Ngeow Jiawen is an entrepreneur that left her comfortable life in the corporate world for the exciting life of investing. The recession hit when she was just a junior in college, and her mother left her job because pay cuts would not allow her to provide for her family.
Ngeow’s mother decided that investing her savings to make money on the side was how she would help her family survive during this rough time.
Her mother’s motives are not unheard of in the investing world. Savings accounts provide very little returns, and investing money can provide an essential return on investment versus a traditional low interest account. This was the moment when Ms. Ngeow realized that savings alone is not enough for retirement.
Graduating from the National University of Singapore, she began dabbling in the business world by organizing events for University and entering into e-commerce businesses. Active at all times, going to university was simply not enough to meet the pressure that Ms. Ngeow’s mind needed to be satisfied. Her first business after obtaining her degree was in an apparel e-commerce store that was opened in 2013, and had a turnover of $650,000 last year.
Megafash was her next venture that started out as an online store last December. The start of Megafash was when her first online business operations were closed down. The move by Ms. Ngeow is a bold one, and has led to the company carrying more than 100 local brands. An initial investment of $15,000 into the company was provided by Ms. Ngeow’s cofounder.
Noting that $15,000 only allowed for basic technology infrastructure, the company grew despite low investment and started gaining new customers every day after just a few months of operation. The company opened its first 1000 ft.² store in Il1 Katong and was quickly followed by another 600 ft.² store in Orchardgateway.
Sales growth for the company ranges in the 10% to 20% range each month, with revenue figures for the first year of operation expected to be $500,000. The company has since closed the seed round’s last year of $400,000, with angel investors and venture capital firms interested in the company.
Business accounts for most of Ms. Ngeow’s time and investment, but she has purchased a rental home with her father, and plans to buy a private property in the next five years. She currently owns 10 stocks and recently lost between $8,000 and $10,000 as the market tumbled in recent months. Heavy time investments in Megafash has caused her to change a strategy to property and savings bonds that need less monitoring to be successful.
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