“Straight roads do not make skilled drivers” is a quote that resonates with my own experience as an entrepreneur.
I’m Benjamin Yang, and I started my career as a Public Servant – I had my dream job working as a Senior Officer at the Planning Division of Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), which was really meaningful work for me. In hindsight, it was a wonderful gift. Looking back from where I stand today, it was those foundation years I spent at EDB that ignited my belief in data. This belief has shaped my leadership style and how I believe organizations should be run.
How then, did I move from my dream job at EDB to running Novitee? Also, how did I process more than one billion dollars’ worth of food transactions in Singapore in 2022? To put it simply (though the whole process was nowhere near simple), it was based on a promise made and a market research job for a small eatery serving kaya toast. One fateful Thursday in 2010, my best friend whom I met weekly for basketball sessions reminded me of the promise we made to start our own company when we grew up. By then, I was 29 years old, and I guess I could be considered an adult. Building on that promise, I left my dream job to become the entrepreneur that we were supposed to be. I would love to tell you that we had a business idea or model of some sort. No, we had nothing but a promise; a promise that two good friends had made to each other.
Because we had no concrete plans, we were desperate. This desperation drove us to take up a market research job for a small eatery that served Kaya toasts. The inefficiencies of the job (the lack of access to data and numbers) provided us with an opportunity to fill the market gap with a suitable product. This was how Novitee birthed the NoviPOS (point-of-sales system).
Novitee was founded in December of 2014 and has grown from a 3-man start-up to a leading technology platform that serves customers in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. We are constantly innovating and upgrading our systems. This is seen in the launch of our latest product platform, KoomiMarket, a B2B digital marketplace that allows F&B businesses to source and purchase directly from food wholesalers. Our ultimate vision is to uplift Southeast Asia’s food industry through education & technology.
I vividly recall being in a shopping mall after a business meeting looking for somewhere to eat. I stumbled upon a restaurant that had a Point-of-Sales system that was an exact replica of Novitee’s. I was furious and contemplated taking legal action or confronting the system vendors. As a result, I informed my management team of the situation before taking any action, so they could promptly correct the situation. Luckily, I had a cool-headed team and my General Manager asked me what the brand of the restaurant was, which I actually praised her for because I thought she wanted to call the restaurant owners. Upon hearing the restaurant’s name, she laughed and said, “Ben, they are our customers.” The system you are seeing is a Novitee system.” It was embarrassing to realize, and I now use it as a reminder to remain calm and logical.
Aside from this funny story, COVID-19 posed a serious challenge for us. When the Circuit Breaker news broke, all restaurants in Singapore were under lockdown. At the beginning, things were really scary. My mental and emotional burden was so heavy at that time and I remember that feeling of gloom and doom. In spite of this, we decided not to give up without a fight. With the help of NTUC’s e2i, we launched Manyplaces, a free-to-use platform for F&Bs to reach out to customers. Our platform was a success, and we built a lot of goodwill during that time. In the end, many of the F&Bs we helped were grateful to us and many of them became our clients after the economy recovered.
It is imperative for all organizations to practice gratitude with their employees. I am a huge fan of positive psychology. Out of all the research done in this field of study, I think practicing gratitude at work gives the greatest return on effort.
Fostering a culture of gratitude in the workplace can have significant benefits for employee well-being and organizational outcomes. An effective way to encourage gratitude is to conduct regular exercises or activities that encourage employees to reflect on and express what they are grateful for. A helpful example of this is the “3-gratitudes” exercise, in which one thinks about three things for which one is thankful every day or every week. This type of activity can contribute to a positive and uplifting work environment and improve employee engagement, productivity, and attendance. With constant encouragement and reminders, corporates can do this for next to no cost.
“The ultimate test of success is not whether you’re proud of what you’ve achieved. It’s whether you’re proud of who you have become. Accomplishments highlight your skills. Relationships reveal your values. If excellence is what you do, character is what you do for others.” – Adam Grant.
To me, the message is to never put too much emphasis on external accomplishments. We should focus on internal growth and values; those are the things that matter and endure.
Being a father, I am inspired by my daughter for more than just pride. I had a breakthrough idea during a disciplinary moment with her. As a restaurant technology company, we offer a Point-of-Sale system as one of our key services. The payments technology industry is extremely competitive, with a lot of venture capital funding directed at it. A number of our competitors focused on integrating with payments, creating a battle to offer better rates and gain more market share. Initially, we were drawn to this path, but something changed our perspective.
One night, my daughter began coughing severely and I realized it was because she had eaten ice cream at school that day (she is very sensitive to colds or sweets). During my reprimand, my daughter told me she ate ice cream because all her friends were doing the same. This made me think about how sometimes people follow others without thinking for themselves, and how that might not always be the right decision. The incident also led me to question whether our company was following the same path as others in the industry without considering other options.
This led me to realize we could distinguish ourselves by moving away from front-end payments and focusing on back-end procurement instead. A lot of effort was invested in developing our procurement solution, which eventually led to KoomiMarket, a B2B marketplace for food suppliers and restaurants. Although this was a challenging journey, we persisted because we knew we had a compelling product-market fit. It all started with a moment of reflection with my daughter and the realization that we didn’t have to blindly follow the crowd.
To my younger self, Ben, I would advise him to do the difficult things others won’t and have faith in himself, because hard work pays off.
Novitee is built on three things:
Faith that we can make a difference.
Hope that we can create a better future.
Love for everything we do.
I would like Novitee to have contributed to reshaping Southeast Asia’s food economy; that we have improved Southeast Asia’s food economy because of our efforts. Most importantly, we hope that all of Novitee’s team members will look back on our accomplishments with pride.
Above all, I wish that my children would see farther, think deeper, and achieve more than I ever have.
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