#4 Lim Wei Jie- Bridging understanding, a cup of coffee at a time - a podcast by PJ (Poh Jie)

from 2020-08-21T00:00

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My guest today is Lim Wei Jie, co-founder and director of Foreword Coffee, a social enterprise that seeks to bridge understanding between ‘regular’ people and people with disabilities and special needs. I have a lot of respect for Wei Jie for having the heart to do a social enterprise, and to take the path less travelled as he has never been an employee after he graduated from NUS. I hope this conversation inspires the people out there who are thinking of starting their own social enterprise, but are not quite sure how. I also got Russell Lim, a good friend of mine who linked Wei Jie and I up, on the show as well. Please enjoy the show.



Show Notes
  • [0:50] How did Wei Jie and Russell met each other in CAPT?


  • [1:50] What sparked Wei Jie’s interest in community issues


  • [4:20] A brief introduction to Foreword Coffee


  • [6:06] The process of starting Foreword Coffee


  • [8:39] Reaching out to special needs school


  • [11:10] Testing out training programs for special needs individuals


  • [17:24] Why most of us misunderstand what ‘special needs individuals’ really entail


  • [19:30] Was there any point when Wei Jie knows Foreword Coffee will work?


  • [22:19] What are the big hurdles that Wei Jie has to overcome?


  • [27:00] What are other sectors that special needs individuals can contribute to? Any potential advice to employers who wish to employ special needs individuals?


  • [34:37] Facing doubts at social enterprise startup competitions and the importance of the human element in creating impact


  • [41:36] Is there anything that Wei Jie has changed his mind on 3 years into his entrepreneurial journey?


  • [46:02] Foreword Coffee’s customer base


  • [48:48] Future plans for Foreword Coffee


  • [50:37] How does Wei Jie go about planning for Foreword Coffee?


  • [53:26] Was this journey harder or easier than initially expected?


  • [55:23] How does Foreword Coffee plan to expand beyond Singapore?


  • [58:50] How does Wei Jie feel about having never been an employee after graduating from NUS?


  • [1:01:56] How has stigma of special needs individuals change within Foreword Coffee’s ecosystem?



Links

Foreword Coffee: https://www.forewordcoffee.com



More

If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj).



Music credits

Further episodes of PyJamas Pillow Talk

Further podcasts by PJ (Poh Jie)

Website of PJ (Poh Jie)