Your Voice Is More Powerful Than You Think

JourneyNorth Podcast | Season 01 | EP 09

“Community” is one of the latest buzzwords within the startup ecosystem, and for good reason. As the emphasis on creating genuine connections with a group of like-minded individuals increase, communities have supported the growth of the startup ecosystem.

More often than not, these communities are united by a common purpose or voice. They often have alignments in their end goals, and hope to support one another in achieving those goals.

In this episode, I speak to Andee, who co-founded Kampung Collective, a Community for Community Builders across Asia. We spoke about how he felt like a “misfit” growing up in the Singapore system and how that actually played out in his subsequent roles. Andee also spoke about the power of communities and why more people should put their voices out there.

Who Is Andee Chua?

Andee is the Co-Founder of Kampung Collective and the Culture Coordinator at Hubspot. He is a skilled community builder, connector, and collaborator. He is a social catalyst who believes in the importance of growth in people, both personally and professionally.

Andee loves digging into the strategy of how to build and foster deeper relationships with various key communities. His dedication to the startups he meets and the ability to challenge you to think out of the box really sets him apart. He has spent his time mentoring and advising early-stage startup founders and youths, helping them an eye for new opportunities and how to best get their voices out on various platforms.

Following his previous stint as an international model and a community builder at a local startup and innovation community, Andee has built a good reputation in the industry and is one of the well sought-after power connectors in the ecosystem.

The Power of a Community

Andee has witnessed first-hand the impact that a community can bring about. During the COVID period, people within Kampung Collective came together to share resources and engage in various cross collaboration efforts.

Granted, in order to build up a community, you have to put in a lot of effort to connect genuinely with other people. You have to start by getting to know people on a more personal level, before finding out more about their interests, like and dislikes.

Taking the initiative to connect with people and being willing to share your personal stories, are some ways how Andee manages to connect with people on a more personal level.

Treat Each Experience As A Lesson Learned

As Andee progressed in his personal development journey, he was able to draw upon his previous experiences to learn from them, instead of treating them as simply another phase of his life. By doing so, he brought the skill-sets that he picked up in each stage of his life, to his next project or venture.

If you’re wondering what you’re good at or what skill-sets you possess, perhaps you could think retrospectively of the projects or activities you have participated in!

One thing young people should be doing is to really get their voice out there.

– ANDEE CHUA, CO-FOUNDER OF KAMPUNG COLLECTIVE & CULTURE COORDINATOR AT HUBSPOT

Your Voice Is More Powerful Than You Think

Andee believes that more people, especially young people, should put their voices out there. We tend to avoid difficult conversations and conflicts altogether, but it is through these tough conversations that we learn and grow better.

From Andee’s experience, opening up about his LGBTQ+ issues has created a lot of impact and awareness about such topics. While it definitely isn’t easy, and Andee mentioned he still faces fear occasionally, falling back on the support of your community will help you overcome these fears.

Another way to look at this is, if your community is the group of people you care most about, and they are fully supportive of you, what’s stopping you from sharing your opinions?

Personal Thoughts

Andee’s willingness to use his voice to spread impact and create communities is very courageous of him, and is definitely something we can all learn from. Personally, I loved the perspective he gave about how he was a “misfit”, yet it served him well in the end.

I believe it is all down to perspectives. Yes, while we might be stuck in a flawed education system, there are alternative ways to success, as Andee has proven. Sometimes, all we need is a little more trust in ourselves, and the belief that things will work out in the end.

To all those who are still finding their way, trust that everything will eventually work out fine 

Show Notes:

• Connect with Andee on LinkedIn



Hosted by Marcus Cheu. Connect with me on LinkedIn & Instagram.

If you'd like to tune in to the full episode, you can check out the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.