While dyslexia has always been known as an obstacle to progress, Jeremy Foo, the Founder and CEO of TripCandy, embraced the disorder, beat its odds and never lost the zeal to impact the world through creativity and innovation . Born dyslexic, Jeremy’s story of reaching closer to success is inspirational and transformational.
Despite his struggle to fit in an education system that is not designed for people with learning difficulties, Jeremy kept on seeking ways to grow and achieve. This young Singaporean entrepreneur has exponentially increased the size of his businesses in the past few years, honing the essence of what he refers to as ‘entrepreneurship’.
The Journey of Inspiration and Resilience
In the last 5 years, Jeremy has founded 3 startups, including TripCandy (2021) – the latest and a well-performing one. Being dyslexic, Jeremy never found reading and writing easy, which made things challenging for him. Though Jeremy used to put in justified effort in studying, he had to see failures. However, Jeremy never let these obstacles invade his ambition of taking out a better version of himself.
After completing graduation, Jeremy started his career in 2014 as a derivatives trader at Propex
(A leading proprietary trading firm in Singapore). There he found a highly competitive and stressful environment , where the slightest mistake can lead to penalties like getting fired. It aided in elevating Jeremy’s metal resilience and fueled his aim to achieve something higher and better.
Leveraging his adeptness, Jeremy won the position of top trader and fastest growth trader in Propex for 2015 and 2016. Late in 2016, he felt the urge to step out of the sophisticated world of trading, and do something innovative. With a vision of leaving an impact on people’s lives, he left his job and decided to dip his toes into the startup world. This was the turning point of Jeremy’s life! In 2016, he founded GOshot – an energy drink company that managed to touch the sales figure of around 3000 bottles a month! With an investment of$100K, GOshot created a visible footprint in the Singaporean energy drink market, which was dominated mostly by the giants like Redbull.
In 2019, Jeremy founded his second venture – DinoMao. Initially, it was a mobile application that enabled its users to control claw machines at the arcade remotely. The idea was steered by Jeremy’s childhood obsession and love for arcade games. Now DinoMao develops diversified products ( gaming & entertainment).
Although GOshot experienced a shutdown after 3 years and DinoMao was acquired, Jeremy’s natural tendency of challenging the status quo allowed him to start on another innovative startup. By implementing his great deal of knowledge and wisdom earned from his previous experiences and leveraging his innovative thinking abilities, Jeremy came up with TripCandy in 2021. The core concept of TripCandy revolves around the notion of allowing its users to turn their travel experiences into worthy crypto investments.
With creative use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency tokens ($CANDY), Jeremy’s TripCandy aspires to establish avant-garde travel accommodations solutions and services. Its innovative tokenomics provides dividends to $CANDY token holders, allowing them to grow their tokens over time. Recently, Jeremy raised over $1m for TripCandy, which talks about the potential of this ingenious concept.
From embracing dyslexia to crossing the steep learning curves by rapidly mastering new and different industries ( F&B, Gaming, Tech, Travel, and Crypto) from scratch – Jeremy’s story is full of vibrancy and inspiration. In the words of this serial entrepreneur – “I suppose the greatest satisfaction is to have someone telling you how much you have impacted them, and those very words of encouragement can keep a struggling entrepreneur going in the toughest of times.”
Achievements at a Glance
Here’s a quick view of Jeremy’s noteworthy career highlights –
● Top trader and fastest growth trader in Propex for 2015 and 2016
● DinoMao was acquired
● Got listed in the 500 startup accelerator program in 2019
● Raised over $1m for TripCandy
Pearls of Wisdom that Jeremy Foo Wants Others to know
According to Jeremy, it’s essential to remember 3 vital success matras –
● You shouldn’t let people define who you can be
● Your failure trains and prepares you for something bigger.
● It never gets easier; you just get better at handling failures and rejections.
Jeremy strives to motivate others to find out their ”why” so that they can eventually build their grit and gain the mental resilience to cross the most difficult miles of life optimistically. He wants others to realize that success is a byproduct of the aspiration to withstand turbulence, and it takes genuine effort and a purpose-driven approach to do something exemplary.
