About

Built by Youth forYoung Builders

NextBigThing SG is a youth-led startup community helping students move from ideas into action through events, mentors, founder experiences, and real ecosystem access.

Our Story

A student idea that became a builder community.

Started in 2023, NextBigThing began as a small interest group in Hwa Chong Institution.

In 2025, it grew into an independent youth community run by students younger than 20, working with mentors, founders, incubators, companies, and schools.

Partners

Sponsors and Partners We've Worked With

SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Team

The people making it happen

A lean youth team planning programs, building partnerships, and creating spaces where young founders can meet, learn, and launch.

Leads

The two people responsible for overall direction, partnerships, and keeping the community moving.

Javier Cheng

Founder and Team Lead

Javier founded NextBigThing as Hwa Chong Business Interest Group (HCBIG) when he was 17, recruiting peers to participate in national entrepreneurship programs, starting an Entrepreneurship Incubator Program in the school and starting the Entrepreneurial Planning and Innovation Challenge. In 2025, HCBIG was delinked from Hwa Chong and rebranded as NextBigThing. Thereafter, Javier spearheaded the expansion of NextBigThing, to grow it into an independent community hub for young entrepreneurs. As an ever ambitious and creative maverick, Javier's vision for NBT is for it to always one-up itself and continuously invent new ways to vitalise the youth startup community. Javier's hobbies include bowling, reading philosophy and making apps.

Kevin Leo

Team Advisor

Kevin Leo is a serial entrepreneur, global strategist, and educator who launched his first business venture at age 17, ultimately leading to four successful exits across Singapore and the United States. While initially trained academically in medicine, he pivoted to business architecture, helping numerous companies across the biomedical, logistics, and retail sectors scale into seven and eight-figure operations. Currently, Kevin is focused on building interconnected business ecosystems across telecommunications, food and beverage, wellness and longevity, technological infrastructure, and data analytics. A dedicated mentor committed to uplifting the next generation of leadership, he regularly guides youth and early-stage founders. Kevin also sits on several boards and executive committees and serves as an associate lecturer and guest professor at various tertiary institutions.

5 Members

Outreach Team

The team growing our community, school relationships, collaborations, and participant network.

Kokomi Suzuki

Outreach Team Lead

Kokomi served as the Head Prefect of Raffles Girls' Secondary School, and is currently the Vice President (Departments) of Raffles Institution. Since 2022, she has been the team leader of Project Spotlight, a social project that conducts public speaking programs and workshops for underprivileged upper primary school students. She has a passion for service and hopes that NBT can truly grow a tight-knit community of passionate and dedicated youth entrepreneurs. Kokomi loves musicals and Studio Ghibli films, and can usually be found calling her friends for hours on end or watching mukbangs on her phone.

Zhang Tingyu

Outreach Team Co-Lead

Ting Yu is a JC1 student studying PCM-CLL. She is actively involved in the Chinese literary and cultural scene while also dedicating much of her time to community service. She enjoys creating opportunities that bring people together, whether through her written words or action. Outside of school and volunteering, she's usually found befriending every dog she meets or wandering through supermarket aisles-her favourite way to unwind after a busy day.

Olivia Chia

Social Media Coordinator

Olivia is the Vice Chair of Raffles Press, where she oversees training. With a background in leadership, public speaking, and student-led projects, she enjoys turning ideas into stories that actually engage with people. Outside of school, she's usually found at home with her dogs.

Bek Joon Hao

AI and Website Director

Joon Hao served as Hwa Chong's Chairperson of Open House Committee and EXCO of Computing Talent Programme, Chung Cheng High (Main)'s Student Council Vice-President and Captain of Table Tennis team, and co-founder of Chung Cheng Model United Nations. He's now focused on building tech for the betterment of society. Washing machine enthusiast turned computing enthusiast, he spends his free time playing table tennis, doing photo/videography and listening to speakers as an amateur audiophile.

Granwyn Tan

Website Director

Granwyn is an aspiring software developer who enjoys turning ideas into practical solutions through technology. He's always keen to learn, experiment with new ideas, and build things that have a meaningful impact. In his free time, he enjoys photography, video editing, learning languages, as well as watching shows and films.

5 Members

Youth Ecosystem Team

The team planning sessions, handling logistics, and making every program feel intentional.

Klarisse Ng

Youth Ecosystem Coordinator

Klarisse envisions NBT as an inclusive and supportive space where young people from all backgrounds can confidently explore, take risks, and grow throughout their startup journeys. She believes that meaningful change begins with empowering individuals and is passionate about creating sustainable impact. Beyond work, you will likely find her running through scenic trails, baking sweet treats, or unwinding with music.

Bunnath Tith

Youth Ecosystem Coordinator

Bunnath is standing at the intersection of where technology, public policy and entrepreneur are. He is eager to learn new things about startup paths. In his free time, he likes to read up on new concepts, wood carving sculptures and watching movies.

Darwin Ho

Youth Ecosystem Coordinator

Darwin served as President of the SP Infocomm Club, chaired the National Robotics competition in 2023 and co-chaired RoboCup Singapore Open in 2024. He's now focused on applying his technical background to help non-profits to scale and run more smoothly. Outside of work, he's usually found playing with his corgi or watching horror movies to ensure he cannot sleep at night.

Venkat Alagappan

Youth Ecosystem Coordinator

Venkat serves as President of the SP Entrepreneurship Club, where he works with students, founders, and industry partners to turn ideas into meaningful initiatives. He has also taken on leadership roles in youth entrepreneurship programmes, mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs and organising events that encourage innovation, collaboration, and community impact. Outside of work, you'll probably find him watching football, discovering new films, listening to music, or heading out on a hike.

Clement Chua

Youth Ecosystem Coordinator

Clement envisions NBT as a space in which prospective entrepreneurs can connect, grow, and succeed. Having helmed NBT when it was still a school club, Clement looks forward to building a vibrant NBT youth ecosystem of driven individuals. In his free time, Clement enjoys playing badminton, the guitar, and Singaporean bridge.

For Youth, By Youth

We design every initiative from the perspective of young builders who want practical exposure, not just theory.

Build First

Our events push participants to test ideas, meet collaborators, and leave with momentum they can act on.

Open Doors

We connect students with mentors, founders, operators, investors, and partners across the startup ecosystem.

Join Us

Want to build with the community?

Partner with us, mentor young builders, or join the next program.

Get Involved!