This Easter, I reflect back on the short time I’ve had on planet earth, the various hats I wore and the common thread of grace that I acknowledge I probably received more than my fair share of.
When I was young, and people around me asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would reply ‘banker’ - a profession that I assumed would require lots of math, a subject which I had great interest in and even excelled at. Fast forward to the end of my high school and it was my worst non-language subject, with the banker dream having completely evaporated as I decided to drop out of JC and pursue an education in film with no more than a PSLE certificate. It was my ‘fall from grace’ moment- leaving an elite junior college, friends and familiarity for the unknown and uncertain…
As I look back on the last dozen years since I joined the working world, I count a total of 9 varied jobs that I’ve had the privilege of journeying through. This tapestry of experiences also grounds my belief in a God who provides, given my relative inexperience, lack of qualification and the sheer unlikeliness that someone of my background would be suited for a particular task:
1. Freelance videographer/photographer (2011-2016) - Media
Fresh out of completing my first internship at 16, I started taking up freelance wedding photo and videography gigs before adding corporate clientele and crewing for production houses/live events to the mix. That I was able to secure an internship without leveraging on any connections whatsoever was a blessing in and of itself, but to have couples trust a teenager to capture their big day and production houses willing to engage me was really providence from above.
As a teenager, this work brought in good money, especially compared to what most of my peers were making as banquet staff or at cafe’s/bookstores who would pay by the hour in the single to low double digits. I managed to build up a personal equipment inventory which led to my forays into rentals down the line as well…
2. Transmedia Intern —> Assistant Producer at Channel NewsAsia (2014-2015) - Media
Back in the day when Facebook and Twitter were considered ‘new media’, and CNA had around 50k followers on their Facebook page, the channel started a ‘swat team’ to produce shorter form content for these new media platforms. I was fortunate to be placed amongst this dynamic team in the current affairs department and got to do a lot especially for an intern- shooting and editing and even working on the PM’s national day rally/message projects.
The next year I would be called back to again assist with the SG50 festivities as an assistant producer and get an opportunity to work alongside old colleagues again. I was blessed with trusting and empowering supervisors and team members who let me gain breadth and depth of experience that would later influence my work in HEAR Myanmar as well as develop relationships which would lead to my continued ad-hoc involvement with the channel even till this day.
3. J Rental Centre [2015-Present] - Internet Platform
When I dropped out to pursue an education in film at the age of 16, it was still with the idea that I would try my best to get a good GPA and ‘course correct’ and graduate from university. However, in the last semester of polytechnic, I started JRC.sg as a means to rent out my spare equipment that I had accumulated from school projects and freelance photography/videography gigs. It wasn’t before long that other friends and associates wanted to do the same and our simple Facebook page turned into a dedicated site before becoming a full fledged platform with 2500+ listings/250+ owners.
Business was decently good until the pandemic struck, and we even had 3 physical collection points and ran photo exhibitions, video competitions. The company kept me busy for the next couple of years and plans for university were put on hold (now indefinitely, but arguably for good). Not too bad for someone with no formal business training, but that was when God opened an avenue for me to get paid to learn…
4. Startupmedia [2016-Present] - Media
A year after starting JRC, I realised that my freelance work with corporate clients was largely repetitive and I found myself having to deal with more red tape than I would like. I decided that I should pivot my clientele from large corporates to startups, helping them and also helping myself (to peek behind the curtain of starting and scaling an internet platform).
By virtue of the name, I was invited to speak with many founders about their video production needs. It wasn’t long before the accelerators and incubator programmes came knocking as well to have media production done for their portfolio companies. I didn’t know it then, but this would give me a ring-side view into the world of technology startups that would later become quite relevant…
5. Crossworks Myanmar [2018-Present] - Human Resources
What I spend the bulk of my time and attention on today, began as a means for me to hire remote talents for my two growing companies: JRC and Startupmedia. Growing tired of re-explaining myself every time a local staff would turnover or a freelancer be unavailable for the next gig, and knowing that I always wanted to do something in Myanmar (read why here) but not quite what, I decided to dip my toes into the water with a few job posts on Facebook.
It wasn’t too long before other companies and founders in my network started knocking and wanting in on hiring remote talent as they too were facing the same challenges of attracting and retaining local talent (and the high costs of doing so). There was no grand plan to start a HR-as-a-Service/remote hiring outfit or grow to help 50+ employers and hire 100+ of the country’s best and brightest talent in order to stop the brain drain.
I came for myself and stayed for the mission, despite the waves of covid, coup and conscription, I see the company like Noah’s ark- a graced gift that humanity didn’t deserve and a vessel of hope against all hope. Even when I was unable to physically be in the country for two years whilst traveling the length and breadth of the world during the pandemic, the local team stepped up and we have since grew exponentially. It isn’t me, it could only be divine grace…
6. HEAR Myanmar [2018-2020] - Digital Marketing
One other endeavour that I delved into for a period of 2+ years whilst in Myanmar was to produce 120+ videos of the country’s people, places, culture and lifestyle and showcase ‘another side of the country’. This was as I went around telling people about remote talent only to be greeted by confused and concerned looks given the negative press constantly circulating about the country. We made a business out of the eyeballs which our short docu-style videos (that I first started working on in CNA) managed to attract and F&B/tourism outfits started reaching out to us to make sponsored content.
This brought me to visit every state and region of the country, even states which were supposedly in civil war, flooding and enduring a month of quarantine in a government facility during the pandemic. While we eventually had to shutter operations, I count this to be an immense blessing given the present security situation in many of the places that I managed to visit- it would often have been the ‘last’ of a festival/celebration that we documented. I would also have the opportunity to meet lots of ordinary people- farmers, shop owners, factory workers and grow a connection and conviction to nudge the future of this country to a more positive direction despite the many challenges.
7. NasDaily [2020] - Media
Another result of my work at HEAR Myanmar was a short stint with NasDaily as Head of Video after my quarantine episode in 2020. I recall doing a video call with Nuseir and team from the Myanmar quarantine centre and getting to know the team better from my room in MBS (where I had to do another two weeks of quarantine upon my return to SG).
As flights were grounded and the studios team could no longer travel as easily as before, my role was to remotely produce several video series by hiring crews in more than half a dozen countries and managing post production back in Singapore.
When the episodes had been produced and there was still no way back to Myanmar, I then decided to hop onto a one-way flight to South Africa, where there once again wasn’t much of a plan except to take a short break for 2-3 months and either the pandemic would end or I’ll get a visa and head back to Myanmar. Lo and behold, it would be another 50+ countries and 2 years before I eventually made it back, again by God’s grace and protection…
8. Decacorn Capital [2021-2023] - Venture Capital
My next career leap was unexpected even for myself. I had started dabbling with angel investing since 2018 as I sat on the sidelines of innovative hyper growth startup companies. With no finance background or even a degree, I never expected to be offered a role with a VC outfit, much less whilst being on the move- but through a former client, I was introduced to Decacorn as ‘someone out of the regular mould’. We had several zoom calls and I eventually decided to hop onboard and look at both buy and sell side activities on behalf of the fund.
It was a fascinating world of disruptive technology driven innovation- no two days were the same and being a traveller amidst the pandemic opened many doors to visit startup events and be welcomed into communities in multiple countries to learn more, do more and always expect less. I was surprised that I managed to stay and learn a substantial amount for slightly over two years before returning to Singapore/Myanmar last year.
9. Common Cents [2023-Present] - Events & Consulting
Last but not the least, I began running casual startup events last year, continued angel investing, writing this newsletter and taking on paid consulting work. It’s still a side hustle but one that has been a cumulation of the past dozen years of experiences and connections built up. I’m definitely still the guy ‘out of the regular mould’, one which has received a larger than deserved portion of grace and providence in this short life and one that is eager to share it and continue in my mission to ‘do something useful’.
The purpose of Grace
Aside from ‘doing something useful’, grace has taught me that it isn’t just about doing but being- asking the important question of WHO I want to be rather than what I want to do. While statistics from gallup show that over 70% of the world’s population believes in God, I often argue that it is one’s actions that reveal the type of God that one believes in. We all have faith in many things in order to live a life that resembles normalcy, faith that the water in a bottle is safe, that the building wouldn’t collapse or the brakes of a car at a red light would work.
Yet when it comes to things which call for faith (believing in things unseen), grace (things undeserved), our natural inclination toward self reliance can sometimes take precedence. The message of Easter is really that simple- that as undeserving as we are, Jesus led the life we were supposed to live and died the death we were supposed to die. My life is far from problem free, yet I can rest in the grace and character of my God who came to live among man, die for our sins and overcome death when he was raised on Easter Sunday 2000+ years back. Death no longer has a sting.
I’ll leave you with this animated video depicting the biblical story of the prodigal son who squandered his father’s wealth but was embraced lovingly upon his return. I thank God for his grace in my life for just as freely he has given, so freely I can give.