What Went Down At The Singapore Generation T List 2018 Launch

At dinner, Gen.T 2018 listers mingled over a four-course dinner that comprised a creamy burrata starter, Hokkaido scallop ceviche, Angus beef rib eye, local seabass with fregula and a rich dark chocolate and hazelnut dessert. Prosecco, red and white wines were served as pairings, before drams of Rémy Martin XO neat arrived at each table to ready everyone's mood for the party later. 

Joining the Gen.T 2018 listers here were several industry insiders who had played a role in building up this year's list. This included Foreign Policy Design Group's Yu Yah-Leng, Epigram Books' Edmund Wee and Jigger & Pony's Indra Kantono, who is also a Gen.T 2017 lister.

After main course, the first special segment of the evening rolled out: an insightful 30min panel discussion anchored by two industry veterans—Iqbal Jumabhoy who is a recognised entrepreneur and Teh Hua Fung, the CFO of One Championship—and three Gen.T 2018 listers—Annabelle Kwok, Leon Foo and Grace Sai.

Marc Nicholson, the savvy businessman behind 1880, expertly moderated the discussion, which was centred around an increasingly important topic: "Collaborations and partnerships are good for business, but are they essential for survival today?"

Some key points that came out of the discussion included having clarity over your purpose for entering a partnership before actually diving in, and ways to identify the right business partner.

On the latter point, Annabelle, who founded artificial intelligence consultancy NeuralBay, shared her own experience on entering a partnership that didn't end well. "Finding good people is really tough, and with so much research available, it is increasing easy to pick up knowledge, so why not find someone with a good heart, and who can learn fast?" said the 25-year-old. 

Grace, who is the founding CEO of Found, added: "A lot of times, people get into partnerships too quickly and terminate bad partnerships too slow, when it really should be the other way around." 

Opinions also flowed in from the floor, with Asian Food Channel co-founder Hian Goh suggesting that character differences between collaborators or partners could be beneficial. "If both parties are the same, then the partnership would not create an animal that is stronger than themselves." 

Dinner concluded at 9.30pm and the Gen.T 2018 listers were ushered to a closed-off space on the other side of 1880, where the big reveal was about to start. They were joined by past years’ Gen.T listers and other Singapore Tatler friends, who applauded and cheered as the night's emcee Hanli Hoefer introduced the 50 new listers. Singer Tabitha Nauser, who was part of the 50 being honoured, then took over the floor to perform her two hits, Bulletproof and Body Language. 

(Related: Generation T 2018: Inside The Party)

Off stage, guests flocked to the bar and enjoyed a bottomless flow of cognac cocktails—the Gen.T Side Car Named Desire and Gen.T Milk Punch, both of which were concocted with Rémy Martin VSOP—Rémy Martin Club, Peroni beers, prosecco and wines. At the other end of the room, an elaborate spread of charcuterie, cheese and sweets was laid out to ensure stomachs were lined for what turned out to be a long night of revelry. It was only at 1am when the last of the guests decided to call it a night, leaving with a goody bag that contained some of the best-selling skincare products of Hera and a copy of the Generation T 2018 book. 

(Related: Zynesis Founder Chua U-Zyn On Creating A Digital Ecosystem)