Tell us about your time at GESS.
I was at GESS from August 2007 – June 2009 and attended Grade 11 and 12 including the Abitur.
When you think of GESS, which 3 words come to mind?
Challenging, inspiring, motivating.
What are your 2 favourite memories of your time at GESS?
I have fond memories of the German schools’ basketball tournament in Istanbul (summer 2008) with the GESS team and of many wonderful evenings at GESS’ neighbouring hawker centre with my school friends.
What did your educational and professional journey look like after GESS?
After graduating from high school, I completed my Bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam. After various internships in Singapore and Germany in the fields of Marine Engineering; Hedge Fund & Family Office; M&A / Private Equity, I founded a startup. I am now self-employed and Managing Partner of my own consultancy torq.partners.
What are your top 5 tips for finding a suitable career?
- Talk to people in your own environment from different industries and understand what a good, average and bad day looks like.
- Try things out and broaden your horizons wherever possible.
- Try to define values that are important to you and develop a picture of what life should look like in the long term. Finding a long-term approach helps to avoid getting lost in short-term activism and opportunism.
- Try to get to know your own strengths and look for ways in which these strengths are appreciated.
- Develop the courage to go your own way and, if necessary, ignore doubters.
Do you have any advice for students who would also like to start their own business?
- Get a job in a young company (start-up) and learn the basics of founding a company. Developing ideas is “easy”, most people fail when it comes to implementing them. Learning to implement should be the focus.
- Surround yourself with founders. Entrepreneurship, at least in the startup sector, often happens in regional clusters (Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Barcelona, Silicon Valley, New York, Singapore, …). Being on site enables a steep learning curve.
- The drop is much smaller when you are young, so start early. Pragmatism and adaptability beat accomplished expertise in most cases.
- Have the courage to fail. “Failing fast” (in small and large ways) is part of the journey and allows you to learn faster.
- Be prepared to focus your entire life on your goal over the next 5-7 years and show perseverance.
