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By NASA MARIA
ENTABAN
Wednesday January 10, 2007
NEITHER money nor glory proved to be the
motivation for 21-year-olds Keeran Raj and Thiam Song Ng, the first Malaysians to
emerge champions in the recent Management
Simulations Inc (MSI) online business
simulation challenge.
The
two lads spent eight straight hours in a
computer lab and used their smarts to win
the international business competition.
The
duo recently graduated at the top of their
class in business management from the
University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) in
Australia, where they took part in the
competition last November.
”We’re thrilled to have had this experience,
and to emerge winners is a great
achievement,” said Keeran, who hails from
Kuala Lumpur.
For
the non-business/marketing-minded, the MSI
challenge is an international competition in
which students manage millions of virtual
dollars online.
Each
“company” (which is made up of one to five
members) is given a capital to start with,
and they are then left to manage their funds
for eight “years”. The participants must
then plan out their businesses and make
decisions during a time period of eight
straight hours, with one hour being the
equivalent of one year.
“We
had to update the moderator on what was
happening with our company every hour, and
calculate our profits and losses,” explained
Keeran, who has always wanted to start his
own business.
At
the end of the competition, Keeran and
Thiam’s company was worth US$85mil
(RM302mil) making them the overall winners.
They beat finalists from the United States
and Australia, as well as more than 200
other teams in the preliminaries.
“We
were in the computer lab in the wee hours of
the morning, because of the time difference
with other countries,” said Keeran.
“Nobody was around until later when people
started coming in – they must have been
surprised to see us jumping up and down
after the results were announced,” laughed
Klang-born Thiam.
Highly driven
Now
here’s what’s interesting: There was no big
cash prize at the end of the journey, nor
was there a ceremony to acknowledge these
young entrepreneurs.
Nevertheless, the duo are still thrilled
with their win, knowing this experience has
boosted their confidence in actual business
management.
“The
competition is widely recognised in the
business world, and is a good experience.
This is as real as it gets,” said Keeran.
Ridiculously aggressive is how Keeran
describes the team – both he and Thiam are
very driven and have a clear picture of
their goals.
“It’s
not so much the winning or the glory,
nothing like that. Being in the competition
helped me to understand business, to see the
nitty gritty side of it,” said Keeran.
“For
me, it was the strategising – learning how
to be flexible. I think this will give me an
edge when I start my own business,” said
Thiam.
Keeran and Thiam weren’t always good friends
– they used to pass each other in the
corridors and occasionally chat, but it
wasn’t until the MSI challenge that they
realised they had something in common.
“We
were doing the same challenge in one of our
classes, but we were in different groups.
When we found out we had the same ideas and
the same level of aggressiveness, we decided
to get together and join the MSI challenge,”
said Thiam.
And
if you think business buffs like this duo
sit in labs and libraries all day long,
you’re wrong – Thiam and Keeran are
fanatical soccer players, who also indulge
in other sports like rock climbing.
So,
what is it that makes a businessperson? Is
it a skill you are born with?
“To
be honest, I don’t think anyone is born a
businessman, just like how no one is born a
doctor or lawyer. It is a skill that we
learn. However, the right mentality is
crucial,” replied Keeran.
“I
would say that the upbringing and the
environment a person grows up in is crucial.
An entrepreneur is moulded from a very
tender age,” he added.
According to Thiam, creativity, good ideas
and strategy make a good businessman.
“Don’t rush when making decisions – patience
will lead to success,” Thiam advised.
Before they go into the working world, Thiam
and Keeran are enjoying all the things they
missed while they were studying abroad.
“The
food – and driving!” jest Thiam. “Friends
and family are what I missed most – it’s
good to be back.”
Keeran is helping his father, who is also a
businessman, as well as enjoying the late
night outings that weren’t a regular
activity during his university days.
“Everything over there (in Australia) closes
really early – the lifestyle is so
different,” he said, adding that it was
boring at night.
Apart
from the overall satisfaction of winning the
challenge, the two guys are proud of the
fact that they are the first Malaysians to
ever get this far in the competition.
“We
are very happy that they mentioned we are
from Malaysia. Hopefully in the future more
Malaysian students will take up the
challenge and do even better,” said an
enthusiastic Keeran. |
