Business of conquering minds

THE broader economy may be in the doldrums,
but that has not stopped the pre-school sector
from flourishing. Just ask David Chiem, founder,
chairman and group CEO of education services
provider MindChamps Holdings. His company sold
22 franchises for its pre-school - even before
it had a school to show.

At a price of $65,000 - not including set-up
costs like rental and teachers' salaries that
each franchisee has to fork out - the feat is
not to be sneezed at. 'Even though we didn't
have a model, we had an incredible curriculum,'
says Mr Chiem. 'And with the branding we already
have, I think people trusted us.'

Mr Chiem is no stranger to overcoming long odds.
Listening to his story, you cannot help but marvel
at his life experiences, which could be the plot
for an inspirational drama.

At the age of nine, he fled Vietnam with his family
when the country was being overtaken by the
communists. Through sheer luck, the boat they were
in evaded a pirate attack because of a passing
Singapore container ship, whose staff later gave
the refugees so much chicken rice they had
leftovers when they landed in Malaysia.

'This is why Singapore always has a special place
in my heart,' says Mr Chiem.

The family ended up in Australia. And even though
Mr Chiem could not speak a word of English at first,
he topped his class in six months. Later, in senior
high school, he graduated top of his cohort in
English, art and maths.

The turning point in his life came at the age of 13,
when his sister heard an audition call over the
radio. 'It said, 'Looking for 13- or 14-year-old
Asian boy, must be able to swim',' says Mr Chiem.
'Back then, I couldn't swim. But when my sister
heard it on the radio, she said, 'Why not you?'

'She said it as a joke but when I went to bed
that night, that line was in my head - 'Why not
me?' I just kept on asking that question.
I thought if it isn't, that's OK. I'll just give
it my best shot. If I don't give it my best shot,
I won't know.'

So he learned to swim - and became the first Asian
to get a leading part in an Australian TV series,
called Butterfly Island. But that was only the
beginning of his story. The experience taught him
the power of having a positive and open mind.

'I just thought that to live a life without
realising the full potential is one of the saddest
things to do,' he says. 'For me, the question of
why not me is a powerful question. What I realised
was, the quality of the questions you ask yourself
at a non-conscious level play a critical role. Just
that one question led me to believe and pursue my
dreams.'

Mr Chiem was so enthusiastic about the TV role that
he called the casting director regularly to ask
whether a decision had been taken.

'I'd make sure I had a 20-cent coin and as soon
as the school bell rang, I'd run to the nearest
public phone and call to ask if they had made
their decision,' says Mr Chiem. 'They'd say, 'No,
not yet, call back on Friday'. And on Friday,
I'd ring them up on the dot and they'd say,
'Call back on Monday'.

'So every time they said to call, I called.
Frank, the director said that by the time he
heard that story, the decision was made -
'You and this other boy are just as good as
each other, but if your mind is that strong on
wanting to make it happen, it's yours'.'

This notion was to become one of the
fundamental elements for MindChamps, a training
institute that thrives on teaching students
what it calls the 'champion mindset'.
Incorporating neuroscience research done by
academic and author Allan Snyder of the
University of Sydney, MindChamps espouses
'how to learn' rather than 'what to learn'.

The company roped in experienced educators and
theatre practitioners to come up with programmes
that engage students and help them focus. As Mr
Chiem points out, the cinema world has always
engaged the non-conscious mind to communicate.
One of MindChamps' notions is to leverage on that
art to deliver its programmes. 'So content is not
the issue,' explains Mr Chiem, who studied acting
at the prestigious Theatre Nepean in New South
Wales. 'We have to upgrade the software of how to
engage students' minds to teach the content, so
the content becomes a part of them, not drilled by
rote so much that they hate it.

'If kids hate learning, we have a problem, because
in the 21st century world you've got to keep
learning, un-learning and re-learning. Because what
you just learned, in two years' time, may be obsolete.'

Although MindChamps was conceptualised in Australia
in 1998, the business was started in Singapore in
2002, as Mr Chiem saw Singapore as a more appropriate
launchpad to target the Asian market, which places a
high emphasis on education. Since then, its specialist
school has expanded to Hong Kong, where a wholly
owned subsidiary employs 11 staff. In Malaysia, it
has a partnership with an international school in
Kuala Lumpur, offering specialist programmes.

The decision to enter the pre-school market was driven
by a desire to expand the applications of research
findings.

'In our research, we realised that for a lot of gaps
in primary and secondary years, the roots can be
found in pre school,' says Mr Chiem. 'For example,
when a kid is at pre-school, they love to learn,
but when they go to primary school sometimes they
could end up having a negative relationship with
learning. If we can build the love of learning and
nurture the positive relationship to learning,
children will take that love for learning into
primary school, and half the battle is won.'

Although MindChamps has sold 22 franchises for
its pre-school, revenue from the sales cannot
be booked until a franchisee has signed the tenant
lease for a target site. By the end of this year,
Mr Chiem expects to have 12 pre-schools, including
the first outlet that opened at HDB Hub last year
and two that were recently opened by franchisees
on the East Coast and at Tampines.

So confident is he about the pre-school sector
that Mr Chiem expects that business unit to be
listed in about five years. But growth in the
pre-school market depends on the availability of
qualified teachers. So MindChamps plans to take a
stake in a teaching academy to offer diploma and
graduate diploma programmes in pre-school and
early childhood teaching.

'We could do that ourselves but it might take a
year to get all the licences,' says Mr Chiem. 'So
we're negotiating an M&A now. If the deal goes
through, the academy will come under our brand.'

Although the pre-school market remains buoyant,
MindChamp's specialist school has been affected by
the economic downturn, with student numbers falling
some 20 per cent this year.

Fortunately, the company has been preparing for the
launch of two new business units. Early this year,
it introduced school workshops for teachers and
students, aimed at developing life skills such as
leadership and team building, creativity and time
management. Another new arm, MindSpace, offers
after-school care services, including homework
and life coaching.

With so many new businesses, MindChamps will be
focusing on the Singapore market this year. 'I
think next year is the year when we will take the
franchise to the region,' he says, adding that the
target markets will be Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia, Vietnam and China.

But he hesitates to forecast if this year will be
a profitable one, in lieu of investments being made.
'As a group, I would say in 2010 it will be a total
turnaround because of new units like Hong Kong,
the pre-school and new franchisees opening,' he
says. 'That will be our very strong year. Now, we h
ave no gearing at all.'

Asked about a recent investment exit by Hong Leong
Group, Mr Chiem says the parting is due to the two
organisations having very different perspectives
on education.

'Like in a marriage, when the vision is not aligned,
it's best that both parties move forward, and we are
very happy that we came to an amicable decision,'
he says.

This article was first published in The
Business Times.

BY CHEN HUIFEN
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