Talk on becoming an entrepreneur

Toh (first row, middle) with the audience

An entrepreneurial talk titled “Are you sure you want to be an entrepreneur?” was held at Sungai Long Campus on 6 July 2017. The talk was organised by the Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM) and the Department of Consultancy and Commercialisation (DCC).

Present at the event was FAM Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Dr Hen Kai Wah, DCC Head Ching Yen Choon, FAM lecturer Yeong Wai Mun, staff and students.

Derek Toh was invited as the speaker for the event. He is the founder and CEO of WOBB which is an online job search platform designed to help employers and job seekers to find each other.

Derek shared a few stories relating to his experience as an entrepreneur which focuses on the myths and truth of becoming an entrepreneur. He emphasised that anyone who wishes to become an entrepreneur has to start the business with a small ego and stay persistent along the journey to become successful. He explained that freedom and profit cannot be promised especially in the beginning of a business and having a financial security to sustain the business is important.

“There may be ups and downs in life, accept the situation and find a way to live with it and be responsible towards it as it may affect the stakeholders. Chasing your dream versus living your dream are totally two different things but the most important is to find fulfilment in the job you do,” said Derek.

Derek is a mentor for McKinsey and Company’s Youth Leadership Academy. He has been a speaker at the debate moderated by BBC World News and spoke at various conferences including MaGIC, MDeC and MIA. He was previously an Associate Director at Robert Walters, an ACCA fellow and an auditor with Ernst and Young in the United Kingdom.

Dr Hen (left) presenting the token of appreciation to Derek (right)