As second year BBA student Tneoh Yuan Ping ushered in his 20th birthday with his best friend of seven years, Chai Wan Lin (Year 1 NUS Computer Science), both felt a sense of discontent with where they were in life, and wanted to do more. This started them down a unique entrepreneurship path.
Both 🎥Yuan Ping and Wan Lin share a love for alcoholic beverages but were frustrated by the exorbitant alcohol prices in Singapore, as well as retail and consumption restrictions. They noticed the same sentiment shared by their peers. Singapore’s circuit breaker measures in 2020, which mandated the closure of F&B outlets, added further to their frustrations, but it was at this pivotal point that Yuan Ping’s startup inspiration began to take shape. Together, Yuan Ping and Wan Lin co-founded Guzzlers LLP, an on-demand alcohol delivery company that delivers island-wide within two hours upon confirmation.
Since its incorporation in July 2020, Guzzlers has been a runaway success, grossing S$140,000 sales revenue over the first eight months of operations, maintaining a 70% customer retention rate, and grew a healthy Instagram following of 2,300 followers and counting. Their success was not easily won. One of the greatest challenges the young entrepreneurs faced was building a network of suppliers. Initially, seeing how young they were, the distributors were skeptical about going into business with the young men. But with persuasion and persistence, Yuan Ping and Wan Lin managed to 🎥convince the suppliers and secured the contracts he needed to lay a basic foundation for the business. The duo also attributes their success to being adaptable, flexible and ready for any form of change.
For Yuan Ping, NUS Business School’s strong global reputation, prestigious rankings and attractive student experience were the key attributes that drew him to pursue his undergraduate degree here. His decision has served his startup well, as he has been able to apply his classroom lessons to the upkeep of his business. In particular, 🎥concepts in data analytics have been crucial in helping Yuan Ping optimize every dollar of spending. Frameworks and principles taught in the Organisational Behaviour courses have also helped him manage and 🎥motivate his three employees effectively.
Yuan Ping hopes to transform the alcohol industry, which is presently notorious for its poor customer service and slow delivery turnaround, to one that is customer-focused and efficient. He aspires to make Guzzlers the go-to alcohol delivery service in Singapore for young adults, offering a 🎥transformed drinking experience. A personal goal of Yuan Ping’s is to reach a total revenue turnover of S$1 million by the time he graduates from NUS. With the experience gathered from running Guzzlers LLP, the duo also hopes to fulfil their long-held dream of running a physical bar alongside their delivery business.
On finding a healthy balance between alcohol enjoyment and unhealthy consumption, Yuan Ping advocates always knowing one’s limits and not give in to peer pressure. “Drink your way to happiness, not the hospital!” Yuan Ping jokes.