Interview with Richard Soh

How did your passion to protect people start?

I grew up in a rowdy, “gangster” neighbourhood as my family was not rich and my father passed away when I was five years old. My mother had to work very hard to support me and my younger sister. Growing up in such a challenging environment made me aware of my surroundings. During my first year of secondary school, I was often at the bottom of my class – I was uninterested in my studies and wanted to come up with ways to earn money instead. My cousin and I used to sell orange juice in school and we were happy, even though other students laughed at us.

After a while, I realised what I was doing was not helping my mother, who was the only breadwinner at home. I stopped wasting my time and started to study, and by the end of secondary education, I became the top student in my cohort. After enrolling in a top junior college and university, I realised that it is important to not let people look down on you because of where you come from – those factors do not determine your future.

I’m also thankful to my mother and grandmother for giving me their support in setting higher standards for myself. Not having a father, seeing my mother work two jobs to support our family and taking care of my young sister motivated me to become a better person. I felt I had to become the man of the house and protect my family, and that shaped me into who I am today.

What have you learned from your activities, projects and competitions?

My involvement in many projects and competitions has allowed me to develop social skills. Social skills are very important because they allow you to connect with people – they facilitate the interaction and communication with your teammates, enable you to work, listen and recognise everyone’s unique strengths, and find out how these strengths can complement each other.

I would also recommend entrepreneurs to keep their ideas short and simple. Not many people understand technology and too much jargon in presentations can cost you. You may have the best idea, but if you don’t communicate your message effectively, it will be ignored. For me, it’s about translating my ideas into simpler terms for people to understand. Listening to constructive feedback will also help you improve. Social and listening skills are thus essential for entrepreneurs to develop.

How has COVID-19 impacted the way we build connections in the technopreneurship ecosystem?

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way we interact with each other. We have to connect with people, but we cannot now interact physically. It’s challenging, but we have to learn, adapt and accept the new way of doing things. After the pandemic, interacting virtually will likely be the new norm of connecting with others.

How do you educate people who cannot understand technology?

When you’re coming up with a new solution, the problem must be something that people can easily identify and relate to.

For example, in an artificial intelligence (AI) project that I’m doing, I use AI technology to prevent and protect customers against scams. Today, scams are a global issue and one of the major concerns in Singapore – scammers are always trying to steal your personal banking information. Almost everyone in the world understands this issue, therefore, it’s easier to garner support from people because they are aware of this global concern.

On the other hand, if people do not recognise your problem, they will ignore you. After gaining people’s attention, you can elaborate more about the technology, its process and result. Translating the idea into something easy and then explaining how technology solves the problem will enable you to educate people who cannot grasp the technology aspect.

What inspires you to help this industry and use technologies to come up with solutions?

My passion to combat scams and protect customers inspires me to come up with innovative solutions. I challenge myself to learn new things because I believe that each one of us has something unique to contribute to the world. With my law enforcement background and current experience in the private sector, I always ask myself these questions: “How can I protect customers from scams?” and “How can I help the private sector be more socially responsible to the public?” Most important, “Can I do something now that contributes to the future?”

Personal challenges drive me. I assess what I have done and set higher goals. The upcoming presentation at the Singapore Fintech Festival in December is one such goal I had, and I believe this opportunity will further inspire me to come up with something even better.

What have you learned from past failures?

While working in the law enforcement sector, I suffered many setbacks. However, I was very fortunate that I had two supervisors who believed in me. They encouraged me to compete at the biennial Ministry of Home Affairs Excel Fest to prove to myself that I could come up with something innovative. I was the only entry in my bureau going against other government sectors, and I won! People will expect you to fail but do not listen to those voices. Remember that if you doubt yourself, nothing can be done, so it is a matter of how you drive yourself forward by not letting the negative voices drag you down.

Now, not everyone from my bank believes in what I’m doing – naysayers bring up I have only been in the banking industry for three years and I don’t know much about innovative banking. However, I have proved to them that it’s not a matter of how many years of experience I have, but about how I put my passion into action. As long as you have an enterprising mind, you will succeed everywhere. Disregard those voices and keep going.

What advice would you give to aspiring technopreneurs?

Have an enterprising mind. It doesn’t matter if you do not come up with a business idea now – you can be an intrapreneur in a current firm and help your company grow. Enjoy and learn from people around you to increase your knowledge. Learning is fun! If you do not understand something, just ask. This will fuel you to become a better innovator. Also, do not be afraid to fail as long as you learn and improve. Lastly, practice presenting your ideas in front of people. Have the courage to recognise and overcome your weaknesses.