All entrepreneurs who embark on a mission will soon realize that things don’t always happen the way we want them to. We have to be flexible to change our approach and pivot when necessary.
A widely sought-after thinker in the business and finance industry, Mario Singh has appeared more than 40 times on international media CNBC and Bloomberg, each time giving his views to an estimated 350 million viewers worldwide.
As an accomplished corporate consultant, Mario has been brought in by some of the biggest banks in the world to speak to their traders and clients. Some of his clientele include ICBC (China’s biggest bank) and Julius Baer (the third largest Swiss bank).
His 4 best-selling books, including his latest work “The Magical Rule of 3” which hit #1 on Amazon, are endorsed by global billion-dollar fund managers like Dr. Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, and David Kotok, Chairman of Cumberland Advisors.
As an award-winning entrepreneur, Mario firmly believes that every business should be a force for good. He loves building businesses that disrupt whole industries and bring massive value to entire communities.
Let’s learn a little about you and really get to experience what makes us tick – starting at our beginnings. Where did your story begin?
Mario Singh: My story began when I graduated almost at the bottom of the barrel in university with 3rd class honors in Chemical Engineering. I couldn’t really find a job so I started a small cleaning company called Spick n’ Span.
All this time, I was fascinated with the world of finance only because I had simplistic dreams of wanting to earn lots of money. Luck came when I plucked up the courage to ask several mentors to tutor me in business and finance – and they agreed. This taught me my first real lesson in life – if you ask and don’t get what you want, you’re no worse off than you were before. If you ask and get what you want, things change for the better. You can never lose by asking.
Over the next few years, I immersed myself in the financial markets. I began writing a weekly piece for the Singapore newspaper called My Paper, started appearing on international finance media Bloomberg and CNBC, and even had speaking engagements all over the world. This included countries like Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, China, Dubai, and Turkey.
In 2016, I started a brokerage called Fullerton Markets, where we provide traders and investors globally with a world-class platform to trade various instruments in the financial markets. After working flat-out for three years straight, our big break came in 2019 when the company clinched three prestigious awards from acclaimed media platform World Finance: Best Fund Safety, Best FX Broker, Asia, and Best Partnership Program. I was thereafter invited by World Finance for an interview inside the London Stock Exchange.
In 2021, I was invited to deliver the Alumni Lecture at my university. Imagine that – 20 years ago, I walked out of the university with my head hung low. 20 years later, I walked in with my head held high.
This is my “3rd class to world-class” story I share to inspire people. With knowledge, action, and desire, there is no challenge we cannot overcome and no mountain we cannot climb.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Mario Singh: For any entrepreneur who starts their journey, the thought of giving up happens constantly. The primary reason is because it’s just so hard. The entrepreneurial journey is simply not rational for someone who wants to change the world for the better.
I have so many stories of my own about giving up: the time when I almost gave up writing my first book, the time when the business didn’t have any money left to pay staff and I had to pour in my life savings. These are just two examples.
However, here’s a key lesson to share. I’ve come to realize that 98% of people give up on their goals and dreams simply because it doesn’t happen fast enough. When we set goals or start a new journey, here’s the cold hard truth – the struggle is guaranteed but the success is not. The only reason why successful people “make it” is because they have resolved upfront that they will push through the pain and achieve their goals NO MATTER WHAT.
The real question is, will we do the same? Will we push through the pain, the challenges, and the failures no matter what? Because if we will, I promise that sunshine and rainbows await. We never pay the price of hard work. We enjoy that price.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Mario Singh: There are two common mistakes I see almost every entrepreneur make:
- Failure to pace – Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of letting the enormity of their ambition freeze them into inaction. That’s why they don’t start. I get the question so often, “Mario how do I start? I want to do this and this and this.” The key is to just start. Start small. All of us can do something today, right now – that will move us in the direction of our goal. When we take the first step and accomplish the task, we build momentum and take another step. As we get better, things get easier. This is the secret of building momentum in the direction of our intended goals.
- Failure to pivot – All entrepreneurs who embark on a mission will soon realize that things don’t always happen the way we want them to. We have to be flexible to change our approach and pivot when necessary. The ongoing pandemic exposes this flaw in many entrepreneurs who are stubborn and refuse to change. In the book “Who Moved My Cheese” by author Spencer Johnson, he tells a powerful story of how different mice react when their cheese is gone. Some complain while others head out to find new cheese. Hence, entrepreneurs owe it to their staff, stakeholders, and ultimately to themselves to make the painful but necessary switch when things go bad. Change must always come from within.
Has the pandemic and transitioning into mostly online shopping affected your company positively or negatively?
Mario Singh: Let me first start by saying that this pandemic has wrecked many, many lives. Both on the health and the economic fronts. If we know someone who is affected, it is important for us to reach out and help. We are all in this together.
My company Fullerton Markets is in the business of online trading. Clients can trade currencies, indexes, and precious metals. The pandemic has actually positively impacted our business. When I studied the reasons, it boils down to two important factors:
- The current environment has many people observing safe distancing measures and working from home. This naturally translates to more time in front of the computer and the mobile phone. This fuels the interest and appetite for many to try to earn a second income from home. In my business, people need just two things: an internet connection and a laptop or a mobile phone, and they are immediately plugged into the global financial markets.
- Since the pandemic started, governments have provided hundreds of billions of dollars as aid to prop up their respective economies. Some of this money has found its way into the bond, stock, currency, and crypto markets. This in turn has drawn many to jump on the online trading bandwagon to try and make some money from the market volatility.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
Mario Singh: When Fullerton Markets was birthed, I shared our vision that we would be a disruptive force in the online trading industry in three areas:
1) Safety of Funds – All clients enjoy unparalleled fund safety with 3 levels:
- Segregated Bank Accounts
- Independent Custodian Protection
- Professional Indemnity and Crime Insurance
2) Speed of Execution – Liquidity, and connectivity are at the heart of flawless execution. Through our partnerships with tier-one banks and Equinix, a multi-billion dollar public company listed on NASDAQ, we have spared no expense to ensure low latency connectivity to our dedicated servers in London. This has ensured network speeds of less than 1 millisecond.
3) System of Wealth Creation – We truly believe that anyone can create wealth in the markets, either by trading or by business-building. We have two innovative products that help our clients achieve this:
- Our revolutionary copy trading system called “CopyPip” helps traders copy trades from trading experts and signal providers effortlessly
- Our state of the art affiliate system called PipBox helps business builders to amass clients online through valuable and attention-grabbing content
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Mario Singh: I would first like to share my definition of success: Success is the passionate, persistent, progressive pursuit of a productive purpose.
In my Amazon #1 book “The Magical Rule of 3”, I talk about the ‘3 Best Traits to Embody Permanent Success’ in Chapter 7. They are:
- Vision – Successful people have a clear and compelling vision that goes far beyond their current reality. They are not just able to project into the future – they are also able to powerfully communicate that vision to move people and mobilize commitment.
- Focus – Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are two of the wealthiest people on the planet. In the documentary “Becoming Warren Buff ett”, Gates’s father once asked both of them to write down a single word to describe their success. They both wrote the same word: focus.
- Resilience – Resilience is the ability to bounce back quickly after encountering challenges or failures. If you’re currently running a business or thinking about starting one, be sure to know that you can make all the plans in the world for a rosy future, but life has a way of throwing you curveballs. It is this ability to deal with curveballs – the ability to persist and navigate unwaveringly towards your goal – is what I deem resilience is.
Being a CEO of the company, do you think that your personal brand reflects your company’s values?
Mario Singh: That’s a great question. Our company’s values are: Passion, Excellence, Commitment, and Sustainability.
Every single person in the company embodies these values for organizational alignment. It is certainly up to me as the captain of the ship to ensure that my personal brand doesn’t just reflect these values but to live and breathe them daily as well.
In terms of personal branding, I add value in 3 specific ways:
- Books – I have written 4 best-selling books which have been translated to 5 different languages worldwide (English, Chinese, Bahasa, Thai and Vietnamese).
- Engagement – In today’s world, we are no longer in the IT or social media age. We are in the attention age. That simply means catching the attention of the audience is of paramount importance. One way to do this effectively is through engagement. People today want to interact with the brands they consume. I engage audiences via my social media profiles and in LIVE events where I get up close and personal with them.
- Media – Media is a very powerful tool for branding. Over the years, I have been fortunate to appear regularly on the world’s largest financial media like CNBC and Bloomberg to share my market views and business insights.
How would you define “leadership”?
Mario Singh: John Maxwell says that leadership is influence. Colin Powell says that leadership is character.
While both of these definitions certainly describe some aspects of leadership, the one which resonates most with me is the definition by Warren Bennis. In his book “On Becoming a Leader” Warren says that great leaders don’t go out to prove themselves – they want to express themselves fully. I love this because it focuses a lot on the individual. You have to build value on the inside before you can add massive value on the outside.
After all, you can’t give what you don’t have. On that note, my benchmark for leadership is encapsulated in 3 specific areas. Leaders must have:
- Clarity of vision
- Courage in their hearts
- Compassion for all
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Mario Singh: I have 3 pieces of advice for anyone, young or old, who aspires to become an entrepreneur:
- You can’t change the past, but you can shape your future. Our past never equals our future.
- Don’t wish that it was easier. Wish that you were better. When you get better, it starts getting easier.
- Create tomorrow’s results today. Model successful habits and activities today. Begin now.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Mario Singh: I have a personal motto that I live by:
- Dream The Impossible
- Do The Unthinkable
- Enjoy The Incredible
We have been sold a lie that success depends on our inner talent or special skill. That’s the reason many of us also give up. We give up when the results don’t come as fast as we want. The truth of the matter is, many of us tend to overestimate what we can achieve in one month, but we completely underestimate what we can do in one year. So, dream big, start small, work hard and see yourself at the top.
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.
