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Stephanie Chai, 32, is the founder of The Luxe Nomad, an accommodation booking website that caters to travellers searching for luxury hotels and villas at reduced prices.
Born in New Zealand and grew up in between Kuching, Sarawak and New Zealand, you would never guess that Stephanie Chai has a background in modelling and TV hosting, or that she has a Degree in Finance and International Business. She ventured into the world of entrepreneurship with a startup called WeddingGuideAsia.com, an online wedding portal. A year later in July 2012, Stephanie created The Luxe Nomad to cater to the increasingly sophisticated travel market in Asia.
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Image Credit: MaGiC
With all these interesting experiences and knowledge under her belt, it is not surprising that Stephanie is often asked for entrepreneurship lessons and tips. At the recent MaGIC Academy 2015 #MA2015, Stephanie shared some of the keys to her success in the startup world.
1. Don’t waste money on an office unless you REALLY need to
With her Chinese and Italian parentage, Stephanie proudly embraces the ethnic stereotype that the Chinese are good businesspeople. Despite founding The Luxe Nomad more than three years ago, Stephanie did not see the need to set up an office until April/May this year.
“When I first started the business, I raised SGD 250,000, and perhaps it is the Chinese side of me (my father is Malaysian Chinese), that for the first year the KL team worked out of my apartment. I was in Singapore, the place was empty, so it was a win-win and we saved on rent.”
2. Hire someone for their skills, not exact experience
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Image Credit: http://www.hongkongmadame.com/
Soft skills matter, and they can be taught. Speaking of The Luxe Nomad team, Stephanie shared some of the criteria she seeks when she hires new talents.
“I look for people who can solve issues, I don’t look for people who can memorise things and replicate them. You don’t need people with the exact experience; none of my team came from the travelling industry, but they all have good attitudes and are willing to learn. People can be taught.”
3. Keep bad employees from infecting your organisation
Speaking of employees, The Luxe Nomad was an all-girls startup when they first began. And despite research by the Workplace Bullying Institute showing that women-on-women harassment in the workplace is increasing, Stephanie was not deterred. This is what she had to say on handling an all-girls start-up (with the exception of the developers):
“I don’t hire nasty girls, it is very simple. You can tell when [they use] names…like you’re a complainer, or bitchy, and [if]they end up being there after probation, I don’t keep them, because one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.”
4. Celebrity endorsements help in building brand equity
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Deborah Henry, Miss Universe Malaysia 2011. (Image Credit: wanderluxe.theluxenomad.com)The advantage of working with celebrities is not just limited to influencing consumers’ decisions; it will also be able to tell you what your potential consumers are interested in. Coming from the entertainment field, Stephanie certainly knows what is best for business.
“When we first started, what we did was we worked with a lot of celebrities, for example Deborah Henry. I thought [it would offer]something different if…you have celebrities sort of checking out our places and posting pictures on Instagram, and through that I learnt as well what hotels and places people are interested in.”
5. Be human when it comes to customer service
Being able to see a situation through a customer’s eyes is one of the traits that is necessary for excellent customer service. Just because some rules have been written, it does not mean that we have to go by them. We are only human, after all.
“[On customer service] you have to have a lot of empathy, you can’t just be by the rule and like okay this is this. We were just talking to my junior staff; we don’t want a company of robots, I want a team who can think, who can question me, who can question everything, and come up with solutions.”
6. Knowledge comes from asking questions
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Image Credit: www.exmag.sgWe get wise by asking questions, so when you are in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask. The Luxe Nomad has been in the field for more than three years, but Stephanie said she hasn’t stopped learning.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help. When I first started The Luxe Nomad, I think I took a lot of well known (and not so well known) Internet entrepreneurs — whoever I knew in the travel startup scene — out for lunch, and asked them a whole bunch of questions. I still ask questions today!”
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