Youths are the future: Lessons from Startup Roots Singapore

By Derrick Ko, SF-based software engineer, employee #1 at Kicksend, startup founder. A version of this article was first published on Medium.

Photo: WhyOhGee

Some time ago, Qin En, an intern at The Hub Singapore, wrote an engaging piece describing his discouragements about the future of Singapore’s startup scene, based on his experience of running The HUB Internship Program.

I actually do agree with his over-arching themes. Singapore’s youth could be better infused with a culture of building stuff. University initiatives should double down on the skills that truly matter to startups. And internship programs should be meaningful to both the company and the intern.

But I disagree with his conclusion that Singapore’s youths inhibit the growth of the local startup ecosystem. Startups require a certain breed of people, who are certainly in the minority. You just have to be able to spot their potential, and guide them.

I was once cynical as well. So a few years ago I took matters into my own hands and created Startup Roots Singapore. We sourced for great talent among students and convinced them to spend a summer interning at a startup. In return, we made sure they were paid market rates and had the chance to work at interesting companies. We also organized an amazing speaker series just for them.

As we expected, it was far more challenging finding the right students than getting companies onboard. Our evenings and weekends were spent meeting students, hacker groups, and even school faculties. Some places turned out more helpful than others, and soon, we had a steady stream of candidates coming in.

We made it a point to be extremely selective from the beginning. We handled the entire interview loop, and all our startups had to do was interview for fit.

Having actually cut our teeth at startups, we knew exactly what to look for in our students. Side projects trumped any form of grades. Laundry lists of CCAs didn’t matter to us. Instead, we looked at candidates based on three areas.

1. Do they have the relevant technical abilities and
   fluid intelligence?
2. What are their true motivations for joining a startup?
3. Would we hire them for our own startups?

This worked out extremely well for us. Over a hundred resumes came through our system. We called in ten students for interviews and ultimately picked just six — five engineers and one marketer. And our startups loved them.

Startup Roots became a hit in the local community. But what really blew me away only happened two years later.

It turns out that all our students have either ended up working with startups, or started one themselves. I once told Zhuang, one of my co-founders, that as long as we channelled just one student into the startup ecosystem, I would consider Startup Roots a success. We did so, six times over.

Startup Roots renewed my belief that Singapore does have the right talent for startups among the youth. And with the right kind of support, there is the potential to develop much more.