Raffles Entrepreneur's Network (REN)

My in-depth reflections leading at REN: A life-changing experience

Being in REN EXCO was something that has taught me many life lessons. When I joined REN, I recall seeing the senior EXCO lead the CCA, drive new initiatives, rally members, and really make a difference. Seeing this lit a fire in me to want to do the same, and I decided to take the leap to apply to be in the EXCO. I knew I had to set myself apart, so I decided to run for a role I knew I could be relatively good at, and something that had quite an interesting job description. Being the Public Relations Officer meant that I had to spearhead all our publicity for merchandise and events, be the face of the CCA when inviting external speakers, lead projects like our annual VIA, lead the Raffles Business Symposium, launch my own in-house designed product, and much more.

But this barely scratched the surface of what I eventually ended up doing. Being in the EXCO taught me to go above and beyond even when nobody was looking. I didn’t want to just do my job description, but I wanted to drive positive change in the CCA that would make an impact on batches to come. My CCA teachers were pivotal in helping me realize this, giving me the platform to try out new initiatives, and to be vulnerable and allow me to learn. 

I particularly enjoyed being given the opportunity to invite successful entrepreneurs to the CCA, and used this to its full extent to invite people that I believed would leave a huge impact on the CCA members. The whole process of researching and inviting relevant people to mentor us was eye-opening, as it allowed me to hone my communication skills and truly understand what it means to interact with business leaders in the real world. Notably, I was able to get WingStop CEO’s, Founder of Broctagon Fintech Group, Founder of Slashie, and many more esteemed guests to come and mentor us. To me, the opportunity to speak to them and plan the events with them was golden. In the process of organizing these events I was able to be guided by them, talk to them about my own projects and get personalized feedback from them. I particularly recall walking with Mr Fred Then, a serial entrepreneur with more than 8 startups, and asking him about Waste Fellows and how I could grow it further. Those small moments of mentorship go a long way, and these experiences have molded me into someone who is now much better and more comfortable at communication and organization.

Another thing I wanted to do at REN was boost its culture and brand identity. REN is often seen internally and externally as a CCA that just does merchandise sales to make a lot of money, which is far from true. As we took the baton from the senior EXCO, I wanted to continue the momentum of the branding and image they had created. I didn’t want sales to feel like a transaction, but a whole journey and human experience for the customer. And this is where my past experience of leading publicity came in. I used new techniques that were otherwise not used before and were slightly risky to promote our products and events, such as finding new ways to create hype, jumping on the latest trends, and above all, being consistent with how we presented ourselves as a brand. 

I also wanted to launch my own product, and was given the platform to do so, launching the Voyager Edition Drawstring Bags, a product my team and I designed and commissioned in-house in under two weeks. When I walk around school and see someone holding that bag, it fills me up with a sense of fulfillment and definitely puts a smile onto my face, knowing that my team and I put our all into it to ensure the highest standards of quality and perfection in it. 

Leading other events such as the Raffles Business Symposium, our annual VIA, industry visits, internships, open house and much more allowed me to grow in every aspect, becoming a risk taker and someone who was seen as a dependable leader. 

However, times were not always rosy. I recall challenging moments in leadership where I felt like I was unable to motivate the members, and that I was just talking to a wall. This was especially true when it came to big events like the Raffles Business Symposium and Entreweek. I often struggled with allocating work to members, thinking that I would be better off doing it myself with more focus and effort into it. And this was not great, as not only did I put more pressure onto myself, but I removed the members from the CCA experiences they were supposed to have. This built a culture where the EXCO almost did all the work, with the members being there as a formality at times. I wasn’t happy seeing this, as I knew that as a member I would not be happy with this type of leadership. As a member I would feel a lack of trust, and a lack of skin in the game. 

I wanted to change this culture, and so I decided to take a leap of faith when we did our annual VIA project. After liaising with the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore and ironing out the details of how we could benefit them, I had to allocate work. This time, I decided to do something new. I decided to split the CCA up into various small groups with members leading these groups, giving them the autonomy to create the vision that they had for the VIA. I made sure to oversee it all, and ensure all these groups were connected and working towards a common purpose, but I was still unsure. A lot of things were out of my control, but I decided to have some trust in the members as I should have always had. And they did fantastic. On the day of our VIA, everything ran smoothly. Everyone turned up. Everyone played their part and went above and beyond their roles. That day I realized that being a leader is not just about taking up all the work and controlling everything, but empowering and giving the freedom to those who look back up to you for guidance. 

Overall, leading at REN has been life-changing, and I hope to continue going back to mentor juniors and give back to the CCA as much as it has given to me.