Am I Searching for Something That Doesn't Exist?
The turbulent 20s of my life is taking me for a wild ride.
Emily’s Corner
I am conflicted sometimes with being here in Asia.
Homesickness tastes like a dry, palty patch on my tongue that I can’t get rid of. In February, I quit my job at a startup in San Francisco, packed my bags, and went to Singapore to figure things out. When COVID struck, my travel plans for Asia dissipated; I decided I wanted to stay in Asia long term and went through two stressful months of a mad scramble to interview for a job, get my employment pass, and now that I have everything I want in the palm of my hand, I’m not sure it was what I was looking for. I do a great job pushing myself to achieve what I want, but in the end, can I stop and be content? Or perhaps enjoy it a bit? I am still learning so much, and that is what matters.
I would think that I’d have my shit together by now, but coming to Singapore has opened a can of worms. As I am here trying to put the puzzle pieces together, my community back in San Francisco suddenly has grown bigger with more babies and relationships. I’m happy to be an auntie soon, but can’t help but wonder if I am behind in a weird space of the unknown.
“Why in the world am I not finding what I want? It may be that I’m not looking for things where they are to be found. Rather, I’m looking for them in the place where I demand that they be found.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough
Asia’s Tech Ecosystems
China
I recently connected with someone who was working in innovation programs at an incubator called DayDayUp. He was a really interesting guy who grew up in Afghanistan with no exposure to technology; he reminisced about writing in the sand as a way to practice his writing. It wasn’t until his family moved to ZheJiang, a province in eastern China, to start a textile business.
He later went on to attend Wuhan University, where he had a transformative couple of years and found himself in Beijing working for this incubator. He says China holds the future tech. We chatted about how I was back at Peking University in 2008, and how things have drastically changed. The incubator lives within Zhongguancun, a tech hub in Haidian District, which is now a massive innovation hub. It’s hilarious because I used to live near that area, walking through that space to the nearby Carrefour when I didn’t want to study Mandarin.
The overall revenue of new high-tech companies in the Zhongguancun Haidian Science Park rose by more than 10 percent year on year in 2019 to reach 2.6 trillion yuan (about $377.8), according to the recently delivered government work report of the district (China Daily).
Little did I know it was going to be a massive tech playground in a couple of years. I wouldn’t mind working in Shanghai for a bit. From what I heard, China really welcomes entrepreneurs and startups to build in their space and many Chinese VCs are looking for the next big thing to add to their portfolio. Sequoia China was one of the primary investors in our beloved Canva, the graphic design platform used by many creatives and which is now valued at $6 billion.
Entrepreneur Programs & Resources Singapore
One thing I’ve noticed about Singapore is the constant big push for innovation and encouragement for entrepreneurs to blossom. But perhaps the conventional route here is to follow what works and what is safe; failing fast doesn’t really exist here, instead it’s not fail at all, and I think that sometimes stifles innovation. There’s a fear of losing face and failing. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I break things, I scribble outside the box, and push for change, and am totally okay if something fails because it validates that I shouldn’t be going that way.
I do feel that I am met with some resistance when I want to try something new and that’s hard. I am the person who hates being stagnant and “comfortable,” so it is sometimes an uphill battle to push change and I will continue to do so while navigating the social nuances. Anyway, here are some resources I’ve found while being here.
Antler - a 6 month entrepreneur program that helps connect founders, focuses on developing and validating your business idea, and helps startups prepare for funding
Enterprise Singapore - government agency that helps committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and internationalize; they also support the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups
Tech new sites in Asia: e27, KrASIA, Tech in Asia, Nikkei
Recommended Tools & Resources to Get Sharp
Lunchclub.ai - curated 1:1 professional networking via virtual video calls
Singapore Women’s Network - community group to help elevate and connect women; aimed to help women improve their professional and personal lives through workshops, events, and content
Quora - you probably have heard of Quora, but you can actually follow categories, like building wealth, career, etc.
Elpha - an online platform where women talk candidly about tech; I am obsessed with the UI/UX and love the concept of transparency
That’s it for now!
Cheers,
Emily
👋 Want to chat or talk projects? Email me at emilyifang@gmail.com.
