veni. vidi. vici. carpe diem!

there’s an inherent lack of men who dare to dream, have the persistence to betray conventions and subvert social expectations. in Singapore, it is rare to hear of people who would have the guts to forsake a comfortable lifestyle and lead a life of adventure and risk. although i’m not saying that everyone should enter such an industry, we all know that some have the specified talents and visionary spirit, but are held back by rules and conformities.

the constant argument that we have enough problems in one’s life to worry about and to worry about whether one’s income will arrive the next month, is extremely vexing for many Singaporeans. we have been brought up in a pressure cooker that employs eugenics for sure success, creating highly-skilled and efficient workers that are pigeon-holed into the economy. jobs become a bore and sentiments are that everyone in general dislikes working and complain about their jobs. everyone desires to retire early, but are in a dilemma because the retirement age rises each year and they are unsure of how much money is enough for a good retirement. in such a culture, even the blind can feel the heat and accelerated pace of life as we are not living like humans, but workers instead.

as the economy becomes more developed and even Vietnam, India and China are catching up the value chain to produce higher value added goods such as high-end consumer electronics with an educated highly-skilled labour, there is only to this extent how highly educated a population can be after having a masters degree. hence, Singapore needs to change its economic plan within the next few years, or else it would lose its comparative advantage as it gets eroded slowly, leaving us without any jobs due to our only resource – humans, unwanted and too cost-intensive to hire.

many might argue, perhaps we should focus on SS-side policies and retrain the workers, giving them the necessary skills to match with the comparative advantage in the economy so as to create great productive capacity in the economy and ensure low unemployment. however, such a policy is extremely myopic when you consider that Singapore is resource poor, relying on export as a major engine of growth and imports for sustenance and is therefore heavily reliant upon the outlook of the world economy as a price-taking small economy. as recessions get more volatile with heavier focus on speculation and stock trading, recessions fluctuate more rapidly and have a greater consequence. with MNCs and FDI pulling out from Singapore, we will not only see a dip in our productive capacity, but our exports, affecting our real economic growth, but causes rising unemployment due to capital flight. this also impacts our cost-push inflation with the fall in purchasing power. our BOP will also remain in deficit due to a falling (X-M) and capital account deficit as FDI and hot money flee the country. in conclusion, we are screwed.

some might even extend the argument and exclaim the ingenious Jobs Credit Scheme that the government has concepted, effectively using government spending to make them stay and ensure a more stable employment level, giving more security and stability and eliminating any poor sentiments for consumers and investors.

however, all these might face considerable problems in the face of a huge recession that might cause MNCs to just leave so as to protect their own countries.

this therefore warrants a strong case for entrepreneurship.

on the point of sustainability in times of recession, it is certain that entrepreneurship will deliver. in most cases around the world, SMEs take up the highest portion of employment in the economy and in Singapore’s case these SMEs base their main headquarters here in their homeland, with some expanding overseas. in turbulent times, we are sure that these SMEs will not leave, ensuring a much more stable employment rate, which translates into security for consumers and investors, which ensures that purchasing power does not dip too much. this tackles the problem at its root and makes our economy able to withstand against any capital flight that might shake confidence and sentiments amongst consumers and investors. with more entrepreneurs, more SMEs will sprout, leading to greater stability in Singapore as they ensure our survival and are sure not to flee in bad times.

moreover, it is also a benefit in times of booms. more start-ups would lead to greater productive capacity as Singapore would host more patents and hold them, allowing us to move our comparative advantage to become an innovating-manufacturing economy where patents and ideas are redefined every single day. innovation not only ensures we stay at the top of the game, but it assures us as key drivers of the future economy as we have thinkers instead of just workers.

furthermore, Singapore is a perfect location to incubate new start-ups due to the massive amount of hot money and cash that are in abundance with so many angel investors, incubating schemes and student internships, that not only allow entrepreneurs to thrive with the resources that are already made easily accessible to them, which therefore gives the impetus for greater innovation and accelerated start-ups to occur.

although there lies a possibility that our start ups are unable to reach the quality and scale of large MNCs such as those based in the USA, the opportunities are almost equal, as many Singaporeans have access into the different markets of the world and are able to gain funding from the government and angel investors all around. i sincerely believe that innovation is not restricted to the amount of r&d dollars that a company spends on. but it is individualistic and based upon the vision and work culture of the company that determines its efficiency in innovation. that alone, can allow Singaporeans to trump other companies and with the correct people, the initial barriers to entry can be overcome and internal economies of scale can be established.

as the world gets more fluid and volatile each day, idea is king; innovation is the one that will cause the rise or demise of even the most powerful corporations.

the demographics of the game has changed, as we see more firms joining together to form conglomerates that are not only oligopolistic by nature, but so rival conscious that it would mean a total monopoly of information and cut-throat action to cast out any who might seek to rival the big firms.

for Singapore today, we lie in a precarious position. our comparative advantage is eroded slowly as we struggle to hold on tightly to our niches such as pharmaceuticals and oil refining.

lastly, my final case for it is simple. we have one life and many of us dare not dream nor step out of our comfort zones. we have brilliant ideas, which cannot be monetized unless we step forward to change the present situation.

as for governments, they have been doing a lot with providing a good foundation for entrepreneurs. however, the problem lies in the culture of education, which sets many to have a fixed mindset and practicality instead of pursuing their passions. because social conventions in schools cultivate in students the vision of success to be earning a degree in law or medicine and then proceed to be the best in those fields. this can only be achieved by grades, which is the only practical way of success, while the rest of them are futile.

although i agree with MOE on such a strong and well-reasoned education policy, risks must be taken in order for greater practicality to occur. for entrepreneurship would generate an economic growth that would far exceed what we have today in the long run, which must also be taken into account as a key driving force in order for us to stay relevant in long term. the risks are definitely greater with almost a full score of failed start-ups. but, it is this spirit of grit and passion that will drive entrepreneurs to succeed, and make a name for Singaporeans out there.

if we don’t take the first step, who will?

this is our homeland, nobody will fight for it, except we, Singaporeans. only we, will stay to ensure the survival of our nation-state.