Successful young entrepreneur starts business from nothing except a $500,000 loan from his father

Singapore, 14 May - He may be baby-faced, but make no mistake, Mr. Ah Sia Kia is not your average Singaporean 20 year old young man fresh out of army. He is representative of a new breed of young entrepreneurs who are courageous enough to forego a university education and a stable income to strike it out on his own as an entrepreneur, starting with nothing but a $500,000 loan from his father and a humble Mercedes SLK as a company car. 

"I work hard for every cent, and I worked my way up," Mr. Ah Sia Kia explains. "Doing business is not easy. People only see the glamorous side of being your own boss, but don't realise how hard work it is to get money from your father, and the amount of times my ass gets pinched by old aunties. I'm from a humble family, we only stay in a landed property in Bukit Timah and have about five sports cars, and every cent counts." 

With his entrepreneurial spirit, following his ORD from army as a 9-5 clerk, Mr. Ah Sia Kia daringly ventured into a new, unknown business of setting up a cafe selling "organic, high quality coffee" in a retro style cafe which makes about $100,000 in turnover every month (with about $200,000 in expenses). 

"I think business is not for everyone. Only if you have the entrepreneurial spirit, otherwise, stay in a 9-5 job," Mr Ah added.