Can Singapore produce her own Mark Zuckerberg?

Jeffrey Paine (right) is one of the most renowned figures in Singapore with deep knowledge in technology, entrepreneurship and funding.

He is a partner at Founder Institute (Singapore) and a director at Battle Ventures. His specialties include early stage technologies on consumer web and mobile technologies and distressed investments in South East Asia.

We managed to grab hold of him to discuss and learn about his opinions on Singapore’s entrepreneurial scene and talent pool. Our focus: Can we produce our very own Mark Zuckerberg?

The Facebook chief has attracted much limelight last year. His Facebook Empire has racked more than 500 million users worldwide and is poised to be anything on the web. On top of that, a movie and several books, which chronicle his Facebook founding journey, have also made him one of the most admirable entrepreneurs in our generation. Will Singapore be able to produce a talent like Zuckerberg?

1. Thanks for your time, Jeffrey. Here’s for a start. What attributes are needed to be a good entrepreneur?

Well, based on my experience this person needs to have these basic attributes:

• Skills (e.g. Engineering degree etc)
• Experience (e.g. 3 yrs in a technology company doing technical sales etc)
• Openness (ability to be open to new ideas and be able to rationally process these ideas, come to a conclusion and not be narrow minded and closed up)
• Fluid intelligence (ability to handle many different kinds of data sets and quickly process them and make decision based on the processed data)

The first 3 can be taught but the fourth is heredity.

My personal attributes:

• A resourceful leader with a big vision
• Somewhat crazy, anti-establishment type, always challenging the status quo
• Able to listen and be able to change direction when the market or customers are telling you something is not right
• A genuine nice, honest and sincere person (‘no asshole rule’ applies)
• Never say die/give up attitude

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2. In your opinion, what are the greatest obstacles faced by entrepreneurs in Singapore?

Here’s my list of obstacles: