Meet The Dot.Com Commando

Former commando Joel Leong co-founded the successfulonline enterprise ShopBack and fulfilled a long-heldambition to become a dot.com entrepreneur.

- Alywin Chew

JOEL LEONG HAS NEVER BEEN A FAN OF THE CONVENTIONAL.

In fact, his proclivity for going against the grain was evident when he was just 12. While his Primary Six schoolmates dreamt of becoming astronauts, doctors and lawyers, he aspired to be a dot.com entrepreneur.

“Back then, my uncle always checked the stock market movements on Teletext and I was mesmerised by the amazing results that the dot.com companies appeared to deliver. In 2001, the industry crashed… and so did my dreams.

“I guess that’s why I chose stability and began my career in the government sector,” quips Joel, co-founder of Shop Back, an online platform that offers cash back rewards when shoppers make purchases through its platform.

But it was again this penchant for the unconventional that made him rethink his decision to join the civil sector.

Citing a preference for a dynamic working environment that was not laden with protocols and regulations, as well as his desire to design his own scope of work, he quit his role at the Economic Development Board after less than a year to pursue a career at Zalora, which was then still a fledgling e-commerce start-up.

A NEW START

The working hours were long; the learning curve was steep. There was no guarantee that Zalora would even work out in the long run. But all these hardly bothered Joel. He was more excited about living his dream of being a part of the dot.com industry. He relished every moment of his time at the start-up. His passion fuelled his energy.

“Work-wise, my first job was more stable than interesting, which was not really for me, so I switched to a fast growth environment. I excel in things that I’m interested in. School was not so interesting to me, hence I didn’t do that well,” he laughs.