SUCCESS IS SEEMINGLY BIG BUSINESS IN SINGAPORE!

Nowadays, I just can't flip the Straits Times in the morning without spotting an ad about 'success building' or the more popular, 'wealth creation'.

There is apparently a wholesome gamut of purveyors promoting success in its many possible physical manifestations, from academic performance, beauty, career to money, weight loss & even Zen.

In this particular post, I am going to zero in on those purveyors & their programs promoting 'teen student success' in the marketplace.

First, 'MindChamps'.

A few years ago, they had actually entered the marketplace under the name of 'Accelerated Learning Worldwide' or 'ALW'. They ran some relatively small ads in the Straits Times to promote their brand of student success methodology.

Today, their ads in the paper are much bigger, & in fact, more regular than before, using mainly the testimonial approach.

One explanation behind their upbeat marketing approach is the planned team-up with local business tycoon, Quek Leng Beng of the Hong Leong Group, which apparently has pumped in a lot of money since the middle of last year.

The Hong Leong Group is a conglomerate of established interests in manufacturing, property & hotel developments & of course, financing, in the region.

For 'MindChamps', & with the financial muscle of the Hong Leong Group, plus its attendant business networks, Singapore has become their springboard for the region.

Also, 'MindChamps' has reportedly initiated a close technical collaboration with Prof Allan Snyder, a world-renown neuro-scientist, who happens to be the founder & director of Center for the Mind based at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Prof Snyder has pioneered the 'Champion Mindset' philosophy, especially with his involvement - exploring the relationship between sporting & intellectual excellence - with the Australian Olympic Committee/Sydney 2000 Olympics.

This research tie-up probably explains the change of name from 'ALW' to 'MindChamps', & conveniently adds further credibility to the research-based teaching methodology behind 'MindChamps'.

More interestingly, 'MindChamps' has recruited the dynamic Mrs Carmee Lim as its Mentor Principal, as well as Dr Tan Sie Keng as its Dean of Mathematics. Both professionals are recognised industry heavyweights in Singapore as far as education is concerned.

In fairness, both the founders of the original ALW outfit, David Chiem as Chairman/CEO, & Brian Caswell as Dean of Research & Program Development, are already established professionals in their own right, predominantly in film, the literary & performing arts.

They had jointly authored the parenting book, 'Deeper than the Ocean: The Complete Guide to Creating a Champion Mindset of Your Child'. I have yet to acquire this book for reading.

In fact, I reckon the former's personal success story from being a Vietnamese immigrant in the late seventies transforming into an enterprising graduate, certainly validates the concept of the power of the mind.

Reading from their corporate website, which has been very impressively configured for public viewing, I am definitely intrigued by their research-based teaching methodology.

Interesting examples are their 'Hour Glass Model of Learning', 'Optimal Flow Method' & the '4A's'.

Judging from the frequency - & the size - of their newspaper ads, 'MindChamps' is systematically poised to give the originally entrenched competitors in Singapore a run for their money.

One of the 'MindChamps' presenters during a weekend preview once took a pointed jab at the originally entrenched competitors, by claiming that 'MindChamps' truly represented 'professional organisations', unlike those 'one-man-shows' in the existing marketplace.

In some ways, there is absolute truth in the presenter's offbeat remarks.

The 'SuperTeen Holiday Camp' & the 'I'm Gifted, So Are You' Programs are the originally entrenched competitors in Singapore.

I reckon, their professional success has to be, to a certain extent, attributed to the personal leadership & charisma of the respective founders, even though track records with student successes played a vital contributing role.

Let me start with the 'SuperTeen Holiday Camp'.

From the late eighties, & throughout the nineties & even up to the early 21st century, 'SuperTeen Holiday Camp' has been the undisputed kingpin in the marketplace.

The founder is Ernest Wong. One of his teen graduates of the camp, who later became his young protege, is the hot-shot Adam Khoo.

The later has even co-trained with the master in the camp as well as in the schools for almost a decade. He has even written a best seller, 'I'm Gifted, So Are You', which essentially captured the entire curriculum, at least the hard skills sets, of the 'Superteen Holiday Camp'.

So, for more than a decade, the two peak-performing stalwarts, master & protege, working in close harmony, dominated the entire marketplace in Singapore. Money flowed in like the Kallang river.

Of course, during those times, there were some other smaller players, who made futile attempts to penetrate the market. They were considered more as annoying aberrations.

At the beginning of the 21st century, cracks began to surface among the relationship between the two.

Through my conversations with him at that time, Adam Khoo apparently had more expansionist ideas to run the business. He felt that the old master was too entrenched with the status quo & a stickler to past success formulas.

Driven by his own entrepreneurial flair, Adam Khoo also wanted more say (& naturally more money) in the business.

Sensing that the master was unprepared to move out of the comfort zone, so to speak, Adam Khoo decided to break ranks with the master. He then started his own pathway to create what he had always dreamed of.

The Adam Learning Technologies Group Pte Ltd was born.

The teaching methodology was conveniently based on Adam Khoo's 'I'm Gifted, So Are You', which of course, as I have mentioned earlier, was a well-documented version of the 'Superteen Holiday Camp' on paper.

Worst still, many of the past SuperTeen graduates went happily to his side, apparently attracted by abundant opportunities to grow with a new & dynamic company.

The marketplace was then unwittingly splitted into two camps. One, pro-Ernest Wong, & the other, pro-Adam Khoo.

Now, somewhat to their delight, consumers were suddenly confronted by two equally powerfully choices.

However, to the utter dismay of the two newly found competitors, it was a mad scramble to fill up all the participant spaces in their respective camps.

Adam Khoo went on a rampant advertising blitz, gradually using a targeted range of student success testimonials. It worked beautifully to his advantage, because the hot-shot entrepreneur had mastered tremendously from his father, Vince Khoo, a one-time kingpin in local advertising.

In other words, his ads were intelligently crafted, while the master's ads were continually run of the mill.

This also explains why today Adam Khoo's corporate website is comparatively more professionally designed.

Interestingly, his business has also over the last few years evolved into a broader range of programs covering neuro-linguistic programming, success building, wealth creation & internet marketing, with planned inroads into the region, including Indonesia & China.

[It is pertinent to mention that Stuart Tan & Gary Lee, both seasoned trainers with Adam Khoo, were originally SuperTeen graduates under Ernest Wong. In fact, Gary Lee was also, at one time, an apprentice trainer with Ernest Wong.]

I have last read that Adam Khoo' best-seller book had already been translated into Vietnamese for the emergent developing country (by 2010), which is now on a dynamic growth path.

To be fair, & despite my personal reservations about him, I must salute Adam Khoo for his unquenchable entrepreneurial spirit.

Meanwhile, Ernest Wong, not wanting to be left behind on account of his complacency & arrogance, has also made commendable inroads into Indonesia & China. He has also in recent months ventured into NLP training stuff, in addition to money mastery with another collaborator.

Interestingly, I read that Peter Lau, one of his SuperTeen graduates, has just written & published a book, which chronicled his 'joys & pains of growing up' & outlined 'the 17 principles every youth must know'. The latter stuff within italics also serves as the title of his debut book.

[For some strange reasons, the book has yet to be released to the bookstores for retail distribution.]

Naturally, all the people behind the 'SuperTeen Holiday Camp' is hoping that the book would replicate the same phenomenal success as Adam Khoo's debut book.

I certainly want to offer the young author & his master my 'Good Luck & Best Wishes' in their endeavours.

More information about the 'SuperTeen Holiday Camp' can be found at this link.

The next player in the marketplace is 'SuperCamp' from the United States.

I understand, with the formation of 'Quantum Learning Network (S) Pte Ltd.', 'SuperCamp' is poised to make some definite market waves, even though their camps had been here on a restrained basis for almost a decade.

I have read that their next camps are already scheduled at the Singapore Sports School in Woodlands for the June school holidays.

Interestingly, 'SuperCamp' is the brainchild of Bobbi dePorter & Eric Jensen in the late seventies or so, following their initial successful collaboration in the now-defunct Burklyn Business School in Vermont, California.

Eric Jensen left a few years later to concentrate on training educators & trainers in accelerated learning. Incidentally, Eric Jensen was Ernest Wong's teacher in accelerated learning.

Putting them together, it comes as no surprise to see a lot of similarities in the curriculum design & coaching methods of the 'SuperCamp', the 'SuperTeen Holiday Camp' &, of course, the 'I'm Gifted, So Are You' programs for young students.

A quick comparative analysis by running through the curriculum as advertised in their respective corporate websites will easily verify what I have just confirmed: a common thread runs through all the twenty or so 'desired outcomes' as expressed by each party!

More information about 'Supercamp' can be found at their corporate website.

In recent months, a new player has also entered into the student success foray.

The company is 'Mind Edge', founded by Alan Yip, who also happens to be a master trainer of world-class memory champions. Hence, their student programs have seemingly a more focused approach on memory management.

Allan Yip also took a pointed jab at all the competitors by comparing his smaller, more focused, classes to the large group of participants among the competitors' classes.

More information about 'Mind Edge' can be found at his corporate website.

I remember that, during the nineties, there were two or three other small players.

One was 'Discovery Camp' from Australia. At one time, it was run by a 'Money & You' graduate.

The other was the brainchild of a maverick entrepreneur, Lawrence Walter Ng from Malaysia. Sometimes, he called his learning camp, 'The A-Star Student'; sometimes he chose, 'The Art of Learning'.

Incidentally, Lawrence Walter Ng, was also, at one time, the marketing manager for Ernest Wong in Malaysia. He was also the co-trainer at the Superteen Holiday Camp with Ernest Wong for a short while.

Like Adam Khoo, he had also started his own training outfit in Malaysia by blatantly cannibalising most of the stuff from the 'Superteen Holiday Camp' into his own programs for students.

Also, during the nineties, there was another enterprising guy, of Indian origin, who unscrupulously stole many ideas, from the 'SuperTeen Holiday Camp', to initiate his own training camps for students, with the personal collaboration of Dr Win Wenger of Project Renaissance from the United States.

Unfortunately, his student camps were short-lived, as he apparently ran into some kind of heavy debts.

While working with Ernest Wong, he was actually the provider of personal accident insurance packages, under AIA, to the student participants. He once appeared in the camp as an observer, which was apparently Ernest Wong's big mistake.

Can the current marketplace in Singapore sustain so many players? By the way, just how big is the market?

I really don't know. All I know is from an old Straits Times report, about ten years ago.

The annual home tuition market was worth S$360 million.