SzeYing is the founder of Ventur-io, which builds talent connections between Asia and the US.

Previously, she helped rebuild the National University of Singapore Overseas College during Covid — particularly in New York City.

Today, in 10 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

• 🇸🇬 How this National University of Singapore Overseas College Manager Became a Talent Bridge Between US and Asia

• 💪 Key Habits and Actions to Build an International Career

• 🇨🇳 Building Businesses in Singapore vs Beijing vs the US — the Must-Know Differences

• 😨 Top 3 Mistakes Founders Make When Breaking into the US Market 

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🇺🇸 Breaking into the US market from Asia

SzeYing is the founder of Ventur-io, which builds talent connections between Asia and the US, and the former program manager of NUS Overseas College, Singapore’s premiere work-study abroad experience. Her mission is to be a multiplier, accelerating the growth of businesses and individuals alike. She thrives on hosting gatherings and weaving together diverse groups of people. With the global experiences gained from her work in Singapore, China, and the US, she's all about sharing those epic tales and connecting with others.

Tell us about your career journey going from managing programs for NUS Overseas College to helping Singapore founders & professionals enter the US market.

First, quick intro: the National University of Singapore (NUS) Overseas College program is a one-year entrepreneurship program where selected students are sent globally to intern in a startup while coming up with their business plan.

Each student have to form a group and pitch a business idea to the university, and they’ll receive seed funding to get started if their idea gets approved. 

My job as a program manager in New York City ranges from interviewing and selecting students, preparing them for job interview, mapping out their growth potential, sourcing for startups who are hiring, building workshops and mentorship program. It was a life-changing experience for me too. I unexpectedly discovered so much about myself.

In all honestly, I was hesitant about taking on this role. I felt I didn’t have the patience to deal with college students (GenZ). But having the opportunity to rebuild the program (it was shut down due to covid and we lost 90% of previous partners) in a new city I’ve never lived in is a challenge I’m excited about.

I didn’t expect this role to be so fulfilling. When students graduated and wrote me a thank you note, it felt like all the “hair-pulling moments” were worth it. It’s great to be part of someone’s growth journey. 

I took on a corporate job because my previous startup failed majestically during Covid - it’s a story for another day. I burned my savings and still have bills to pay so I chose “stability” while figuring out what’s next. I knew I wanted to build something again but I didn’t have an idea yet.

Through this role, I worked with many brilliant founder founders who told me the same things - that I’m good at identifying talents and matching them to the right role based on skillset, mindset, and growth potential. They even asked me to help them hire full-timers (beyond my day job).

I also noticed friends who are great at what they do but they’re burnt out because of “bad managers/boss”—while many great founders who struggled to hire good talents because (1) limited budget (2) lack of awareness of their early stage startup (3) insufficient time to focus on hiring.

I’ve always enjoyed connecting good people together, so I guess I stumbled into my “mission for the next stage of my life”:

Which is to connect good talent to good founders.

I left my role at NUS in May and started the talent business to connect Singapore’s tech talents to US startups.

Why Singapore? I’m starting with Singaporean because we have an exclusive work visa with the US (H1B-1) which does not require balloting, and application is open all year round with a 2-3 days processing time only. 

As the hiring market is pretty rough right now, we have pivoted to remote internships where we curate top talents from Singapore and South Korea to US startups. Students work remotely at any time of the year, not just during the summer break.

You’ve built a fascinating global career, working in Singapore, Beijing, and New York. What habits or actions did you take that helped you grow your career internationally?