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A Most Unusual Internship: How 3 NUS Undergrads Chose To Sell French Fries At The Geylang Bazaar

Updated: Jul 9, 2018


From left to right: Roy, Qin Ze, Heng Rui

Come summer holidays, most university sophomore undergraduates scramble to secure coveted internships and cement their track record early. Not this trio.


While everyone got busy polishing their LinkedIn profiles, Qin Ze, Roy Yan and Heng Rui spent countless of sleepless nights experimenting with over 20 recipes and approaching friends for feedback. All for one purpose: to sell french fries at the annual geylang bazaar.


We headed down to Tri Fries and spoke to Roy to find out why the three of them chose to venture into such unchartered waters.


So... tell me more about how you guys ended up here.

Truth is, it was a really spontaneous decision. I was hanging out with Heng Rui one day and we conceptualised this idea in less than 10 minutes. Qin Ze walked past and we literally grabbed him and asked if he'd be keen to come onboard. This happened one week before the opening of the Bazaar so we scrambled to get everything together and here we are.


As for the why, you could say that working at a Pasar Malam has always been something we wanted to try.


Wait, did you say one week? How on earth did you manage to put everything together in 7 days? (I point frantically to everything I see, from their T-shirts to the banners and standees.)

(laughs) There are too many details for me to list out. All our logistics were obtained from various suppliers over Singapore. The point is that we split the work evenly so that we could procure everything in the shortest possible time. Having good team dynamics really helped us to put everything together so quickly. Oh, we also realised that it seriously helps to have connections.



Why fries?

We figured that fries were the easiest to make and had the fastest customer turnover. We didn't want to serve more complicated dishes because it meant a steeper learning curve and a greater waiting time.


What have you enjoyed the most about this stint?

Definitely the hands-on nature of this job. Having a part to play in every single aspect of this business was really eye-opening, to say the least. I was often kept awake at night from the sheer excitement of what we were embarking on. Also, seeing customers with a big grin when they eat our fries never fail to make everything worth it.


Conversely, what's the hardest part of this venture?

Apart from the opportunity cost of giving up a typical summer internship, the hardest part would be the tight deadline we faced. While other stalls took about 6 months to get ready, we only had about 6 days. Working under such pressure was nerve-wrecking but it also made for an experience that was truly amazing and unforgettable.


Also, there were doubts about whether we could pull this off. All of us have zero F&B experience so attempting this was really a leap of faith. Parting with thousands of dollars from our own bank accounts was already very painful, so we couldn't imagine failing to break even.


Do you mind sharing how much you've made so far?

Profits are not the most important thing for us because we embarked on this journey to learn. The truth is, the knowledge and experienced we've gained from this experience is something money could never buy. This was by far the most meaningful "internship" experience we've had compared to our previous ones.



Most memorable moment?

A girl once came up to us and asked if she could have one fry in exchange for her phone number. We couldn't stop laughing about it.


What are your biggest takeaways?

Personally, I've come to realise that the most unconventional paths are also the paths that teach you the most. Entrepreneurship may not be for everyone, but those who dare to take the first step stand to gain the most. After all, the best things in life happen way outside of your comfort zone.


Would you do this again? If so, what would you do differently?

Definitely. Maybe not with the exact same idea, but I'm definitely open to more crazy ventures. If we could do this again, we'd spend more time conceptualising on what to sell. Hindsight led us to realise there were so many more cool things we could have experimented with and tried to create!



Any words of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs like yourself?

The secret to getting ahead is getting started. It's okay to have doubt, but never hesitate for too long because chances don't come by often. Don't worry needlessly. Get started, then improvise, adapt and overcome.


Opportunities will come knocking by once you get your foot in the door. In our case, we merely expected to sell fries but several event and logistics companies actually approached us with queries and even invited us to participate in other fairs.


Just do it. Be fearless.


Tri Fries is located at the booth #GS13, opposite One KM Mall. Their fries are served with 3 unique home-made sauces that include a signature nachos cheese sauce, tangy arrabbiata sauce and a zesty pesto sauce.


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- Authored by Dylan Teo, photos by Rachael Yong.

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