 Thanks, Angela. Hi everyone, I'm Andrea. Maybe I just wanna start off with asking everybody if I give you three things, family, career, and relationships. I know they're all very important, but somebody asked me this question this week. If you had to pick one to prioritize, which would that be? And I just wanna maybe just get a sense of the room this evening. So who thinks family? Ooh, that's a lot. Okay, relationships. Okay, hopefully there's an open bar for you later. Our relationship's romantic, hopefully. Yeah. Unless, you know, whatever works for you. And then finally, career. Is that a priority for anybody here this evening? Oh my goodness, okay. Okay, you know what? It's a priority for me. Okay, so I'm gonna raise my hand. And that's, and my point of saying that is, is really to say that, I think similar to what Angela mentioned, it's something that we're here, we're being vulnerable. And so I wanna start off by telling everybody, thank you for being in the circle of trust this evening. Maybe you don't relate to it, but career is the most important thing to me at this point in my life. And so I'm just gonna share some of what's brought me here today. And hopefully, you know, we can talk about it in the Q&A. Yeah, so the stuff that's gonna be shared tonight has actually never made it to social media. No interview I've ever done. Not the straights times, not today. None of those interviews. So it really is a circle of trust. So let's get started. So as mentioned, currently I'm with a very, very innovative to legal technology startup called Dragon Law. Thanks for the shout out Angela as well. And we help, you know, small businesses, startups and even listed companies in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and New Zealand. And it's really been a blast. And I've really enjoyed doing that ever since coming back to Singapore from India. Obviously that's not what we're here to talk about today. So we need to rewind a little bit to 2014. These are just some of my colleagues. This is us in our little, we worked out of a house. We all look very happy actually, not looking at that photo, it's really nice. And as you can imagine, it was a very interesting environment being in a city like Hyderabad. That's very, it's quite traditional. You know, it's really not what your average Singaporean would sort of be very interested in diving into. That being said, it's a choice I made and a choice I really very much enjoyed. But then how do we contextualize this? I think to make more sense, we probably need to rewind a little bit more. So what happened between India and Dragon Law? What happened between those two photos, right? There was nine months in between that time. So it was literally enough to have a baby. That's not what happened. But you know, and this is really the part of the story that I think has actually never been shared before. So I am a little bit nervous. So just warning everybody in advance. So what happened post India is, there's a reason why I came back, right? It obviously didn't work out. And that's a very difficult thing for anybody who's taken that kind of risk to acknowledge, right? You spend two years in a foreign country. What, you took a chance because it was gonna change your entire world. That was a plan, that's everybody's plan. Everybody's the next Uber, the next Facebook. I'm sure there are a lot of tech people in this room that have heard pitches of that sort. The reality is that that's not always the case. So I came back to Singapore without a job essentially because I was like, by India, you're attacking me. It's ridiculous. Half my salary went to the government. I don't know where it goes into their pockets probably because the roads weren't working and the lights weren't working and I had bucket showers for two years. Wow, it's a lot, yeah. So I mean, so much happened and it was fine. I really loved it. But I came back to it through really not very much. Literally that was my profile. I was on Upwork, Glassdoor, whatever you name it. I was networking at events at the hub which is where I met DragonLaw actually. So I have such a soft spot for this place and it's really a privilege to be speaking here tonight. Anyway. And I think the lowest point I ever reached was, I was just flat out broke and I was putting in freelancer applications for 50 bucks a pop, 50 SGD, okay? That doesn't even buy you a good dinner nowadays if you go out and have a meal, right? And even then I was getting rejected. I was like, what? It's 50 bucks. You don't want me to do work for you for 50 bucks and it was really, I mean, it was tough, right? Because not only do you not have any money, you also feel like shit. And that's really, really difficult. And why is all this context so important? So I had to try and weigh it out for myself. I was like, okay, you know, because being jobless I had so much time to think. So I was like, okay, India, India, you know, it was a risk. So you knew what you were getting into, right? May not have worked out. Living at home, you know, it's great, you're with your family, right? No. Whatever, you get used to it, it's fine. I love my mom and dad. Two years in India, isn't that great? It's an experience, it's something you can talk about. And certainly that's what I use it for nowadays. I mean, there's a lot I got out of it as well. Scars means you survive. And that's true, I'm still standing here today. Broke but rich in experience. And you know what I mean? True, I see people nodding, thank you. Obviously some of this reasoning makes sense. But like Mr. Penny, I'm still like, like Mr. Money Penny, I was still like, you know, what the hell, right? Cause I ain't going out with my friends, cause I'm like, oh no, I'll just eat at home. I was broke. It's really, really horrible. And so to really start to contextualize this more, we need to rewind a little further. Now, the apprentice is something which I don't talk about as much, but it really is my one claim to fame. It was really awesome. It's the best thing I've ever done in my life. The press was insane. It was in 22 countries. It hit like, there was number one on all the cable channels. Amazing, right? And just the experiences that I had, the people I got to meet, you can see it was really amazing. And it was more than a TV show, right? Not only did we get access to some of the best CEOs in the world, we had access to some of the best brands in the world and their CEOs as well. So I'm getting one-on-one time with some like pretty cool people. And so that made India, and coming back from India, even more bittersweet, right? Because there was a point in time where I had all these choices and access to a lot of stuff. And all of a sudden, you make a choice and it could all go away. And that was very, very difficult for me to accept. It still is, I think, on some level. And so I guess the issue is crossroads, right? Whether you prefer, regardless of which version, I thought I should put two types of crossroads, just to cover the audience. What happens during that situation is a lot of doubt, right? Because so much of who we are and our identities are tied up in what we do. I'm sure all of us are networkers here. When you go to an event, one of the first questions people ask you is not how are you or what's your name? It's what do you do? And that defines so much of who we are and so much of our self-worth is tied in there as well. And I had to come to terms with that, right? And realize that maybe that's not what it's about. And we'll hopefully be at questions if we talk about that a little more. So I think crossroads, right? That's the key here. At various inflection points in each of our lives, have we come to that point and we're so afraid that's what keeps us from making that choice because we're afraid we're gonna screw up. But at the end of the day, you really have two choices. You could pick the same old shit or you can pick crazy new shit. And I'm not saying one's better than the other, right? It's whatever makes sense to each of us as individuals. But I can say that for myself, given how everything has played out, I really wouldn't change it for the world. I really wouldn't. Same old shit would mean continuing to be a lawyer which is well and good if there are any in the audience. And if there are none, then it's really not all it's cut out to be. But crazy new shit, crazy new shit took me to India, took me to a new culture, took me to meeting more incredible people than I could ever have had. If I was stuck in an office building $350 an hour, it just wouldn't compare. And so although there's a lot of heartbreak and there's a lot of struggle, I just wanted to share that it does all make sense in the grand scheme of things and it can truly be worth it. And so that's really my story. I'd like more of the session to go to questions because that's really where we get to interact. And I just wanna say thank you to everyone for your time this evening. Thank you. Hey, failure is relative, so is being broke. I would say I'm doing fine right now. But putting it out there, I'm open to people buying me a beer later on. Won't say no to that. The crazy new shit, okay, so I've been with Dragon Law at the moment for about, well, Dragon Law's been in Singapore for the better half of this year, and as you can see, we're already in four countries in a very short year and a half. And so I think the sky's the limit with a team like that, and that's really why I feel so privileged to join them. They think it's the other way around, but it's really, I'm the privileged one. And at the end of the day, I think being part of a company that wants to build new shit and be ambitious and help other companies to build new shit, I think that's incredible. That's the exact thing that brought me to India in the first place, I took a chance. All that happened is that it didn't work out for me, right? It didn't stop me from trying it a second time, and given the trajectory, I think it is gonna work out this time, and so that's what's next. I'm so glad everyone is using this hashtag crazy new shit. Hold it here first, guys. What advice would I give? I think the, like I alluded to earlier on, I think what compels, what hinders us from making that choice is the very fact that we're afraid we're gonna make the wrong choice. It's so binary to so many of us, right? I have something presented in front of me. One is right and one is wrong, but that's not necessarily the case, so I think the very first thing, the first step would be to acknowledge that it's not binary, you know? Even if you're a coder and life is ones and zeros to you, it's really not. It's in those moments where, and sometimes it doesn't pay off, right? I'm not gonna say every time you do crazy new shit, that's gonna lead to a pot of gold, not necessarily, but it certainly will contribute to, if nothing else, a good story, an opportunity to meet people that you wouldn't have otherwise. And it starts off by recognizing that there is no right or wrong choice because you are never gonna know. And if you feel more comfortable doing same old shit, that's also okay. Yeah, but you have to know yourself and you have to understand that there is no right choice or wrong choice, right? So one, well, few parts to that, right? So I guess there were a couple of things that helped me, maybe let me say three things. The first thing was the fact that I had come from India and I'm not trying to be offensive here, but really when I was there, I chose to live a very much more pared down life. Frankly, I think that was one of the best things I've ever done, even though most people here don't acknowledge that I still have people until now, like my grandma, asking me, you know, why on earth did you do that? Because I don't think that was a great choice, whatever, right? I thought it was a great choice for me because it stripped away so much of what insurance societies you come to rely on, right? I have a true closet that would put people to shame, but you know, but you live a life like that where you're not living on very much and frankly if you walk out your door and you see the simplicity that they have, there's no part of you that even wants that life anymore, you know? You understand and you value things very, very differently after going through an experience like that and two years at that, it's a fair amount of time to get that drummed into your thick skull. So that was one, so to contextualize it. The second part of it was I was very sure and adamant that I didn't want to take a cent more from my parents, so ever since I started work I didn't want to take any money from them. So when I got back, I sold my car, yeah, I'm still dealing with that, but I sold my car because I understood that that's not the life I can live at this present moment and I'm okay with that, you know, that the train's really not bad, that's a downtown line, it's new and essentially the idea that if I have to make certain decisions, then I better damn well make them because it's time to grow up and if that means selling my car, I'm okay with it. If that means managing my budget a little more, I'm okay with it and if that means being okay with seeing I will take $50 for a job because it pays the bills, I'm okay with it and maybe the final part of it, what else did I do? Of course I put myself out there. I ultimately still had skills as a lawyer and so I was doing freelancing work and people did knock on my door and say, look, I do need contracts, I do need stuff. This was before I knew a solution like Dragon Law existed, obviously, and I was like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, like, you know, even at a discount, that's still a fair amount of money that I can make, so obviously there was a lot of initiative taken to put myself out there and say, does anybody need something that I can offer? Not everybody's gonna say yes, but you gotta damn well try. So I guess those are just some of the, you know, I just knew I had certain principles I wanted to live by. Yeah, thank you. So India was a mix, right? So I would say, obviously the cost of living there is very different and so on my, even on my much reduced salary, I was, I wasn't struggling. I was able to make rent every month. It just meant that I had to cut back on certain luxuries. So maybe not go shopping, which is fine anyway because the fashion there is not as up to date, just saying. It would mean maybe doing a lot more home cooking, which was fine and I learned a new skill. So that was another great thing that came out of it. It meant just understanding that life there is not gonna be life here and that's a choice that you make. I'm not gonna go to India and expect to live a life like I lived in Singapore, you know what I'm saying? Like I understand what I'm getting into and so I think there were quite a lot of lifestyle changes, right? So taking the auto, okay, so my daily routine, right? Wake up, take the auto like a rickshaw to work in the smog and all of it. I would take a kangaroo and cover my mouth. Then get to work, have work the whole day, come back home, go to yoga. That's one really great thing about India as well, so much yoga and then get my groceries and the great thing is you can buy them every day because they're little stalls on the street and so I had a lot of fresh produce, which was another great thing that was very cheap as well. I would cook and then I would maybe watch a bit of TV because finally we got one. That was nice, it was about the size of an A4 sheet so I'd set pretty close, but that's fine. But then if the power got cut, then I would just look out the balcony, which is also okay. Because there's so many fireworks, no, there's so many fireworks. I had a fireworks show once a week and that was really great because people set them off on their rooftops all the time, you know, not a lot of rules in India. And so some of the lifestyle changes were there. Bucket showers, that was a reality and I'm so grateful to, so you fill up a tub, right? And you take a thing and you pour it over your head, yeah. And you know, no AC for two years, I mean all of that stuff and I was okay with it because again, coming back to maybe your question earlier on about when do you do crazy new shit, you gotta understand what you're getting into and I think if you do, that puts you in a great position to accept the challenges that come and to take them in your stride. Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't explain. Yes, so when I went to India, I joined a mobile technology startup. No wait, that was mentioned. Yeah, so I joined a startup when I was there and even though we were venture funded, the salaries there really do not compare to what you get in the developed world. So again, a choice that I made and the tech structure there is pretty different as well. It's a very, very high level of techs on your income. I mean, coming back to the point, right? So much of what we think of ourselves is ultimately so tied in with what we do. I don't know how we got to this point, but that's a reality that I see. Maybe not equally in every society, but certainly in the developed ones, that's so important. And sometimes not even just what you do for a living, but who you work for. It's like, oh, you're a consultant? Not all consultants are created equal. Which firm are you at? Or even for lawyers, right? It's competitive even within lawyers. Which firm are you at? And it took a lot of soul searching to understand that I have to be okay with it if I'm gonna go to these events, because I need to look for a job. If I'm gonna go to these events and really be okay with seeing someone's countenance fall or understanding that they may have a different view of me because ultimately that's their view and that has to be distinct from my view. And it took a lot of time to decouple my own identity from what I used to be. In fact, for a long time after coming back to Singapore, they'd be like, what do you do? I'm a lawyer by training. Which is not wrong, but it certainly is me hiding behind that identity, right? And so I really had to understand that and try and separate the two. And I think that's when self-worth starts to become very real and it becomes a lot more about the self. And that's important for all of us to have. I think there's, well, maybe later. Thank you guys so much.