One Sneak Peek Into Rethinking STEAM: With Chopsticks and Heart

Why teach with boring textbooks when you have chopsticks?

Adam, a roboticist-turned-entrepreneur and the co-founder of Stick Em, shares how an internship at venture capital firm Mistletoe planted the seed for a mission: 

Making STEAM education radically more accessible. 

What began with humble chopsticks and connectors in 2021 is now a global classroom tool used in 11 countries, reaching 9,000+ students and empowering 1,000+ teachers in numerous schools, all while navigating the complex terrain of cross-border tech education.

Recently featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, the young entrepreneur shares how a childhood dream, a call from a 17-year-old, and a scrappy prototype evolved into a global movement.

1. Becoming a Roboticist and Founder

Adam’s foray into robotics didn’t begin in a sleek lab — it started with a childhood dream of joining Boston Dynamics and a fascination with how things move. That curiosity led him to an internship at Mistletoe, a venture capital firm that backs early-stage startups. There, he found himself not just building robots but watching founders trying their best to make sweeping global change with nothing more than a tight-knit team and a moonshot idea.

It left a mark. But so did the realisation that not everyone gets the same head start. Teaching coding and robotics at a tuition centre, Adam saw just how excited kids were to build, and how quickly that excitement faded when they learned they couldn’t take the robots home. At first, he accepted it. That’s just how the system worked. Until a call in January 2021 changed everything.

Kai, then a 17-year-old polytechnic freshman, rang him up for help with a prototype for an education exhibition. Together, they built a hands-on robotics kit using nothing more than chopsticks, geometric connectors and off-the-shelf electronics. It was simple, cheap, and to their surprise, effective. The prototype tapped into Adam’s dual experience in robotics and venture building, and it sparked a bigger conversation: what if STEAM education could be radically more accessible?

Adam floated the idea of starting a company with Kai. Two weeks later, the judges from the competition also asked if they were going to start a company and asked them for an investor pitch. They were young, inexperienced and had no idea what they were doing but still went and pitched anyway. While their pitch was rejected, the experience was enough to nudge over.

By the end of that month, Stick Em was born. And from then on, the team threw themselves into building something far more ambitious than a prototype.

2. Growing the Business, One Workshop at a Time

In the beginning, Adam and his team took a hands-on approach. They conducted free workshops for underprivileged students, using these sessions not just to introduce Stick Em, but to test if their invention could hold its own in the classroom. It was during one of these workshops that a teacher pulled Adam aside and asked a question that would change the course of their journey: “Can I buy this for my school?”

That moment was a turning point. It signalled demand. The team began the process of incorporating the company to facilitate sales and formalise their efforts. One of their first key supporters was Rulang Primary School, which not only adopted the Stick Em system but invited other schools to participate in robotics challenges and competitions built around it.

From there, growth came quickly. Stick Em expanded to 20 schools and organisations across Singapore and reached classrooms in 11 countries. To date, over 9,000 students have used the Stick Em system, and more than 1,000 teachers have been trained in it. What began with a prototype made of chopsticks and ambition had grown into an internationally recognised education tool.

In May 2025, Adam was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia along with Kai, a moment of validation that brought both visibility and credibility. But recognition wasn’t the end goal. For Adam, it simply marked the beginning of a new chapter; one focused on reaching more schools, training more teachers, and proving, again and again, that effective STEAM education doesn’t need to be expensive or exclusive.

Still, scaling Stick Em globally has not been without hurdles. In Vietnam, importing electronic components requires government approval, while in Indonesia, high taxes and limited purchasing power pose significant challenges. These roadblocks haven’t stopped the team, but they’ve made it clear that building a truly accessible STEAM education platform will take more than ingenuity. It will take policy navigation, extreme persistence, and partnerships grounded in a shared belief: that every child deserves the chance to build.

3. Team Dynamics and the Road Ahead

Behind Stick Em’s growth is a team that balances big vision with grounded execution. Adam and Kai steer the company’s business strategy, while Jing An and Kai Jie focus on product development — a division that plays to each member’s strengths. Though their approaches often differ, Adam shares that this diversity has led to rich discussions and better decisions. “We don’t always agree at first,” he admits, “but that’s what makes the outcomes stronger. We each bring something different to the table.”

For Adam personally, the transition from being a full-time student to a full-time founder has been one of the most demanding but rewarding shifts. He’s learned how to delegate, how to prioritise, and most importantly, how to carve out time for reflection even amid the daily rush. “It’s easy to get caught in the doing,” he reflects, “but leadership also means stepping back to think clearly about where we’re going, understanding where the company needs me the most”

Looking ahead, the team is focused on increasing revenue and finding scalable models for expansion, particularly across Southeast Asia, where the need for accessible STEAM education remains urgent. Stick Em’s mission has always been about more than robots. It’s about opening doors. And if Adam’s journey so far is any indication, they’re just getting started.

Rooted in Belief, Built for Impact

Stick Em didn’t begin with a polished pitch or perfect product. It began with chopsticks, questions, and a quiet frustration that not all kids get the same shot at learning. For Adam, the journey from robotics enthusiast to full-time founder wasn’t a straight path — but it’s one shaped by belief: that education should be hands-on, playful, and for everyone. And as Stick Em continues to grow, that belief remains at the heart of everything they build.

Connect with Adam here: Huh Dam (Adam) | LinkedIn

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And that is all for today’s One Sneak Peek Into.

Stay tuned for more insights from our interview series as we continue to explore the stories of trailblazers breaking barriers and redefining success.