Jan Wong is a Forbes 30 Under 30, Malaysian serial entrepreneur, youth advocate & founder of OpenMinds - a data-driven martech company he bootstrapped for 8 years & generates millions in revenue with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong and at one point, Kazakhstan!

Jan’s entrepreneurial spirit was present from a very young age. 

He pursued an IT course at University College of Technology & Innovation.

At the age of 17, he spotted a gap in the market & established his first company while still in college: Genesis IT Solutions & Services. Genesis started off with him reformatting computers for his friends - given that he had no prior knowledge in this area, his services didn’t always bear fruit!

And yet he preserved. And when he spotted a gap (again) for data recovery services, he pivoted. And grew a business so successful, it attracted the attention and partnership of conglomerates like Seagate, Microsoft, Fujitsu and Samsung.

The Entrepreneurial Journey

Jan’s story is full of tremendous highs but also tremendous lows. Some of them include overcoming a teacher’s “prediction” when he was 10 years old that he would never amount to anything. Of facing the lack of support and confidence from those around him when he first established Genesis. And how he had to confront the heavy consequences of allowing his pride to get in the way of his business. 

We dig in deep into those low points. Of how Jan approached them and continued on his journey. 

And how he was willing to go out of his comfort zone, even till this day!

Founding OpenMinds

In 2009, Jan founded OpenMinds Resources. Some of the things we discussed included:

• Why he decided to not pay himself a salary for the first year & a very low stipend for the next few years; 
• His priorities in the early startup days;
• OpenMind’s unique selling point;
• Things Jan would’ve done differently;
• How Jan created a people first work culture; and
• How he led OpenMinds to tripling its revenue in 2015 and expanding to Singapore, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan!

Other Things We Discussed

• Jan’s drive of always seeking to “stand out” & doing something that no one else can easily copy;
• His biggest mistake behind starting his first company at the age of 17 in college;
• The role of faith in his life; 
• Why he continues to invest in other people;
• The impact that being Forbes 30 under 30 had on him; 
• The impact that COVID-19 has had on him and OpenMinds; and
• His biggest piece of advice for those wanting to start a new venture in this day and age. 

Jan’s story is truly one of great perseverance and a willingness to always learn & never let fear hold you back. I have nothing but admiration for him.

Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/7