Leo NG

London Business School

Hometown: Hong Kong

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a self-taught programmer and I enjoy reading Philosophy.

Undergraduate School and Major / Degree programme: University of Exeter, Economics with Philosophy

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your life so far:  Bringing Treeapp to life with my LBS co-founders to allow over 20,000 users to plant trees for free around the world

Was entrepreneurship always your career goal? No, I was pursuing a career in Finance before the MiM but the exposure to the Tech industry and entrepreneurship that the MiM gave me totally changed my perspective and goals.

What led you to pursue a business Masters at this point in your personal development? My goal was to pursue a Masters at LBS in order to access the network and branding, which would give me a headstart in my career. I also wanted to expand my horizon on both career options and cultures, which are values that LBS strives to offer in all parts of the programme.

How did you decide if a MiM was worth the investment? The job outcome is the obvious benchmark but in hindsight, the real value lies in the change in mindset/skillset, which is a lot more subtle as it develops gradually over time within the LBS environment.

What was the key factor that led you to choose the MiM at LBS and why was it so important to you? I was clear that I wanted a good balance of a good job prospect, practical academic development and personal development in terms of cultural awareness/global mindset. MiM at LBS is a unique offering that ticks all these boxes.

What quality best describes your classmates? Everyone is different in the way we think and do as we have different cultural & academic backgrounds. However, we definitely share the commonalities of being ambitious, hard-working and good at what we do.

Tell me about your venture: Treeapp is a mobile app that enables anyone to plant trees for free everyday in less than a minute by going through 3 screens of ads from sustainable brands. We have enabled 20k+ users in the UK & Ireland to plant trees in 12 countries and discover new sustainable brands, with the help of our 40+ business partners, so far in our first 6 months after launching.

How has your business school experience helped you in creating and launching your business?  During MiM, the Entrepreneurship electives were the main sources that helped me understand things such as how to evaluate a technology startup and how to develop a new product. The alumni network also allowed me to actually hear from LBS entrepreneurs and get advice from them. After MiM, the LBS Incubator Programme has given us tremendous help by providing office space, investor connections and mentorship in all sides of the business.

What is the biggest/most important lesson you have learned during your studies? The fact that staying focused is important, even when facing many optimistic opportunities, which means that one might need to diligently evaluate and search for the best path while forgoing the others.

What are the next steps for you / your entrepreneurial venture? My current focus is on growing Treeapp to ultimately enable more people to create even bigger impact. This means coming up with new products, scaling our team and building our community.

Where do you see yourself in five years? In 5 years, I see myself, alongside my LBS MiM co-founders – Godefroy and Jules, leading a global organisation that provides a platform of products to individuals, companies and the public sector to live and operate in a sustainable way.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE MIM ENTREPRENEURS OF 2020