Inside the comfy coffee shop of Bowtie, a round table panel discussion between Bowtie’s Co-Founder, Mr. Fred Ngan, and Melo Social members was held, the atmosphere was charged with inspiration. The story behind Bowtie’s success inspired teenagers to dedicate themselves to their ways of success. When we visited the Bowtie & JP Health Clinic, we experienced an immersive and relaxing health consultation service as customers, experiencing the customer-first service provided. These bring us to the core values of Bowtie: creativity, resilience and open-mindedness.
A Milestone of Health Insurance- Creativity, Resilience and Open-mindedness
Bowtie, standing out from other traditional insurance companies, grabs the spotlight from the public. Being the first virtual medical insurance platform, it started a new way of supporting the public’s health. Competing with renowned health insurance companies, creativity adds fuel to the success of Bowtie. Virtual platforms and online service development are skyrocketing, Bowtie grabbed the cutting-edge technology to attract customers. The first-ever online platform cut the tedious procedures of traditional insurance, providing convenient service, and adhering to the fast-paced lifestyle of the new generation. Besides, building mutual trust with customers is also a key to success. For instance, detailed procedures from application to insurance claiming were demonstrated to customers, clearing their worries of inadequate customer service on the online platform. Alongside online interaction with users, Fred called the first few classes of customers, understanding their needs and concerns, building a close bridge between Bowtie and customers. This also reflects Bowtie’s core value of being open-minded. Fred mentioned that their core engineering team was Bowtie’s intern in the early years, through creating new projects and joining machine learning competitions during their Bowtie internship, they were touched by the opportunities and openness to interns. Bowtie is a place where their ideas are respected, their ability is sharpened and their passion is fulfilled. Fred described himself as Captain America in Marvel. He is not the strongest, but he is a leader who assembles the strongest team, attracting talents to Bowtie.
A Comfy Zone for Customers - Bowtie & JP Health Clinic
Bowtie & JP Health Clinic aims to provide preventive healthcare service to members of Bowtie health insurance, lowering the barriers between doctors and patients. As a medical student, I was impressed with the emphasis on patient-doctor relationships in the Bowtie & JP Health Clinic. Short consulting time with doctors is one of the major problems in the healthcare system, building patient-doctor mutual trust is always neglected due to the hectic working schedule of physicians. In the clinic, wardroom is designed to encourage interaction between doctors and patients. For example, patients and doctors are sitting diagonally to watch the same screen, preventing doctors from keeping looking at computers but not having the patient involved. The clinic was painted with a warm colour tone, patients can only come there by appointment to avoid a long queue, these strategies also create a comfy environment for patients and doctors. We experienced a health check service there, doctors explained the report patiently and friendly, it made me feel that there is nowhere if not a comfy zone for patients.
Finding Our Ways of Success
Fred stopped his 7-year consulting journey and initiated Bowtie. In people’s eyes, it seems a risky decision, jumping from a stable path to a black hole. However, Fred gained a great sense of accomplishment and fulfillment from it. ‘We should not work only for money, but for our passion and purpose.’ After undergoing surgery without adequate support from his insurance, Fred was eager to provide a strong economic backup to the general public, to prevent others from suffering from the similar situation he experienced. Therefore, the idea of initiating a healthcare insurance start-up came to his mind. I still remember the bright eyes when Fred shared his passion with us. The story from ‘My Last Class at Harvard’ was quoted by Fred, ‘we should not go to the 5th year reunion after graduation, because you will see lots of your peers giving up their dreams and taking a safer career pathway’. As born in a competitive society, people tend to follow the traditional ‘success road’, stability is prioritized. Yet, Fred’s story inspired me to step out of my comfort zone. As youngsters, we have nothing to lose, dedicating ourselves to our passion is cool, isn’t it?
Kenny, the Co-Founder of Project Melo, raised out the intense peer pressure problem in our eyes. We inevitably compare our validity and recognition with others, we are overwhelmed with the ranking of GPA, the quality of internship, and value of awards. Nonetheless, just like what Kenny said: ‘Independent thinking is a significant value.’ When we look back to our past, it is not as important as we thought. Focusing on what we are doing, filtering the unnecessary comparisons, are better approaches.
In a stressful society, it is always too easy for us to forget our initial goal. Only by focusing on our passion can we find a sense of purpose and achievement. It is never too late to make our dream happen, and this is exactly what Project Melo is working on, to empower the youth and create a platform for them to grow. I am glad that I can be surrounded by outstanding leaders like Mr. Fred Ngan and Mr. Kenny Lam who inspired me to grow in my Melo Social journey.
