As entries for the 2014 Talent Unleashed Awards come to a close, we take five minutes to talk to Joel Neoh about innovation, the future of technology and what inspires him when making decisions at Groupon.
1. What do you think are the most important qualities in a great entrepreneur?
In my opinion, a great entrepreneur is an individual who performs their responsibility by ensuring a business is conducted to meet the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic requirements, while keeping in mind the need of the internal and external stakeholders. An entrepreneur should also continuously take the opportunity to learn to be able to grow a business to the fullest potential. It’s a daily challenge and definitely “easier said than done”, but a great entrepreneur ensures a business is: highly profitable; compliant with the law and operates within regulatory and governmental boundaries; ethical in its operations; and enriches the lives of the surrounding community in which it operates. After everything is said and done, the above is attainable through absolute focus and strategic execution.
In short, a great entrepreneur has three essential skills: 1) Hunger to learn, 2) Passion, 3) Good time management.
2. What’s the best piece of advice you were given and by whom?
I must say the best piece of advice came from my parents who are both academics; they have always motivated me to give my best in whatever I pursue. They have always encouraged me to go for it and be the very best at whatever I’m doing.
3. Tell us about your big break?
When I was 20 years old I launched a student agency where I earned my first million in a year of its inception. This was a steep learning curve and contributed to me being a wiser businessman moving forward. It was an important milestone for me and affirmed that entrepreneurship is an area I am passionate about.
I then joined a corporate reality show in Malaysia called ‘The Apprentice’ to further pursue my passion for entrepreneurialism. Joining the show was my first conscious choice to venture out of the engineering career path I had chosen, despite graduating as one of the top three students in my program. Despite being the youngest contestant, I came in as a winner and my journey as an entrepreneur continued.
I then co-founded Youth Asia, an award winning group of companies that invests in launching and growing innovative companies in the internet industry. The company won the coveted Dream Malaysia Awards: Youth Friendly Company of the Year in 2007. My passion for working with youth and entrepreneurship continued with National Youth Entrepreneur Convention, which took place in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The NYEC is the first and the largest youth entrepreneurship conference, featuring top Malaysian entrepreneurs under the age of 30 and gathers thousands of like-minded youths every year. The 2010 festival, YOUTH’10 generated over RM6 million worth of PR value and won #1 Promotional Activity of the Year at The Malaysian Public Relations Awards 2010.
Through these series of events, I was then inspired to formulate a business model which would shape and grow the e-commerce space in Malaysia. In September 2010, with three weeks of research and a strong vision, I set up Groupsmore along with a group of eight other talented young people. With clear brand differentiation and unique positioning, Groupon invited us to be a part of their family in January 2011. Today, with over 200 million subscribers worldwide, I’m heading Groupon Asia Pacific, overseeing operations in 11 countries. My journey as an entrepreneur has evolved and every day has its challenges, but I believe every day is a new opportunity, and to never, ever stop growing and learning.
4. What role will Technology play in the future of your business and business in general?
Technology is at the very heart of e-commerce, and is the linchpin for a successful online business. Groupon is a global leader in local ecommerce and is bullish in our mission to build the world’s largest local e-commerce place with a mobile-first approach.
We are pursuing holistic growth of social e-commerce throughout the region as a vibrant, healthy and profitable aspect of the economy. Being a principal driver of this new trend, Groupon aims to be the focal point through which the entire supply chain of the social e-commerce industry can be driven, making it easy for people around the world to search and discover great businesses at unbeatable prices.
A key operational focus for Groupon is aligning all markets across the globe on one technology platform to increase efficiencies, ultimately allowing us to offer the best possible experience to our customers and merchants.
We are in a very exciting stage of the company’s evolution and journey in becoming the world’s largest marketplace of deals that can be accessed from the palm of your hand, anywhere, anytime.
5. What’s the next big trend on your radar in technology?
With more than ten million people around the globe downloading the Groupon mobile app in the first quarter of this year alone, and more than 70 million downloads in total, it’s hard to ignore the power of mobile commerce.
