The “Overnight Success” That Took 8 Years: Wilson Ong’s Journey to IPO

The Pitch

Five years ago, I met Wilson in an accelerator. Back then, he wasn’t a headline or a valuation. He was a founder with a pitch: Avirtech, a startup leveraging drones to revolutionize agriculture. In a world obsessed with apps and AI, Wilson saw opportunity in an industry still rooted in 20th-century practices.

His idea wasn’t sexy—it was smart.

Farming is hard. Margins are thin, climate change is relentless, and the demand for efficiency is non-negotiable. Wilson wasn’t selling a gadget; he was selling a solution—precision agriculture, sustainability, and profitability, all delivered via drone.

The IPO is the victory lap of capitalism—the crescendo where hard work meets hype.

As Wilson Ong’s company goes public, the narrative of “overnight success” will get spun into financial headlines. But like most “overnight successes,” Wilson’s journey wasn’t built in a day—it took years of blood, sweat, and perseverance.

The Reality

But here’s what didn’t make the pitch deck: the uphill battles. Agriculture isn’t Silicon Valley. It’s slow-moving, risk-averse, and governed by tradition. Getting farmers to adopt drones during the chaos of COVID when supply chains stalled, and borders shut down, was nothing short of Herculean.

Wilson faced investor skepticism. “Why agriculture? Why drones? Why now?” They wanted moonshots, not tractors.

But Wilson didn’t waver.

He bet on engineering, testing relentlessly, and proving his value proposition in the palm oil plantations and fruit orchards of Southeast Asia.

Slowly, Avirtech turned from a pitch into a product and, eventually, a trusted name in precision farming.

The Leap

In 2023, Wilson made a move that separated visionaries from hobbyists: merging with Terra Drone. He understood that scaling isn’t just about tech; it’s about reach. Terra Drone had the global infrastructure, and Avirtech had the niche expertise. Together, they formed Terra Drone Agri, where Wilson led operations in Malaysia and Indonesia.

This wasn’t a pivot—it was a quantum leap. The merger allowed Wilson to think bigger: more markets, more applications, and more resources to fuel his innovation.

The IPO

Now Wilson Ong rings the bell. But IPOs aren’t the finish line—they’re the starting gun for the next race. The public markets will scrutinize every quarterly result, every missed target, every ambitious plan.

Wilson knows this because he didn’t build his company on hype. He built it on resilience.

Takeaways for Founders

1. Patience Is the Real Disruptor: Most startups don’t fail because they lack a good idea; they fail because they run out of time. Wilson’s success was about playing the long game.
2. Adapt or Die: COVID could’ve buried Avirtech. Instead, Wilson doubled down on local markets and partnerships, ensuring survival when others folded.
3. Think Big, Act Small: Wilson’s global ambitions started in local fields. His ability to scale without losing focus is what set him apart.

Final Word

The myth of overnight success is comforting, but it’s dangerous. It feeds the illusion that greatness is sudden, not earned. Wilson Ong’s journey reminds us that success is rarely a moment—it’s a process. One long, grueling, beautiful process.

So today, as the headlines pour in, let’s celebrate the IPO.

But more importantly, let’s celebrate the eight years it took to get here.

Together, we rise.