Ground Zero Stories by Divergent Entrepreneur Academy

As a woman entrepreneur, here’s what nobody tells you, the hardest part isn’t the business, it’s the silence at home. Entrepreneurs and business owners usually faced their business challenges and suffered their pains quietly. ☕ I listened to a founder share how she once lost a quarter million, not because she wasn’t capable, but because she had no financial literacy, no mentor, and no real support system, even the tiny flyers she handed out mattered because each cost money. 💡 Insight, passion starts the engine, cashflow and community keep it running. As a woman entrepreneur, embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship can be both thrilling and intimidating. The entrepreneur mindset is crucial in navigating the challenges that come with being a business owner and startup founder. However, there are certain aspects of entrepreneurship that nobody tells you, especially when it comes to divergent thinking and adopting a divergent entrepreneur approach. Social Media https://linkedin.com/in/adeline-yeo https://facebook.com/AdelineYeoIMAde https://instagram.com/imadelineyeo

COVID Wiped Out My Plans, This Military System Saved Me | Shi Liang | Divergent Entrepreneur Academy Shi Liang did not grow up intending to be an entrepreneur. He signed on with the Republic of Singapore Navy, drawn by purpose and structure rather than commerce. But after his mother fell ill and passed away when he was in his late twenties, he began questioning time, legacy and responsibility. Today, he runs dozens of food and beverage outlets, survived pandemic losses, and measures success less by profit than by the livelihoods he protects. Shi Liang is a Singapore based entrepreneur in the food and beverage sector, building on a family foundation rooted in traditional coffee shop operations. At one point, the network under his oversight spanned more than 80 outlets across Singapore, with around 30 directly under his charge and close to 90 staff reporting into his operations. His portfolio has included outlets in both residential estates and tourist-heavy locations such as Marina Bay Sands and Changi Airport. During the pandemic, he also ventured into cloud kitchens to adapt to delivery demand. He describes himself as an entrepreneur by necessity and temperament rather than by early ambition. Before business, he spent a decade in the Republic of Singapore Navy, where he says discipline, scenario planning and leadership were drilled into him. Those lessons now shape how he structures teams, risk and expansion. He does not romanticize the journey. There were seven figure losses, closed outlets and failed side ventures. Yet he sees in those years a consolidation of what matters: people, reputation and family. For Shi Liang, entrepreneurship is not only about expansion or margin. It is about stewardship. Of staff livelihoods. Of inherited relationships. Of family legacy. Profit fluctuates. Accountability endures. Social Media https://linkedin.com/in/shi-liang-tan-6b7318217 https://facebook.com/shiliang.tan.88 https://instagram.com/liang.tsl https://tiktok.com/@liang.tsl

Ronald Soh is a veteran tech entrepreneur from Singapore with over three decades in the IT industry. His passion for technology sparked early — as a young boy in the 1970s, he was fascinated by computers at People's Park, and his father's IBM 286 PC ignited a lifelong love of computing. In 1993, fresh out of NUS, he founded Win-Pro to help small businesses with IT services. He sold PCs in Chinatown and wrote custom software for SMEs, learning the fundamentals of both hardware and software sales. The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis nearly broke the company, but Ronald pivoted — shifting from software to hardware and infrastructure solutions, emerging with a resilience and frugality that became core to his philosophy. He expanded Win-Pro's services into network infrastructure, IT support, and CTO-as-a-Service consulting, later growing into Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. He embraced emerging technologies — from cloud services to today's AI and cybersecurity solutions — ensuring clients always stayed ahead. Today, Ronald Soh stands as a seasoned entrepreneur who built an empire from Ground Zero — his journey marked by early passion, bold risk-taking, devastating setbacks, and remarkable comebacks. Social Media https://www.facebook.com/ronaldsoh2 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldsoh https://x.com/ronaldsoh https://www.instagram.com/ronaldsoh2 https://www.youtube.com/ronaldsoh https://www.tiktok.com/@ronaldsoh69 https://www.reddit.com/user/ronaldsoh/