He adds that while starting his own business has been “scary”, the rewards of choosing to do so as opposed to taking the path [that] “society told you to” has helped him to grow and mature as a person, and allowed him to ”see and transform the world into the one that I dream about for the next generation”.

For Poh, who works at the Design Incubation Centre at the National University of Singapore, it was after learning about her grandmother’s dementia diagnosis that she chose to focus predominantly on creating well-designed functional and inclusive products for the healthcare sector. This includes Rewind, her award-winning cognitive stimulation therapy tool that uses visual aids, motion-tracking tools and sensory cues to trigger memory in dementia patients. 

At the core of her design approach is empathy, which her director at the design centre Christophe Gaubert pointed out as her best trait. “Yun Ru's deep empathy allows her to connect intensely with each subject she addresses,” he shares.

Read more: The Singapore startup reaching the 52% of the world without healthcare

Practising empathy, says Poh, is key to communicating with the end users she is designing for and understanding their specific needs and desires in order to create a product that actually works for them.

“[Empathy] guides me in understanding and respecting diverse cultural contexts, and allows me to create solutions that are effective and inclusive.”

For Yap, it is his selfless nature that has shaped his leadership style and helped him build and scale the Benjamin Barker Group from a two-man show to a 150-strong company with a presence in four markets in over a decade.

“Selflessness is loving others as yourself. I don’t express myself very well, but I show it through my actions,” says Yap, who started the company in 2009 to provide tailored menswear for the contemporary gentleman. 

He adds that he gravitates towards hiring people of a similar nature, which has worked to his advantage. “Having people who possess this selfless nature as well makes them easy to work with. I genuinely love working with my team.” 

And while he admits to being a competitive person by nature—a quality most entrepreneurs share—his advice to other and future mavericks looking to reach the next level of success is to “follow your passion and find joy and purpose in the ups and downs of life”.

Yap and Lee came together on October 30 as part of a panel at a private event by Gen.T and Glenfiddich at the Mondrian Singapore Duxton. They shared about their journeys and how their single best quality has helped them navigate the ups and downs of life as an entrepreneur. While Poh was unable to attend due to conflicting work commitments, Yap and Lee were joined by 50 guests who took the insights back to their own business and life. 

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