James Sun Giveaway Results And Tribute To Your Co-Founders

In our James Sun Luncheon Tickets giveaway, we wanted to bring the people element that is often the most important variable in a business back into the spotlight. We asked readers who wanted the opportunity to meet James Sun, self-made millionaire at 22 and the first Asian finalist in Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” at a special luncheon seminar this Thursday, to tell us stories of their co-founders or mentors who made an impact in their businesses. It was really hard to pick the two winners because it felt like we were placing a value on each individual’s story when we have no right to. But of course, we only had two tickets. So here are the winners.

Learning From A Mentor: How Great Friends May Not Be The Best Business Partners

(1) Niles Toh of UBidIChoose

“Despite reading many books about the importance of forming a good team, the knowledge of the books did not turn into wisdom until recently when my mentor saw that I was exhausted by the issue of trying to choose between friendship or business partner.

My ex-business partner was my childhood friend and he was the guy that I always trusted. But after working with him for a couple of months, I felt that it would be better for us to remain friends rather than as business partners.

During that period, I focused all my energy on him which makes me overlook the core objective of the business. My mentor gave me a piece of advice: “Choose your co-founder properly; you will be married to them for awhile and divorce is painful and expensive. If there is no passion, there is no point going on.”

With this advice, I met up with my partner and things got really great after it.”

Learning From A Co-Founder: A Company Is Not A Party That Everyone Is Invited To

(2) Kristabel Quek of Hemeryx

(Some bits of Kristabel’s entry have been taken out as the whole entry was really long. So here we present her core story.)

“Even though my company is not yet registered, Martell VSOP The Ultimate Start-up Space Challenge gave me a chance to work with many people to bring my idea up another level. [Editor’s Note: find out more about what Kristabel is talking about by reading our interview with her when she was taking part in the Challenge.]

Many people were involved in helping me bring a concept in my mind onto the papers of the business plan. I’ll take this opportunity to thank my mentors, past and current team members for their voluntary contributions and enthusiasm.