In this episode of the Economical Rice Podcast, I interviewed social entrepreneur Mint Lim to find out more about her history, her motivations, and her ambitions. Throughout the episode, you will learn about how Mint first got into teaching, why her previous business was not sustainable, and how her current venture aims to help provide equal opportunities for underprivileged children.

There's a bunch of great stuff in this episode regarding how values, responsibility, and empathy affect a business, so happy listening!

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In today’s episode we are glad to have the wonderful Vivian Chan as a guest to talk about her journey with entrepreneurship. Like many people out there, Vivian used to be toiling away at a job and barely making ends meet for several years, before deciding to jump in and start a business out of her own home. Without any capital or prior business experience, Vivian now proudly runs 3 businesses and has never looked back.

Listen to learn more about the challenges she has overcome and the actions she took to get to where she is today. Who knows, you might one day break the vicious cycle and start taking control of your own life.

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In today’s episode we go through the storied career of billionaire Li Ka-Shing, and pluck out some key insights that has contributed to his wealth and success. From working 100hr weeks as a teenager to leading a gargantuan conglomerate that employs over 300,000 people, Li’s story and the lessons it bears will be sure to inspire you.

In today’s episode, you’ll learn about:

Segment 1 - Childhood and individuality

- How Li lived in poverty growing up

- The event that set his motivation for his future

- How Li shows that even the most difficult situations can be bettered by individual will and effort

Segment 2 - Early career and attitude

- Why Li had to work 16 hour days for 7 days a week

- The attitude and effort that provided the foundation for his success

- How success requires action and initiative

Segment 3 - Cheung Kong and managing failure

- The major setback to Li’s business early on and how he responded to it

- How his response contributed to a future success

- Why his actions are embedded in the company’s name of Cheung Kong

Segment 4 - Further expansion and management style

- How Li shifted towards property development, and the massive ambitions he had

- Why challenging the giant british conglomerates was almost impossible

- The management secret that has contributed to the success of his massive company.

For more content, you can follow the Economical Rice Podcast at the following links below:

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Music:

Cap Kendricks - The One

Juan RIOS - Azahar

Joe Corfield - Wildflower

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Bike sharing was supposed to be the groundbreaking innovation to introduce a much needed new alternative for transportation in Singapore. Yet, the most obvious effect has been hundreds of multi-colored bikes littered on grass patches, ditched in drains, and blocking pathways.

So how did all go wrong? And who’s to blame in in this situation? In today’s episode, we dig into the history and economics of bike sharing to hopefully find the root of the problem. In the end, we’ll take a step back and look at the bigger picture, and find why the parking problem isn’t the only issue with bike sharing.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

The history of bike sharing dating back to the 1960s

How ofo and Mobike came to be, and how much funding they’ve received

The mechanics of bike sharing, and the key role that technology plays

How ofo and mobike differ in their strategies

Who the 3 main stakeholders are in relation to bike sharing

What the incentives of these stakeholders are, and how they have responded to them

How the incentives come into conflict and create the parking problem

Whether the new parking places bill will prove effective

And finally, the real problem behind bike sharing

For more content, you can follow the Economical Rice Podcast at the following links below:

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How did Singapore’s economy do in 2017? What kind of new policies are we expecting in the future? And how will the GST hike affect our lives? In today’s episode, I invite special guest Wesley Goh of the Innovation Campaign to dissect last week’s Budget 2018 and bring you the answers! From the carbon tax to the new GST increases, tune in if you want to find out what it could mean for you.

In today’s episode, you will learn about

Who Wesley is and what his project, the Innovation Campaign, is all about

Why Wesley is an ardent supporter of “permissionless innovation”

How Singapore fared fiscally in FY17 against expectations

The direction of Singapore’s fiscal spending

What the carbon tax is, and how it affects everyone

The mechanism in which taxes on industry gets passed on to consumers

Why top-down approaches may not always be ideal

The upcoming GST hikes and the multitudes of spending projects behind it

How our government spending keeps growing bigger and bigger

Why Singapore’s unique model of 50-50 welfare

What the new GST on imported services tax is, and who it impacts

How this new tax hurts SMEs and small business, whilst penalizing consumers

How such a policy might be detrimental to Singapore’s drive for innovation

For more content, you can follow the Economical Rice Podcast at the following links below:

Website: www.economicalricepodcast.com

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While it is undoubtedly the case that technological progress has benefitted millions around the world, it is also true that disruption can have negative costs on society. Notably, it is common to hear of how we might soon be living in a world where our work has been displaced by AI and automation, and how we are ultimately powerless against it.

Fortunately, where society sees a problem, entrepreneurs see opportunity, and in today’s episode I talk to Daniel Shen and Praz of the startup Soqqle and how they are aiming to help you fight AI. If you’re keen on learning how Soqqle plans to use blockchain and tokenization to create a “Smart” social network, then this is an episode you will not want to miss!

In today’s episode, you’ll learn about:

- Why technological advancement can be problematic

- How it is crucial to use technology for good

- The early stages of Soqqle and the barrier of irrationality

- Why digital tokens can help overcome that barrier

- How decentralized systems fare against centralized ones

- What a fully decentralized system will mean for individuals

- How Soqqle’s gamification will make self-improvement fun

Sources:

- AI may replace a third of graduate jobs: Study

- What jobs will still be around in 20 years? Read this to prepare your future

Segment music:

Francisco Tárrega - Capricho árabe

For more content, you can follow the Economical Rice Podcast at the following links below:

Website: www.economicalricepodcast.com

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Have you ever wanted to play tennis or badminton or squash, only to face the difficulty of not being able to find anyone to play with, or that even if you've found someone, that they did not match your level? Fret not. Thanks to entrepreneurs such as Ritesh and his Rovo app, such inconveniences (otherwise known in economics as market frictions) may soon a thing of the past.

In today's episode, we will be diving into Ritesh's background, and how it led to creating Rovo, as well as his entrepreneurial experience and the key lessons he has learned. This will be extremely valuable if you are interested in learning more about Ritesh's story with Rovo, as well as if you're a budding entrepreneur looking to pick up some key insights.

Happy listening! We are officially underway for 2018!

For more content, you can follow the Economical Rice Podcast at the following links below:

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Seasons greetings! While most of us tend to get pretty caught up in the Christmas rush of finding and buying presents, how many actually take a step back and reflect on the economic impact of all this Christmas commercialism?

In today’s episode we’re planning to do just that. So, if you’ve ever been curious about how Christmas commercialism came to be, what the typical household buys, or how the retail industry affects our economy, then be sure to tune in!

In this episode, you will learn about:

- The history and meaning behind Christmas gift-giving

- How Christmas was celebrated differently in the past

- How Christmas transitioned to its modern day form in the 19th century

- The Christmas spending habits of UK vs European consumers

- Why it matters and why it is not useful for determining Singaporean consumer behaviour

- Singaporean’s surprising Christmas spending habits

- How the spending habits of individuals reflect macroeconomic sentiments

- The actual and estimated state of Singapore’s economy in anticipation of Christmas commercialism

- How much the retail industry contributes to the Singapore economy

- How much Christmas commercialism contributes to Singapore’s economy, and how many people it actually affects

For more content, you can follow the Economical Rice Podcast at the following links below:

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In the midst of the train delays and breakdowns, as well as the numerous reasons for the ongoing failures, one thing has always bugged me about SMRT. Is it actually a private or public company? On the one hand, it was set up by the government to serve the public transportation needs of the nation, and through the rail financing framework, the LTA is responsible for the rail assets of the firm. However, it is clear that SMRT operates on a market model that competes with other transportation providers for profits, something that is unusual for other public institutions such as IRAS or SAF.

So, which is it? In today’s episode, I delve into the history of how the company was set up, the various transformations in its corporate existence, and finally how some tricky terminology muddles the distinction.

For more content, you can follow the Economical Rice Podcast at the following links below:

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Have you ever wondered why healthy foods such as salads or organic food are so costly? I mean they’re just vegetables and sauce, how expensive could they be? So are these foods actually overpriced or is there some underlying justification for it?

In today’s episode, special guest Ramesh Kumar - from the Food Myths and FSTAN facebook pages - and I discuss the underlying economics of healthy foods. From discerning what actually counts as healthy foods to uncovering food trends and the marketing and misinformation that exists in the digital age, this is one topic you wouldn’t want to miss.

In today’s episode, we discuss the following issues:

- A brief look into Ramesh’s background and career choice

- How being a food researcher affects his consumption

- Why Ramesh runs the Food Myth and FSTAN Facebook pages

- What makes healthy food healthy

- How much of the claims health food trends such as organic foods, detox water, or cleansing juices are due to marketing, and how much are actually justified

- The ease in which the digital age spreads misinformation, and why nutritional science matters

- The various factors that goes into the price of healthy food, such as research, certification, consumer education, and marketing.

- Why a salad prepared at home and one sold at a salad bar are 2 entirely different products.

Much thanks again to Ramesh for being a wonderful guest on the show. If you would like to learn more about what he does or to ask him some questions about food, you can go to the Food Myths Facebook page to reach out.

For more content, you can follow the Economical Rice Podcast at the following links below:

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