A million dollar buzz
Going from start-up to a million dollar business in under 12 months is, in the books of most, nothing short of amazing. It may seem that brothers Karl and Christopher Chong, founders of Beeconomic have a golden touch, although they’d much rather attribute their success to something much simpler and more realistic. “Be willing to learn, keep an open mind and work hard to get the job done. Be kind to yourself, your customers and your colleagues and put in the energy to get to know people, so you make them feel important” say the 20-something pair.
In February 2010, the young entrepreneurs arrived in Singapore eager to start their own business. This was a homecoming that they had been planning, Christopher in Australia pursuing a Law Degree and Karl in New York working as an Investment Banker at Macquarie Bank. Little could he imagine that before the end of 2010, he and his brother would become part of US group buying giant Groupon that paid them an estimated $24 million for the acquisition.
Going from near zero to six-fold revenue growth didn’t come through a great deal of perseverance in the face of many rejections. “If you want to set up your own business you have to put in the hard yards as well as sacrifice on leisure and your lifestyle. You have to see the end goal” said Christopher.
I couldn’t have said it better myself! I would love to interview brothers Karl and Christopher Chong, founders of Beeconomic one day!
Karl and Christopher are both wonderful role-models to any aspiring entrepreneur out there! It happened fast for them but that isn’t always the case. Regardless, you have to keep pushing along despite the rejections and the economic climate. If you believe in your product and/or service, your time will come!