【Origin Stories - Kass Monzon , Co-founder/CEO of Workbean AW#21】
I never anticipated becoming an entrepreneur. In fact I made every effort not to. My dad was an entrepreneur, and my brother ended up starting his own company as well. I wanted to do something different, chart my own path.
I dove head first into the corporate world, racking up logo and after logo in internships and early work experiences, eventually building up a pretty good career in sales. That eventually led me to a reputable multinational tech company based out of SG, where I became the youngest employee ever to take on the role of regional account manager.
I thought it was everything I wanted. But reality soon set in. In fact, I was miserable. The culture was the complete opposite of what I was expecting. It was extremely cutthroat, with no sense of inclusion or belonging. My work was constantly devalued despite hitting all my numbers, and whatever I did and no matter how much effort I put in, felt like it was never enough.
I ended up suffering from clinical depression. It was perhaps the lowest point in my life. But it also made me dig deep to really think about what it means to be happy at work, and how to properly educate yourself when looking for a job.
Not long after, I moved back to the PH to start Workbean. Two years in now and I’ve never looked back. There’s of course been many sleepless nights, and I’m constantly ripe with imposter syndrome, but hearing stories of job seekers finding their dream jobs, where they can learn, add value, and feel a sense of belonging has been a powerful driver to get me through the days.
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Workbean (AW#21) is building Asia’s largest directory of company cultures to help companies attract the best talent while helping job seekers find meaningful work in companies where they will belong. They’re now working with over 100,000 digital job seekers and 32 companies across the region. For other startups targeting AI/Blockchain/NFT/SEA, applications for AW#23 are now open: https://bit.ly/2Tr069v
