Written by: Lim Ziqian, Quest Marketing Intern

What comes to mind when someone throws you the term “student entrepreneur”? If you ask me, I picture someone smartly-dressed in business attire, poised to take on the world, maybe with an expensive latte in hand. But I realise much of my perceptions have been coloured by the media, which tends to over glorify entrepreneurship and hustle culture (Fortune 2015: Is entrepreneurship over-hyped and glorified?).

Of course, there’s the thrill of pioneering a new project with no stifling constraints from the classroom to stop you. The excitement as you meet fascinating new people just as you’re stepping into the bustling workforce yourself. And maybe there’s even that sheepish slight tinge of pride when you can tell your dinner date that you’re your own boss.

Being a student entrepreneur isn’t all glitz and glam, though. As an undergraduate, you also need to contend with assignments, project meetings and extracurriculars.

There are the late nights with back-to-back meetings and a to-do list that never gets shorter. Not to mention the self-doubt, the toil and the sweat. And the list goes on.

It’s one thing to draft up a list of pros and cons of student entrepreneurship. But it’s another thing entirely to go through the motions day in and out. In hopes of getting an unvarnished lowdown of the life of a student entrepreneur, I spoke to Quest’s CEO and co-founder, Evan Chow, and got him to run me through 24 hours in his life.

But before that, here’s a quick rundown to get you up to speed: Launched in 2021, Quest – Hire a Hero is a digital app that connects gig workers to potential clients. Users can outsource spontaneous one-off tasks to others at cost-competitive rates. Simultaneously, Quest is an excellent opportunity for individuals to earn some quick cash by completing tasks for others.

Here’s what a day in Evan’s life is like, straight from the source!

6.30AM

On a regular Monday, I get up early to attend morning classes so that I can have the rest of my afternoon to focus on Quest.

The first thing I do – as would you, I imagine – is check my inbox and reply to urgent messages. Email, Instagram, Quest’s Instagram, LinkedIn, Telegram. In that order. I’ve built up a routine by now. Then, I shower and get ready to head over to SMU.

7.30AM

I head out the door and over to school! On the way, I’ll grab a cup of coffee, usually Kopi Peng Siew Dai, from any random coffee shop. 

8.00AM

I begin a three-hour seminar. I’m a Marketing and Entrepreneurship major at SMU. Some examples of classes I’m taking in the upcoming semester include Entrepreneurial Finance and Entrepreneurship Practicum.

11.30AM

Lunchtime! Probably one of my favourite times of the work day. I usually grab lunch from ONALU, which is a bagel house right around the area.

12.30PM

After lunch, I hold two consecutive meetings with the Business Development and Marketing teams to discuss our Objectives and Key Results (OKR) for Quest this week. Currently, we’re gearing up to improve our key metrics, trying to increase brand awareness for Quest to get more users on board our new app.

These aspects are especially integral to startups such as Quest and require cross-functional collaboration between the two teams. Brand awareness is integral to any company but for a fledgling customer-facing startup, this is what makes or breaks us. 

Together, we’ve been working on developing a distinct brand personality for Quest. More than just a logo, this personality expresses our core values and determines our business approach. In turn, this cultivates trust between Quest and our users. It’s a lot like making friends!

1.30PM

I usually schedule in a little time slot for me to catch my breath. Most days, I find myself needing some time to recharge. I’ll take this time to settle any new emails, reply messages or other ad hoc admin work.

1.45PM 

I meet with potential clients to discuss potential collaborations with Quest.

3PM

At this time, the Tech team usually calls for a user testing session to test out new in-app features. We try to catch unexpected bugs or errors in coding here. It always helps to go as “rogue” as possible by trying to emulate the weirdest user behaviour. 

For instance, even though we obviously don’t encourage users to cancel or back out after entering into an agreement with another user, we’ll try to test out this behaviour and have the necessary protocol in place if it happens in real life. This helps to foolproof our app because you never know what will happen!

4.45PM

Interns are crucial when it comes to running a startup and we’re always looking to expand the Quest family! At this time, I’ll usually hold an interview with a candidate if there are any openings at Quest. 

If you’re looking for a startup stint, keep an eye on our LinkedIn and our website where we post available openings.

5.20PM

I meet with Craig and Matthew, who are Quest’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Product Officer (CPO) respectively. We usually discuss product development and lay out a roadmap prioritising new in-app features to be incorporated. 

Currently, we’ve launched just two weeks ago on 21 June but our team is already working on pushing out new features to improve our users’ overall experience. I can’t give too much away just yet but it does involve parties. Pandemic-friendly ones, don’t worry!

7PM

After a gruelling yet fulfilling day, I finally head home!

7.30PM

…And onto the next challenge! I’ll usually head for an evening run. I do a relaxed, breezy 3-4km run. This was actually an initiative by some members of the Quest team. Every week, we have a brand new Nike Run Challenge.

8PM

I’ll shower and have my dinner. I usually reserve the time after dinner for school-related matters. I’ll do some readings to prepare for classes the next day.

10PM

After schoolwork’s out of the way, I turn my focus to my extracurriculars. Currently, I’m the Vice President of SMU Eagles. It’s a student-led entrepreneurship club that organises activities, ranging from networking sessions to mentorship opportunities for students, alumni entrepreneurs and University faculty members. 

11PM

Sometimes I make TikToks to promote Quest at night. I guess that’s when I usually get the craziest epiphanies on viral content. 

Here’s a pro-tip: don’t underestimate the power of viral short-form videos for business expansion. We’ve had some of our biggest growth days thanks to TikTok! If you haven’t seen our content yet, you’re definitely missing out. Check us out and show the Quest team some love!

11.30PM

This is when I finally get some time for myself. I usually spend it on Disney+ or Netflix.  Right now, I’ve most recently hopped onto the bandwagon by binging Loki. 

1AM

Hey Siri, Good night! Time to hit the sack! 

To end off, I posed Evan the million-dollar question: What is one piece of advice you would offer to aspiring student entrepreneurs?

Without hesitation, he directed me to a quote by Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming…”

Being an entrepreneur, especially an amateur one, is to be that man (or woman) in the arena. A lot of the time, you’re walking in the dark trying to derive an answer through trial and error. 

Success and failure are inseparable and you can only rise if you learn from your mistakes. While I had set out to capture a candid picture of Evan’s life as a student entrepreneur, what you see is just one snapshot of the whole picture. What you don’t see: the challenges, self-doubt and setbacks. 

But if there’s anything else that I’ve learnt from our exchange, it’s that the little stumbling roadblocks along the way, the ones we call failure, may just be as valuable as our victories. 

About Quest: Founded in 2021, Quest is a digital marketplace connecting gig workers and customers for quick, safe and cost-competitive services across different categories. Within a span of six months, we have served more than 3,000 users and generated over $100,000 in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in peer-to-peer transactions. Quest is backed by the National Youth Council, Enterprise Singapore and Singapore Management University (SMU)’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Have any queries? Drop us a message at hello@quest-inc.co. Learn more about us at quest-inc.co, and follow us on Instagram, Tiktok and LinkedIn. Download our app available on both Apple and Google Play stores and hire a Hero today.