In 2021, Vivian Lee and Eunice Lim came up with the idea of Singapore’s first lactation pod system. But they couldn’t find anyone to build it. Vivian shares the highs and lows of her start-up journey.
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00:00 What's it like to launch a startup in Singapore?
00:04 We talk to founders who have done it, find out what success looks like for them
00:09 and the challenges they've overcome.
00:11 Breastfeeding is actually really hard.
00:18 If you ask any mums, they will all tell you that it's not a walk in the park.
00:22 This is Vivian Lee, the CEO of Go Mama.
00:26 Founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company builds lactation pods for mothers to breastfeed or pump on the go.
00:33 What was it like during Go Mama's early days?
00:37 Raising money was a very new experience for myself.
00:41 Pitching in front of hundreds of audience and a panel of judges.
00:45 As a first-time founder, trying to drive a first-mover idea in Singapore,
00:52 every big decision is tough.
00:54 It's a huge responsibility because we don't have a lot of resource and reference to fall back on.
01:01 And we also cannot afford a lot of second chances.
01:05 So every big decision is tough.
01:08 What was the breakthrough moment for Go Mama?
01:12 It was during COVID times when we had a pod design in place, but we couldn't find someone to build our pods.
01:20 We did a lot of calls, we emailed people, but we just not getting any response and any help.
01:25 So we put on our track shoes and then I went door to door, knocking on the factory under the hot sun.
01:34 Thankfully, the effort paid off.
01:36 We managed to find someone to build our first five pods for Sentosa Island's trial.
01:40 We spent days and nights on the island, just trying to get the pods up and ready and working, have it tested.
01:48 And then when it really went live, that's when you know, it's the moment that you know that, oh, this is real.
01:55 It's happening.
01:56 When it all came alive, the five pods on Sentosa Island was, I think, the first breakthrough moment for Go Mama.
02:04 Our target is actually to put out 50 pods by the first quarter of 2024.
02:10 Recently, we've done a trial with Sengkang Community Centre, which is our first break-in to a neighbourhood space.
02:17 And also with JTC, which is our first partner in the commercial space.
02:21 We are quite hopeful that we will be able to replicate the success that we've had with Sentosa across our different trial partners.
02:30 I would advise startups to not spend too much time perfecting their version one product, whichever it may be.
02:43 Because founders usually would be very fixated on their idea and then try to perfect their first version of product
02:51 and end up finding out that it's not really what the market wants.
02:55 So don't spend too much time perfecting your version one.
02:58 Put it out there, let the market decide and then allocate the resources to perfect it.
03:09 Actually, I don't repel against the idea of going back to a 9-to-5 job.
03:13 But at this moment, I'm just very invested in Go Mama's mission.
03:18 To me, 9-to-5 is a luxury.
03:20 Even when you go to sleep, sometimes you just worry about things.
03:25 A 9-to-5 job, you can still switch off.
03:28 But as a founder, that's almost impossible.
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