Ooi Yee Jia  

Co-founder, The Proper Paupers 

BBA, Class of 2020

MSc in Management + CEMS MIM, Class of 2022  

Since young, Yee Jia had always been a go-getter. Not only did he pull long hours in the library as a student cramming for exams, he also made sure to gun for internships at big names (think PwC, Credit Suisse, GIC, and P&G), on top of his training as a national water polo player which saw him in the pool 10 times a week (yep, go do the Math).  

So, it comes as a surprise that this go-getter mentality was exactly what Yee Jia left behind to travel the world with his partner for two whole years.   

No, he wasn’t burnt out. In fact, as a first timer living in the USA by himself during his Master’s exchange programme, he wanted to find a way out of the exorbitant accommodation fees. And as a typical business student, he wanted to turn this into a revenue-generating opportunity. That was when he discovered van life – buy a cheap van for a few thousand dollars, renovate it, live in it, and then sell it for a profit afterwards. “I’m going to save so much money, and I’m going to be making money on top of it,” was what Yee Jia planned after his time at Cornell. Little did he know, he wasn’t only going to be making money, but he would be making tons of memories as well.  

Of course, his decision did not come without naysayers. “It looks like a van driven by kidnappers,” said one of his friends about his new van. To prove them wrong, Yee Jia managed to transform a simple van into a fully functional and cosy living space. The physically demanding prep work rewarded him and his partner well with an adventure of 48 states in America over one year. The icing on the cake? They managed to live within a budget of $1,000 a month the whole way.  

When it was time to come home, they made an even crazier decision – to cycle 20,000 km back to Singapore on a tandem bicycle, all the way from London. With the profits they earned from selling their van, they bought a $300 second-hand tandem bicycle and successfully made the journey back home.   

Today, Yee Jia works in the Venture Capital space funding companies in the logistics and maritime industries. This choice to work in a VC was made after having the privilege of starting his own adventure, because he believes in supporting innovators, entrepreneurs and people who dare to take risks and the path less travelled.   

He gives credit to the NUS Sports Scholarship that aided him financially all through his university life, and especially the team behind the MSc in Management + CEMS MIM programme, that secured him a spot in Cornell. This support was what he believes provided him with the opportunity to embark on the journey of a lifetime.  

With this experience, he wants to encourage people to take a risk, start something new, and go on that adventure, because you learn so much about yourself that the corporate life will not teach you, and it will be something you are likely to remember forever.