Interview with Dennis Ng, founder of Einsoon Pets Supply

Dennis Ng founded Einsoon Pets Supply six years ago at the young age of 23 with an initial capital of 10k of his hard-earned savings. As a young child, money was hard to come by but today, the company occupies two units at Aljunied with a staff strength of 3.

Gwen: Thanks for joining us at SGEntrepreneurs, Dennis. First, tell us what Einsoon Pets Supply is.

Dennis: Einsoon Pets Supply is generally a trading, import & export company which deals with pet products. We distribute to pet shops islandwide and also export to other countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. We represent several brands from overseas and being the sole distributor, we market their products with creative methods and also with commitment. These brands are namely Esde’s, Primal, Royal’s Select, Pure Paws, Jewelry & Snappy Cat Litter, and other accessories.

Gwen: Tell us about your background.

Dennis: I came from a modest background and was the youngest in the family. My mother was a housewife and my father was a retailer for baby apparel. I grew up with 3 siblings in a small HDB apartment. In secondary school, I worked part-time during holidays to earn pocket money. I also worked as a helper and cook at an eating house to earn more spending money.

Gwen: Why did you decide to embark on your entrepreneurial journey?

Dennis: It is really not an easy path to take. But somehow, there is this dream and determination that I want to be my own boss even though I had relatively good grades in studies. And with no money, like most people, including my parents, everyone felt that that it is impossible for anyone like me with no money to start a company. Especially since it was not just for fun, but to really do business.

Life itself is not an easy path. When you work, you have to face problems from superiors, impossible demands from the management etc. And when you try to implement something, you may get some sarcastic comments from colleagues…then you get office politics etc. So being an employee or employer comes down to your choice of what problems you want to face.

Gwen: Take us through the first few months of Einsoon. How did the idea come about, how were you going about your research to see if this was something you really wanted to do.

Dennis: Though I’m young, I don’t really do things the way most youngsters do. Perhaps most youngsters will consider a lot of factors, do a lot of research, do a lot of talking, a lot of surfing [the web] etc before they really start doing something. But for me, I only think for a short while then I do it. Because I always feel, the only way to attain your desired outcome is to do it! Of course, we must still take calculated risks.

So when an opportunity presents itself, most of the time I will take it up if it passes through my short thinking process. I worry about money problems later as I think of the opportunities first.

Gwen: So what happened when you started Einsoon?