As an 11-year old boy, he turned his favourite game, Nintendo, into his first successful venture by renting his Nintendo console to his friends for $1 hourly. Often, when they are hungry, he sold them Maggie Mee as well. This boy grew up to be a successful Entrepreneur who at the age of 32 profited a cool $80 million from the sale of his first successful business venture, Thai Express. He is none other than Ivan Lee, the name most businessmen and aspiring entrepreneurs would know by heart.

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Ivan started up his first Thai Express in 2002. The business quickly expanded to more than 100 stores with a few restaurant concepts, such as Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, New York New York, to name a few.

People often see the success and not the pains and failures which came along the way. Similarly, it was not all smooth sailing for the entrepreneur. Having grown up in a divorced family background, he had to think for himself and had the freedom to do anything he wanted. As such, his childhood and teenage days were filled with rebellious acts and bad companies. Ivan considers himself to be lucky, considering that few individuals who have grown up in similar family background would have the successes and achievements he had today.

Being successful is not just about the things that they go through, but also your inherent characteristics. Experiences shape you, but inherently, it is the lens that you view it through that matter.

“You can’t change the past. But you can change the future.”

Follow Ivan Lee's Entrepreneurship journey:

​Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5