Students need more startup exposure, says Startup Roots Sg founder

Helmed by Derrick Ko (Pivotal Labs), Zaizhuang Cheng (Anafore) and James Chan (Neoteny Labs), Startup Roots Singapore is the first international chapter of the US-based Startup Roots program. The program was first started by a team of established Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who saw the need for startups to have better access to talented individuals interested in the startup life.

By starting a chapter in Singapore, Startup Roots Singapore aims to show Singapore’s best students how rewarding the startup life can be, and encourage them to get involved in the startup community. In an e-mail interview, Wong Joon Ian wrote to Derrick Ko to find out more about how Startup Roots Singapore got started, and get his take on the Singaporean startup environment.

Wong Joon Ian: How did you connect with the Startup Roots folks in the US? How did the idea of Singapore chapter come about?

Derrick Ko: I first met Himani at Y Combinator’s Startup School last October. Himani is the co-founder of Startup Roots, and the founder of Micromobs. After hearing her experiences with Startup Roots in the Valley, I knew right away that Singapore could really use a program like that. Her reasons for starting Startup Roots definitely apply here too. I pitched her the idea of a Singapore chapter, and things started rolling from there.

WJI: What problem does Startup Roots solve in the Singapore startup ecosystem?

DK: Startups have problems finding talent. Our universities are filled with talent who are not exposed to the startups. Startup Roots bridges that gap. We want to show students that startup companies are an awesome place to work in. By exposing students to our ecosystem early, we hope to create batches of students raring to work at startups when they graduate. Or start even better companies than they otherwise would have.

Startups are already fighting against insane odds. We want to help with that.

WJI: Are there actually enough startups for students to intern at here?

DK: Definitely. I was collating our list the other day and we have a list of 15 startups and counting. They can’t wait to start speaking with our Fellows.

WJI: One thing that struck me about the Startup Roots literature is the emphasis on picking out “elite students”. What do you consider an elite student? Isn’t it rather, well, elitist?

DK: Most students choose large companies by default. There is nothing wrong with that. A decent pay packet within our comfort zone is the right choice for many people. But then, there are those who make sacrifices for something they believe in. Something with a much greater upside. To quote Reid Hoffman, “Doing a startup is like jumping off a cliff and trying to assemble an aeroplane on the way down.” If you are willing to take the plunge, you are elite in our books.

We want students who are talented in their area of specialty. Students who experiment beyond the scope of academics. Students with the drive to build cool stuff. There are such students out there. In fact, we just accepted Adrian from SMU as our first Fellow last week!

WJI: Who are some of the companies that Fellows can intern with?

DK: We have a great list of startups. 2359Media was one of the first participants, with Viki and Anideo being among the most recent to come on board.

WJI: Who are some of the speakers you’ll be bringing for your speaker series?

DK: Adeo Ressi, Steve Blank, and Robert Scoble were just some of the speakers in Startup Roots Silicon Valley. Pretty amazing stuff. I can’t say who we are lining up at this moment, but we are creating a schedule like that of our own. I’m really excited about it.

WJI: What role does Jame Chan at Neoteny and Ziazhuang play in this? What is your role?

Startup Roots is much like an early stage startup; it is all about getting stuff done. We don’t operate with job descriptions. Just a common goal, similar ideals and the same wavelength.

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