Rejected by NUS, computing student Alvin Wang’s online appeal goes viral

Update on 23rd April, 2012

NUS sends Alvin a letter saying that a change of decision is “highly unlikely”. Message from Alvin on his site:

“Please note that as you have already been considered for all your previous choices, appealing for the same choices would be highly unlikely to change the university’s prior decision.” 

This was the exact words written on the letter that I received from National University of Singapore, which happened to be the same words that got me thinking. To me, the intent was simple, to do something now or not to do anything at all. Nevertheless, I apologize if the website have misled you in any way. :) 

A Big Thank You, to the people who have supported me. :) 

Just some further clarification, I was offered Computing (Information Systems Courses), and as the skills that the website portrays, and rightly so, there are no majors in Information System Courses that are relevant to me. When I said Computer Science, I meant Computing (Computer Science Courses), which gives me an option to become a Communications and Media Major. I will be then able to specialize in Content Creations and Mass Communications Group (which is User Interaction and Experience) as well as Games Technology Group. 

While many students would give up after finding out that they’ve been denied entry to the university course of their choice, Alvin Wang is different.

Not taking it lying down, this IT diploma graduate from Ngee Ann Polytechnic created an online resume at helpalvingetintoschool.com to show off his credentials. He hopes to pursue degree in Computer Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The website has caught fire on the interwebs, gaining fans and haters alike. So far, it has already garnered over 11,000 Facebook likes. It’s similar to a website started by Matthew Epstein, called Google please hire me. Read more

Spelldial’s ambitious plan combines the best of Google and Facebook

Albert Padin is something like a mini-rockstar within the technology startup scene in Cebu, Philippines.

At 24, the entrepreneur is three years behind his schoolwork, and he is in no urgency to complete his studies. Yet, he was the invited guest speaker at his university’s graduation ceremony.

Truth is, Albert did not graduate because he has decided to focus on his startup, SpellDial.

Actually, starting this business is part of his graduation requirements at the Center of International Education. But since students can choose how long they will take to complete the course, Albert decided to spend more time to bring SpellDial forward.

While he could have submited his report earlier, he notes that students who end up with successful businesses can win Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

“Some students take five years before they graduate, but when they do they build solid businesses,” he says, “if I want to graduate, I want to graduate with an award. There’s no rush really… I can keep doing this, until I want to work for something else, which I don’t want to.” Read more

Fonetwish lets Indonesians access Facebook by dialing ‘*325#’ — no Internet needed

Singapore-based app development company U2opia Mobile has developed an app, Facebook by Fonetwish, that allows Indonesians to check their Facebook profiles, update their status, and view their friends’ walls, all without Internet access.

The app has been launched by Telkomsel, Indonesia’s largest telecom provider, to its 106 million subscribers last week. To access Facebook, users will need to dial *325# to begin. Read more

Deal.com.sg starts its own food delivery site, challenges Rocket Internet’s Food Panda

Just days after the mighty Rocket Internet launched their online food delivery service Food Panda in Southeast Asia, Singapore’s second largest daily deals site Deal.com.sg unveiled their very own competitor today —  DEALivery.sg.

Both websites now join HungryDelivery.com and EatIt.sg in an increasingly competitive food fight — a boon for consumers.

Rocket Internet is a German technology incubator that has been aggressively expanding to Southeast Asia in a variety of online verticals: Fashion store Zalora, Amazon-like website Lazada, and a Pinterest-clone called Pinspire.

Read more

Best places for social entrepreneurs: Singapore, Silicon Valley, London

The best place for social entrepreneurship?

“Where’s the best place in the world for a social entrepreneur to live and build a social enterprise?”

That’s a tough question. It appears there are two schools of thought when it comes to attempting an answer: Get close or go big.

Some people believe that a social entrepreneur should be physically near to her target market. If she is working on poverty alleviation, then perhaps she should be in a city like Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Or if she is fighting air or water pollution then perhaps Dhaka, Bangladesh. That certainly makes sense for a number of social entrepreneurs.

But then there are those of us who think that a social enterprise with the greatest potential for global impact requires a very specific type of climate to flourish. In my research, I’ve identified a few factors that deeply matter: Access to talent, access to funding, access to markets, a good business climate, and a supportive culture. From that perspective, highly developed cities rise to the top. Read more

5 common myths successful CEOs like to tell you

Whether it’s in an interview in the trade magazines, in the college newspaper or on TV, CEOs of successful businesses like to paint a picture that belies the truth.

In some cases, it’s a romantic veneer over how hard they work, or how calculated they go about their management and this exists in part because the public wants an easily-digestible story of how to achieve results, or that it generally makes for a good uplifting reading.

Nobody likes to read a story of a struggle that includes constant repetition, problem-solving, manufacturing defects and late deliveries — it’s just “boring”. Read: Can’t sell newspapers or fill a business school auditorium.

The reality of it is much harsher yet simpler.

Read on for five common myths you’ll come across in interviews from successful CEOs (which you have to take with a generous pinch of salt): Read more

More lesbians than straight women in Singapore and Malaysia, says Facebook?

Recently, Flocations, a travel startup in Singapore, ran some tests on targeting women with Facebook ads. Their findings were totally unexpected.

They discovered that in Singapore and Malaysia, the number of “women interested in women” far outnumber those who are “interested in men”. In Singapore, that’s 14,800 to 6,100. The difference is even greater in Malaysia, at 65,160 to 8,480 (with several other parameters added in).

However, the figures in the United States seem pretty normal, with 1.6 million showing an interest in men, while a tenth of that indicating an interest in women: Read more

Indonesia’s Jamu Queen: Journey of a princess turned entrepreneur

Photo: Dr Mooryati Soedibyo's private collection

The garage has long been the birthplace of many great companies — Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, to name a few. Even Walt Disney got his start producing his first animated series, “The Alice Comedies” in his uncle’s garage before forming his own studio.

Closer to home, the humble garage also witnessed the birth of PT Mustika Ratu, Indonesia’s famed herbal medicine (or jamu) brand, in the early seventies.

The business caused many to raise their eyebrows, because not only was the person behind it a woman, she was also a direct descendant of the royal Javanese family, one who was actually raised within the walls of a kraton (Javanese palace).

It was unheard of for someone of her status to work, let alone start a business and as Dr BRA. [1] Mooryati Soedibyo readily admits, the reaction from her family was far from encouraging. “Initially, my family did not support my decision to become a business woman as it was against our ancient traditions,” she recalls.

“Only through my own determination and hard work was I able to persevere and overcome this challenge, which actually helped motivate me to become successful on my own.” Read more

How to pivot successfully

Our first product, a 3D chat world

One of the trickier points in a startup’s life is knowing when to pivot or when to keep on your current path. Often, the decision is easy: you launch a minimum viable product, lets say a butterfly spotting app, and get zero traction — not even your girlfriend, mum or random butterfly lover in Romania wants to use it.

Easy decision.

But what when your original idea has gained users and revenue, but isn’t growing fast enough. Then what?

That was the situation I found myself in with my own startup, Frenzoo. We’d taken time to build our first product, a web 3D chat community. We had awesome technology and starting from a 2009 launch at Echelon (go Singapore!) had quietly grown to hundreds of thousands of users in US, Asia and around the world (read: SGE’s coverage of Frenzoo). Read more

16-year-old tech prodigy Nick D’Aloisio visits Singapore, new app in the works

Nick hanging out with SGE at Starbucks. Photo: Rusydi

Nick D’Aloisio is a 16-year-old technology prodigy.

But like any ordinary teenager from London, he enjoys rugby and cricket, doesn’t get baseball, and relishes playing sports with his friends on weekends. He loves attending school as well, possessing a deep interest in learning and wishes to do philosophy in university someday.

“I also kinda miss the environment of being in a classroom, like you know, the whole thing?” he says, as we hang out in Starbucks. He orders orange juice while I settle for a cup of cappuccino.

Here in Singapore for a few days with his investment banker dad, he was previously in Japan, where he met up with Nobuyuki Idei, the former Chairman and CEO of Sony. In Singapore, he scheduled meetings with Google, Ubisoft, and other major tech firms, as well as investors and entrepreneurs.

Nick, who grew up in Australia but now lives in London, has not been in school for four weeks, as he was exempted by the British government from attending classes. But he does plan to go back in September, once he has his company “pretty set up and self-sustaining”.

His startup is Summly, now making waves in the tech scene and drawing press coverage from major news outlets. He is quite likely the youngest individual ever, at 15 years old, to get seed funding for his venture, at reportedly over US$250k. His backer is Horizons Ventures, the venture capital firm of Li Ka-Shing, a Chinese billionaire and the 11th richest man in the world.

Nick’s iOS app (downloadable here) has just crossed the 150,000 download mark. Read more