The Millennium Executive Director shares what helped him collect millions for his startup
Desmond Lim, co-founder and executive director of Worktream.
The kindness of Desmond Lima
Desmond Lim is not foreign hard work.
At the age of seven, he fell in love with basketball, but when his family couldn’t afford to buy him his own ball, he came up with the money alone.
“The money was always tight,” Lim said CNBC Make it. “My parents are both class workers. My father is a driver. My mom is cleaned.”
“I chose a sport that is free, so I can play any day I wanted,” Lim said. “I saved for 60 days not eating lunch, [have] enough money to buy the ball. Then I held myself on an orange rubber ball and played it for five years, every day, until it was bald. “
That attitude served him well in his life. Today is a 39-year-old co-founder and executive director Work flowHuman resources, salaries and employment platform made for hourly workforce. The company has raised about $ 120 million to date.
Modest beginnings
Lim was born and grew up in Singapore and was the first in his family to attend the university. From the sale of eggs in the local market to the driver’s truck, Lim says, most of his extended family, including his parents, was – and still are – watches workers.
“[My parents] They both finished only the fourth grade, “he said.” My father is at 5am at 5am and returned home for seven and works six and a half days a week. He barely stops for lunch. “
Desmond Lim, co-founder and executive director of Workream, with his parents.
The kindness of Desmond Lima
The tin saw a bite and work ethics that his parents had and applied these characteristics in his life. In Visoko SchonOl, not only was he the best student, but also led the basketball team of his school, as a captain, to win the national competition.
“When we won the high school championship, I was a captain who wore our school flag and ran around the whole school as the school cheered for our victory … I think that moment changed my life,” he said. “Sport taught me that you need time, patience and a team of people to build something great.”
Lim was also chosen to play basketball professionally for the National Youth team in Singapore while he was in high school. It quickly became clear that he had the boilers to enter the top university, but his family had no means to support his education.
Desmond Lim with its basketball team in Singapore.
The kindness of Desmond Lima
“My mom told me,” I can’t pay your college. You should not go to college. You should go to work, “Lim said.” That pushed me to come up with how to go to college. “
Ultimately, the Lim’s entrepreneurial trip was mostly created from the need. He said he had started his job since Mladost so he could afford school fees.
In addition to focusing on studies and basketball, the tin started his own teaching business in high school. Within two years, he says, that the job has brought about $ 100,000 in revenue, which was enough to pay for his university education.
This teaching company became only the first of several companies to begin.
Similarly, while studying at the University of Singapore Management, Lim placed a view of the new goal – he wanted to move to the United States to gain a master’s degree. To save money, he started and started another job – Thai food restaurant – While he is still working on graduation.
After graduating from the University in 2010, Lim worked in investment banking for several years before moving to the United States in July 2013 at a master’s master’s master at Harvard University.
‘I was so hungry’
While he was on Harvard, Lim ceded in establishing his own technological launch.
“I was so hungry when I was on Harvard, I felt like I was drinking from fiery hair. Typical people attended four classes – I worked seven classes of each term,” he said.
During his first year at Harvard, Lim Cold sent about 50 startups in the San Francisco Bay area, hoping he would gain some startup experience. He flew to California with that winter vacation, where he slept on a friend of his friend and worked for free at a startup for education.
Desmond Lim with his Harvard colleagues during the Orientation Week.
The kindness of the demond sheet
“And next summer I worked for free for Wechat again … Before they turned me into a role with a full working time. So, I was so hungry that I was learning about everything, the startups and the construction of the company,” Lim said.
In 2016, Lim was sitting in a lecture of friends at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business School called “Startup garage. “
“It’s the same class from which companies like Dordash Sofia came out,” he said. “Our job was to start talking to the owners of the companies, so we talked to dozens, if not hundreds of owners of companies around Alta, and we heard at pain points.”
One job they talked to was Coupa Cafe, a family chain of cafes with outlets around Stanford and Palo Alta. During this conversation, Lim revealed the idea for workstream.
He found that the company had no real tools to effectively manage their workforce. They used seven different tools, including Google Drive and just wrote a pen and paper by hand, the tin said.
“I [thought] This is so much work. There must be something we can do for them better, “he said.” So, I think it was a moment, combined with my experience of running my own restaurant, along with the parents who are both of a hourly rate. “
Desmond Lim with its co -founders, Lei Xu and Max Wang.
The kindness of Desmond Lima
After completing his graduate program at Harvard, Lim 2016 moved to Bay area and founded Workstream in September 2017 with Lei Xu and Max Wang.
Three short months later, January 4, 2018, Worktream had its first customer who pays-Coupa Cafe paid a sheet metal and $ 100.
Construction of work flow
Early days of workers included a lot of door knocking.
“It was fun … [I was] Doors to door sales, with the help of Max and Lei. So, we were only three immigrants in the streets of Alta who tried to knock on the door and talk to people. Was kind of funny [and] We learned so much, “Lim said.
Desmond Lim with the first WORKTREM investor, Eric Yuan.
The kindness of Desmond Lima
The first investment of the company was a $ 25,000 check written by Eric Yuan, founder and CEO Zoom.
“I first addressed Eric about 9 to 10 years of the first year I went out to the valley … I think it was cold e -mail [and] I said, “Hey, can I meet you at lunch just to learn from you as a colleague of the founder of immigrants?” “Lim said. Yuan said yes, and they continued a great hour of conversation at lunch.
From there, the two of them remained friends for about a decade, and when the lima reached for funds for his company, the founder Zoom quickly became the first assistant of Workstream.
“He didn’t even ask me what I was going to build. I said I would build a platform in an hour, and he said,” Okay, I believe in you, “the sheet said.” [Yuan] He actually doubled in every round. He has now invested more than seven figures in the company in the last seven years. “
Desmond Lim with members of the Worktream team 2024.
The kindness of Desmond Lima
Today, Workstream software for all HR and canvas lists built for class companies.
“The purpose of our company is:” Deskless deserves better. “We believe that the hourly economy is very not enough.
“There are many salary tools, but everything is built for people working in technology, who work in an office, which [are] First work surface, “the tin said.” So what we built is the first mobile software that is guided by Ai to help [hourly companies] Make their salary, HR on board, all in the same place, to help them save money and time. “
Workstream customers include brands like Burger King and Dunkin ‘Donuts. The support of the company includes Gold House, Fund of the founder of Peter Thiela and Ken Howery, Jay-Z and Dordashov Tony Xu.
What is ‘more important’ than hard work?
The tin had a strong working ethics early. He is inspired by watching his parents and family members rushing as a clockwork to make a living, but there is one feature he says can be even more important.
“Try to try to explore and discover what you really want to do. Sometimes I feel like the right choice is even more important than trying hard work,” he said.
“I think I did one thing I did when I was younger talked to many people,” Lim said. “I was really curious and I would write to the professors at school, I would write to the founders. I just talked to people with people I watched for 20 minutes, 10 minutes, for lunch.”
“I was very hungry to learn from people and I think it really helped me shape how I was thinking and who I became today,” he said.
Want to earn extra money outside your daily work? Login for the CNBC Internet Course How to earn passive income on the network To find out about the usual passive flow of revenues, tips for the start and story of success in real life.
Plus, Login for CNBC. To get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.
