Entrepreneur at 20, millionaire at 24

As an avid swimmer, Tan Jian Yong, alumnus of NYP�s School of Engineering, was part of the Lifeguard Corps in NYP where he met swimming instructors and learnt about swim coaching and related skills. After he was certified as a swimming instructor, Jian Yong started giving private swimming lessons but faced problems with students cancelling classes at the last minute and defaulting on payments, both of which affected his schedule and income. That was when the idea for Happy Fish Swim School came up.

In order to solve the problems that he and many other freelance instructors faced, Jian Yong started a website linking swimming instructors with students. It offered many value-added services such as verification of instructors� credentials, payment collection, student matching for instructors with location preference and class rescheduling. Not only did he relieve his fellow instructors of their problems, he also made his first million at the young age of 24.

Sharing his key to success, he believes �innovation is what sets his companies apart from his competitors.� He added, �I just focus on adding value to people, money will automatically come to me. After all, someone who adds value to the society is a happier person than someone who just works hard for money.�

He attributes his entrepreneurial skills to the different projects in NYP, which encouraged innovation. At first, he was unsure what he wanted to achieve but as time went by, it became clear. He said, �NYP definitely opened up my mind and connected the dots for me to become who I am today.�

With a swim school and a golf academy under his belt, Jian Yong wants to build an indoor heated swimming pool next and grow Happy Fish Swim School to become a household name globally.

Think you have a flair for business like Jian Yong? Choose your entrepreneur adventure at NYP Open House from 8 to 10 Jan 2015!

Published in the January 2015 Issue of Teenage Magazine. Reproduced with Permission.