Introducing NinjaPear (2026) - Customer Listing API Learn more
World's laziest CEO. Before starting the highly-successful Proxycurl and Sapiengraph, Steven founded 5 other startups: Gom VPN, Kloudsec, SilvrBullet, NuMoney, and SharedHere.
I am what I am. But as time races by and collagen weans itself off my face, I have noticed the few times I cede control, were the few times things worked out well. Cede control in the company With LandX, I could hold onto the reins if I wanted
There was a time by which I made a concerted effort to stave off the intake of the news. That is because the primary intent of news reporting is to alarm. The secondary intent is to inform. This is why "Breaking News" arises so often. The TV networks
The giant startups that shook up our lives such as Uber and Airbnb did so because they were, by nature, disruptive. But disruption is a nicer way of saying illegal. Then they got so big so fast that regulators have no choice but to regulate them permissively, The recipe for
Especially so for someone like me who grew up trying hard not to take money from my mother because of tight financial circumstances. In a startup world, planning for failure is a recipe for mediocrity. Fighting this old habit has proved to be one of the harder battles on par
My investment track record, while limited in variety, has been pretty successful. They would be way more successful when I tune out my emotions. The times I didn't were led to outcomes that were less favorable outcome: * Like how I signed away an entire company I built because
I started the Sapiengraph effort by hiring a small sales unit. Historically, I always built the product first then attempt to sell it. The risks are obvious. I might invest months on a product that nobody wants. With sales first, I let the market decide instead. Besides, knowing myself and
In my second meeting with an angel investor, he told me straight up that he is not sure what exactly we are selling.
Last week, I dropped a job specification for our design team to design a demo for our facial recognition demo. The demo does two things with photos: 1. To search for a face 2. To add a face to the database The "Train" buttonFor Feature #2, the designer
"What is in it for you" - Do not sell. Instead, tell your prospect straight up what he stands to gain.
The origin story of how I decided to build my own company
A designer with a soft pink cap. A programmer with a hair bun. These Indonesians have been growing proportionally in my product team. We speak different native languages, but we barter in the same currency -- respect. Despite dedicating an entire post [https://nubela.co/blog/your-first-reaction-is-a-snort-of-air-out-your-nose-with-a-half-smile/] deconstructing why I
This post is hard to write because it means I have to come to terms with my autistic tendencies. But if I am honest with myself, blaming it to autism makes for a poor excuse. If I have to be candid, I will say I am an asshole. But it
No, it is not the early onset of Alzheimer's [https://nubela.co/blog/i-have-early-onset-of-alzheimers/]. It was honest to goodness forgetfulness. I am making it up right now. But it does tie in nicely with what I was ruminating about yesterday. I should slow down. What I have been
Last week marked the start of the fund-raising process. It was a fruitful week, and it has shaped the work ahead of me in the subsequent weeks. This post is a summary of my thoughts. Funds as comfort; funds as a weapon I am raising funds for Sapiengraph because * I
I am a Singaporean with chutzpah [https://www.yourdictionary.com/chutzpah]. A Jewish term for near-arrogant bravado. As a Singaporean Chinese living in a Confucian society, it is not an easy trait to carry. But I carry my chutzpah proudly on my sleeve. In the past, my near-arrogant bravado has
Yesterday, I texted a particular NUS professor seeking an introduction to a specific angel investor. That turned out to be a dud as the professor was not acquainted. And I followed up by asking: > do you know of anyone with deep pockets who like engineers, whom I should meet?
So I pitched to a VC today, and I got a same-day response after sending over the deck. > We usually invest at Series A and often write cheques of $2-3mil for a start. Perhaps we can continue to monitor your progress? If I was any younger, I might have
I am from the special forces, not because I served as a Naval Diver, but because my company operates as a small but lethal team. Two years ago, when it was just Bach and me, we built a database of businesses in the Asia Pacific region. Complete with employees, their
This is my favorite question for people (over drinks). I will like to think that the craziest act that you sought out willingly defines who you are as a person. And this is important to me because I seek rebels. Rebels do whatever it takes to get to the destination
In the last month, I lost : * My car keys. It cost me $900 to replace it, thank you BMW. * Not one, but two Stojo cups. One of it got caught in my car's convertible top because I drove off while opening the soft top. * My Mi Band 4.
Some things cannot be rushed. I bought a few shrimps for my tank yesterday. And I have been drip acclimatizing them with water from their new home. But somehow, they are not grazing as they should. Something must be wrong So I took out the test kit that I have
Two weeks ago, I announced that I was going raise 900,000USD for Sapiengraph. I am raising funds because I believe there is a serious opportunity for (your) data that will disappear from the public domain in the next ten years. Yes, I am referring to those very public Instagram
I have an irrational hatred for bureaucracy. It is probably why I always find bones to pick with the civil service. But bureaucracy is only the symptom. What I truly have an issue with is inefficiency. Centralized systems are efficient There is a reason why the internet has been converging
This is a rewrite of my original post by which I extolled the need for you not to build your business on somebody else's business. Instead, I have rewritten it to include an obsession of mine. I am obsessed with a censorship-resilient infrastructure. It stems from my liberal
My staff and I were debating if Grab falls under our target audience, and she insisted that she had written Grab down previously and I had shot down the idea. Then I asked, but if you believed in it, why did you not argue your point? > Because that would
