BY
Jaden Png
The UrbanWire Deputy Editor

Hype Issue #59

Published on

September 13, 2024

 Nex Ai Co-founders Jeremy (left) and Jonathan (right). Photo courtesy of Jeremy Soo.

Entrepreneurship is best explained  as the process of setting up a business or businesses, with the business usually being a solution to a problem that has not been solved or addressed yet. With Singapore having a support system for entrepreneurs as well as a good business climate and strategic location in the world, it is an attractive option for entrepreneurs looking to start businesses. 

However, being an entrepreneur is not all smooth sailing. For instance, there is fierce competition in Singapore’s small and competitive market where entrepreneurs have to constantly innovate and stand out from others in order to attract customers. Another challenge is the high cost of living and of operating a business in Singapore. With Singapore being the world’s most expensive city, entrepreneurs have to make careful financial decisions, and the need to attract and retain clients and investors is heightened.  

Despite this, there are many stories of entrepreneurs overcoming these hurdles. Stories of successful local entrepreneurs such as Mr Tan Min Liang, co-founder of popular gaming company, Razer, and Mr Anthony Tan, CEO and co-founder of Grab Holdings Inc make the path of entrepreneurship more tempting for those who aspire to pursue  a similar journey. 

One such entrepreneur is Jeremy Soo, the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Nex AI. Mr Soo introduces his company as a Business-to-Business (B2B) Data Mining Software-as-a-Service, that helps consultants, manufacturers, and education firms read, understand, and pull insights from their data sources. Some things they help firms with are: Excel sheets, PDFs, emails and answering questions such as “What products are most likely needed to be restocked?” or “How does the average monthly cash flow correspond to new sales efforts?”

Problems and Misconceptions about Entrepreneurship

Nex Ai team working. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Soo.

Mr Soo shares that he has always been interested in challenging tech, so building in the AI space was a no-brainer. He had previously founded a company in the blockchain space, so he already had a thing for wanting to solve big problems, and thus helped to found Nex Ai.

Like that of many entrepreneurs, Mr Soo’s journey has not been without its problems. He says there are seemingly endless issues, ranging from the pressure of coding quickly while maintaining the quality of services, to getting up to speed with new technologies in the everchanging AI space, to finding a good lead generation method. There is also the challenge of raising money from early investors, smoothly onboarding enterprise clients and many more.  

As if the technical challenges were not already daunting enough, being an entrepreneur also comes saddled with many misconceptions. Mr Soo shares that the main ones  are that it is either risky, hard or on the other end of the scale, easy. The first misconception about risk is mainly down to cultural nuances, such as attitudes towards failure and hierarchy. 

As for the question of whether being an entrepreneur is hard or easy, Mr Soo suggests that it really depends on what aspect one looks at it from. He says that this is because every moment in an entrepreneur’s journey is unique and cannot be replicated. Hence, there is a hazy cloud between what would-be entrepreneurs see and the reality of being an entrepreneur. It can also be down to differing risk perceptions; those who are risk averse will misjudge it as hard, while those who revel in risk conversely misjudge it as easy.

Staying motivated and Looking ahead

Nex at an exclusive Nvidia event. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Soo.

When asked what keeps him going despite having to face so many challenges everyday, Mr Soo said it is his inclination to give his all at whatever he is currently doing that helps him. He adds that the constant learning and experimenting he gets to experience as part of building the company will be useful in the future. This experiential learning helps him to make timely decisions and understand the world better. 

Part of what Mr Soo does necessitates a level of constant stress and worry for the future. He tries to manage it all both by leaning on his natural curiosity and sense of wonder, as well as  looking at problems as experiments. If something isn’t working, might go wrong, or has imploded, there is a logical set of reasons that led to the result. In some sense, a level of de-personalisation is helpful for Mr Soo to keep calm and level-headed.

He already has many plans for Nex, some of which include going for bigger deals, generating more revenue as well as tapping into more markets.

Advice for budding Entrepreneurs

Nex meets Y Combinator President Gary Tan. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Soo.

So what do aspiring entrepreneurs have to look out for and what can they do to succeed? While not all entrepreneurs will have the same journey nor face the same challenges, Mr Soo shares some advice based on his experience.

He says that it is crucial to be curious, absorb and question everything. Having an accurate model of the world in your head will help to find alignment between your ideas and the world’s needs. It is also important to identify common ground for alignment, and then be able to then execute by building out the product, service, team and other things that are necessary to realise that alignment in tangible ways. 

Being an entrepreneur is an up-and-down journey filled with challenges and triumphs, requiring individuals to constantly innovate and adapt to changes. As new technologies and markets emerge, there are plenty of new opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to explore and make an everlasting impact on the world.