He Was Bored, So He Founded TEDxKL

As so often happens, one thing led to another, and Daniel was given the opportunity to get involved in setting up what would become TEDxKL.

Walking the walk by talking the TEDxKL talk

Daniel Cerventus Lim had always been involved in local start-up community projects. Circa 2008-09. he noticed a distinct lack of events-based start-ups in the scene. Having discovered this niche, Daniel began regularly organising speaking events.

As so often happens, one thing led to another, and Daniel was given the opportunity to get involved in setting up what would become TEDxKL. Just how far back in the day was this? Well, according to Daniel, the name TedX hadn’t been established yet, and the gatherings didn’t even have their own speakers. Instead, the attendees would just come together to watch TED videos.

Daniel and the organisers later tried reaching out to keynote speakers, and thus began the first few iterations of the TEDxKL we know today. It’s no mean feat.

How was Daniel able to achieve this? Recently, the Beyond99 team had the pleasure of sitting down with Daniel to find out more about his journey, his struggles and what he’s learned from it all.

Have clarity about your organisation’s purpose

I truly believe that we attract people that are very similar and like-minded. The people we tend to work together with are very similar.

When asked how to form strong teams, Daniel did not hesitate to say that a leader had to be very clear about the purpose of their organisation. This purpose, according to Daniel, would shape the culture. This culture becomes the litmus test for suitability.

“I truly believe that we attract people that are very similar and like-minded. The people we tend to work together with are very similar.”

Accept that you cannot please everyone

When asked how to deal with dissatisfied customers, Daniel said that after trying everything, sometimes we have to accept the fact that some people and some products simply do not fit.

He provided a rather interesting example of this, one involving his parents’ restaurant and a customer who had some rather strange comments about their chicken. What exactly was the complaint? Find out in the video below:

See Also: The 6 Types of Creative People

Khushboo Nangalia is a TEDx speaker, award-winning marketer, entrepreneur, and talk show host. She is also the founder and CEO of global digital & creative agency Beyond 99, Through her LinkedInpreneur series, Khushboo and her team aim to connect and tell the stories of innovative entrepreneurs from across Asia. To connect with Khushboo, head to LinkedPreneur.