As the year begins, so does the recruitment frenzy for our class. I believe most people will switch gears slightly and give more time and attention to searching out for that job that they want more then striving for top marks in any particular class (especially if your dreams of the Dean's list have long evaporated). I know I'll be personally looking out for interesting opportunities myself and speaking to as many people as possible to understand what's out there and how I might be able to contribute.
One thing I'm still exploring is the field of entrepreneurship. It's something that deeply fascinates me largely due to the passion that entrepreneurs I've spoken to have displayed for their chosen ventures. Conversations with them are generally much more interesting than any that I've had with any banker/consultant/finance professional/industry executive.
While attending an entrepreneurship conference last period, one of the guest speakers made a fairly interesting comment in that he felt that one of the greatest "flaws" of Singapore was that it was too "perfect". Things worked, the government made sure that things ran smoothly, there are decent job opportunities. Coming back from my holidays, I can sorta see why that could be a stumbling block for entrepreneurs but yet can also serve as an accelerator for entrepreneurship if we can get people to change their mindsets about success/failure.
In other countries where the government isn't so omnipresent and efficient, private enterprises often step in to fill in the gaps. "Friction" (for lack of a better word) presents opportunities for people to smooth things out. I'm not saying that there aren't opportunities in more efficient societies, but you have to dig a bit below the surface to find them. They aren't always as apparent.
The opportunities costs of setting up your business also tend to be a higher when you have fairly decent alternatives to doing so. If you can earn a pretty decent living working for a large corporation (with all its perks), you'll probably be less likely to give it all up to try out a business idea. When life isn't so comfortable, people tend to have a stronger desire and hunger to improve things and in the process often set up businesses to do so.
That being said, I recognise that the government here has tried to make it as easy as possible to set up businesses here and is often very willing to provide seed money for ideas that they think have potential to provide value to the country.
I know many of my classmates are looking to become entrepreneurs as well. An often quoted statistic about INSEAD is that ~80% of students take at least 1 Entrepreneurship elective while at INSEAD and ~50% of graduates set up or run their own company at some point in their careers.
Given the government's drive to encourage and support entrepreneurship coupled with INSEAD's strength in this field, it certainly sounds like a match made in heaven for all interested parties.
