These ex-consultants ditched their jobs to help millennials beat quarter-life crisis

Helping them pursue their passions and try out for new roles.

Will and Fei, both from Sydney, Australia, have worked together for a few years in a management consulting company. Will studied law while Fei has a mechanical engineering and finance background. When they were invited to participate in a pre-accelerator programme, they quit their consulting jobs, packed their bags and moved to Singapore overnight with an idea. After spending their first two months living in hostels while supporting themselves with credit cards, everything eventually paid off. They took advantage of the accelerator programme to start transforming their idea into a business which is now called, QLC.io.

What is QLC.io?

QLC.io or Quarter Life Crisis, is an online platform for education and practical upskilling destination for millennials. It aims to help ambitious and curious people to explore their passions and aspirations by offering ideas, learning projects and new opportunities through mentorship and training so that they are ready for the ‘next thing’.

Fei explained that while there are many people who got good grades, learned from the best universities and went on to get jobs at top-tier firms, some will eventually crave a different sense of purpose and personal achievement and start looking for something else after a few years of working 9 to 5 and beyond. Sure, the smartest young people were rewarded with money, promotions, training and a strong sense of prestige, but these aren’t enough.

“They start thinking about extended travel, social work, trying a start up, changing industries or even starting their own venture. But this jump is hard for them. The fear of failing is strong, not having the right network of people to talk to is restrictive and the resources online are scattered,” said Fei.

Tracing their footsteps, Fei said that they started QLC.io because they were scratching their own itch. She realised that while she was having a great work experience, she felt that it wasn’t “for her”. As for Will, he was keen to start his own venture and teamed up with Fei. Will also felt unfulfilled and had already been through a few bouts of extended travel, volunteering and a multitude of after-work interest classes.

“We spent nearly a year building our first startup (a furniture marketplace in Australia) while still holding day jobs. It wasn’t easy. We didn’t know what our options were, and who to talk to about it,” Fei added.

Now with QLC.io, the founders take pride in the platform’s aim to help the ‘neglected market’.

How does QLC.io work?

The platform works by connecting you to a community of people who share your interests and aspirations. Whether looking for ideas or ready to take the leap of faith - QLC.io will support you by offering practical resources, guidance and projects to assist your journey to take your career and lifestyle to the next level.

“You can think of us as LinkedIn - but less boring,” said Fei.

Currently, majority of the company’s project opportunities are based in Singapore but the company is building partnerships with startups and venture portfolios in the South East Asian region to make Asia more accessible.

Since their business is based on a problem that typically addresses mature markets; most of their users are from Australia, US and UK. Fei said that many of them have expressed the desire to either move to Asia or look for opportunities addressing emerging markets - which is why QLC.io business is based in Singapore.

Funding

Just earlier this year, QLC.io graduated from their accelerator and since then they have been raising money from Angels both in Singapore and Australia to build the first version of their product. According to Fei, they will be looking to raise funding again in the next few months to help build the team and marketing efforts.

Furthermore, the company just recently updated the content of its website with a more personalised experience to look for new opportunities and career resources. The new content and features, said Fei, will make it easier to not only try a new industry or role, but help figure out what it is you want to try.

QLC.io continues to believe that people can love what they do, and they will help you figure out the next move to get there.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company Name: QLC.io
Founders: Will Fan and Fei Yao
Website: QLC.io
Total funding at hand: SGD100,000
Source of funding: Accelerator + Angels
Major investors: JFDI.Asia
Start of Operation: November 2014

For startups wanting to be featured, send your message to Lee Anne Babierra at [email protected]