One Sneak Peek Into the Unleashing of Youth Potential

Why wait for change when you can create it? 

At the tender age of 18, this guy kickstarted a movement that’s redefining how youths discover their passions and purposes. 

Kelvin incubated his first few big community projects while still serving the nation in the military, 

And recently incorporated his company Young Leaders’ Collective, 

which aims to help youths unlock their potential and build purpose-driven futures while using part of their profits to sponsor scholarships for youths from low-income families, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to succeed.  

Under their brand, the YLC Academy is a youth development programme dedicated to empowering young people with essential life skills, confidence and clarity to thrive beyond academics. 

Through their long-term partnership with parents, they guide students from primary school to university, focusing on areas like public speaking, leadership and real-world readiness. 

Apart from his entrepreneurial endeavours, Kelvin is also known as an active content creator and was referred to join the LinkedIn ambassadors programme. 

He recently returned from a trip to the United States alongside the best young entrepreneurs from Southeast Asia, 

And has experience with investments and conducting due diligence during his internship with angel syndicate Ascend Angels. 

1. How he discovered his passions

“I was born in Malaysia and only came to Singapore when I was nine years old. 

I struggled with English because English wasn’t taught very well in Malaysia. I was treated differently as a migrant in school as I couldn’t fit in. I had to travel from Malaysia to Singapore and wake up at four in the morning every day. I did that all the way until I was 16 years old. 

I didn’t grow up in the most nurturing way possible, but this accelerated my learning process. I ended up doing pretty well for the PSLE, and my English grades turned from F to A. They wanted someone to do a graduation speech, and I didn’t want to leave primary school silently. I wanted to do it with a bang. That was how 12 year old Kelvin got to speak in front of a few hundred people. 

I got into a good school because of my grades but I didn’t want to spend my whole life studying without purpose. 

I figured that the greatest way for me to learn was through serving other people, so I started actively serving the community when I was 13. I would go out of school after school ended and show up unannounced to a random NGO to ask if they had anything for me to help out with. During this part of my life, I managed to meet the right people at the right time. By the time I was 18, I had run about 100 projects and events, both in school and outside.  

I was interested in youths and interested in education as well. 

During COVID, I was out in the neighbourhood with videographers, shooting videos for hawkers who were affected by the pandemic. I also moved beds for the elderly. But eventually my interests narrowed down to youths and education. That was when I started to take the leap of faith, and start Young Leaders’ Collective.

To be very honest, I started my first business at 16 years old by importing clothes from Malaysia and selling them in Singapore at five to ten times the price. But I wanted my work to have a positive impact on the world and I felt that what I was doing back then was meaningless. 

So I came to the conclusion of starting a social enterprise.” 

2. Content creation on LinkedIn

“I started creating content while I was in the army and wrote my first post in 2020. I was scrolling through linkedin, and was curious about what people were talking about on the platform.  So I thought, why not  just give it a try? Soon, I wrote my first post on LinkedIn which reached over 2000 to 3000 views. I think I was the first young person to be active on LinkedIn in Singapore. There were no young people then. 

I was then referred to join this LinkedIn ambassadors programme, which needed someone to use content for good. There were coaching sessions and things like that. I put everything together and became a content creator myself. Within this year alone, I have written two to three hundred posts. My viewership is in the millions. 

I primarily focus on the topic of youth development, and am going to launch a parent-support group for parents who are interested to see how I can help them with their child’s development.  I think as an ambassador, it is important for me to help young people who are using the platform. 

My inspiration for content comes from my life. Be authentic. Don’t try to be someone that you are not. Most people expect me to be in my 20s or mid-30s because of what I am doing. Just embrace your own identity. Don’t undersell or overvalue yourself. You will find your own tribe eventually on LinkedIn. If you try to be someone that you are not, you end up attracting a tribe that you cannot belong to. 

I write about my life, our programmes and young people. Things that I am passionate about. I don’t write about finance or engineering. You have to find your own niche that people want to hear about from you. Why would your audience want to hear from you?

I have been recognised on the street before. Just be a normal person. A lot of people try to present the best of who they are online. Some of the content I create is very laid back. In real life, I speak like that too. Don’t over rely on AI for writing. When people use AI to write, it tends to be very polished. It may end up becoming a sort of ‘reverse branding’ for yourself when people cannot match up the expectations they have of you with who you really are.” 

3. Trip to the United States under YSEALI

“The US State Department sent me to the United States for 2 months, to learn about social entrepreneurship, on the Young Southeast Asian Leaders’ Initiative (YSEALI) trip. 

My greatest takeaway from this trip is how to be a better human being. Ian, if you are reading this, thank you very much for this opportunity. He works at the US Embassy. 

Before embarking on this trip, I was struggling with imposter syndrome, as this trip was created for the best founders in Southeast Asia. But I soon realised that there was a space for every dream that we had as everyone was struggling with something. When you interact with these people, you realise that everyone is facing their own set of struggles in life. So the only person you should compare yourself to is who you were yesterday. Within these two months, I learnt how to be a better friend and a better son because of how the people and professors around me treated me. 

One example would be Prof Gary. For the first time in my life, I met a professor who was so gentle with everyone’s dreams. The trip made me recognise how privileged I was as a Singaporean and it opened my perspective of the world. I took this concept back to Singapore, where I ran the same thing for my own students.” 

4. Working in venture capital as an investment analyst

“Before joining Ascend Angels, I had no knowledge of venture capital at all. I joined as I was talking to Adriel and Andrew, who worked there, and I thought I would be able to learn more about business stuff at Ascend. 

For the three months that I did my internship at the firm, I did a lot of due diligence and finance stuff. I also helped out with events and stuff like that as I enjoy running events. I never planned to go into investments. When it comes, it just comes. Be open to the opportunities that come your way. I don’t actively try to chase things. I am not very affected by it— if certain things are meant for you, they are meant for you. It is very hard to force yourself to do something that you are not meant for. 

Shout out to Andrew by the way. He is currently leading Ascend, which is now a 600-man strong angel syndicate.” 

5. Advice to youths who are seeking their paths in life

“My advice would be to try everything. That’s what I have done with my life 

I started doing community service by doing things like packing gifts for orphans. 

Right now, the choices might seem limited because your opinion itself is limited. For example, most students are only exposed to the career paths of a doctor or engineer. If you don’t like both choices, then you won’t know what you can do already. 

Just literally start doing random stuff. When you start doing random things, your options will expand. And I guarantee you, you will be exposed to something that you are more inclined towards. 

Life will unravel itself. When you drive at night, you can only see 1 or 2 metres ahead of you. The most important thing is to keep going. You don’t stop because you can’t see 10 or 20 metres ahead. 

Don’t worry. Do everything. The good things will find you in return.”

Connect with Kelvin here: https://t.me/onesneakpeekinto

Follow our telegram channel: https://t.me/onesneakpeekinto

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.