Important Notice

This programme/event is open to members of the National Library Board, Singapore. Please ensure you have your myLibrary ID on hand before proceeding with the registration. If you do not have a myLibrary ID, you can create one here: https://account.nlb.gov.sg/.

About the Programme/Event

The next session of Breakthrough will spotlight the rarely talked about trials of starting up a business. While this is a huge endeavour with many potential pitfalls, it is mostly the success stories that are shared. Aspiring entrepreneurs need to hear the whole story, complete with risks, fears and roadblocks to embrace risk-taking. Join us to converse with the founders of ADDO AI, Trehaus and Mums@work as they share on the unspoken chapters of their entrepreneurial story.

About the Speakers

Dr. Ayesha Khanna is co-founder and CEO of ADDO AI, an artificial intelligence (AI) solutions firm and incubator. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Councils, a community of international experts who provide thought leadership on the impact and governance of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. She is also author of Straight Through Processing (2008) and co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012). Ayesha has a BA (honors) in Economics from Harvard University, an MS in Operations Research from Columbia University and a PhD in Information Systems from the London School of Economics.

Elizabeth Wu is an educator, mother of 3 and co-founder of Trehaus. She believes that it takes a village to raise a child and a community to keep parents sane, and she’s found her tribe in Trehaus, where work-life integration is a reality for working parents like her. Prior to co-founding Trehaus, Elizabeth’s experience in education spanned from early childhood to tertiary education. She is often consulted for curriculum design and development, and lectures on an adjunct basis at educational institutions. A certified parenting coach by Gordon Training International, Elizabeth writes regularly on parenting and has been featured in various platforms.

Sher-li Torrey is the Founder & Director of Mums@Work (Singapore), which was started in 2010. Trained in various personality profiling tools, she has more than 20 years of corporate experience. Formerly heading the postgraduate team at the Office of Career Services at the Singapore Management University, she has held various roles in different industries. In 2010, following the birth of her daughter, Sher-li started Mums@Work (Singapore) – a social enterprise that supports women. In 2016, she started a subsidiary of Mums@Work, Career Navigators – with a focus on bringing women back into the workforce in full-time roles. Through this subsidiary, partnerships with more than 150 MNCs have been established.

About the Moderator

Sophia Tian is an Associate Director in EY’s Strategy and Transactions team, specializing in valuation. Since the era of startups, Sophia had the opportunity to lead numerous start-up valuation projects for purposes ranging from fund raising to intellectual property financing to strategic planning. She enjoys having conversations with founders who shared their dreams and how they overcome the many challenges in their journey of entrepreneurship . As a new mother to a beautiful 6-month-old girl, Sophia now appreciates the work-life integration issues faced by working moms, and more so for mom entrepreneurs. She hopes to forge an inclusive world and challenge any inequality. #ChooseToChallenge

 About Breakthrough

Breakthrough is a series on innovation and entrepreneurship to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs in starting up their business. Write to read@nlb.gov.sg to be on the mailing list for upcoming talks and workshops relevant to your business needs.

About ADDO AI

ADDO means "to add" in Latin and we believe that by adding artificial intelligence (AI), we can democratise access to better infrastructure and services, tackle grand challenges and create a better world by combining our imagination with the power of machine learning. We created ADDO AI, an artificial intelligence advisory and incubator, to help corporations, governments and startups build data-driven platforms that radically improve services.

About Trehaus

You see, a place like TREHAUS didn’t exist, so we invented it. A new generation of parents has been born; a generation that recognises the importance of spending time with their children in their formative years, and desire to be part of a modern reality where true work-life integration has been actualised and having to choose between family and career has become unnecessary.

About Mums@Work

Mums@Work is a social enterprise that strives to help women find the perfect balance between being a mum and having a career. Our main mission is to be a point of information source for mothers who want to work flexitime or run their own Mumpreneur business so as to have sufficient time for family as well.

Online Programme/Event Administrative Information

• This programme is conducted entirely online. You may access Zoom via the app or using a web browser
• Please ensure that you enter a valid email address as you will receive an email with the link to the online programme/event near the day of the programme/event
• The link of the programme should not be shared with others
• Do ensure you have a strong internet connection. Using your mobile data is not recommended
• The National Library Board, Singapore (NLB) reserves the right in its absolute discretion to disqualify or refuse admission to any registrant without any reason and notice