Hi everyone, I’m Edric Subur, a final year student of Singapore Management University (SMU), School of Information Systems with a major in Technopreneurship. I am originally from Medan, Indonesia and have been living in Singapore for 3.5 years for my studies. Around my 2nd year of university, I was really inspired to run my own startup and to create a product which would bring values to millions of people. After a year of trials and errors reading a lot of books and sharing with many like-minded people I am finally on my way to launching my own social mobile applications, Leggo.
As a social butterfly, I like to get my friends together for a meal or events. The current method of using chat to arrange meetups however can be really frustrating. Having to message people back and forth just to try to find a common free time can be a nightmare, not to mention the hassle of finding new places to go or having to individually chase people who simply do not respond. I know many people experience the same problem and that’s why I decided to build Leggo, something that works like whatsapp for group outing. Leggo enables you to discover local events and restaurants, to consolidate friend’s availability and to finalize the details through communicating with all participants in one place. I have been working on the idea with my co-founder for half a year since my last summer internship and we plan to launch it in May this year. To find out more about the app, please visit www.leggolive.com
Juggling between a startup and school is definitely not easy. At one hand, you have a dream that you passionately try to realize, at the other you still need to do good enough academically in case your venture did not work out. Pressure is high, but with grit and a good time management skill, it is possible. In fact, I encourage my budding entrepreneurs to start in university. It is a perfect place to access resources like mentorships, human capitals and even funding. More importantly, it is a safe environment to make mistakes. If you fail, people will understand that you’re a student and you’d have the time and resources to start again. You fall, learn and get back up twice stronger to make your next venture a success.
Those who are in school and thinking of building your own startups, my tip for you is to just do it. There is a never a good time to start. If you are really serious in making it happen, time should never be an excuse. Cut back on the time you spend on Facebook or Youtube, and you’ll realize you have more than enough time to get started. Create a quick one-page business model canvas, get feedback on your idea from as many people as possible, build a prototype, keep testing and get the product out to the market. It will not be smooth ride, but you’d never experience the thrill of the journey if you didn’t even try it. Have a burning desire to succeed, surround yourself with like-minded people, keep learning and I’m sure you’d have your chance of being the next Steve Jobs.
I am more than happy to share more with aspiring studentpreneurs. Should you need my help in any way, please reach me at edric@leggolive.com.
All the best everyone!
Photos are provided by the author.
