Building Stellar: Lessons Learned from the Pre-Stellar Era
2015
I vividly recall sitting in the managing director’s office of a developer, discussing the possibility of taking over an international school they had built. The school’s success wasn’t the main concern anymore. Though the operator boasted a vast educational background across Southeast Asia, their Malaysian branch was underperforming. We, despite being a small academy, were outperforming them, and our premise was overflowing with students. We desperately needed another campus to accommodate everyone. That was back in 2015.
Fast Forward to 2024:
Here we are at Stellar International School, facing the exact same problem. With 585 students, the school will be full once we reach our 700-student capacity in 2025. Of course, back in 2015, I couldn’t have predicted this. My decision to pursue this venture was driven more by purpose and values than anything else.
The Power of Being Small:
In 2014, my ex-business partner and I co-founded a venture with a 50/50 shareholding. I willingly gave her a controlling 1% share, making me the minor shareholder. Why? Gratitude for the opportunity. Little did I know, this would become a point of contention later. Many warned me it was a mistake, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Was I naive? Possibly. The worst that could happen was losing the venture or even everything I poured into it for years. As long as I didn’t lose myself, mistakes were valuable lessons for growth.
Fueled by passion, I poured my energy into building the academy. However, that same year, I felt immense pressure – not financially, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We started in 2014, and while everything seemed perfect except our finances, the challenging situation fostered a strong team spirit. We were all stretched beyond our comfort zones, pushing ourselves for the academy’s success. We embraced failure as a learning opportunity and kept going. Witnessing employees at a small company giving 200%, dedicating not just their time but their hearts, youth, and even personal resources to ensure the academy’s success, solidified the power of a small, close-knit team. This strong bond, coupled with our intimate relationships with parents and students, became the very foundation we struggled to maintain during scaling-up.
Building a Dream on a Shoestring Budget:
We camped out and worked tirelessly for the academy. I drew a minimal salary, relying on side projects like tuition and wedding photography to make ends meet. Within just two years, this small academy reached its full capacity, exceeding the performance of other international schools – even contemplating acquiring their campus.
Why Did I Leave at the Peak?
A clash in values. I started as an educator, a college lecturer who consistently produced top students. My simple secret? Love your students. They will work hard for you. No complicated formulas involved. However, my partner, despite being a loving person, came from a corporate and business background with vastly different priorities. The first year running the academy was fantastic, filled with shared goals and a strong sense of purpose. The second year was exciting, as we moved towards peak operation. Besides having a great team and a growing local reputation, home schools in JB were experimenting with a self-learning system that wasn’t ideal for younger children. This led to an influx of parents transferring their children to our academy. We even welcomed students from Singapore and Korea.
However, with increased financial stability, challenges arose. Politics crept in. Leaders, driven by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, craved recognition and a sense of importance. The focus shifted from building a great educational institution to individual agendas. In early 2016, I met Dato Peter, the founder and group CEO of UCSI Group, at a conference. I requested him to be my mentor, and he agreed. After understanding my situation, his first piece of advice was to leave the venture I co-founded.
A Difficult Decision:
Naturally, I wrestled with my mentor’s guidance for a while. But ultimately, given his success, love, tactfulness, and persuasiveness, I decided to follow his advice. His second piece of guidance was to help me figure out what to do next. At that time, my wife was about to give birth to our first son. Throughout my career, I had dealt with college students, then secondary students, and finally primary students. One interesting thing I noticed when working with parents of secondary students with disciplinary issues was that the parents were either separated, or their child was staying with grandparents, or the parents were working in Singapore most of the time and not spending enough time with their children. This realization made me think about what kind of parent I wanted to be. So I told Dato Peter that I wanted to set up a preschool. This would allow me to start from the root: be a responsible parent who could spend more time learning from children, and hopefully influence other parents to do the same. He thought that was a good idea.
A Fresh Start and Valuable Lessons Learned
With Dato Peter’s support, I spent a month following him closely. Each morning, I’d join him for his 6 am wake-up call, participate in the 8 am office devotions, and then observe the workings of his Child Development Centre. This immersive experience fundamentally reshaped my perspective on several key areas:
- The Challenges of Early Childhood Education: Preschool, I discovered, was far more demanding than I initially imagined. Beyond the “A is for Apple, B is for Boy” basics, fostering genuine understanding in young children requires an abundance of patience, tact, and passion to navigate the challenges of tantrums, self-centeredness, parental expectations, and the inevitable messes that come with early childhood. Witnessing this firsthand shifted my focus from simply running a school to empowering early childhood educators and restoring the profession’s well-deserved respect.
- A Paradigm Shift on Millionaires: Media portrayals often paint a picture of multi-millionaires indulging in extravagant lifestyles. Observing Dato Peter’s life challenged these preconceptions. Here was a man driven by purpose, an individual of remarkable humility and practicality who lived a remarkably thrifty life – even more so than me! He exemplifies a true steward of his wealth, using resources entrusted to him by God to uplift others. His dedication to building people was truly inspiring. The stark contrast between his leadership style and that of a typical “boss” became readily apparent. While a boss prioritizes control over people, a true leader empowers others to serve.
- Building a Strong Family Foundation: Equally important was finding a supportive community of fathers. As a newly minted husband and soon-to-be dad, a harmonious marriage life felt paramount. My traditional parents held certain expectations of my wife, a modern woman who didn’t quite fit the mold. This created a personal struggle. The fathers I met with demonstrated invaluable examples of navigating these challenges. They provided practical guidance on achieving mental and emotional independence from one’s parents, committing to love your wife in both good and bad times, and being a positive role model for your children. Inspired by this, I set a long-term parenting goal: to build a relationship with my children where even after achieving financial independence, they would still yearn for our company, viewing us not just as parents but also as cherished friends.
While our parents and ourselves aren’t perfect, and upbringing plays a significant role, it doesn’t define us. Maturity, I learned, lies in discerning truth from personal preferences and ingrained habits. With a shared vision, commitment, and open communication, partners and families can forge a harmonious environment built on mutual understanding, compromise, and growth. This, I believe, is the cornerstone of a fulfilling life.
The rest of the chapters will detail the birth of Stellar Preschool and the lessons learned from building Stellar International School and Stellar Education Group.
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