Vanessa Ho’s Guide to Achieving Your Goals

University is a place to study and grow, develop, and explore your potential as a person. Fempire had the opportunity to speak to Vanessa Ho, student, DJ, and social media content creator, on her incredible university experience and how you can follow suit and make the most out of your time at university!

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a Year 4 Business student at NUS, and at the same time, I’m a host, DJ, and social media content creator. I do what I do to live independently and gain exposure at an early age. I’m passionate about creating an impact among youths through my school activities and digital platforms.

2. Why did you choose to do your undergraduate at NUS?

I wanted to experience hall life, so I was set on NUS even before getting my A-Levels result! Hall life would be great to interact with people from various faculties because I wouldn’t want to be locked in the business school box. I also knew that I wanted to go for the NUS Overseas College (NOC) program, which catalysed a lot of startup journeys for successful NUS alumni founders.

3. You are very active with university student organisations. How would you say these activities have helped you grow during your time at the university?

My first leadership experience was in Year 1 of the university where I led an overseas community project with three other team leaders, which was daunting for a year 1 student handling bigger budgets and bringing a team of almost 20 to Indonesia. Through that experience, I sharpened my negotiation and leadership skills. I learned how to influence a team and also learned how to manage the nitty-gritty details of a project. I would not have gained all these valuable skill sets if I was not pushed to the deep end to lead a team. So I replicated this across different roles, leading Kent Ridge Hall’s Enterprise club, External Events Committee, and co-founding NUS Alumni Ventures, which deepened and broadened my experiences.

4. You are not only a university student but were also a Founder of your previous startup Igloo Wear and are now Co-Founder at NUS Alumni Ventures. Could you share with us a bit about your startup?

I started a winter wear rental startup, Igloo Wear because it was a problem I faced when I wanted to travel, and I noticed similar issues by other tropic natives. We finished market validation and a proof of concept and explored different verticals in fashion subscriptions to further the mission of sustainability in fashion with a circular economy. However, when COVID-19 hit, my co-founders and I were dealt with the option to pivot to a retail model that goes against our sustainability mission or put it on hiatus and gain corporate experience first. We chose the latter option, and I went to the consulting and investment route, which still gave me exposure to startups.

NUS Alumni Ventures (NAV) came shortly after we stopped Igloo Wear. A group of us formerly from NUS Entrepreneurship Society noticed a huge volume of 400 startup ideas from NUS itself - but many failed after their initial grant because of the lack of support from strategic advisors and investors. We also found a valuable pool of founders who can tap on - the NUS alumni, from C-suite executives, founders, and investors. By bridging the gap, we helped startups get smart money, we helped NUS alumni angel investors connect with each other across batches, and we helped NAV members learn about entrepreneurship and private sector investment with hands-on experience and networking.

5. How was it like building your own startup as a student??

The pros of being a student founder were that I could get access to mentors easily as they would willingly advise students and open doors. This is probably a privilege I may not get after graduating unless I pay huge consultancy fees! Another pro is that knowing that I have nothing to lose, it was easy for me and my team to go all-in and spend morning to night on our startup.

I must say the ‘student’ label inhibited me when it came to working with seasoned businessmen as the power dynamic was skewed. Many times, my team and I had poor negotiation power in discussions, and we also lacked the industry network for strategic partnerships.

6. What were your biggest challenges in building NUS Alumni Ventures, and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was gaining credibility and trust from the NUS alumni, especially when we are in the angel investment space and money is involved. We had to position ourselves as a formal society with a long-term mission to connect startups and investors, not just another school CCA where people come and go. It took a lot of time to build an interpersonal relationship with individual angel investors to gain their trust. Many of them eventually believed that the leadership team would be responsible for far longer than our student tenure.

7. You’re also a profound actress and DJ in Singapore. What made you want to pursue these creative career paths?

My media career in acting and music came about purely out of a passion for performance, not so much from the motivation of making money. I was in performing arts, namely dance and string ensemble in secondary school, and electronic keyboard since I was 10. Now I love to share this passion with a wider audience, whether it’s the crowd in a club or festival or people enjoying TV shows at home. I have tons of fun doing what I do, especially when I’m DJing, dancing with the crowd, and seeing how much fun they are having!

8. How do you balance your work, school, and social life?

Sacrifices are inevitable to balance my media career and school. I still make time to maintain meaningful relationships with friends and people who matter, but I sacrifice a lot of leisure activities that people enjoy, especially watching TV. Name me a trendy TV show (minus Squid Game), and I would most likely have not watched it. It helps me get more productive hours! What I would not sacrifice would be health, such as taking time to exercise, and also relationships, like taking the effort to celebrate my friends’ special occasions.

9. Have you ever faced a setback because of your age or status as a student? How did you handle such situations?

I started working as an event talent at 16 years old after coming out of a modelling competition. I had my first taste of working with adults and clients, but I also had my first few experiences of being undermined because of my age. I was replaced for a job because the client had no confidence in a 16-year-old girl interacting professionally with guests in a corporate event. This fuelled me to improve the way I carry myself, from body language to the way I speak.

Thankfully, in the startup space, mentors, investors, and late-stage founders treated me as equals when I was pitching to them or was seeking advice. This was heartwarming as experts coach youths like me who they believe would be the next generation of founders or leaders.

10. What advice would you give other students in university?

Instead of choosing security, focus on experiences that will develop your skill sets and network the most over the next few years in university!

Comment down below your major takeaway from reading Vanessa’s exclusive piece!

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