Hi! My name is Dawn.  I got to Shanghai through a school program called NOC by the National University of Singapore. People in our program intern at a startup company and also take classes at Fudan for a year.  This slideshow is adapted from a sharing we did among ourselves. My year in Shanghai let me grow a lot. I hope sharing gives students who want to head to Shanghai a little more insight into the whole experience :-)

1. Living for a Year in Shanghai

2. Hi! My name is Dawn. I got to Shanghai through a school program called NOC by the National University of Singapore. People in our program intern at a startup company and also take classes at Fudan for a year. This slideshow is adapted from a sharing we did among ourselves. My year in Shanghai let me grow a lot. I hope sharing gives students who want to head to Shanghai a little more insight into the whole experience :-) About Dawn

3. A Snapshot of my life in Shanghai TRADER ANALYTICS CORP SHANGHAI YOUNG BAKERS FUDAN UNI C H I L L 8 5 C J O G S T A R T U P / T E C H E V E N T S EFFUSION SHANGHAI R O O M S T A R B U C K S C O N N E C T M E N T O R I N G D A N C E P O C K Y E X P L O R E I N T E R N E T

4. A Snapshot of my life in Shanghai TRADER ANALYTICS CORP SHANGHAI YOUNG BAKERS FUDAN UNI C H I L L 8 5 C J O G S T A R T U P / T E C H E V E N T S Interesting social enterprise I got to know through a friend Finance games and platform for young people to improve skills and get hired Design and advertising agency Mentorship program connecting Singaporean professionals and students in Shanghai that I started EFFUSION SHANGHAI R O O M S T A R B U C K S C O N N E C T M E N T O R I N G D A N C E P O C K Y E X P L O R E I N T E R N E T

5. Effusion Shanghai Design Agency started by Singaporean The first company I interned with was Effusion. My boss Jack arrived in Shanghai in six years back with only a suitcase and started his own company. He saw that China was where there was opportunity, and left the 4A agency he was working at. Client servicing Jack and I met a lot of interesting clients and suppliers. For new referrals, we always began by introducing our portfolio to the client. For specific projects, we were consulted on design which we eventually carried out. The occasions when I was asked to meet the client independently was where I learnt and understood professionalism and company representation. Project Management Effusion also handled events. These events had practical aspects that included the details of measuring the size of a function room, ensuring that the backdrop would not fall over halfway through the event. Most importantly, was the coordination work involved in liaising with the client, the hotels, the suppliers.

6. Trader Analytics Corp Play a game to learn and get hired The second company I interned with was Trader Analytics Corp. Trader Analytics’ games taught students interested in finance skills to become a top Wall Street trader. The flagship product UltraTradr is available in public beta right here Marketing Coordination Under marketing, I managed the company’s social media sites and newsletters. I also looked for new competitors, direct competitors, organized user testing sessions at Fudan University and set up meetings and interviews with the people I met at events I attended. Independent working Because the founders were moving around the world and spent a significant amount of time in New York and Hong Kong, I had to work independently. I worked a lot from cafes and the hardest part was surprisingly the large amount of time I spent alone. It was here that I decided I had to take an active approach to maximizing the time I spent in Shanghai.

7. I was responsible for how my life was going to turn out. My Key Takeaway i.e.: stop expecting things to happen, stop blaming others, start taking charge

8. You can’t always get what you want.

9. But when you try sometimes, you’ll find…

10. Team came in first in Startup Weekend, totally did not expect Sharing session by a mentor SYB @ HOF STARTUP WEEKEND SHANGHAI CONNECT MENTORSHIP PROG TSINGHUA TRAINING PROGRAM

11. What changed I’m rethinking the idea of school. School is a great place to learn but doing well in school doesn’t mean you’re going to do well in life. If you thought getting straight As helped you get a super job then throw that away – polishing that stepping stone should not be the goal. And to some extent, school seems just a place for people who don’t yet know what they want in life. I’ve come to believe in fate. Because I was working out of cafes alone, I became really grateful and thankful for the people around me that I met and enjoyed hanging out with. I was more than willing to spend time with people that made me happy more than people who were going to be useful to me. I saw the importance of friendship as a foundation. I joined the 21 st Century. I got access to a smartphone. (Yes, I’m late.) That’s extremely important because I get to read news on the move plus all the useful applications like Mobile RSS and Evernote.

12. What hasn’t changed I still like Tiongs I think one of the most important things about being in China is open-mindedness -- receptivity to what we see. There is some degree of prejudice towards Mainlanders but remember that Chinese society is heterogeneous and there are many different types and groups of people. (Btw Tiong is the affectionate Hokkien name for people from China and I am deeply apologetic for my inability to put down in words the allure and fascination I have for Tiongs.)

13. How living in China made a difference You realize there’s such a thing called Bullshit There are a thousand cock and bull stories of being unable to turn up due to peak hour traffic at 12pm, a terrible cold, “this is the industrial standard”. You realize also that people working under a company’s name can tell you they could work freelance for a lower rate. You begin to question what you see Slowly you begin to find beggars on the street commonplace, using also the same tactic of walking up and down the MRT trains with a kid or a blind husband. You realize they actually do earn enough to live by. Think $1x1.34bil people (ok exaggeration but you get the point). You see perfect competition The streets of China are filled with non-legal vendors selling street food, cups, clothes… You get intrigued by the high level of “entrepreneurship”, or alternatively, just become very aware of low barriers to entry.

14. The benefits of Shanghai environment Meet both Chinese and English speaking The city has a fine balance of international folks and Chinese-ness. There are a lot of laowais, returning Chinese, non-Shanghainese Chinese all of whom are great to learn from, converse with and hang out with. Get to eat good food at good prices I think I’ve eaten the best western food in Shanghai, plus the best Xinjiang food, hotpot… Shanghai is also home to the best bars and clubs with reference to the price.

15. What I’ll remember Project “Startup Thy Neighborhood” A friend and I were intrigued by the amount of street vendors in Shanghai and decided we had to set up a roadside stall ourselves in order to “ stand in their shoes ” . We paired yogurt and banana together and sold it as a healthy snack. You cannot imagine the number of times we shifted our store and got cracked down by regulators! Real customers!

16. What I’ll miss Jaywalking This life endangering sport is competitive and exhiliarating, nuff said. Travelling We covered places like Inner Mongolia, Yunnan and Guilin which were eye opening and a lot of fun. Fun meaning getting my foot run over by a cabbie, getting shipped to an airport hotel because the airport was closed, seeing laundry freeze overnight.

18. Conclusion Take a year off school and go. If you look at the whole picture, a year off school might not be that high an opportunity cost compared to what you learn and can achieve in your coming years.

20. Feel free to email [email_address] DAWNYIMIN.COM Questions/comments