moises Naim
Learn more about, Ontological Teaching
Strength Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Learn more about the classes offered at the Brave New World, The Thought Collective
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Show Notes

Kuik Shiao-Yin on her childhood [2:01]
What’s on Shiao-Yin ‘No’ list these days? [06:04]
How does Shiao-Yin define ‘Passion’? [09:08]
The evolution of Shiao-Yin’s passion? [17:15]
Why did Shiao-Yin decide to leave her job as a creative director at Connected Machine Studios and Acmabook.com? [26:28]
Kuik Shiao-Yin on the most common mistakes of “following your passion”? [27:35]
Kuik Shiao-Yin on multiple passions [31:35]
Why did Shiao-Yin start the School of Thought? [32:46]
What is the marketing angle for the School of Thought? [37:21]
How is the teaching approach at School of Thought different from others’? [40:18]
What factors shaped the teaching method at the School of Thought? [49:41]
What is the difference between a good teacher and a great teacher? [55:37]
Kuik Shiao-Yin on the internship program at the School of Thought [58:29]
Were there any failures/tough times that set Shiao-Yin up for later success? [01:03:12]
Kuik Shiao-Yin shares struggles of running Food for Thought [01:04:31]
What are the qualities in her co-founders that Shiao-Yin most appreciates? [01:07:20]
What are Shiao-Yin’s criteria when committing on the next project/ideas? [01:10:04]
Kuik Shiao-Yin shares her experiences as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) [01:11:25]
What are Shiao-Yin’s roles in The Thought Collective? [01:18:10]

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