Page 18 - Fireflyz Issue 3

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ENTREPRENEUR
16 | FireFlyz
From Startup to
Grown Up
Founder andManagingDirector ofWavelet Solutions, Vincent Lee, shareswith us his
secret to success and globetrotting experiences.
R
emembering
the
wise words from his
ex-boss at DBS Bank
Singapore who said,
“Vincent, whatever
you do, be the best in
it”, 38-year-old Vincent
Lee has strived for years with sheer
determination despite the lack of sleep,
to achieve success with his startup
company, Wavelet Solutions. A graduate
of Cambridge University, United
Kingdom, Vincent has been given ample
opportunities to attend courses and gain
hands on experiences from just about
every department in the bank, which
allowed him to understand the big picture
about banking and finance and put it to
use. Here’s his success story…
What inspiredyoutostartWavelet
Solutions?
When I was a child, my ambition was
to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia. I
later realised that my dream has changed
because I have more passion to be an
inventor or an innovator, hoping to make
a positive impact on the society. I believe
every deserving student should be given
the opportunity to further their tertiary
education and hope to contribute some
scholarships when I have the means to
do so.
I love the freedom to achieve and I
am not particularly good in following
step by step career progression through
employment. To be able to move without
speed limits is something I enjoy doing
and I hope to help a bunch of other
young and like-minded people to achieve
their dreams.
HowwasWaveletSolutions initiated?
It started in July 2002 when I started
writing the first line of source code for
the ERP system that Wavelet is selling
today. At that time, I was still working in
DBS Bank Singapore. My bedroom in a
rented apartment in Holland Village was
the “garage” where I started. I installed
a fixed IP SDSL line, bought a small
computer as the server and about 20 to
30 programming books.
Life was pretty tough for the initial
three or four years as I used to get only
three to four hours of sleep per day,
including holidays, weekends and even
when I’m on leave, to code non-stop.
I got married in September 2003 – the
same month I completed my bond with
DBS Bank – and came back to Kuala
Lumpur in October 2003 to start the
company.
Howmuchhas thecompanygrownsince
itsstartup?
From only one employee back in 2003,
we now have 35 in Malaysia. For our
software users, we started with just a
few and the number has grown to about
20,000 users to date. Our user base has
spread across 10 countries – Malaysia,
Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam,
Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Australia
and North Korea
Whatwasyourbiggest challengewhen
startingupWaveletSolutions?
Well, first of all, I did not have enough
capital – with only RM10,000 to start,
which kept me surviving for about
two-and-a-half months. Both my parents
were working for the government and
they were not able to provide the kind
of support, guidance or help in terms
of networks. On top of that, I was only
married for a month and it was rather
difficult to convince my wife to live
separately for a long period of time (she
was working in Singapore at that time).
Without customer reference, it is
difficult to get the first few customers as it
was difficult to sell without a completely
tested product. Given 24 hours per day –
juggling between software programming,
sales and marketing, support, project
management, HR management, financial
planning, network engineering, database
administration, software architecture and
“receptionist work” all at the same time, I
would say, was very challenging to me! It
took a lot of determination, perseverance,
endurance and discipline to reach where
we are now.
Today, we are benefiting from
initiatives executed by Malaysia’s
Multimedia Development Corporation
(MDeC) to push for cloud awareness.
MDec organises a lot of activities, which
added tremendous values in enhancing
Wavelet’s competitiveness in various
areas, including, but not limited to
business strategies, human resources,
business processes and branding.
Has thegovernment faredwell inassisting
entrepreneurswiththeir startups?
I think MDeC has been doing a great job
in building the startup eco-system. From
organising various events to promote
the startup spirit, to getting renowned