‘O’ level flunker is S’pore fashion’s next-big-thing

He was called "The Next Big Name in Singapore" by CNNGo in 2011 but not so long ago, he was an O-level flop who amassed 36 points for his exam.

Now the founder of a leading fashion lifestyle events and public relations firm, Keyis Ng is blazing a trail on on the Singapore and regional fashion scene.

The 24-year old entrepreneur, who was the first Singaporean to be featured on global trendspotters site, SpringWise.com, says hard work, guts and passion led him to turn his life around.

During a recent hour-long interview at his office in Chinatown, Ng said his parent's divorce when he was just two forced him to grow up quickly. "I'm happy that my Mom and Dad are divorced because if they're still together now, I don't think I will be what I am today. I might still be in school or university studying business, for example. So I won't be doing whatever I'm doing now."

Dressed in a casual blue polo T-shirt and beige pants, he said he spent his early childhood with his maternal aunt in Malaysia, while shuttling back and forth to school in Singapore.

At 13, he decided it was time to move out and back to Singapore. Both his parents supported their only child, and paid for his rent and gave him a small sum of monthly allowance.

Shy and introverted as a student at Marsiling Secondary, Ng admitted he had few friends.

"I was always in my own world," he laughed casually.

After flunking his ' O' levels with a total score of 36 points, he could not enter any polytechnics or junior colleges. It was then he enrolled into the army.

The bubbly entrepreneur found his feet a year after he finished his National Service when he came up with a creative project idea of bringing an exhibition of pop diva Madonna's nude pictures she took before she turned 20 years old to Singapore to exhibit and sell the prints. He worked out a proposal. He then reached out to local entertainment icon, Dick Lee, to pitch the idea to him.

"I was all along very interested in creative stuff since I was young, although not in fashion specifically," he said.

Lee was so impressed by Ng that he invited him to intern at his advertising firm the same day. Within a month, he became a full-time staff.

Big break

Other than Lee, Ng credits Japanese creative director, Hideki Akiyoshi, as his "mentor" in the field and remains thankful to them both for their guidance.

He worked with them for two years before his big break: a chance meeting with Singapore actress and host, Wong Li Lin, led to Ng snagging the chance to do public relations for her fitness products.

Ng recalled, "I was very nervous about meeting her... but after awhile she said on the spot, 'let's work together'."

The next day, he founded his company, STORM Creative Events agency, with a start-up capital of $15,000. There, his career took flight.

More than a year on, his firm went from a one-man operation to a fully functional office with six team members.

With the founding of his company, Ng was thrown to the forefront of the company and was forced to open up.

Bubbling with excitement, Ng lit up when he spoke about the upcoming Digital Fashion Week which his firm is now working tirelessly on.

Co-founded by Ng and his business partner, Charina Widjaja, the event in late October will be the world's first fashion show to be streamed live online.

Widjaja, 27, who has known Ng for close to three years, describes Ong as an "action man" who is "is very daring and just goes for it." That, she said, is what makes him different.

That and his unwavering work ethic for passion and sheer hard work, qualities Ng learned from his father.

Ng's father had single-handedly built his shipping company from scratch and now enjoys a thriving business.

"He was passionate about whatever he's doing... Out of 365 days, he never missed a day of work other than the first day of Chinese New Year," Ng shared, an Asian trait and mentality he inherited.

Speaking of his experience in the fashion industry, he repeatedly emphasized during the interview to all the young entrepreneurs starting out to "please protect your business ideas".

He said that he learnt that from experiencing it the hard way, but did not wish to elaborate further.

Ng and his team are now gearing up for the opening of their first Digital Fashion week which will span three days at end October.

The event would see internationally famous models such as Andrej Pejic. Audiences not only get to view the fashion show live whether they are home or on their mobiles, they can also immediately purchase the piece of clothing worn by the model via Zalora Singapore's website.

Ng admitted though, "I don't like the glamour part of fashion; I like the business part -- to sell fashion."

Moving forward, he and his partner plan to expand the fashion week idea to Bangkok and Jakarta -- two markets he described as having enormous potential and a high internet penetration rate.

On the personal front, however, Ng said he's currently single and not even dating so that he can focus on his career.

His advice to the youths of today, he said, is to "surround yourself with the right people — people in the industry" and be willing to work hard and going the extra mile.

So does he consider himself "successful" yet?

"I still have a long way to go," said Ng, who said his aim is to gain recognition and respect from fellow people in the industry.

That may not be too far off given how quickly he's making a name for himself.