What is the nature of your business? (Business Profile)
Immortal is a multidisciplinary branding and design innovation company. We help our clients to connect with their customers and realize the full value of their brands by executing across all brand touchpoints. Every project begins and is defined by research, and whether the objective is to create, revitalise or add to a brand, our focus is always the same - to enhance lives and experiences. We deal with clients locally as well as international, e.g. Tang Department Store, Marina Square, Motorola, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock Hotel, and others. Immortal is one of the members of The Design Alliance which aims to provide multi-lateral exchange and support in graphic design, cultures, resources and operational liaison among its members to promote growth and integrity in the regional design industry. We have 11 countries under The Design Alliance.

What made you embark on this venture choice?
I have always been inclined to work on creative type of projects, and when I had a chance to read design at the University of Oregon I went to complete a double degree in psychology of perception and design. My interest grew vastly from my education in due process thus when the opportunity came I took it and founded Immortal with my partner Stanley Tan. Immortal started in 1990.

How does your business work?
We get clients either by our advertising or through referral. In our case, we get more clients through referral. Once we get the client, they usually give us a brief of what their requirements are and I will develop a cost proposal based on this. The proposal determines our methodology of work in phases. Once they have engaged us, we will meet to finalise their objectives and start the programme. We prefer to take the work from the start to finish. If it's a brochure we want to manage the print. In order to make sure it is executed accordingly. There are times when we will conduct a 'post mortem' for the project to ensure that what is delivered is working.

Did you have the capital to start the business or did you have to borrow from someone to get started?
We started Immortal with about $30k which was not a lot to start with and therefore did not need any loan.

Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another?
No, my parents and my family do not run any businesses.

What was your childhood dream? When did you decide that you would strike out on your own instead of working for someone else?
Childhood dreams were basically made up of the usual boy type of fantasy e.g. being a pilot, fire fighter to race car driver. The dreams that we all had when we were a child were mainly based on what we were exposed to (especially television or movies) but you tend to realised your potential after you have gone through the education phase of your life. I had never thought that I would strike out on my own till I realised that I very much wanted to control what I do and how I do it. And I was prepared to learn via various means.

Why does someone decide to be on their own rather than join an existing company?
Well I think not everyone will want to work on their own nor work for someone else. You must still have some entrepreneurial-ship to embark on your own. You tend to realise this especially after you have worked for someone and you finally asked yourself "Is this what I really want to do?"

Are there at any point in your life that you experienced a significant event (WW2, racial riots of the 1960s, the Economic Crisis of the 80s or 90s, SARS, new competition or shifts in market behaviour and trends) which affected or influenced you and your business that made you change the way you think and do your business?
Yes very much so, during the Asian financial crisis in year 1997, I had realised that I was not a "businessman" after all. Before the downturn, most businesses were running well and booming in their own ways but this may not necessarily mean that the business was run in a good business sense. When the downturn hit us, I realised that you had to be prepared financially as to how your business was going to ride through this. And if you are not financially prepared you will not survive. We were lucky in a sense that we managed to scale down our operations and maintained good relationships with our regular clients by helping to meet their required budgets and were flexible in our cost terms. This was a good lesson that I had 'paid' to learn. SARS also did affect us, however not as bad as retail or hospitality business. Luckily, projects were not cancelled but put on hold instead. We were blessed since we had client regardless of SARS, they still moved on.

What are some of the challenges in starting a business from scratch? (Modify question to what are some of the challenges in maintaining a family business if applicable.)
Capital has always been one of the biggest huddles for any new businesses. If you go to the bank to get a loan they will require you to have some sort of collateral for the loan and if you are just starting out in your career all you have on your back is your savings (any probably not much of it too). Now how do you expect for someone like that to provide any sort of collateral to get a bank loan or facility? It's tough, even though government agencies have helped by providing small loan and special assistance schemes to help. I had no experiences in running a business; I learned everything day by day. Seeked other established business people for their advice. My suppliers were very helpful; they supported me and provide me all the information. As a young entrepreneur, everything was absorbed like a sponge. That was how I started.

Who/What motivates you?
I take motivation from everywhere, my clients, my partners, my friends, my family and my environment.

Tell me about the first few customers and the first few years of business.
One of our 1st major customers was Hard Rock cafe, Singapore opened in 1990. We study their corporate identity manual and implemented it for Singapore. We also had a chance to work with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Singapore. We develop a visual identity for the Singapore property. This two major clients gave us a good portfolio to start. Local example, we worked with the Link Group, a high end fashion retailer. We had a change to develop their retail identity from logo, packaging, brochure and others. Our other retail clients are Tang Department Store, The Body Shop, Island Juice and Java. Using this portfolio we able to venture into other areas such as: corporate worlds, banking institutes, retails, hospitality in the region. To date, some of them are still our client. The couple of years were exciting as we had to work in procedures and system for our company as it expanded rapidly. I learned a lot during these years.

Please tell me some stories of your best day in business or your proudest achievement to date.
To built Immortal as a recognize brand. To reach to that point, we needed to work hard, however the hardest thing is to maintain it.

Do you recall your worst day in business? Have you ever felt like giving up?
No, I don't. I don't have one. There were times when we had expanded too rapidly and become so big that made I lost control of the business, how I faced up to these set-backs was by diving the problems into smaller parts and approaching it one by one. Solve the most serious problem and address the rest. I never wanted to let go of this business as Immortal is my passion; I started it and will live with it.

When was the moment you realised the business would work and support you?
6 months after I started Immortal, more and more clients called our company for new projects. When I got referral, its mean that my work had impacted on someone business, they felt good and referred Immortal to their associates.

What are some of the things you have had to overcome to succeed?
You have to learn to face failures, learn from it and you will succeed. You have to see these set-backs as a positive experience. First, gaining recognition, gain reputation and confidence of who you are. Second, make money from what you do. Third, you must be happy at what you are doing. These three components are very important for someone to succeed.

What are some qualities that you feel you possess which differentiate you from someone who works for others?
I make the best of each situation and learn to find ways of approaching each problem I face. I utilize my skills in different area because I'm running my own business, I'm not just do what I like. I learn how to manage people, how to run an organization, how to market my self and brand my company. On the other hand a person who work on someone else, the scope of work is very defines.

To succeed in business, what qualities are essential? What are some of the secrets in making a successful business?
The vision must be very clear, set your objectives, and keep your direction focus. Learn how to deal with the many different situations you will face. Not all problems can be solved text book style. You need to be flexible and have good instinct. Refer to your vision, mission and objectives is you are drifted away.

Who or what inspires you?
I relied on friends; I talk through thing with my close friends. If I lost my passion, I re-channel my energy by rejuvenate my mind and body at Bali or other resorts. In the peace and tranquil environment, it gives me time to think about what I have done, what need to be done, and open up a new paradigm.

Have you ever thought of expanding the business in some way or in multiple locations? How and where?
We did expand our business by starting an office in Kuala Lumpur. We were hit by the Asian crisis and have closed our Malaysia office. But during our time there we met our present associate and he founded the Design Alliance. The alliance comprised 11 countries (China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam) which gave us access to a lot of resources.

What aspects of expansion would you like to see for your enterprise?
We are working on our expansion by collaborating with our associate in the different countries.

In your opinion, how would you define entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneur is someone who has drive, passion over something that he believes in and makes it real. In every business there is always a risk, but if you don't try it you will never know.

To what extent does one?s educational level help or hinder entrepreneurial-ship?
Education gives a foundation; these are tools that you will gain. Education is not sufficient to make one to be entrepreneur. But is the mindset of the person that is the key. How he/she utilizes the resources that he/she has. So education, Yes, it gives you fundamental and open your horizon to different areas. On the other hand, it also somehow hinders entrepreneurial-ship by focusing too much on theories and you forget to see the 'whole' picture. The environment changes all the time. The theories that were taught to you at universities will tend to need adaptation over the time. So, if you are not open to this, you will not succeed as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs have updated him/her self and re-adapt to the environment.

As we try to select the final 41 entrepreneurs, what qualities would you think a person should have to inspire others?
The inspiration of how an entrepreneur connect with his team, clients and the environment. To get someone inspired by you, you must have these traits.

What are some of your own values in doing business and what do you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation?
Honesty, you also have to be honest to your self, to your team, and to your clients. Working in different environment especially in different countries and cultures, you need to be open, listen and work smart. You must have integrity. I learn through failures, good entrepreneur must admit failures and learn from it. Mistake is the best teacher. I see a lot of entrepreneurs start up very enthusiastic, when they hit a problem, they don't know where to go and find themselves at a lost. The key is to examine and evaluate why the problem is there, and how to overcome the problems. Basically once you face the problems, you have to go around, look at it from all angles, and try to approach it holistically.

Do Entrepreneurs made or born?
Entrepreneur is born; it's about something inside you. It's also affected by the environment that you brought up. Therefore it must be correctly nurtured in order to trigger the talents.

What is the secret in turning normal customers into loyal customers?
Basically, making the client understand that Immortal are part of them, to use us best. We work together with the clients not against them. We also have to understand where the clients are coming from. We respect their decision, recommendation. We provided a holistic approach to their brand and necessary steps to enhance the brand. In short we hold hand with the clients help them deliver their promise

As entrepreneur how do you re-learn, re-skill and update your self?
I travel, read, attend conferences, speak to all different kind of people, and brainstorm latest issue with my alliances/partners. When I travel, I like to analyse their culture, perception, style, in order to enrich my self. We need to be open to outside world, don't just be living in your own world.

Any social contribution from your company?
We do work for non-profit organization, we gives our services without charging them. Few organizations that we helped such as Singapore Repertory Theatre, Tsao Foundation, Rachel House - Kids with HIV positive- in Indonesia. I always open to helping other institution.