Meet Natasha Toh (BBM 2013), one-half of the dynamic duo behind The Fun Empire. Offering a plethora of novel experiences such as Bubble Bump Soccer, laser tag, and art jamming sessions to people, The Fun Empire recently earned Natasha and her co-founder (and husband) Ryan Ho the accolade of being named Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, in the category of Retail & E-commerce. However, running an award-winning start-up is not all fun and games (pun intended). Read on as the LKCSB alumna shares with us about the joys and pains of starting The Fun Empire, and how the global exposure and vibrant student life in SMU had broadened her worldview as a young entrepreneur.
Hi Natasha! You graduated from SMU with a BBM in 2013. How was your time in SMU?
My time in SMU was an enriching and memorable one. SMU gave me many opportunities to explore the world – to understand more about the different markets, industries, cultures, and people across the different continents. For example, I went on a Business Study Mission to Scandinavia in Year 1, where we visited many interesting companies in the clean energy sector, as well as the famous IKEA headquarters. In Year 3, I also had the chance to go on an exchange programme to Babson College in the United States – a university that specialises in and is renowned for its entrepreneurship focus. It was an eye-opening experience which taught me to have a global perspective, and gave me a chance to make friends from all around the world.
(Natasha (left) during her exchange semester at Babson College, USA)
What inspired/motivated you to set up Fun Empire?
I have always loved adventure and trying out new things. In SMU, I am glad I had the opportunity to explore new activities such as Scuba Diving and Wakeboarding. It piqued my interest in finding novel experiences that were unique and different. While traveling overseas, Ryan and I came across many different fun and exciting activities – one of which is Bubble Bump Soccer, where players wear huge air bubble suits to bump each other while playing soccer. We found the activity hilarious and exhilarating, and we decided to start The Fun Empire by introducing Bubble Bump Soccer as one of our first concepts in Singapore. Now, The Fun Empire has over 25 different activities and experiences that are suitable for people of different interests – suitable for team building, cohesions, birthday parties and gatherings.
(Participants having fun at a Bubble Bump Soccer session offered by The Fun Empire. Photo credits: The Fun Empire)
There must have been challenges you (and Ryan) faced along the way. Could you share with us any instances of difficulties or challenges?
As with any entrepreneur, when we first started The Fun Empire, both Ryan and I had to put on many hats – from setting up the website, marketing, sales, operations to human resource. As our business is pretty logistics intensive, we literally had to get our hands dirty – from maintaining and fixing equipment, to running back to back events all day to driving a lorry to deliver equipment for our events – all of this while working on marketing our services, servicing clients and hiring people to grow our team. The initial phases were physically tiring and mentally draining, but we managed to overcome it by hiring good people to take on specialised roles and grow The Fun Empire with us. We are thankful for our awesome team and their contributions were pivotal in the continuous growth of the company.
(Natasha with her husband and co-founder Ryan. The couple met in Junior College, and had started various businesses together prior to The Fun Empire)
What does a day in the life of the Events Director in Fun Empire look like?
A typical day would include checking in with our various teams across marketing, sales and operations to make sure that we were on the right track, and to solve any issues along the way. There was also the aspect of human resources and finances such as interviews, hiring, appraisals, payroll and motivating the team. With our team in place in their specialised functions, a big part of my role was to identify new trends, explore new growth areas and form strategic partnerships to continuously grow The Fun Empire.
What drives you to succeed? What is the most satisfying/fulfilling aspect of running the Fun Empire?
The most fulfilling aspect of running The Fun Empire is to bring smiles to people and create unforgettable memories for our clients. It is very rewarding to hear positive feedback from our clients on how they really enjoyed our activities and bonded with their colleagues, friends, or family through the process. We are thankful to have organised more than 6,000 events and impacted over 400,000 participants by bringing people closer together through fun and unique experiences.
(A facilitator briefs students from a primary school at one of the team-building activities offered by The Fun Empire)
Being named “Forbes Asia's 30 under 30” in 2019 is a laudable achievement. How did you feel when it came out? What is the next milestone that you & Ryan are looking forward to regarding your business?
Both Ryan and I were pleasantly surprised and humbled when we received the news. We were very happy and proud of this recognition given to our team at The Fun Empire! (We immediately booked a private screening and dining experience of The Avengers movie for our team to celebrate! Haha) The next milestone would be to grow The Fun Empire beyond the shores of Singapore and build it into a regional brand.
Having eschewed the typical corporate route, do you feel any longing to chase the corporate life?
Since young, I have always been interested in business and entrepreneurship – mainly due to the influence of my parents, who were business people themselves. Even though I do wonder what my path would be like if I had chased the corporate lifestyle, I have never regretted my decision in creating something of my own instead. I think there are both pros and cons for each different path, and determining which is a suitable route really boils down to an individual’s aspirations and motivations in life.
Do you have any advice for your SMU juniors who are thinking of entering the same field as you?
Starting your own business is something that is unpredictable and risky. For anyone who is looking to embark on their entrepreneurship journey, I would advise to take measured risk and test out the product market fit before scaling. It is easy to fall into the trap of being too focus on perfecting the product before launching it into the market. I believe in creating a Minimum Viable Product first to get real client feedback – this will greatly reduce cost, time and risk in the long run.
(Some of the activities offered by The Fun Empire include: (clockwise, from top left) Art Jamming, Laser Tag, PoolBall, and SaberFit)
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Find out more about The Fun Empire and their suite of team-building activities to experience and understand first-hand why they were named as Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30 in 2019!
