Mr. Tok Show

Darrell Zhang is one of the co-founders of NextBlock. 

NextBlock is an app that provides a hyperlocal digital platform for neighbours and various stakeholders within an estate neighbourhood. Think kampung spirit in the digital era! 

Darrell has been in the tech startup scene for more than 10 years, since graduating from National University of Singapore. In this episode, we talk about his app, why connecting neighbours matters, how he strikes a balance between money and mission, and why making a difference brings him the greatest satisfaction at the end of the day.

0:00 What is NextBlock?
4:19 Our Grassroots Experience
8:56 What is NextBlock looking to offer the Neighbourhood?
14:06 Helping Neighbourhood Merchants Promote their Business
18:38 3 Pillars of NextBlock

23:28 Challenges building NextBlock
24:32 NextBlock's Coverage & User Acquisition 
28:00 Startups Figuring out their Business Model
30:01 The NextBlock Team/Working in a Startup 
32:24 Executing on all Possible Ideas 

37:58 Is NextBlock trying to be Everything? What's his Primary Concern?
43:01 Raising Capital for NextBlock
45:25 Advice: "Don't Fall in Love too much with your Technology"
46:30 Scaling NextBlock Overseas
48:37 How can Students who are Aspiring Entrepreneurs take their First Step?

50:43 "The NUS Overseas College"
52:23 Common Characteristics of Tech Startup Founders
52:55 Striking a Balance between Passion and Money
57:22 When is the Best Time to Start your own Business
59:26 What is a Successful Life?

1:00:30 What is Success to Darrell?/ Wanting to Make a Difference
1:03:01 Aspirations for NextBlock
1:05:22 Outro

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JJ & The Mr. Tok Show
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Darrell Zhang
Nextblock's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nextblocksg/
Darrell's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellzhang/
Website: https://www.nextblock.sg/

JJ's Post Production Notes "I thank Darrell for being so generous and candid in sharing his experience starting and running NextBlock. It was a chill Friday afternoon, and we enjoyed this chat over a cold beer. It was great! Darrell struck me as someone very down to earth and passionate about his tech ventures. He is also very kind to gift me NextBlock merchandise. Thank you very much for your kindness and generosity Darrell. I thoroughly enjoyed having you over. All the best to you and NextBlock!" - JJ

Hita & Ayu are husband and wife, founder, producer, and host at Parenting Made Special podcast. 

Their elder boy, Naseer, is diagnosed with autism. They created the podcast because they felt there is a lack of local resources when researching for more information on autism. They aspire the podcast to be a space for parents and other listeners to hear real stories and learn tips and tricks from experts on how to handle children with special needs. 

In this episode, they share their journey bringing up Naseer, the ups and downs, the diagnosis process, how they came to embrace his condition, their thoughts on early intervention, therapy, and much more. 

Follow us on our social! 
JJ's IG: https://www.instagram.com/tokjiajie/ 
Hita & Ayu's IG: https://www.instagram.com/hitaandayu/ 
Their batik business's IG: https://www.instagram.com/hamode.sg/ 
Website: https://anchor.fm/parentingmadespecial 

Listen to their podcast "Parenting Made Special" 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7sKkkJ084xQ0dTIzjC3wdt?si=f7etI4iSQDyUQ-U3zh9yFA 
Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80MjA5ZDU1Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw== 
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/parenting-made-special/id1549486240 

JJ's post production notes 
"Thanks and kudos to Ayu and Hita, for sharing their experiences bringing up Naseer. It was a very candid and intimate conversation I had with the couple. I am very sorry for the technical difficulties towards the end of the podcast, in terms of image. The cameras ran out of juice and died. My fault for not plugging them in! Another lesson learned. Unconditional love is extremely rare. Parents love for their children is as close as it is. This love is often magnified when the child(ren) they are bringing up has special needs. Ayu and Hita came across to me as very loving and devoted parents, determined to give their best to their 2 boys. They also have a big heart for the community, and are putting in time, money and effort to share their experiences, to build a resource center for fellow parents bringing up children with special needs. I wish their family nothing but the very best, in the days to come. With God's blessings, always!"- JJ

家有一老，如有一宝。 

我们的祖父母吃的盐比我们吃的米多。 

80年的匆匆岁月让他们的一生累计了无数领悟与感慨。为了保留外公的故事，我决定和他坐下来聊聊他对一些人事物的想法。 人生嘛，谁无一死？也但愿这访问能让未来的子孙后代了解外公并从外公智慧的分享中吸取些人生的教诲。

Genevieve Chong is 22 and carving a career out for herself in direct sales. 

In this interview, we discussed the company she represents, the work culture, her views on success, money and the importance of family ties. We also talked about the Maserati she bought recently, and whether she's guilty of being too flashy on social media! 

Follow us on our social! 
JJ & The Mr. Tok Show 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrtokshow 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrtokshow 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tokjiajie 
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mrtokshow 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrtokshow 

Genevieve Chong
Genevieve's IG: https://www.instagram.com/chong.jialing/ 
Genevieve's FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=696987296 

JJ's post production notes "I watched Jia Ling grow up as a member of my extended family. She has always come across to me as someone more mature than her age. She exceeded all my expectations in this interview. I never knew she would be this articulate and mature in her thinking. Her childhood isn't all easy, growing up in a single parent family. But she's also very lucky to have a loving support network in her extended family members. I am very happy that with her own hard work and gritty determination, she is achieving her little success in direct sales. I wish her 更上一层楼 in the days to come, 加油！"- JJ

Kevin Wee is the founder of Rebound with Resilience, a training provider & podcast commited to raising the resilience and mental wellness of our nation. 

They run experiential classroom workshops, and also train and work with people with disabilities to conduct talks and training. They also conduct programmes for schools and organizations, and have served till date over 20 schools and organizations, totaling more than 10,000+ participants. 

In this episode, Kevin shares his past struggle with anxiety, depression and maniac. We also went back to Rebound with Resilience origins as a school project and his dream to evolve it into a full fledged media company. 

Follow us on our social! 
The Y603 Show's IG: https://www.instagram.com/y603show/
JJ's IG: https://www.instagram.com/tokjiajie/ 
Kevin's IG: https://www.instagram.com/k.weee/ 
Rebound with Resilience's IG: https://www.instagram.com/reboundwithresilience/ 
Rebound with Resilience's FB: https://www.facebook.com/reboundwithresilience 
Kevin's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-wee-rwr/ 
Website: http://reboundwithresilience.com/ 

Listen to "Rebound with Resilience" 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BGNLLIa48DuDYC34uYO4j?si=Gn0W1YEhRK-HB-VUbyxU0w 
Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xZDI5MjE3MC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw== 
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/rebound-with-resilience-with-kevin-wee/id1508929143 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0QD_SE9gzHeZaG6YBxc29A

JJ's post production notes "I am so sorry for the blurry image in this video podcast! The cameras were not focused properly and I am still kicking myself for it! Horrible mistake, but lesson well learned, always double and triple check! Kevin came across to me as someone very passionate about his cause. You can sense it from the way he talks about his work, he is intense, enthusiastic and the energy rubs off you. Coming out to share about your own past struggles with mental health conditions certainly isn't easy. Kevin has made it his mission to help people, especially youths, who are struggling with what he understands can be very toxic and unhealthy thoughts. He has a great deal of empathy for them, and is using his own past experiences to comfort them that, hey, it's fine, I understand what you are going through. That is very commendable. I wish him all the best in his mission to help people build greater resilience. All the best! "- JJ

This interview is conducted in Chinese, except for the introduction. 

In this episode, I interview Mr. Desmond Lim Bak Chuan. He is best known as a opposition politician. He has contested every General Elections since 2001. He also contested in the 2013 Punggol East By-Election. He is currently Chairman of the Singapore Democratic Alliance. We had a wide ranging conversation. We discussed his political career, the state of opposition in Singapore, his relationship with his once mentor, opposition veteran, Mr. Chiam See Tong, SPP's withdrawal from the SDA in 2011, his charity pursuits, his childhood, recent health scare, and much more. 

Follow us on our social! 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCORhVKcas-PmIfjtv0_Xh3w
JJ & The Mr. Tok Show Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrtokshow 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrtokshow 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tokjiajie 
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mrtokshow 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrtokshow 

Desmond Lim's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/datolimbakchuandesmond Singapore Democratic Alliance's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SDANewsPage/ 

JJ's post production notes 
"It is my wish that the Mr. Tok Show be a trusted platform for my guests to share with me their story, and aspirations. I also aim for the Mr. Tok Show to be a trusted source for audience to gain a better understanding of the guests, through my objective and neutral questions. Or at least, that's why I hope to aspire. Politics is important, and I believe it is healthy for us to have diverse media sources to better understand our politicians, their motives and motivations. The policies touted by them will directly affects our lives, and the future of our younger generations. I will, and look forward to interviewing more politicians on this show. I appreciate if you can leave any feedback in the comments section, or drop me an email at [email protected] I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed producing it."- JJ

0:00 Introduction/开场介绍
1:06 每日一悟
3:00 “平凡的人”做不平凡的事
4:33 政治与慈善
6:07 要参政，脸皮就要厚
8:27 英语掌握欠佳，迎来的批评
10:38 参加政治的初衷/新加坡民主联盟的开始
14:19 政治生涯的最大挑战/詹时中风波

17:15 早期因性格和作风得罪其他党员与同僚
21:23 詹时中2010年退出新加坡民主联盟风波
23:44 我对新加坡民主联盟结构的疑问
27:05 詹时中风波的内幕/上一次接触詹时中
30:19 詹时中对他的影响与教诲
33:39 新加坡民主联盟在白沙–榜鹅集选区的活动
34:37 新加坡社会目前的民生课题
37:05 对新加坡人力资源政策的看法

41:07 对现任政府的看法/现任政府足够聆听采取反馈吗？
44:24 对新加坡最感满意/自豪的是什么？
46:44 人民行动党的“一党专政“
48:03 对政府处理COVID-19疫情的评价
51:12 社会主义vs资本主义
52:07 新加坡反对党这10年的发展/人民心态的变化
54:19 对工人党的成功的看法
56:02 新加坡民主联盟为何一直无法赢取国会议席？

57:36 两党独大/三党独大？小党派还有作为吗？
59:57 新加坡民主联盟理想党员/候选人
1:03:25 “会讲话的未必会做事”
1:04:13 新加坡反对党理想的团结是空谈吗？
1:07:21 新加坡民主联盟的坚持
1:07:49 与陈清木医生的关系/给予的帮助
1:09:29 陈清木医生与新加坡前进党代表什么？
1:10:28 希望人们最终如何评论自己？

1:12:07 对新加坡民主联盟未来的期许
1:13:04 对成立一个新反对党的看法
1:14:45 还会参与下一届大选吗
1:17:19 累了吗？心灰意冷吗？
1:17:53 心脏绕道手术
1:19:02 目前人生有什么顾虑/“我们不能掌控明天，只能掌控今天”
1:20:47 为何发起慈善事业
1:23:23 重点帮助群体1：年长人士

1:26:44 慈善事业与政治野心无关
1:27:40 重点帮助群体2：病人
1:29:25 带领/管理义工的心得
1:31:52 慈善事业vs政治事业/政治与慈善都是为了帮助人
1:33:06 成长背景
1:34:19 最初决定参与政治的渊源
1:37:33 贫苦的童年
1:38:48 家庭与老婆的支持

1:41:08 平日的行程
1:42:22 接下来的计划
1:43:44 有接班人了吗？
1:44:13 收场

Cheyenne Seah is a business adviser, and a career coach. In this episode, she dishes out nuggets of wisdom to improve your career. If you are a business owner, she shares tips on how to retain your best talents. If you are job hunting, she teaches how you can use key words in your resume to improve your chances to get called up for an interview, and so much more. Refer to timestamps below on the sub-topics we discussed, that may be of interest to you. 

Cheyenne was also diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and has come out to share about her struggles with adult ADHD, in the hope of raising more awareness about the condition in society. 

Follow us on our social! 
JJ & The Mr. Tok Show 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrtokshow 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrtokshow 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tokjiajie 
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mrtokshow 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrtokshow 

Cheyenne Seah
Cheyenne's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheyenneseah/

Listen to the Mr. Tok Show's Audio Podcast 
Website: https://www.mrtokshow.com 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7LaJKpUpkxxV2lglkZwawg?si=a48b346f750f403c 
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-y603-show/id1558280398 
Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNzMyMDY5LnJzcw?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFzOXPh671AhWoRmwGHR_1BpMQ9sEGegQIARAC 

JJ's post production notes "Many thanks to Cheyenne for sharing her aspirations, struggles and what is it like to live with adult ADHD. It is not easy to share openly about your vulnerabilities in a public podcast. I am once again reminded on why we should always aspire to be more kind towards everyone. We all have our difficulties and struggles. Cheyenne's sharing on her experience as a career coach and business advisor on a diverse range of topics, came across to me as very thoughtful. She shared some very practical tips that I imagine will be useful to many people. I hope you found value in this interview, and be sure to share it with others who you think may find the content useful! "- JJ 

Natalia Rachel is a trauma therapist, and Founder of Illuma Health. She is an advocate of a trauma informed culture where people understand the roots, effects and dynamics of trauma in our daily lives. Illuma Health, founded in the midst of the pandemic, seeks to ‘repair and revitalize the way we look after ourselves and each other.’ The three pillars of business include an only therapy marketplace (specific to trauma, attachment, and somatic therapy), corporate mental health & culture transformation programs, and online education & content development. 

Follow us on our social! 
JJ & The Mr. Tok Show Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrtokshow 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrtokshow 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tokjiajie 
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mrtokshow 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrtokshow 

Natalia Rachel 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nataliarachelchange 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalia_rachel_change 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalia-rachel-9505b023/ 

Listen to the Mr. Tok Show's Audio Podcast 
Website: https://www.mrtokshow.com 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7LaJKpUpkxxV2lglkZwawg?si=a48b346f750f403c 
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-y603-show/id1558280398 
Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNzMyMDY5LnJzcw?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFzOXPh671AhWoRmwGHR_1BpMQ9sEGegQIARAC 

JJ's post production notes "In this pandemic times, many of us are hurting deeply inside. Sometimes, we are lonely. Sometimes, we are struggling to make things work. I am grateful to Natalia for very gently explaining what trauma is, and how it affects us. I personally believe that trauma affects all of us, each and everyone of us. We have all been traumatized by someone or an event before. It's inevitable. However, we have evolved to become pretty good at handling and processing it, or else I can imagine it's quite impossible for most of us to function. Still, what happens when it all becomes too much to take? We have seen it. Unhappiness, depression, suicide. I am glad Natalia, and Illuma Health offers another perspective of tacking this issue. I also loved when she talked about empathy in a trauma informed culture. We all can be kinder to each other. My very best wishes to Natalia and Illuma Health, may you touch more lives, and improve them for the better. "- JJ

Benedict is a 2nd Year NTU Computer Science student. 

Growing up, his Father taught him how to improvise and repair household items. They did it because of circumstance; a lack of financial resources. However, it also sparked the interest within him to build and repair bigger, and more complex items. He has since gone on to improvise his own air conditioner, vacuum cleaner, solar harnessing system, and many more. He's also an avid volunteer. 

He volunteers with SG Bono, a non-profit that matches low income family with refurbished laptops. He's also a member of EarthLink NTU, where he prior to the COVID-19 situation, conducted a laptop repair workshop for fellow students at NTU. 

Our Social Media
JJ's IG: https://www.instagram.com/tokjiajie/
Benedict's IG: https://www.instagram.com/benedict.lee21/
Benedict's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benedict.lee.9250

JJ's post production notes 
"I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Benedict. He is a wonderful boy, humble, down to earth and kind-hearted. Can you imagine that after finishing the interview with him, I looked down at my mixer only to realise I didn't hit the record button! This interview you see is actually a second run. Benedict's response? It's okay! We can do it again, I have the whole afternoon. I really appreciate his kindness! He grew up with little, but he never complained about it. Instead, he is grateful for what he has and is always looking to share his big heart with others. I wish him all the best in his future endeavor, and look forward to having him on the podcast again. 

P.S: He's single and available. Girls, what are you waiting for? He's a great catch!"- JJ 

Hi there! JJ here, and welcome to Ep. 1 of the Mr. Tok Show. Omer and I interview Steve in this first episode. Steve and I have been good friends for many years. I also know many of his extended family members. He's a business owner, loving husband, doting father, committed Grassroots Leader, loyal friend, a very charismatic gentleman, and so much more. I hope you enjoy our chat on his business, the security industry in Singapore, his involvement in the Grassroots, and his passion to help people dream big.