Thrive celebrates official launch at Projector X
Chloe Lim &
Chong Xin Wei
THRIVE, the young audience initiative of The Business Times (BT), celebrated its official launch on Thursday (Mar 16) with a party at Projector X: The Picturehouse.
The event, which had a turnout of over 150 young adults and industry professionals, marked Thrive’s first step towards building a community for young adults to navigate issues revolving around career, money and life.
Four panellists from various backgrounds discussed the question of “What it means to thrive (not just survive!) in life”, sharing their relevant experiences and career journeys.
The panel comprised Apurv Suri from SC Ventures at Standard Chartered Bank; Sabrina Ooi, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of social enterprise Calm Collective Asia; Sam Neo, founder of three startups including People Mentality, a human resource and employer branding consultancy firm; and He Shuming, screenwriter and director of Singaporean-South Korean film collaboration Ajoomma. BT young audience editor Vivien Shiao was the moderator.
Panellists spoke candidly of how they landed in their respective fields, and how they found purpose in their work. The thought-provoking 45-minute discussion also touched on challenges the panellists faced in work and life, and how they overcame them.
On finding purpose in his work, Neo said it is important for young adults to know why they have joined an industry. Neo, who started out in the human resources industry, said he wanted to change perceptions of a profession commonly thought of as a “headcount reduction” function.
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He also noted that it is important to remain future-thinking, adding: “Along the way, I started asking myself: ‘Now that I am doing better, what’s next?’ I realised that I need to build something bigger to keep the business growing and thriving.”
One of the challenges that screenwriter and director He faced is “rejection” when pitching scripts. “It got to a point where I think if I should continue with the script or modify it or move on to other projects.”
“But being in this business, I realised rejection is just one part of the game. So since I am in this for the long haul, I will allow myself to get upset for a few minutes and keep going,” he said. “You have to find ways to manage these things that can affect your mental health.”
Other topics discussed included the pros and cons of lying flat or quiet quitting versus hustle culture, mental health and lessons learnt at work.
On the issue of quiet quitting, Calm Collective’s Ooi said it is important for individuals to find the “right purpose and environment” to overcome the problem. “I think one of the things that is wrong with our society today is that we are so focused on working on our weaknesses that we forget to build on our strengths.
“It’s really about finding a work environment that allows you to just dig deep into your strengths and just do the job,” she said.
Along the lines of mental health, Suri of SC Ventures said when the pandemic hit, he had to deal with “the reality of staying at home and quarantine” and would “work 16 to 17 hours a day without taking any breaks on the weekend”.
“I was on this autopilot mode for about six months and, at some point, I realised I was going through some emotional problems,” said Suri. “I sought professional help immediately, and that I think was a step in the right direction.”
“Work cannot be life, and life cannot be work. So make sure that you work hard and do whatever you need to do to make time for yourself,” he added.
Besides the panel discussion, Thrive’s launch event kept attendees occupied with activities such as a doodle wall and claw machines that gave them a chance to win different prizes ranging from Grab vouchers to a BT Hydro Flask.
Guests also received a special Thrive-edition film camera as a door gift for them to capture important memories.
The evening wrapped up with the unveiling of an artwork based on guests’ responses to the question: “What does thriving in life mean to you?” Two illustrators drew on the canvas during the event, using the answers submitted by guests as inspiration.
“We know that adulting is tough, so we want to be a trusted resource for young adults as they take on life’s challenges. With Thrive, we aim to provide clarity and offer useful advice that is relevant to them,” said BT editor Chen Huifen.
She added: “We hope to build a community where young adults can connect at our events such as panels and webinars, and have authentic conversations about money, career and life.”
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