Catching Up with Ray, Grand Winner of YEA 2011
When 25-year-old Ray Beh Weng Wei garnered top award at last year’s Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA), he thought then that he had just taken one step closer towards realising his dream of becoming an entrepreneur – little did he know it was a giant leap forward.
With Canon as the main sponsor of the YEA, we caught up with Ray to find out how winning the competition helped propel his art and framing online business, Frambie, to greater heights than he could ever imagine.
On helping launch/grow his business
“Winning the competition definitely helped! Both the cash prize and Canon business products significantly improved the performance of my business and the recognition has given my business a great market reputation.”
“The business development manager of Canon Singapore, Norman, was also very helpful, offering useful advice about the right Canon business products to fulfil my business needs. In fact, with his help, I was able to expand my product line faster than expected!”
The invaluable experience earned
“It was truly a great learning experience taking part in the YEA. For instance the Q&A session not only tested my industry knowledge, it also gave me the opportunity to obtain useful inputs from the panel of judges.”
“I’m also glad and honoured to have been able to network with today’s top business leaders. As for winning the competition, it’s like a dream come true for me – having achieved a new milestone in my life that will help me face the challenges ahead.”
Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
“The YEA is a great platform for aspiring entrepreneurs to nurture their entrepreneurial dreams. Participants not only get to meet others like themselves, but also network with successful business leaders and gain valuable input on how to improve their business idea further. And who knows, as a participant, you may even find a suitable business partner there!”
Registration for the 3rd Young Entrepreneur Awards is now open!
Like Ray Beh, you could be well on your way to becoming an entrepreneur. If you’re between the ages of 18 and 40, simply submit your business plan for an innovative product or service to YEA 2012 and you stand to win $20,000 worth of cash and Canon business products. But hurry, closing date for submissions is 6 Jan 2013..
For more details, visit www.xinmsn.com/YEA