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Adrian Ang (Singapore Entrepreneur)

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Adrian Ang (born 1987) is a Singaporean entrepreneur, public speaker and the co-founder of Hepmil Media Group which oversees SGAG.[1][2][3] Adrian Ang is also a content creator and takes on the persona of XiaoMing on social media. As of August 2020, he has over 25,000 followers on TikTok and over 40,000 followers on Instagram.

Adrian Ang
Adrian Ang SGAG.png
Born1987
EducationBachelor of Business Management
Alma materSingapore Management University

Background

In junior college, Adrian Ang retained a year to switch academic streams, dropping his science subjects such as physics and chemistry to take up humanities subjects instead. In a 2020 TEDx Talks, he shared that It was a difficult decision for him to make. He says:

“The principal wanted to talk to me, talk to my mum to make sure it was a rational decision that has been clearly thought about. And there my mum was sitting beside me, facing the principal, and she was crying. She didn’t understand why my son (Adrian) wanted to retain, when he’s promoted. So that was a really emotional moment for me, and also a turning point in my life.”[4]

Upon retaining, he met Karl Mak who he became close friends with. They eventually co-founded SGAG and Hepmil Media Group upon completing their studies.

Education

Adrian Ang was a student at Anglo-Chinese Junior College from 2004 to 2006. From 2009 to 2013, he studied at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business in Singapore Management University and graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Business Management.[5][6][7]

Entrepreneurship

As of 2020, Adrian Ang is the Chief Creative Officer of Hepmil Media Group, as well as the Creative Director of SGAG, MGAG and PGAG.[8][9] Aside from deciding on the creative direction for the business, he is also regularly featured on SGAG’s YouTube channel, where he is best known as “Xiao Ming”[10] - a comedic character known for interviewing personalities such as Baey Yam Keng[11] and Nas Daily.[12]

Hepmil Media Group - Co-founder

 
Adrian Ang (right) pictured with his business partner, Karl Mak (left). Photo from Forbes.

In 2011, friends and co-founders[13][14][15] Adrian Ang and Karl Mak created a meme (a video or image, typically humorous in nature) about McDonald’s running out of its signature curry sauce.[16] Soon after posting it on Facebook, the meme went viral.[17][18] Speaking about their venture, Adrian was quoted to have said the following:

“That was when Karl and I decided to take the leap of faith and jump full-time into SGAG, build a disruptive yet sustainable business model so that we could bring the craziest and funniest people in Singapore together to achieve the mission we set out to do.”[19]

 
One of the co-founders' first few viral memes. Photo credit to Adrian Ang & Karl Mak/ Stuff.

The duo started SGAG in April 2013 as a localised version of 9GAG, a Hong-Kong based media platform known for its humorous content.[20] They then founded Hepmil Media Group in 2016, a news media company that houses SGAG, MGAG, PGAG, SGEEK and Hepmil Creators’ Network.[21][22][23] MGAG and PGAG are the Malaysian and Filipino versions of SGAG started in 2016 and 2018 respectively, while SGEEK is a comedy content and technology platform started in 2018 aiming to educate its viewers on gadget and gaming reviews.[24][25][26] Hepmil Creators’ Network, started in 2020, is a program that aims to provide opportunities to independent comedy content creators within Southeast Asia and agencies that wish to reach millennials.[27][28][29]

Mentorship & public speaking

Besides his roles in Hepmil Media Group and SGAG, Adrian Ang has also participated as a panellist and guest speaker at various local and international events.[30] Most recently in 2020, he was a guest speaker on TEDx Talks that was hosted at Raffles Institution, where he spoke to the students about the origins of SGAG. On the growth of SGAG and its effect on viewers, he said:

“...so you can see that whenever something epic happens, we’ll be there to just put a funny spin on it and that’s how SGAG really grew over the years. Every time something happens, people will come to SGAG to just have a laugh right? We try to make their day with all this content that we put out.”[31]

 
Adrian Ang pictured in 2020. Photo from YouTube.

Youth Creates (2019) - Judge & panel member

In 2019, Adrian was a panel member of YouthCreates, a competition where university and polytechnic students are given the opportunity to pitch proposals that could potentially "encourage sustained participation in physical activities and sports among youths".[32]

Forbes 30 Under 30 Boston Summit (2017) - Panellist

In 2017, Adrian Ang was a panelist at Forbes’ Under 30 Boston Summit, where he shared about his experience with building a startup company in an Asian country.[33]

Todo Todo Skills Marketplace (2017) - Guest speaker

Adrian Ang was invited to share to his entrepreneurship journey at the Todo Todo Skills Marketplace in 2017, an initiative by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the People’s Association (PA) aimed at supporting fresh graduates in their careers.[34][35]

Startup Weekend Singapore (2014 & 2017) - Panellist & mentor

In 2014 and 2017, Adrian Ang was a panelist and mentor at Startup Weekend Singapore, an annual two-day event held for various groups of people to pitch ideas for new startup companies.[36][37]

References/ Citations

  1. ↑ Tan, Jonathan. “Mr Funny Business”. Young NTUC. 2017. Accessed on 4 August 2020.
  2. ↑ “Adrian Ang”. Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. n.d. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Chan, Melissa. “Meet the 23 Individuals In Singapore Who Have Just Been Listed On Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List”. Yahoo! News. April 18, 2017. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  4. ↑ TEDx Talks. “Trust your gut and instinct | Adrian Ang | TEDxYouth@RafflesInstitution”. YouTube. January 3, 2020. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  5. ↑ Singapore Management University. “#TalentsOfSMU: Karl Mak and Adrian Ang, the Duo Behind SGAG & MGAG”. YouTube. May 18, 2018. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  6. ↑ “SMU Alumni Shares on the Secret Sauce of SGAG’s Success”. Singapore Management University. October 19, 2017. Accessed 4 August 2020.
  7. ↑ “Adrian Ang”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  8. ↑ “SMU Alumni Shares on the Secret Sauce of SGAG’s Success”. Singapore Management University. October 19, 2017. Accessed on 4 August 2020.
  9. ↑ “Adrian Ang”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  10. ↑ Nubbad TV. “Xiao Ming’s Lame Jokes Season 1 | Nubbad TV | SGAG”. YouTube. February 22, 2017. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  11. ↑ Nubbad TV. “Xiao Ming’s TROLL interview with Baey Yam Keng | Nubbad TV | SGAG”. YouTube. March 22, 2020. Accessed August 5, 2020.
  12. ↑ Nubbad TV. “Xiao Ming Interviews Nas Daily | Nubbad TV | SGAG”. YouTube. June 1, 2019. Accessed 5 August 2020.
  13. ↑ “Hepmil Media Group”. Forbes. n.d. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  14. ↑ “Adrian Ang”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  15. ↑ “Karl Mak”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  16. ↑ Kartina Rosli. "Get To Know Karl Mak, CEO And Co-Founder Of Hepmil Media Group". Marketing in Asia. May 18, 2020. Accessed on 12 August 2020.
  17. ↑ Tan, Jonathan. “Mr Funny Business”. Young NTUC. 2017. Accessed on 4 August 2020.
  18. ↑ Yap, Jacky. “The Story of SGAG Singapore Revealed: How It All Started & Tips to Virality”. Vulcan Post. 2015. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  19. ↑ Tan, Jonathan. “Mr Funny Business”. Young NTUC. 2017. Accessed on 4 August 2020.
  20. ↑ “SGAG Media Pte Ltd”. SGP Business. n.d. Accessed on 6 August 2020.
  21. ↑ “Hepmil Media Group”. BizFile. n.d. Accessed on 6 August 2020.
  22. ↑ Rosli, Kartina. “Get to Know Karl Mak, CEO and Co-Founder of Hepmil Media Group”. Marketing in Asia. May 18, 2020. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  23. ↑ Tan, Janice. “SGAG and MGAG parent network unveils Tiktok-first content arm”. Marketing Interactive. April 22, 2020. Accessed 5 August 2020.
  24. ↑ “MGAG Media Sdn Bhd”. Experian. n.d. Accessed 6 August 2020.
  25. ↑ Lim, Shawn. “SGAG launches SGEEK to provide ‘light-hearted and accessible’ coverage of all things tech and games”. The Drum. March 6, 2018. Accessed 5 August 2020.
  26. ↑ Lim, Shawn. “Is laughter the best medicine? Hepmil Media Group on using humour during coronavirus”. The Drum. May 4, 2020. Accessed 5 August 2020.
  27. ↑ “Brand & Business: Hepmil Media Group Launches Creator’s Network to Champion Indie Comedy Creators on Tiktok, Facebook, and More”. Adobo Magazine. April 22, 2020. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  28. ↑ Tan, Janice. “SGAG and MGAG parent network unveils Tiktok-first content arm”. Marketing Interactive. April 22, 2020. Accessed 5 August 2020.
  29. ↑ Lim, Shawn. “Is laughter the best medicine? Hepmil Media Group on using humour during coronavirus”. The Drum. May 4, 2020. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  30. ↑ “Adrian Ang”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  31. ↑ TEDx Talks. “Trust your gut and instinct | Adrian Ang | TEDxYouth@RafflesInstitution”. YouTube. January 3, 2020. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  32. ↑ “YouthCreates 2019”. Republic Polytechnic. July 13, 2019. Accessed 5 August 2020.
  33. ↑ Watson, Rana Wehbe. “Asia’s Entrepreneurs Shine During Forbes Under 30 Summit in Boston”. Forbes. October 6, 2017. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  34. ↑ Tan, Sue-Ann. “Second edition of Skills Marketplace focuses on startups for job hunters”. The Straits Times. November 11, 2017. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  35. ↑ Tan, Jonathan. “Todo Todo In The Heartlands”. Young NTUC. 2017. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  36. ↑ “Startup Weekend is back in Singapore, a no talk and all action event”. Vulcan Post. April 14, 2014. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
  37. ↑ Teh, Shi Ning. “From idea to startup, in 54 hours”. SGSME.SG. September 25, 2017. Accessed on 5 August 2020.
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