{"id":9868,"date":"2017-03-06T13:36:41","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T05:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/?p=9868"},"modified":"2021-08-24T15:10:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-24T07:10:06","slug":"stable-to-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/blog\/stable-to-startup\/","title":{"rendered":"What It\u2019s Really Like To Quit A Stable Job For a Startup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Expect a rollercoaster ride \u2013\u00a0but a pretty darn rewarding one, say Grab\u2019s head honchos. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this interview series, Grab\u2019s founding members chat about their experience building up Southeast Asia\u2019s largest ride-hailing app. This week, Adelene Foo and Lim Kell Jay talk about what to look out for when making a switch from the corporate world to startup life.<\/i><\/p>\n

Ever considered a career switch to join a startup?<\/p>\n

That was the decision facing Adelene Foo and Lim Kell Jay some years back. The two friends had enviable jobs as management consultants at Accenture before becoming head honchos of Grab\u2019s Malaysia and Singapore offices respectively.<\/p>\n

Some context: In June 2012, Adelene joined Grab (then called MyTeksi) as its general manager for Malaysia, when the startup was in its infancy. About a year later, Kell Jay joined Grab to set up its Singapore operations from scratch.<\/p>\n

They tell us what to look out for if you\u2019re making the leap.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kell Jay (bottom row, extreme left) and Adelene (top row, second from right) at the launch of the Grab office in Singapore.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Less stability, but a chance to leave a legacy \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The instability of a startup is a deal-breaker for many.<\/p>\n

But for Kell Jay, the chance to solve a social problem was a \u201cdeal-maker\u201d. \u201cWe\u2019re tackling a fascinating issue,\u201d he says. \u201cHow do you solve traffic with nothing but smartphone technology? That really excited me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelene was sold on the chance to make an impact, even if it meant sacrificing a comfortable career.<\/p>\n

Prior to Grab, she was set on applying for an MBA programme, fully sponsored by her company. She was even on track for a promotion upon her return.<\/p>\n

In a twist of fate, she approached an acquaintance for advice with her MBA applications. The latter turned out to be Grab co-founder Tan Hooi Ling, who was building up the fledgling startup.<\/p>\n

Hooi Ling lobbed Adelene a counter-offer: Join her startup, and experience building up a business. \u201cShe told me it would be like a \u2018free MBA!\u201d Adelene jokes. \u201cBut there would be no financial stability. All they had was a vision, and nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelene eventually took the plunge, accepting a 40 per cent pay cut. She says: \u201cThere will always be opportunities to earn money, but it is rare to be in a position where you can leave a legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no debt or no financial commitments \u2013 what was there to lose? I would have regretted it even more if I had never tried.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Early days: Adelene Foo (extreme right) with the Grab team in Malaysia.<\/i><\/p>\n

From delegating to do-everything-yourself<\/b><\/p>\n

Back in the day, teams in Grab were extremely lean. Though she headed the Malaysian office, Adelene found herself having to design banners and pick up marketing and customer service on the fly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI even had to figure out how to pay the staff salaries. Coming from a place which had all the support functions, this was humbling,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Across the causeway, Kell Jay faced a similar situation. After nine years in consulting, he had to build an office from ground zero.<\/p>\n

He found and furnished an office space single-handedly. \u201cOne of the first things I did was to buy chairs from Ikea and fix them up. I also bought laptops for the staff,\u201d he says. The Singapore team doubled up as contractors, painting the office and buying everything including toilet paper.<\/p>\n

On one occasion, the Malaysia office failed to transfer funds \u2013 earmarked as drivers\u2019 payments \u2013 to Singapore on time.<\/p>\n

Kell Jay made a snap decision and took out $50,000 of his and his wife\u2019s savings to pay the drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were new in the market and up against a rival ride-hailing app. It boiled down to which brand the drivers trusted \u2013 and there is no better way to break trust than not to pay,\u201d he says. \u201cMy only condition to [Grab CEO] Anthony was that I get my money back!\u201d<\/p>\n

Tough slog, but big rewards<\/b><\/p>\n

Though humbling, the DIY culture fostered camaraderie among the teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we did a major server upgrade, the entire Malaysia team huddled and slept over in the office,\u201d recalls Adelene. \u201cOur CEO Anthony camped over with his sleeping bag and bought the team dim sum.\u201d<\/p>\n

That experience formed the bedrock of company culture. Today, posters reading \u2018Your Problem Is My Problem\u2019 hang from the walls of the Grab office \u2013 a nod to those days when it was all hands on deck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no demarcation of roles then. We worked as a team, double- and triple-hatting, doing everything we could to make the app better,\u201d says Adelene.<\/p>\n

The office Kell Jay and his team founded has grown into a bigger complex housing specialised functions, like marketing and finance, and a driver support centre.<\/p>\n

In 2015, a 4,500 sq ft Grab R&D centre opened shop on Cecil Street, the heart of Singapore\u2019s business district.<\/p>\n

Looking back, Kell Jay acknowledges that joining a startup isn\u2019t for the faint hearted. \u201cBut it\u2019s highly rewarding because you see progress every single day,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Takeaways for wannabe startup warriors:<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t be put off by obstacles<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Put the opportunity costs of joining a startup into perspective. \u201cBeing in a position where you can influence and impact, that\u2019s something money can\u2019t buy,\u201d says Adelene. And failure? Par for the course. \u201cIf you\u2019ve always dreamed of doing your own thing, be prepared to make mistakes. The faster you fail, the faster you will succeed,\u201d says Kell Jay.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Prioritise ruthlessly<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      It\u2019s common for staffers to juggle multiple roles in an early startup. To avoid getting swamped, \u201cplace priority numbers on everything,\u201d advises Adelene. \u201cWhat do you really need to do now? Is it acquiring more consumers? Don\u2019t jump onto the first thing on your plate as it may not serve your bigger objective.\u201d Also know when to hire. \u201cIf you do everything yourself, you won\u2019t be able to scale. Create bandwidth for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Never break trust with your partners<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Drivers were (and still are) key stakeholders in Grab\u2019s business. Even though the Singapore team was lean, Kell Jay recalls how everyone worked overtime just to tabulate the drivers\u2019 earning statements. This used to be manually done on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and e-mailed to every driver (all 1,000 of them) so they could have a record of their earnings. Though back-breaking, gestures like this earned the drivers\u2019 goodwill.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Build a support network<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          The startup life can be lonely so surround yourself with cheerleaders. Kell Jay credits his wife for being his rock, accompanying him even when he shopped for office furniture. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful to her for allowing me to take a risk. Family support is extremely important.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Adelene Foo is now the regional head of Grab\u2019s two-wheel business, while Lim Kell Jay is the country head of Grab Singapore. Interested in joining the Grab family? Check out our careers page at <\/i>http:\/\/grab.careers\/<\/p>\n

          See also: How we grew a business from 40 to 630,000 drivers<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Expect a rollercoaster ride \u2013\u00a0but a pretty darn rewarding one, say Grab\u2019s head honchos. \u00a0 In this interview series, Grab\u2019s founding members chat about their experience building up Southeast Asia\u2019s largest ride-hailing app. This week, Adelene Foo and Lim Kell Jay talk about what to look out for when making a switch from the corporate […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9868"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99186,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9868\/revisions\/99186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/my\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}