The NTU Entrepreneur Seminar 07 was held on 3 March 2007 at the Traders Hotel. NTU Division of Information Studies hosted the Seminar and the LAS Special Libraries Section was invited to coordinate some participation from LAS for the discussion and sharing session on entrepreneurship opportunities in the information and knowledge sector.
The afternoon Seminar began with invited panel of entrepreneurs giving presentations. The speakers were:
- KC Wong, Sparky Animation
- Lim Bak Wee, Integro Techonologies
- Rakesh Kumah Gupta, Heuristic Lab
- Tan Beng Hiong, XYSoft
There was so much to share that the speakers inevitably ran over the time allocated. The speakers had no trouble capturing the audience’s attention with their inspiring, thought-provoking talks and savvy media presentations. The section was useful with the participants rapt in attention listening to the entrepreneurs recounting their challenges and rewards.
The Entrepreneur Seminar ended with a dynamic question and answer session facilitated by Prof Margaret Tan, NTU. The Q&A session had 8 panelists. They consisted of the earlier 4 speakers together with the t other panelists on entrepreneurship opportunities in the information sector. The latter panelists were:
- Choy Fatt Cheong, University Librarian, NTU, a library consultant for 4 years before he joined NTU in April 2004
- Patrick Lambe, Principal Consultant and Founding Partner, Straits Knowledge
- Leow Kok Meng, Deputy Director, Business Development at Civica
- Wendy Lee, an entrepreneur with a firm providing legal information consultancy services to local and overseas legal professionals
On the whole, the speakers and the audience did a good job and the seminar went smoothly except for over-run in time. The panelists shed light on the skills needed by entrepreneurs used to build and manage their enterprise. Skills highlighted included integrity, human relations, communication skills, ability to operate out of the comfort zone, identifying niches and taking steps to fill that niche. In response to the question on the catalyst for their enterprise, their takes were as diverse as the speakers, which included:
- “Believe in yourself and keep pushing for it”
- “A sense of ownership”
- “Passion & drive”
- “Sense of adventure & take calculated risk”
- “Leave a legacy”
- “Experience life”
The speakers certainly gave the audience some food for thought. The seminar participants also consulted the entrepreneurs present on some issues. In response to the question on the usefulness of a business plan, some of the speakers thought that although research needed to be done for information and direction, an outline of the plan seemed to suffice as the plan became obsolete quickly and the entrepreneur needed to adapt the plan along the way.
During the 3-hour seminar, we got to hear from some great speakers as well as to engage the entrepreneurs who came to share their experiences. The SLS was grateful that a total of 9 LAS participants attended the seminar even though short notice was given and scheduled on a non-working day. For the participants, it was a fruitful session.
Contributed by Foo Yan Chuin