• Manifesto

    Building the future is hard. We wake up each morning to face the odds stacked against us. Incumbents, doubters and competitors. They say: It’s too ambitious. The risks are too great. You should quit. We search for real wisdom to light the path, but find fairy tales instead. Leadership myths. Self-serving advice. Impractical theories. Time to see beyond the smoke and mirrors. Lessons from the trenches. Wisdom that comes through experience. Courage is a choice. Feel the fear, size the risks and know what’s at stake. Turn vision into action, one step at a time. Let’s be brave together.

  • Meet Your Host

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    Hiking Pacific Crest Trail from Los Angeles to Yosemite
    Winning Harvard Business School New Venture Competition in 2017 with Dean Nitin Nohria
    Wedding at SEA Aquarium
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  • Jeremy Au (区汉辉) is a VC and Chief of Staff at Monk's Hill Ventures who invests in founders who will transform millions of lives. Jeremy also hosts BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech, a global top 10% podcast with 20,000+ monthly listeners. He is an angel investor in 24 startups and Board Director of the Harvard Business School Club of Singapore.

     

    Jeremy founded and led CozyKin, an early education marketplace to Series A and acquisition by Higher Ground Education. The startup was recognized by winning Harvard Business School's New Venture Competition and the MassChallenge grand prize. Jeremy also cofounded and bootstrapped Conjunct Consulting, an impact consulting platform, to profitability, 100+ clients and thousands of trained impact leaders. He consulted across multiple Southeast Asia markets and China as a Bain management consultant. He also served as an infantry sergeant in Singapore.

    Jeremy is a public speaker on entrepreneurship, leadership and community engagement. He has been a keynote speaker and panelist for thousands across Harvard, Deutsche Bank, Singapore Global Tech Network, Boston SPARK Council, Institute of Policy Studies, Civil Service College and many others. Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and Prestige 40 Under 40.

     

    Harvard MBA and UC Berkeley honor degrees in Economics & Business Administration. Jeremy enjoys science fiction, hiking and being a dad of two daughters. Follow Jeremy on LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

  • Community Team

     

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    Shiyan Koh, Co-Host

    Managing Partner, Hustle Fund. VP Business Operations & Corporate Development, Nerdwallet. Bridgewater. Harvard MBA and Stanford.

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    Nir Eyal, Co-Host,

    Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, "Hooked" & "Indistractable." Behavioral design consultant. CEO, AdNectar. BCG & Stanford MBA.

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    Valerie Vu, Co-Host

    Founding Partner, Ansible Ventures. Host of Forward Vietnam podcast. Former country head of Venturra Capital.

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    Adriel Yong, Fellow

    Head of Investments, Ascend Angels. Co-Author BRAVE10 Anthology. Yale-NUS alumnus.

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    Lyndon Lee, Fellow

    Biz Ops & GTM, Terraformation. Investments, Affirm's Founding COO. Duke University alumnus.

  • Press

  • Social Media

  • Follow The Show

    Listen along with 30,000+ leaders. Subscribe via WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and RSS

  • Jeremy's Bucket List

    “Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” William Ross

    ✅ Found A Sustainable Social Enterprise (2011-2015)

    Conjunct Consulting: All credit goes to my cofounder Kwok Jiachuan and the Conjunct community

    ✅ Hike the Inca Trail (29/5/2011)

    Watch the sunrise from Machu Picchu

    ✅ Be Reflected In Salar de Uyuni (3/6/2011)

    A desert of salt and water reflecting the sky

    ✅ Take Care Of My Own Dog (14/2/2012)

    Keiko the Shiba Inu! My Valentine's Day date.

    ✅ Eat at Sukiyabashi Jiro (30/10/2014)

    From the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi"

    ✅ Hike The Pacific Crest Trail (7/2015)

    320km from Los Angeles to Yosemite for one month. Then-girlfriend, now-wife. Thanks to "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed.

    ✅ Earn an Harvard MBA (2015-2017)

    Founded startup, bad second-year student. Almost didn't graduate!

    ✅ Wander Around Turkey (12/2015)

    Istanbul, Hagia Sophia, Roman & Byzantine history, Turkish baths and Cappadocia hot air balloons

    ✅ Build A Mission-Driven Startup (2016-2019)

    CozyKin: Acquired by Higher Ground Education

    ✅ Get Married To The Love Of My Life (22/12/2018)

    Tea, walks and conversations

    ✅ Perform Improv for Friends & Family (2017-Present)

    Thanks ImprovBoston and Upright Citizen's Brigade for all the training!

    ✅ Tour the Vatican City (12/2021)

    Road trip across Pompeii, Naples, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Venice & Verona!

    ✅ Write a Book on Bravery (6/8/2022)

    Harder than I hope, easier than I had feared

    ⬜ Watch Every Pixar Movie With My Kids

    and maybe Star Wars too

    ⬜ Explore Burning Man

    Target: 2023?

    ⬜ Visit Bethlehem on Christmas

    Nativity Church. 2025?

    ⬜ Run With The Bulls in Spain

    Bonus: Not get gored

    ⬜ Cook and Share a Whole Ostrich Egg

    ⬜ Climb A Coconut Tree

    and snag a coconut to drink!

  • Projects

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    2015-2020

    Polling work on Singaporeans in 2015 and 2020. Spoke at Institute of Policy Studies. Conducted election poll on Harvard Business School students.

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    2017-2019

    Crowdsourced a list of authentic Southeast Asian food across America and rated them.

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    2020

    Volunteered in pandemic to build 97-page community wiki. Singapore Global Network and ambassador commendation.

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    Spotify: Founders vs. VC Playlists

    2021

    Got bored during lockdown and made comedic yet inspiring playlists for myself and friends.

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    2022-Present

    Listing the restaurants that bring me joy for food, ambience, service or memories. Yum.

  • Causes

    I support these causes personally and financially. I hope that you consider supporting them too!

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    Pioneering the use of narrative & user choice at scale for microfinance

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    Mobilizing pro bono talent to strengthen social good organisations and nurture the next generation of change leaders

  • Wins

  • Frequently Asked Questions

    I Want to be a Consultant

    Thank you for your kind interest in management consulting as a career. Here is the set of materials for your review that will allow you to better understand this career and the needed preparation.

     

    What is management consulting? What is the history and future of the field?

    I want to be a management consultant. How do I get in?

    • (MANDATORY) 95% of your questions on process, resumes and interviews are answered here: Management Consulted e.g. fit interviews, market sizing tips, etc.

    • If you want answers from other consultants or have questions of your own: Quora Overview

    • If you are preparing for the case interview, I highly recommend these two books: Case Interviews (master framework and practice cases) and Market Sizing

    • I presented a marketsizing drill session for fellow HBS students

    Tell me more about your experiences!

    I Want a Harvard MBA

     

    Thank you for your kind interest in a Harvard MBA. Here is the set of materials for your review that will allow you to better understand this career and the needed preparation.

     

    What is an MBA? What value does an MBA add? Is it worth it?

    I want an MBA, especially from Harvard! How do I get in?

    Tell me more about your experiences!

    What was your journey like?

    • Terrible grades for Junior College due to a personal loss

    • Went off to serve the Singapore Army - Studied SATs and GMAT in the jungle by torchlight, evenings and days off. Cut up my SAT prep books and placed into ziploc bags for waterproofing.

    • Applied to prove to universities that I was stronger academically, got into Berkeley

    • Did social impact consulting and thus management consulting

    • In senior year, realised that my GMAT score was very decent and thus applied to HBS early

    • Got my HBS offer in late 2011

    How did you prepare?

    Please note that this was years ago!

    • In 2007 while in the army, I studied the GMAT Prep Book by Princeton Review (paperback) and did 2 online free tests in the evenings and weekends. I got a decent score with this method, your experience may vary.

    • In 2011, I bought this book to understand the process. It was amazing for me.

    • I also referred to these articles - Application Checklist , Tips for College Applicants and Applicant Profiles

    Do you think the case method is effective?

    • Current: updated by industries and geographies annually

    • e.g. Ebay, Tom Brady, digital cameras

    • Includes social entrepreneurship cases

    • hospital, create light bulbs, how to market a disruptive product

    How to get the most out of the core curriculum?

    • industry orientation:

    • case studies cover a breadth of functional skills and strategies in different geographies and situations so you learn the basic principals

    • leadership can be geographical/industry-specific

    • come in with some bounded exploration; not company specific but industry-specific so you can apply these skills and strategies through an industry sense

    • role orientation:

    • point of view from a role that ranges from management to CEO where you are expected to make decisions and run teams

    • entrepreneur: founding vs. scaling vs. maintening

    • training for series B managers

    • many opportunities to join series A companies

    • many resources for the founding

    • so think about what you mean by “entrepreneurial” because resources differ

    Do you get to design your FIELD experiences?

    • FIELD 2: I was assigned a project to redesign the customer experience at a “Pottery Barn/ Bed Bath & Beyond” in Turkey

    • teaches design thinking

    • most classmates not super enthusiastic/passionate because of many commitments and other opportunities

    • Large Class size

    What opportunities do you have for meeting other people? Have you joined clubs or associations?

    • section, clubs, parties

    • joined health care club, social enterprise club

    • to be integrated in clubs, it is better to be in leadership team

    • clubs are mostly for educational purposes instead of community

    • Career: Are you able to access career resources?

    • Focus on health: Medicare event, Entrepreneurship panel, met up with professor

    Is HBS a hard place for an introvert?

    • There is a high level of extroversion

    • a huge spike in the beginning

    • general attribute of students - select more extroverts

    • leadership behaviors - display extrovert behaviors when necessary

    • each class forced to debate, may have to be confrontational

    • trains introverts in public speaking

    Is HBS a stressful place?

    • there are mandatory and opt in opportunities so manage your time and the number of activities you participate in

    • people who overexert themselves usually don’t know what to focus on so they do everything and then get burned out

    personal reflection: what’s important to you? What metrics could you use to evaluate opportunities?

    • take the time out to review, to integrate the lessons

    • don’t need to be top 10%

    • quality conversations

    • industrial role or geography focus

    General Advice before coming in

    • Take time to reflect before b-school begins

    • HBS will teach you how to get to where you want to be but it will not tell you WHO to be, nor who you want to be

    • Write down who you want to be

    • Write down the jobs you don’t want to do - e.g. banker, bain consultant

    • Reflect with friends and mentors

    • e.g. what should I not learn at HBS

    • Write a personal mission statement, while understanding that how you execute might change and you can still refresh the mission statement along the way

    There are a few risky startup opportunities I am exploring, which deviate from my original 2+2 application's job plan. Would HBS have an issue with this?

     

    The 2+2 is meant to retain people who might not have otherwise considered the MBA. No matter what you do, be able to give a good explanation about what you are doing, the opportunities you saw and why you made that choice. The 2+2 program is an opportunity to take risks, and you can use it to your advantage to build businesses that grow fast. Just don't waste your 2 years on a trip to Bali.

     

    This question is on the possibility of 2+2s being denied admission pre-matriculation. Is this possible?

     

    Yes. Make sure that you are focused on learning, growing and positioning yourself as someone who will add value to your MBA class. Note that you should get your extension application in early as some time may pass before HBS responds. You should also be aware of the signals you give out to people if you talk about your 2+2 and extensions, as people may plan around you with the knowledge that you may leave in a few years or months time.

     

    This question is on things you would have done differently during your 2+2 working years. Having just graduated from HBS, is there any tips on looking at the 2+2 working years?

     

    You have to be intentional. One of the most important thing is not believing that HBS will automatically let you find yourself. HBS is a tool, which you have to put in effort to use to wherever you want. It’s like a boat with a great engine. Some are going to park it to a dock. Some are going to where they want to be. Others are going to use it as their ticket to wealth.

     

    This emphasis on being intentional is important. It is easy to accidentally end up in a place where you don’t want to be. This is particularly true for HBS, since people can afford to fool around because its prestigious by default.

     

    Figure out what you want to learn so you can know what you want to learn in HBS. Identify the events, people, and knowledge you want to gain and meet. Along the way, there’s a lot of FOMO that you have to learn to ignore. Carl Icahn may swing by the campus one day, Gwyneth Paltrow may be sharing how she built her brand the next day. Whatever you choose, you have to choose not to pursue something else. That’s hard.

     

    How did you think about your time in HBS?

     

    I came up with a list of simple rules:

     

    Figure out your weak spots and what strengths you want to maximise. I wanted to be a great founder and a great CEO. I attended classes to learn how to hit the next level of scaling a company. I focused on learning about organisational restructuring, entrepreneurial finance, and entrepreneurial planning.

     

    Meet a new person everyday. I couldn’t go to every single networking event so knowing one person every day allowed me to connect and follow up with people in a more manageable way. I did not know everyone in my HBS class of 900, but I worked to have a genuine connection with those that I knew. I schedule catch-ups and have a deep conversation with old friends regularly. I make it a point to call my old co-founder once a month.

     

    Join something you really care about or create it. I explored different courses, hackathons, and talked to various startups. When I walked out of HBS, I had got what I wanted. Although I missed out on 99% of the parties, drinks and trips, I did what I wanted to do. The worst possibility is doing a bit of everything and not following through with any deeply enough.

     

    Thanks for your time. Is there anything I can help you with?

     

    Pay it forward. Help others out and give advice to those who can benefit from it.

    What is Singapore like?

    Singapore is a great city-state in SE Asia, and I’m glad that you’re on the way here. Here’s my favourite reads and haunts that I hope that you find handy.

     

    Learn about Singapore (15min)

    Understand History and Politics

    Review social needs and differences

    Eat your heart out

    The key dishes that you have to go through

    My personal favourites

    Explore the SE Asia Region

    I Want To Be An Entrepreneur

    You mentioned taking time to reflect before business school on who you want to be and writing a personal mission statement. Did you know you wanted to start a company at HBS?

    • Took time before HBS (silent retreat, hiking) to reflect on who he was thankful for, and what he had learned
    • HBS wasn’t a new chapter by itself — it was the beginning of a new chapter
    • Didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do, but he knew what he didn’t want to do
    • FOMO only exists if you don’t know what you care about
    • What was important:
    • Becoming a great CEO (had already been a founder before)
    • Scope and responsibilities change as company grows
    • Took courses on entrepreneurial finance, negotiations, sales. Many of the entrepreneurial courses were around scaling, not necessarily founding / design-thinking
    • Some things you can learn, some things you just have to do
    • Fools learn from experience, wise men and women learn from fools; learned fundamentals from others
    • Met hundreds of startups virtually
    • Meet a new person every day
    • if he was busy throughout the day and hadn’t gotten a chance to meet anyone yet, he would purposefully seek out an event to meet someone
    • Join or create something he cared about
    • interested in health care startup space, making decisions, social impact, creating things
    • He had a strong inkling that he would start a company or be a part of an early stage company. He had a thesis that healthcare was a vertical he was interested in.
    • Started meeting people through hackathons, tech club,  e-club
    • Was working on MindBamboo a year or two before HBS, but started testing it out further at HBS, as soon as the first semester

     

    CozyKin was award 2nd Prize at the HBS New Venture Competition, funded at the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund, and winner of the top award at MassChallenge. How did you decide which competitions / resources to pursue?

    • Determine first what you need
    • Co-working space
    • physical space to work
    • Incubators
    • like the iLab
    • Work and hang out with other founders
    • More startup oriented vs. co-working space
    • Accelerators
    • They take a % of company, but get community, PR, cash
    • If looking for an idea, hang out with entrepreneurs, go to hackathons, and brainstorm
    • Getting into these competitions is relatively easy. Winning only comes if you have traction: good idea and team --> product market fit --> traction

     

    What did you do between your RC and EC year?

    • Worked on startup
    • Did Rock Summer Fellowship

  • Education

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    Harvard Business School

    Master of Business Administration (MBA)

    Independent Project with Ryan Buell (Managing Service Operations) and Shikhar Ghosh (Founders' Journey). Tech Club, Healthcare Club, Social Enterprise Club.

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    UC Berkeley

    B.A. Economics & B.S. Business Administration

    Graduated with simultaneous honors degree (GPA 3.8, GMAT 790). Honors thesis: Econometric research on how literacy impacts technology adoption speeds globally.

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    Tsinghua University

    Chinese Language Semester Program

    Exchange semester covering Chinese literature, history and language learning.

  • Work

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    CozyKin

    CEO & Co-Founder

    Choosing the right child care is a tough decision. Nannies come to your home to give your baby deep personal attention but are the most expensive choice. Daycares are more affordable than nannies but are crowded, have rigid schedules, and require you to commute with your baby 5 days per week. That's why more and more families are choosing CozyKin. Two families matched based on care schedule, location, and your baby's needs. A trusted nanny who has stellar references and passed extensive screening. The comfort of home with the hours you need, at your home or at a family's near you, until you're back with the welcome you deserve. www.cozykin.com

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    Brave Becca

    Co-Founder & COO

    Did you know that girls begin losing their confidence from the age of 5? Brave Becca is the world's first children's book inspired by Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In". Through this beautifully illustrated and poetically memorable tale, your daughter will learn the three core principles of Chapter 2 ‘Sit at the Table’: 1. Speak up 2. Act with confidence 3. Attribute good results to hard work, not luck. Find out more at www.bravebecca.com

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    Conjunct Consulting

    President & Co-Founder

    Deployed $3M of pro bono consulting services from 2011-2015 to Singapore's social sector. 200-member strong social sector capability-building consultancy. Received Singapore's President's Challenge Social Enterprise Commendation Award on behalf of Conjunct Consulting, all credit due to the passionate community and my co-founder.

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    Bain & Co.

    Associate Consultant

    • Conducted end-to-end assessment of a CPG multinational in two Asia-Pacific country business units (combined annual revenue $1M) on sales planning, distribution organization and in-store execution through customized Bain intellectual property

    • Worked on performance improvement of a CPG multinational in Singapore to identify country market share and profitability across channels, products and years and catalyze revenue and cost improvements to impact profitability

    • Carried out $6B post-merger integration of two multinationals across Asia-Pacific and business functions; identified and modeled cost and revenue synergies and embedded progress tracker systems

    • Strategic planning for technology multinational; employee loyalty advocacy, sized market across tech categories, product lines, competitors and years; facilitated China leadership conference

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    Ivy Academy

    Business Development & Marketing

    • Assessed market entry into 3 inland cities in China
    • Interviewed campus directors and school development teams and conducted focus groups with consumers
    • Briefed CEO on identified obstacles and developed a localized marketing toolkit as a solution
    • Assisted and translated for press conference at inaugural Multiple Intelligences World Symposium

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    Singapore Armed Forces

    Infantry Sergeant

    Led mortar detachment team of 6 soldiers on indirect fire missions and conducted fire direction control

  • Bucket list

  • Media Mentions

    I am grateful to have served amazing teams. All credit received in the following press and media is 100% due to their perseverance and hard work.

    Awards

    CozyKin

    Polling Work via Quad.sg and Harbus

     

    Conjunct Consulting (Tenure: 11/8/11-6/6/15)

  • Mentee Resources

    Hello Mentees!

     

    If you’re here, it means I’ve asked you to check out one of the links on this page. Feel free to read the other articles when you have free time :)

     

    Career

    Etiquette

    Thought-Provokers

    Happiness

    Finances

    Managing Your Boss

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