A couple months ago, Velda Tan, founder of Singapore cult fashion label Collate, texted me to invite me to the inaugural Galboss Asia Symposium that she was organizing with four other superwomen. The idea of like-minded women gathering to network and share knowledge on the digital media landscape, entrepreneurship, leadership and personal branding immediately sent sparks of inspiration through my soul. It was an easy ‘yes, of course, I am so there!’
A month later, at their press conference, they announced the headline speaker: Aimee Song. My level of excitement went up another ten notches.
Fast-forward to the Symposium held on 21st July at the plush Grand Hyatt Singapore. I attended the seminar with my friend Chryseis Tan, a tech entrepreneur who recently invested in a fashion discovery app called Goxip. Velda and her fellow Galboss co-founder Sabrina Tan, CEO & Founder of Skin Inc, whom we had met at the welcome dinner the night before, were there to greet us with such grace and poise – evidently, six months of proper planning and thorough preparation with their teams meant the hosts could mingle freely with guests and speakers. (And also a testament to Velda and Sabrina who perform so well under pressure.)
Looking through my overstuffed goodie bag, I came across the Galboss Asia notebook that listed the day’s itinerary as well as the ethos behind the conference: “Galboss aims to inspire more women to think big, empowering them to bring their A-game in order to change the game.” The inspiration spark within just erupted into a flame of motivation!
Here are some tips I had picked up from the Symposium that would be as useful to start-ups and small business owners as they would be to vloggers and lifestyle entrepreneurs.
Aimee Song: “Have a unique point of perspective; find your voice. Work with brands you love and have the confidence to be true to yourself.”
Tan Shu Shan, Managing Director & Group Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, DBS – Surround yourself with good people. Teams need to be agile – look at Apple and Facebook.
Yoyo Cao, Designer/Founder of Exhibit Store and influencer @yoyokuala – Be authentic and organic. Audiences are savvy – they can differentiate between a paid post and one that is genuine. Brands should focus on quality engagement campaigns with influencers who truly fit their brand’s DNA.
SSIN, Korean Makeup Artist & YouTube Star – Be yourself and don’t be afraid of being different. Stand out from the crowd but do it naturally and without pretense.
Pat Law, Founder of GOODSTUPH, a self-appointed “badass social influence studio” – Embrace feedback as a gift. On social media platforms, you must be ready to accept criticism constructively.
Velda Tan, Founder of Collate & co-organizer of the Galboss Asia Symposium (centre) – Consciously focus on your target audience and optimize on digital platforms that customers already engage with. Make your content relevant and current at all times.
Sabrina Tan, CEO & Founder of Skin Inc, co-organizer of the Galboss Asia Symposium – Be the best version of yourself. Set goals, have the confidence to pursue them and strive for success.
Rise up, chase your dreams and don’t forget to help people along the way. Tribe, squad – new-age colloqualisms that refer to a rock solid support system. If there’s one major lesson that the Galboss Asia Symposium taught me, it’s that we all need one and need to be a part of one. Here’s to making magic happen together.
