Delugs co-founders Chia Pei Qi and Kenneth Kuan’s story is an inspiring example for aspiring entrepreneurs and couples considering a shared business venture. From getting to know each other to building a life and a thriving business together, their journey highlights the importance of mutual respect, aligned goals, and adaptability. As co-founders and partners in life, they’ve mastered the art of balancing personal and professional dynamics, turning challenges into opportunities. Through their experiences, they offer valuable advice to couples: test your compatibility, communicate openly, and ensure your visions align. Chia and Kuan prove that with the right foundation, love and business can not only coexist but flourish together. From Hobby to Handcrafted Luxury For Chia and Kuan, crafting leather goods…
Bridging Worlds: A Journey of Growth, Innovation, and Relevance With the average company lifespan plummeting from 67 years to just 14—and predictions that half of today’s S&P 500 could vanish in the next decade—staying relevant has never been more critical. This article explores the journey of Araz Najarian and how she supports businesses in staying relevant and purposeful through her work at ELP Network. Founded over 25 years ago, ELP Network emerged from the vision of four individuals— with a combined background of academic expertise, and extensive executive business experience. Together, they set out to bridge these two worlds, creating a practice that would help businesses achieve sustainable growth and maintain relevance in an ever-evolving marketplace. This vision laid the…
Are You Still Running Your Business Like It's 1995? We live in an age defined by digital signatures, seamless cloud collaboration, and powerful AI. Despite having endless tools for efficiency at our fingertips, a shocking number of companies and professionals remain stubbornly anchored in the analog past. The continued reliance on hardcopy documentation, mandatory in-person approvals, and manual processes actively stalls progress and productivity. This persistence of 1990s playbooks begs the central question: Why do so many successful leaders and companies knowingly choose to resist transformation? The answer lies not in outdated technology, but in deep-seated human psychology. This instinct to cling to the familiar, even when innovation offers a clear advantage, is known as the status quo bias. We…
How a Triple-E Student Found His Place in AI and Computing? When Kelvin Kok, Founder & Chief Architect of Axrail enrolled at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to study Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE), the world of computer programming was not even on his radar. Like many young undergraduates, he had no clear idea of his long-term career path. A chance internship during his third year would change everything and set him on a trajectory that would eventually lead to founding one of Southeast Asia’s fast-growing AI companies. A Chance Encounter with the World of Code In Kelvin’s early NTU days, programming felt abstract, little more than writing scripts to print stars and shapes on a screen. “Back then, it made…
Why Are Accounting Firms Still Lagging in Tech Adoption? In our previous article, we highlighted how accounting is shifting beyond compliance toward a more strategic role. Yet, digital transformation is where the sector risks falling behind. The reality is that the pace of digital adoption is far from uniform. While other industries have embraced automation and data analytics, accounting often remains anchored to legacy systems and siloed ways of working. This week, we want to find out: what’s holding accounting back from digital transformation? From cultural resistance to the complexity of integrating new technologies, we’ll unpack the challenges and highlight why people remain at the heart of digital transformation. Technology in accounting is moving fast but many firms still struggle…
