A poem, in Chinese.
商以利为本，得衣食富有。
事成了助人，芳名流街头。
施教于庙堂，终得无价酬。
Translation:
If a businessperson prioritises profit, he will get a good material life in clothes and food.
After being successful, if he helps people, his good name will flow in the streets.
Finally, if he gives knowledge in a public institution, he will get a priceless return.
By me. Date: December 2020
Thoughts (ongoing updates)
Entrepreneurship should never about what you can do for yourself, but for your family, society, and country. At least in a Confucian society, that’s what I was brought up with.
The poem also shows the levels of calling of an entrepreneur’s “why” – his purpose in the industry and greater society at large.
The first line represents proprietors – who are purely rent-seeking and seek a material life.
The second line are those who made their fortune in a semi-value adding industry, such as distribution, and contribute through donations of investing in younger founders.
The last line is the pinnacle of purpose – knowledge, which in my opinion is the most valuable asset an entrepreneur can re-offer to society.
Koh Kang Liang 