In Conversation with the co-founders of iHipo

Are you interested in the international jobs, internships and expatriate networking in a high quality level? iHipo is currently a Singaporean-based web 2.0 company specializing in the niche market of high quality global talent recruitment. As I am currently working with the founders of iHipo, I have decided to catch them to give an interview about how they started and what the road ahead is for them.

BL: Thank you for the interview with SG Entrepreneurs. Let’s begin by telling us your story. What made you three start iHipo? What’s your vision for iHipo?

iHipo Team: Hi Bernard, thanks for giving us the opportunity to introduce iHipo here. Well, all three of us have had a pretty international focus since our studies, having studied, worked and travelled across the globe. Our research prior to starting iHipo showed that there is a clear trend towards global recruitment, especially by multinationals. These companies increasingly want the best available global talent – no matter where it comes from. The rise of emerging economies (e.g in Asia) has also led to an increased demand in talent from abroad. So, due to our personal experiences and the research we did, we realized that there is a real market opportunity for a dedicated career portal which focuses on the niche: international jobs, internships and expatriate networking on a high quality level. At the same time Web 2.0 offers a whole new set of technologies which can add so much value to the recruitment process. So we hope to have created an innovative product by combining the typical features of a social network to a jobsite for international opportunities. Our vision for iHipo is to become the leader for international recruitment with a strong focus on incorporating web technologies which add value to the recruitment process.

BL: What are your backgrounds before engaging in your current start-up?

Arnout: I obtained my MSc in Development Economics in the Netherlands earlier this year. An international scope was very important for me during my university period. I completed three internships abroad in Yemen (Dutch Embassy), Syria (UN) and Singapore (brand consulting firm), and was determined to continue this international orientation as well. Entrepreneurship has been a passion for me since my youth, and iHipo now enables me to combine these two interests!

Cheng King: I graduated with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at The University of Queensland, Australia, in 2004. My overseas education has allowed me to network with international peers, therefore giving me a good deal of international exposure. After that, I started working in an engineering firm as a Product/Test Engineer for almost 2 years before I joined Asia-Interns.com and later iHipo. I have always wanted to do something different in my career than being tied down to a 8-5 job. Running Asia-interns.com and iHipo is my dream, especially for iHipo where we bring together students and young professionals from around the globe.