Ryan Chew, Co-Founder of Tribe and member of the Robb Report Singapore Thought Leaders community, tells us more about educational empowerment and changing the world

If Ryan Chew could have a superpower, it would be the ability to manipulate probabilities, but we’re not sure he doesn’t already possess it. When Chew launched Tribe with co-founder Yi Ming Ng, as young entrepreneurs, they realised early on that age was not just a number in the eyes of others. This only served as provocation for Chew and his team to exceed expectations and against all odds, establish Tribe to become a 60-man team in their three businesses – accelerator, training and talent – providing solutions for the entire blockchain value chain.

Why are you passionate about what you do?

I am a big believer of empowering through education. It is one of the main catalysts for upward social mobility. Tribe is focused on fuelling the talent ecosystem while making education more accessible and affordable.

What’s your greatest fear?

That in a lifetime we might not be able to achieve our full potential. There is a saying: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be and why?

Instead of only applauding capital generated by a company, I wish the market would also value social impact. It would make a sea of a difference to the startup ecosystem, right from ideation to how success is measured.

In the present, the motivation for companies to be green and produce sustainably is either largely punitive or just a customary reaction to the government’s environmental policies. If I could change one thing, it would be to find a way to assign market value to such companies beyond capital, but based on social impact. These could even include contributions such as knowledge creation for communities.

Editor’s note: Get to know the full Thought Leaders community here.

Photography by Sayher Heffernan
Styling by Wei Lun Tok
Hair & Makeup by Angel Gwee
Credits: Chanel Beauty and L’Oréal Hair Professional; cotton-blend jacket and corduroy pants by Polo Ralph Lauren