What does building a strong workplace culture mean to a company?

In the Inspiring Entrepreneurs podcast series, our Founder & Group CEO Richard Koh spoke on his entrepreneurship journey and the importance of workplace diversity in bringing new perspective and driving innovation.

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Listen to the full podcast here:

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Richard started by sharing the catalytic moment he had that led to the start of M-DAQ – an idea of allowing one to see a foreign stock in their home currency. During his time at a US investment bank, his incentive compensations were in the form of US stocks which left him unsure of the value in Singapore dollar on a real-time basis. This idea eventually became the backbone of the FX solutions that M-DAQ provides today.

While many of us may have ideas that impact us on a daily basis, what sets entrepreneurs apart is about taking that next step to create a solution. Or as what Richard believes, "Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can live the rest of your life like most people can't."

The journey of an entrepreneur is never smooth-sailing. With the strong support from its employees, M-DAQ has weathered through a fair share of ups and downs over the past 13 years, including a period of no-pay in the early days, which is a testament to the importance of building a cohesive company culture.

Embracing diversity has been essential in fostering our growth at M-DAQ. Having employees hail from diverse backgrounds, cultures and gender has also allowed us to tap into a wide range of diverse perspectives and experiences.

A special thank you to Money FM 89.3 and Citi Commercial Bank for inviting Richard to share about the spirit of entrepreneurship and empowering women in the workplace.