Student entrepreneurs making a difference: Three inspiring stories

Driven by a passion for change and innovation, several Yale-NUS students and alumni have embarked on entrepreneurial journeys to turn their ideas into impactful businesses. These students have established start-ups that span education, sustainability, and climate compliance, demonstrating their commitment to making a difference in their communities and beyond. In this article, we highlight the endeavours of Lecarl Lim (Class of 2024) and Jenelle Lee (Class of 2024) from The Glass Yard, Lily Lim of YOUTHTOPIA (Class of 2025), and Johann Wah (Class of 2022) from Nika.eco, shedding light on their motivations and achievements and the skills they’ve developed along the way.

Lecarl Lim and Jenelle Lee embarked on their entrepreneurial journey with The Glass Yard in May 2022. Their motivation was rooted in a shared ambition to start a meaningful business and address environmental challenges. Inspired by successful models like United States based glass recycling company Glass Half Full Nola and Glass2Sand, the team decided to establish a glass recycling system in Singapore.

They had three main motivations:

1. Address the issue that 87% of glass in Singapore is not recycled but instead incinerated.
2. Recognise the recyclable potential of glass as a valuable resource.
3. Raise awareness about the environmental impact of sand extraction by using recycled glass as a substitute for sand.

Initially named “Crush,” The Glass Yard focuses on collecting waste glass bottles and processing them into recycled glass fragments called glass cullets, which find applications in construction, landscaping, horticulture, art, and decor. As the start-up progressed, the team has grown, with Jenelle as the current CEO and new members Yock Han (Class of 2025), Adlan Syaddad (Class of 2024), Sze Koy Ho (Class of2025), Elizabeth Ko (Class of 2024) and Russell Fock (Class of2024) from Yale-NUS coming onboard to oversee various aspects of the business, from concrete tile production to marketing and operations.

Their journey has been successful thus far, with partnerships, collaborations, and growing interest in glass recycling and sustainability. The team’s focus now extends to education and volunteer engagement, with further plans to expand operations to create a more positive environmental impact.

Jenelle expresses : “The opportunity to spread our message and educate more people about recycling challenges and resource conservation has honestly felt very gratifying. While our impact might currently seem modest, we’re optimistic about our potential to reach even more people and businesses, making a meaningful difference not only in Singapore but hopefully in other places as well!”

Lily Lim, the co-founder of YOUTHTOPIA, began her journey in 2019 after meeting Melati Wijsen, the founder of a zero-waste start-up Bye Bye Plastic Bags, at a climate conference. Inspired by Melati’s work, Lily realised the need for a platform that empowers young change-makers to tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). YOUTHTOPIA, launched in 2020, serves as an online learning platform for young individuals to learn from one another and accelerate change in the 17 SDGs. With a vision to become the go-to platform for young change-makers worldwide, YOUTHTOPIA offers free access to a wide range of programs featuring activists, CEOs, inventors, artists, and storytellers from around the globe It also provides consulting services for businesses to transform their sustainability strategies from a youth perspective.

During her time at YOUTHTOPIA, Lily has conducted interviews with finalists for mini grants which financially support youth-driven social impact projects. With a community of over 20,000 members and more than 150 programs on their learning platform, YOUTHTOPIA has made significant strides in empowering young change-makers and creating positive change.

According to Lily: “Working with YOUTHTOPIA has been an invaluable journey that has significantly enriched my entrepreneurial skill set. This experience has instilled in me a deep sense of leadership and an adaptability to unforeseen challenges, skills that are crucial for any entrepreneur. Furthermore, this experience has taught me that entrepreneurship can be profoundly meaningful and have a social impact, instead of just being about generating profit.”

Johann Wah, the founder of Nika.eco, has a mission to make climate compliance and intelligence accessible to all. Nika.eco uses artificial intelligence (AI)-based software to help those who create and fund projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Their technology ensures that these projects meet certain quality and regulatory requirements, making sure they effectively contribute to offsetting carbon emissions.

Motivated by the urgency of addressing climate change, Johann and his team identified a need for better decision-making tools in the sustainability sector. Their AI-powered solution aims to provide clarity on compliance standards and enhance long-term sustainability. With it, they hope to simplify the process of creating “nature-positive projects”, initiatives or activities that actively contribute to the restoration, enhancement, or preservation of natural environments.

The best part of Johann’s entrepreneurial journey is continuous learning and the opportunity to make a positive impact. As a pioneer in AI for climate compliance, he finds satisfaction in customer feedback and compliments on their products.

Johann’s time at Yale-NUS College has equipped him with critical skills, including creativity and a passion for learning. “I truly feel that if you’re trying to build a disruptive start-up and you don’t care enough about being creative and learning how to implement your creativity in the real world, it will be a huge struggle. If you don’t love learning and all that comes with it, such as the pains but also the joys of implementing a long-term complex technical solution, it will be hard to build something truly disruptive,” he said.

These Yale-NUS student entrepreneurs’ journeys in education, sustainability, and climate compliance showcase the power of young minds in driving change and addressing pressing global challenges. As they continue to evolve and expand their ventures, they inspire others to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and contribute to a better world.