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Rhonda Wong (Singapore Entrepreneur)

Rhonda Wong (born 1984) is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Ohmyhome, an online property marketplace where users can buy, rent and sell housing properties in Singapore.[1] In June 2020, Rhonda Wong was the recipient of The Women of the Future Awards (WOF) Southeast Asia due to her success in the property and real estate industry.[2]

Rhonda Wong
Rhonda Wong (3).jpg
Born1986
EducationBachelor of Business Administration
Alma materUniversity of Michigan

Background

Family

Rhonda Wong was born in 1986.[3] The youngest of three sisters, Rhonda is the younger sister of actresses and businesswomen Race Wong and Roseanne Wong.[4][5]

Education

Rhonda Wong is an alumna of Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC).[6] From 2004 to 2007, Rhonda studied at the University of Michigan where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in accounting, finance and entrepreneurship.[1][7][8]

Personal life

Rhonda Wong is married to Anthony Bolger.[9][10] The couple have a son, Ashton, who was born in 2016.[11]

Early career

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2007, Rhonda Wong worked as a treasury bonds trader at Nico Trading Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.[8][12] She also worked as a consultant for property developers before establishing her own real estate consulting firm called Anthill Realtors.[8] Due to her expertise in trading and property investing, Rhonda Wong co-founded Anthill Realtors in 2014 with her sister Race Wong.[2][1] Both Rhonda and Race eventually left Anthill Realtors to start Ohmyhome in 2016.[13]

Ohmyhome (September 2016 to current)

As of December 2020, Rhonda Wong is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of online property portal Ohmyhome.[1] Her sister Race Wong is the other co-founder and chief product officer of Ohmyhome.[14]

 
Ohmyhome co-founders and sisters Rhonda and Race Wong pictured in 2019.

Beginnings

Ohmyhome was co-founded by Rhonda Wong and her sister Race Wong in September 2016 with the aim of making the process of property transactions easier for people.[8]

Ohmyhome’s property transaction process allows property owners to buy, rent or sell their properties without the mediation of a real estate agent, although such services are available via their website.[4] In a 2017 interview with SmartParents, Rhonda Wong noted that Ohmyhome had helped its users save over $400,000 in property transaction fees due to Ohmyhome’s discounted fixed rate services.[4]

In a 2019 article on Ohmyhome’s website, Rhonda Wong was quoted as having said the following about starting the business:

“(Anthill Realtors) was a lucrative business, but it only helped an extremely small group. We wanted to use our expertise and experience to help more people, hence Ohmyhome was created to simplify the process of selling, buying, renting their properties.”[8]

Funding

In September 2018, it was reported that Ohmyhome had raised $4 million in a Series A funding led by Singapore-based funding firm Golden Equator Capital.[15] It was reported by The Straits Times that the capital raised would be used to deepen Ohmyhome’s footprint in Singapore and to improve on its technology.[15]

Business expansion

In July 2019, Ohmyhome was launched in Malaysia.[16] The property portal initially launched in Kuala Lumpur and has since expanded to include properties in Johor Bahru, Port Dickson and Penang.[17]

In September 2020, Ohmyhome launched its service in the Philippines amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to mitigate issues Filipinos were facing such as unreliable property agents, slow responses and a lack of transparency.[18]

Speaking to The Business Times, Rhonda Wong said the following about the business expansion:

“When community quarantine measures are lifted in the Philippines, we expect to see a surge in property deals arising from pent-up demand from buyers.”[18]

Elaborating on Ohmyhome’s app features, Rhonda said:

“Our app has a map feature that allows users to check properties in different radiuses from 2km up to 10km of a certain pinned location. Ohmyhome also allows customers to filter through different property types and sizes, room configurations, and price ranges so that search results are tailored to their preferences.”[19]

Adapting to COVID-19

When Singapore imposed its Circuit Breaker measures in April 2020, Rhonda Wong and her team at Ohmyhome adapted to the new guidelines by offering virtual home viewings as well as live interactive webinars with property experts such as mortgage advisors and marketing consultants to offer advice on property-related topics.[20]

Awards

 
Rhonda Wong with her winner’s plaque at the Rice Bowl Awards in October 2019.

Due to her success as an entrepreneur, Rhonda Wong has been the recipient of awards over the years. The following is a list of the awards she has received.

The Women of the Future Southeast Asia Awards (June 2020)

In June 2021, Rhonda Wong won The Women of the Future Southeast Asia Awards under the property, infrastructure and construction category, edging out 47 other candidates across ten countries in the Southeast Asian region.[2]

Rice Bowl Awards (October 2019)

In October 2019, Rhonda Wong was named Founder of the Year at the Rice Bowl Awards, an initiative by the New Entrepreneurs Foundation to recognise innovation and entrepreneurship across the Southeast Asian region.[21][22]

Women Icons Summit & Awards (March 2017)

In March 2017, Rhonda Wong was named a Women Icon at the inaugural Women Icons Summit & Awards held at the Raffles Town Club in Singapore.[23][24] The event sought to honour accomplished women around the Southeast Asian region.[23]

Citations / References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Rhonda Wong. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed 4 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonda-wong/?originalSubdomain=sg
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cheong, Wen Xuan. “Her World Tribe Member Rhonda Wong Won The Women Of The Future Awards SEA 2021”. Her World. June 30, 2020. Accessed 5 January, 2021.
  3. ↑ Shah, Farhan. “Scions of Style: Co-founder and CEO of Ohmyhome, Rhonda Wong”. The Peak Singapore. December 14, 2020. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Peter-Berntzen, Jasmine. “Mumpreneurs Race and Rhonda Wong: It’s intense juggling baby and work”. SmartParents. July 31, 2017. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  5. ↑ rhondawong. Instagram. March 24, 2019. Accessed 4 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BvW5OYwhzlB/
  6. ↑ Rhonda Wong. Facebook. n.d. Accessed 4 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/rhonda.wong.5
  7. ↑ “Bachelor of Business Administration”. University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. n.d. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 “Rhonda Wong: Beginning, Breakthrough, Present and Future”. Ohmyhome. December 11, 2019. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  9. ↑ rhondawong. Instagram. April 8, 2017. Accessed 4 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BSn0o98lTFA/
  10. ↑ bolge84. Instagram. n.d. Accessed 4 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/bolge84/
  11. ↑ rhondawong. Instagram. December 10, 2016. Accessed 4 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BcgVWYNlKt6/
  12. ↑ “Connecting HDB Owners and Seekers: Q&A with Rhonda Wong, Co-Founder and CEO of Ohmyhome”. LadyBoss. June 21, 2017. Accessed 5 January, 2021.
  13. ↑ “Rhonda Wong: Singapore's Rice Bowl Awards Founder of the Year and Ohmyhome's CEO”. Ohmyhome. December 1, 2019. Accessed 5 January, 2021.
  14. ↑ Race Wong. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed 4 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/race-wong-15a5b211/?originalSubdomain=sg
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Cheok, Jacqueline. “Singapore proptech start-up Ohmyhome gets $4m Series A funding”. The Straits Times. September 20, 2018. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  16. ↑ Ng, Victor. “Singapore-based Ohmyhome property transaction platform is now available in Malaysia – offering both DIY and end-to-end services”. KLGadgetGuy. July 3, 2019. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  17. ↑ “Blog: Malaysia”. Ohmyhome. n.d. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Tay, Vivienne. “Proptech startup Ohmyhome launches in the Philippines”. The Business Times. September 22, 2020. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  19. ↑ “Asian app now helps Filipinos find ‘dream home”. The Manila Standard. December 5, 2020. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  20. ↑ Lim, Mary. “Ohmyhome CEO Rhonda Wong Could Be Reading This From Her Bathroom”. A Magazine Singapore. June 22, 2020. Accessed 4 January, 2021.
  21. ↑ Rice Bowl Awards. Facebook. October 31, 2019. Accessed 5 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/ricebowlawards/photos/a.2112384118863417/2112385235529972
  22. ↑ “Home”. Rice Bowl Awards. n.d. Accessed 5 January, 2021.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 “Women Icons Summit & Awards by BERG Singapore draws Elite to World Stage”. AsiaBizToday. March 23, 2017. Accessed 5 January, 2021.
  24. ↑ BERG. “Rhonda Wong, Co-Founder & CEO, Ohmyhome, Singapore”. Youtube. March 30, 2017. Accessed 5 January, 2021.
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