After spending nearly a decade in banking, NUS BBA alum David Wang (Class of 2008) decided to try something new — starting a venture capital and tech advisory firm 33 Capital Group in 2016. And from this new experience, he was inspired to give back to the society.
Start-up experience inspires alumni to pay it forward
David (centre) with his team at 33 Capital
“Running a company is like having to take care of a family,” recalled David as he had to look after every aspect of the firm, including the welfare of his employees. David then started to think about how he can pay it forward in life, and that was when he decided to go back to his School to see how he can help his juniors.
One of his most memorable experiences at NUS Business School is to be able to go on overseas exchange, spending a semester at the USC Marshall School of Business. There, he saw an entrepreneurial culture among the students where many are articulate and outgoing.
The exchange made him realise the value of experiencing a culturally-different environment and broaden one’s outlook as well as an approach to life. This would enable one to be able to manoeuvre in highly diverse work environments.
David with Dean Bernard Yeung
He then decided to set up the 33 Capital Student Exchange Award earlier this year, which provides cash assistance to students who go on overseas exchange. The Award covers expenses including air tickets and daily expenditure.
“The overseas experience gives you that invaluable exposure to different things. And because of this, you might be able to take a big leap in your career and life,” said David.
The Award is a part of his giving philosophy, where he believes in creating a level playing field for students.
His team also regularly recruits NUS BBA students to intern in his firm and would come back to the School on weekends to mentor undergraduates in a number of areas such as polishing their interview skills.
For more information on the NUS BBA programme, please visit http://bba.nus.edu.sg/.