The travel, photography and food entrepreneur makes businesses out of the things he loves

In the What Matters To Me series, a Generation T honouree describes what they do, why they do it, and why it matters.

David Soong likes to put his money where his passions are. The serial entrepreneur has a number of projects, with business based around his loves of photography, travel, technology and food: Axioo, Indonesia’s best known wedding photography and videography company; holiday photography company SweetEscape, now available in 400-plus cities around the world; and Boga Group, which owns more than 150 restaurants under multiple brands in 13 Indonesian cities. Here, Soong introduces his work in his own words.

The thing about me is I enjoy doing the things I love—food, photography and travel. Life is too short to do the things you don’t enjoy, so I think that’s key and I aim to be consistent in doing the things I really have a passion for. This year my focus will be on growing SweetEscape even further on the global stage.

Life is too short to do the things you don’t enjoy, so I aim to be consistent in doing the things I really have a passion for

- David Soong -

One of my main tips for entrepreneurs would be start early and start small, because 70 percent of the learning experience is obtained while one is on the job. In terms of being a leader, do it wholly from your heart, with passion and genuine sincerity. Do not fake it. The end goal of a majority of businesses is to be profitable, but how can you build a team of people without putting your heart into it? These days a top-down approach doesn’t work well because people have a voice and they want to be heard.

I trust my people, and that is what has got me here. There are only 24 hours a day and seven days in a week, and with all these ideas in my head, I couldn’t possibly do it alone. My main role is spotting talented people and believing that they are able to perform better than me—and then accomplishing the dreams together as a team.

In 20 years’ time, I hope I’m not too old to create. That’s one thing I will not stop doing.

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