I asked my mum what entrepreneurship means to her and this was what she said.
“I need to support my family.”
That was the first thing she said when I asked my mum if she has ever thought about being an entrepreneur. As a mother of two, she felt that being an entrepreneur was too risky, and she had to earn a stable income in order to support the family.
As I enquired more about what starting a business was like in the past, she firmly said that it was for people with extra cash and no financial burdens. Back in her days, there were no government grants, no initiatives and basically, you’re left on your own. Those who started a business are usually from richer family backgrounds or those who do not have a stable job and have no choice but to do so. As the typical stereotype goes, most people from the older generations are usually inclined to stick to a job and continue to “do until you die”.
Can the older generations strive to be a startup founder in Singapore?
As Singapore’s economy grows and we move towards a modernised and digitalised economy, the government saw the need to innovate and for us to build solutions for a sustainable future. Be it through government grants to aid startup founders such as the recent increase startup capital grant from $30,000 to $50,000, or public initiatives such as the HDB Cool Ideas Hack 2020 programme to encourage the development of tech-enabled solutions, we can all say that effort has definitely been put in by the Singapore government to ensure locals can stay competitive and founders can thrive in the coming years.
But as we approach a digitalised and innovative future, I wondered if the older generations truly understood what a “startup” is and what it means to build a business these days. As I continued to ask my mum about her view on entrepreneurship, I realised that startups, by her definition, are no further from what we already know — which are “young businesses started by individuals with a passion for an idea that solves a particular problem”. But when I asked her what would she do if she could build a startup, she simply said, “I will sell food. Cause everyone likes food. It’s quite obvious that Singaporeans love food a lot.”
Two things in that statement instantly triggered some thoughts in my head.
- Why is it that there is no tech element involved in her business idea?
- And why has she only focused on the Singapore market?
There were no limits to what ideas she could potentially build, nor were there any geographical limitations stated. So given that she is an educated professional in tune with the digitalised world and with no boundaries limiting the potential of her idea, it seems that she is still confined to the traditional boundaries or conceptions on what a business (or startup) can be.
Of course, given that she is a sample size of one, my mum’s behaviour and characteristics are not representative of all of her peers in her generation. But even so, I’m pretty sure she’s not alone. So how do we change the mindsets of the Gen X adults to get them to innovate and make full use of their years of experience and knowledge to innovate for a better future?
With a little bit of googling online, I found a research study which revealed that the average age of a successful startup founder in the US is 45. But what about in Singapore? From what I know, most of the local entrepreneurs would most likely fall below the age of 45 and sadly enough, I couldn’t find anything online — so it’ll be great if anyone who reads this would be able to conduct a study and let me know the results.
Uncovering entrepreneurship potential and talent among the older generations.
The very last question that I had was to see if my mum has had any thoughts in starting up now that she got to know more about it. Her response was that she would actually consider building a startup now that her kids have grown and that she has more free time, but she doesn’t know where to begin and how to get started.
As we become exposed to new technologies and are more aware of modern innovative trends, how can we help potential Gen Z and Baby Boomer entrepreneurs to build their ideas, and what would be the best way to support them in their entrepreneurship journey? How can we also inspire these people to even start on their entrepreneurship journey?
And yes, it is possible for older generation founders to become a successful entrepreneur. A great example is George Heng, who is the CEO of newly-founded sustainability startup SenzeHub. SenzeHub is a sustainability startup that aims to tackle United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good health and well-being) by developing a wearable device that flags early signs of deterioration in vital signs which would otherwise go unnoticed for the elderly. We definitely do need more entrepreneurs like George to build a sustainable and better future, and there might really be untapped potential in grooming entrepreneurs in Gen X or even Baby Boomer generations too.
Now that you have learnt about what I uncovered through my short interaction with my mum, go ahead and ask your parents about what they think about entrepreneurship too! Will you get the same answers as what I’ve gotten? Or will your parents provide with you surprising alternatives instead?
And for all founders out there, it is also worth checking in with your parents to see if they truly understand what you do and how they feel about your foray into entrepreneurship. Who knows, perhaps they have an idea hidden away at the back of their minds that could potentially be a great startup idea, or they may even be able to share great advice based off their own experiences too!
