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Ben Chua · · 5 min readI lost my purpose as a founder. Asking ‘why’ helped me find it again
I have what you might call a special relationship with entrepreneurship.
Most entrepreneurs take a risk by creating a new business in the hopes of enjoying significant rewards one day. But I don’t receive any monetary or in-kind benefits from the business I started.
Why do I do it without the most basic of motivators? I’ve found that having purpose is key to carrying on, especially for young entrepreneurs like myself.
Let me explain why.
Image credit: Timmy Loen
From social enterprise to charity
I founded Cyber Youth Singapore (CYS) in 2019 as a social enterprise when I was 19 years old.
Like all founders, I poured my savings, time, and effort into the venture. However, it didn’t take long before I realized that running as a social enterprise was not sustainable.
We reincorporated CYS as a company limited by guarantee in 2020, and it was registered soon after as a full not-for-profit charity in Singapore.
CYS aims to empower the young with skills and opportunities to become trailblazers of our digital future. Our goal is to help them play their part in developing Singapore’s tech scene.
At its core, CYS is a business. But because it is also a charity, it is mandated by law to generate revenue only for its altruistic causes and defined beneficiaries.
While this mandate means I don’t receive monetary compensation, you could argue that I have benefitted in other ways, such as through the professional network I have built.
Others might say I have enhanced my CV, thanks to my tenure with CYS. Well, I’m bizarrely proud to share that Singapore’s top universities have all rejected my aptitude-based applications.
Under pressure
On any entrepreneurial journey, there will always be forces – both internal and external – that could drive a founder to just give up.
About two years ago, Tech in Asia broke the infamous Harsh Dalal story, which focuses on an aspiring young entrepreneur who lost his way.
Discovering my purpose
Where’s the support system?
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