Below: Ash with his wife, Harsimran Kaur.
People
Ash Singh:
Singapore's Young International Entrepreneur
by ALEXANDRA SENO
Growing up in predominantly Jewish neighbourhoods in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, Sikh-Canadian Ashvinder "Ash" Kundan Singh often stood out with the turban and beard he wears with pride.
At 29 he continues to draw attention, this time for his business ventures and achievements, now that he’s a successful international entrepreneur.
Seven years ago, fresh out of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada), he sold his software company to a Singapore-based firm, which asked him to move there as part of the deal. He did, and he has since started and exited many more ventures.
“In Asia everything happens at tremendous speed,” Ash says.
He quickly realized the pace suited him and his career ambitions. He talks a lot about wanting to spend more time with his parents and friends in Canada - something he tries to make up for with regular visits - but Singapore has proven to be too good of a base.
“If I was in Canada, I would probably be living in the suburbs, which would mean I could have maximum three business meetings with investors a day because of the distances. In Singapore, because it is small and everything is so near, I can have six meetings a day.”
There’s also greater access to capital given Singapore’s status as an Asian financial hub. And a policy to attract more top international talent has doubled the population to five million in the past decade.
“I’ve had more failures than successes,” says Ash Singh, who was named one of Asia’s Best Young Entrepreneurs by BusinessWeek magazine in 2009. He adds that he believes learning from mistakes and getting good advice is all part of the journey.
His personal experiences inspired one of his big projects - a reality program called Angel’s Gate, produced under the umbrella of Interactive SG, which he founded and where he serves as managing director. On the show, entrepreneurially minded contestants compete for funding and fame before an audience not only on TV, but also on the web.
Although he attributes much of his success to hard work and plenty of luck, Ash Singh says exposure to different business cultures has provided a boost. “The turban and the beard helped.”
They not only made him appear more mature to potential investors and clients, they opened the door to Asia’s influential Sikh business community. (On a lark, he created a popular turban-themed app called Turbanizer.)
In the early days, Kartar Singh Thakral, one of Singapore’s most influential businessmen and a fellow Sikh, was among those who mentored Ash, regularly offering advice and the home-cooked Punjabi meals the young entrepreneur missed while he was away from Canada. (Kartar Singh's daughter has since become Ash’s wife and they have a young son.)
And last year, Ash Singh was invited to attend the prestigious Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney, where he met Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire who by some calculations is the world’s richest man. “I was the youngest and the poorest guy at the conference,” Ash says with pride and good humour.
Alexandra A. Seno has written about economics and business trends in Asia since 1994. She is a regular contributor to Newsweek, the International Herald Tribune and The Wall Street Journal Asia. She lives in Hong Kong.
[Courtesy: The Globe and Mail]
July 29, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Jagjeet Kaur (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia), July 30, 2011, 10:49 PM.
Ash Singh - I salute you! You are indeed a shining example, a role-model for a lot of youth, for that matter, ALL YOUTH, not just Sikh, who are really looking around for role-models that we all know are essential in the development and nurturing of our young today. There are so many meaningless distractions for our young who are growing up in a different world from ours of yesteryear. Particularly interesting and useful for the young, even for an elderly person like me - a 71-year-old Training Consultant, passionate mother and a doting grandmother who has been blessed with 5 grandchildren - is Ash's attributing much of his success to hard work and plenty of luck, as well as exposure to different business cultures. It is indeed the secret of many a person's success. "The turban and the beard helped" - so beautifully put. Of course, you stand out unique and dashing too! You are a rare breed of young successful entrepreneurs. True, a turban and a beard not only make you appear more mature to potential investors and clients, they open the door to Asia's influential Sikh business community. I see a bright future ahead for you, Ash. I agree, there is no short-cut to success but a focused mind, discipline, determination, a goal and good mentors and guidance at the right place and at the right time by right educators, go a long way. We are indeed fortunate to have a rising star in our midst. This brief comment is a tribute to your rising accomplishments from a young-at-heart Malaysian who has been a scholar in Singapore in the early 1970s and an ex-columnist of a local leading daily who is actively involved in nurturing young minds. I am truly inspired reading this article!
2: Narinder (India), July 30, 2013, 6:19 AM.
I regard you highly. You may remember we met a month ago in Singapore gurdwara (Silat Road).