In 2020, Tascha Punyaneramitdee was accepted to Harvard Business School for an MBA—a dream for many aspiring entrepreneurs. But she opted to defer her studies in order to work on her startup, Alpha Finance Lab, which incubates DeFi companies and operates like a decentralised venture fund.

After a year of growing the company, Punyaneramitdee decided the experience she had gained was sufficient for her to succeed as a CEO. She eventually chose not to return to school.  

Starting a medtech company is challenging. Studying for a PhD in biomedical engineering is doubly hard. Taking care of a newborn child will test one’s limits. Someone doing all three at the same time would be considered superhuman.

Hong Kong Gen.T honouree Florence Chan did exactly that when she started AI Guided. Her company uses artificial intelligence to detect nearby objects and alerts the wearer to their presence, giving visually impaired and elderly people the confidence to better navigate the world.

Read more: Is artificial intelligence a friend or foe?

Most investors try to keep their heads out of the clouds. Jelmer David Ikink decided to take his head above them by getting his pilot license. The venture capitalist, who has invested in more than 35 companies, says that looking down during his flyovers of the Philippines allows him to strengthen his focus and concentration. He takes the time in flight to contemplate and consider how the country’s roads, bridges and waterways are a strong metaphor for the connections that successful startups are built on.

Remote working arrangements have taught us how to work with colleagues both near and far effectively. Felix Lee has taken this line of thought to the logical extreme. He claims that he has never met his fellow ADPList co-founder James Baduor in person. With Lee in Asia and Badour in Africa, the pair have still managed to build a company, which offers people to tap into a network of more than 15,000 mentors, solely by communicating online.

Many great leaders find inspiration in major figures during their youth. For climate activist, Woo Qiyun, her role model was celebrity conservationist Steve Irwin. Woo was so fond of the “Crocodile Hunter” that when Irwin died in 2006, she wrote a grief-stricken three-page journal for one of her primary school homework assignments.

As an adult with her own conservation projects, Woo mentioned this childhood inspiration and heartbreak during a press interview. That interview later made its way to representatives from Irwin’s legacy, The Australian Zoo, and Woo received a touching gift: a signed copy of the latest book by Irwin’s daughter Bindi.

Read more: Meet the advocates who are saving our oceans

There’s a misconception that you have to be an expert in a particular field to start a related business. In fact, inexperience can be the bedrock of a company’s purpose. Case in point, Issy & Co’s founder and CEO Jasmine Ang Chua says that she and her co-founders of the beauty brand had no background or professional experience in makeup. The point of the company was to sell easy-to-use and beginner-friendly products that they would like to have been available on the market but weren’t before.

Bold marketing can be affordable and effective, but it also requires taking risks. Daniel Lo learned this after he founded GoGoChart and used what cash he could spare to rent a tiny booth at an event. The space was minimal for exposure, but Lo made up for that by buying a whopping 5,000 green tote bags to hand out to attendees.

The gambit worked, and very quickly the company’s name was pushed to the forefront of everyone’s minds. The event’s biggest backer was allegedly displeased at this attention-grabbing handout and pushed for Lo to be kicked out. But he says all those green bags were worth it, as they helped GoGoChart to later close deals with several big clients.

See other honourees on the Gen.T List 2023.

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