Hoong An is a co-founder of GTW Holdings Private Limited and HungryGoWhere.com. Having given up a stable job to fulfill his dream of building a business, his philosophy in being a successful entrepreneur is to be 'the cockroach that never dies, no matter how many times you swat it'.

Company: GTW HOLDINGS PTE LTD - HUNGRYGOWHERE.COM Address: 51 Thompson Road, Unit 177a, Goldhill Centre Singapore Website: http://www.hungrygowhere.com Interview with Mr. Wong Hoong An by Ng Chiew Yee on 19-May-2009. Student can be reached at chiewyee_ng@pmail.ntu.edu.sg   Business Profile: A dot com and more! GTW is the company behind popular food website HungryGoWhere.com. HungryGoWhere.com was established to 'help the global community find good food wherever they are', and has expanded to KL, Hong Kong and Australia within 3 years.   Interviewer's Comments: The interview is full of interesting anecdotes and frank comments. Hoong An is a non-techie and food neophyte in a technological and Food &Beverage business, and he tells you 'Don't do it, unless you love running marathons!' if you ask him whether to become an entrepreneur.   1. What is the nature of your business? We do F&B marketing for restaurants, as well as food delivery. The idea is to be the 'one stop site for hungry people'! For example if they're looking for food reviews on a place to go to, they can visit our website; and if they want to eat at home, we provide that to them. Our revenue comes from these sources: F&B marketing, advertisements, delivery and data syndication and consultancy on trends in the F&B industry.   2. When and why did you decide to become an entrepreneur / take over your family business? NOTE: If it is not a family business, ask: Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another? (Select appropriate question according to the entrepreneur being interviewed.) I'm the kind of person who likes to try new things. I wanted to do something on my own because at the end of the day, I want a sense of accomplishment, a sense of owning something. I was working for an IT company and I really liked what I did there so it was a very difficult decision. Well, (laughs) I also wanted something that would give me free food! There was also the influence from my partners. We're 3 crazy guys, very different, and we knew we would make good partners because we are strong in different areas.   3. What are your reasons for choosing to do business in this particular industry? Other than the free food, we thought that there was a ready market in F&B marketing. For example, there wasn't a direct channel for restaurants to market themselves. About our food delivery service, managing the logistics can be a very challenging task, so most of restaurants are focused on making their customers happy. It makes financial sense for them to outsource their food delivery to us.   4. How did you put together all the resources needed to start your business? For example: getting the start-up capital, hiring staff, doing sales and marketing, advertising, etc. I put all my life savings into it, borrowed from friends and family, and found some innovative ways to earn money. For instance, I even went on a Deal or No Deal show. It's about being a survivor. One of the key advantages in doing a web start-up is the lower capital required compared to more traditional businesses so it was not like I had to sell my soul to get enough capital to get it started.   5. Any interesting stories about your first few years in business? In the first year, we thought that we had a great model, and that the business would pick up by itself. Well, it didn't. I used to say, well, we were all dressed up but had nowhere to go. Restaurants were not inviting us for a review, because no one knew us back then. It was a very challenging time, and it was during that period whereby I learnt how weak I really was. I had expected it to be difficult, but I thought that I would be able to pull through it. The flip side is that it also showed me how strong I could really be, like the cockroach that refuses to be killed after you whack it a hundred times. I just refused to give up even when the numbers were not coming in.   6. Where or who did you get your business ideas from? One day in the toilet? Well, (laughs) no. It was actually one of those evenings out with my friends, when we were talking about the lack of channels for F&B marketing, and also the lack of a search engine for people to find restaurants and such. So in a sense, we thought that we could fill this gap.   7. So, where do you see yourself in 5 years? I see myself in the Bahamas! Well, no. Hopefully in 5 years we will not only be in Singapore; we will also be a regional channel, We have already expanded to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Australia, and we want to build on that. And hopefully in 5 years the business will be able to more or less run itself. That way I can focus more on the social aspects of the business that I set out to accomplish.   8. The social aspects? One of the reasons we set up HungryGoWhere is that we wanted to give something back to society, Which is why we organized the Big Eat Out last year. It is an event where we gather all the popular hawkers together, and everyone cooks for charity. 100% of the proceeds went to charity.   9. Hawkers? I thought HungryGoWhere specializes in restaurants? Yeah well, we do both. Restaurants and popular hawkers. Especially those with a lot of heritage background, like the char koay teow uncle Ng who's been around even before Singapore was independent. He's the man. You can't leave him out right.   10. So more about going regional. Expanding out of the country would be tough right, with all the different regulations and norms? So how do you handle it? Do you guys actually fly over there to eat? Going regional is tough in the sense that I won't be there to manage the situation. If revenue permits, we'll have a team there to run the show. But at the same time, because of the pervasiveness of search engines, it is possible to expand to a different country without having to incur heavy costs. I think it is because of search engines that HungryGoWhere has come such a long way. As for flying overseas to eat, yes we do, but our site is based mainly on UGC (user generated content). So in that sense we don't do all the reviews ourselves.   11. I see. So what are some of the challenges you faced when you first went into business? A main challenge faced in starting a business here in Singapore, I feel, is going up against the established players. Especially if you're not the first mover. Most of the challenges I go through are mental. You know, when you don't see the numbers coming in or the viewership going up, it gets very stressful mentally. But I always believe that any business can be successful as long as you give it enough time to grow. Most businesses fail because they don't give themselves a chance. They give up. During the first 2 years there were many instances where I felt very down. I knew that I wasn't going to give up, but still the feeling was there.   12. How do you differentiate your business from your competitors (e.g. other food review sites)? Please provide specific examples. Well, for one, we're not just a food review site; we also have a real-world business in food delivery. And we are the voice of the people. Our site is based largely on user-generated content.   13. Can you remember your worst day in business or a time when you felt like giving up? What happened that made you feel that way and how did you triumph over it? Our most crucial period was during Dec 2007, more than a year into the business. We were bleeding quite badly, and we had this meeting called 'Project Armageddon: Do or Die.' We said we couldn't go on like that, and we needed to come out with a product that works. So we did a revamp of our website, and within one month we were already profitable. Sometimes it is at the point of desperation when you come out with best ideas.   14. So it was at that point when you realized that HungryGoWhere would work out and support you? After Project Armageddon, we realised that we had a solution. It still wasn't very easy, and there were about 11 months of challenges after that before we were really happy with it, but yes, I would say that was the turning point.   15. One thing I've been wanting to ask you, how important is 'guan xi' (having connections, in mandarin)? I think 'guan xi', or rather the lack of it is one thing that is holding many of us back. Well, it is important. Of course, if you asked me for the PR answer, I would say it's not, but realistically... I'll never forget this. When I was in college, I always believed that if you work hard, connections are not important at all. That's why I never bothered to network. I believed that if you are talented, chances will always come your way, which is true, to a large extent. This is especially in Singapore where it doesn't matter what background you come from, you will always get fair access to education and opportunities. But I also learnt that when you have relationships with people, it really does help in building your business. These intangibles can be very crucial.   16. So when you started out did you have any connections? Did you have any mentors to motivate and inspire you? I was very fortunate. When I started out I wasn't the first one among my friends to start a business. I have many mentors and friends that were able to give me advice on running the start-up. For example, ex-classmate Lim Der Shing of JobsCentral was an amazing mentor cum inspiration for me. I still remember him sitting me down for lunch one day during my very down period and telling me: you know, all of us businesses are very important to society because we create jobs. He was very instrumental in motivating me to keep the fight on even when I had not seen any results (and of course he bought lunch so it was a bonus). Other people who have had an influence on me include my ex-national service mate Kelvin Hong (founder of Refresh Bodyworks) who helped me come up with my HungryGoWhere.com tag-line and my family who have given me so much moral support even though they are not quite sure what I am doing.   17. How about your parents, were they instrumental too? Were they in business as well? Yes, they were instrumental, but no, they weren't in business. My parents are now in the social work scene full-time. My mum helps runs an orphanage, and my dad volunteers with the Red Cross. They always remind me no matter how successful I become, I must always give back to society. During Chinese New Year, I met a granduncle who asked me: "Why did you start a business? You don't have any business genes." In fact, the only one who started a business is my grandfather who went bust. People ask me where I get the entrepreneurial side of me from. I don't know...It's just something that I've always wanted to do. I wanted to give myself a shot, and even if I fail, I can look back and tell myself that I did my best.   18. So that was your childhood dream? Yeah...well actually in Primary 3 I wanted to become a banker, because I read that Dr Tony Tan, before he became DPM, was earning 150k a year as a banker. So I thought: Shucks! I need that job. Even to the point of graduation from my economics course, I wanted to become a banker. But that didn't happen, and I went into IT instead -- a totally unrelated field. In fact, I've been in technologically-related industries my whole life.   19. Yes. HungryGoWhere being a dot com venture, I'd like to know: Has the burst of the dot com bubble in 2001 affected your strategies in doing business? Firstly, HungryGoWhere is not solely a dot com business. However, yes, I think that the fall of the dot coms in 2001 has shown us the importance of having a viable business model. It has shown us that while generating traffic to the site is important, being able to capitalize on that traffic is crucial to success.   20. Can you share some of the lessons you learnt from overcoming your own business challenges? Persistence. I can't emphasize this enough. As I said earlier, most businesses don't give themselves enough time. I once knew this shop which was renovated, opened and then closed down in 2 weeks. Imagine not having enough capital to last 2 weeks. These guys must have failed to do their planning.   21. So are you a planning person? It's always been a dilemma for entrepreneurs, because spending too much time planning might cause an idea to become irrelevant. Yes. I spent a lot of time planning before we actually started HungryGoWhere.com, and in the end a lot of what I planned did not come to fruition, or a least not yet. I believe in planning, don't get me wrong, but flexibility is an even better virtue. True entrepreneurs do not plan -- they just do it.   22. What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business? Persistence is important. Be thick-skinned. One of my first jobs was a door to door salesman, and believe me, if you thought tele-marketing was bad, this is worse. You actually get doors slammed in your face. It helped to train me up mentally. Another point would be to have a good mix in your team. For example, techies tend to attract other techies. In HungryGoWhere.com, I'm more of a marketing personality, and I have a reliable partner to take care of the tech side. Having the same vision is also very important.   23. How about funding? In running this business, we do not spend any dollar that we do not have. We grow the organic way. No bank loans.   24. How about people who are going to graduate? Should they get a job first, or start a business? I believe that you need should get a job first. It gives you the chance to build up the contacts you need. It also makes you realize that starting your own business is not that easy. Moreover, you will also get to save up some money to put into your business.   25. Being your own boss, how cool is that? You definitely prefer this compared to working a typical job? Definitely. I doubt that I will ever go back to a typical job, unless it is something that really excites me. The flexibility in being your own boss is crucial. I can get up at 11am if I want to. I hope my partners are not reading this.   26. You mentioned earlier that entrepreneurship cannot be taught, but any comments on how the educational system and culture in Singapore has affected entrepreneurship? While it cannot be taught, entrepreneurship can be nurtured. Education in Singapore used to be all about getting A's, getting your degree, then getting a job. That's what we were told time and again. This does not foster a spirit of entrepreneurship. Our education system has improved a lot in the past few years, particularly with the introduction of the IB system where it is more project-based than exam-based.   27. Talking about trends, in the current recession, we are seeing more people starting a business out of necesity, unlike people like you who are entrepreneurs by choice. Any comments? Well, it is only when you are really hungry that you find the best solutions. (No pun intended)   28. One more thing, is it okay to be motivated by money in starting a business? Because what we usually hear is that if your only goal is money, you're going to fail. And successful businessmen always seem to have one noble goal or the other. You have to be motivated by money. I think there's nothing wrong with wanting to strike out and make your fortune starting a business. The only thing is you have to watch yourself. You should have long-term engagement in mind, not a short-term goal where you're just looking to make a quick buck and cash out. The strategy and the way you conduct your business will be very different. Any businessman who tells you he's not in it for the money is lying. But having noble causes is a good thing. In fact at HungryGoWhere we make it a point to give back to society, no matter whether we are having a good year or not.   29. Before we wrap up, any final advice for budding entrepreneurs? 1. Make sure that you have enough start-up capital. 2. Persistence is important! Be the cockroach that refuses to die. Don't look at opportunity costs, or at what could have been. 3. Believe in a God. I'm not saying which God, but it really does help you through the down periods.   30. In your opinion, what does it mean to have the 'spirit of enterprise'? It comes back once again to my point of not quitting. No matter how bad the recession is, get it into your mind that tomorrow is going to be better than today. It'll be a great day.