Reactor School

KL just became a classroom. 🚀

We just wrapped the Yiyou Youth Centre EntreMission to Kuala Lumpur — and honestly, this is what entrepreneurship education should feel like.

These students treat this as more than just a field trip. They came with their own startups, and made their pitch to put collaboration on the table with the Malaysian ecosystem.

Here's where they landed:

⚡ PETRONAS SEEd.Labs — deep tech, national scale
💰 Cradle Fund — where Malaysian startups go to get funded
🎓 Taylor's BizPod + enterprise@APU — universities doing entrepreneurship education right
🌏 Intrinsic SEA — plugged into the regional ecosystem
💼 Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) — understanding bilateral trade and cross-border business networks in the region
💻 NEXEA — sitting down with one of Malaysia's most active VC, angel investor, and startup accelerator networks for a dinner session that went well beyond small talk
🏙️ Exchange 106, Petaling Street, Pasar Seni — because context is everything
Five days. One city. A whole new way of seeing what's possible.

Shoutout to the Yiyou Youth Centre team for trusting us with their young founders. This is what the partnership is all about. 🙌

Want to bring your students into a real ecosystem? Let's build something together.

📩 [email protected]

Cambodia met Singapore — and something shifted.

In February, 4 students and 3 staff members from the Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology (CADT) touched down in Singapore for an EntreTrip that moved far beyond sightseeing. Over 4 days, they stepped into live startup ecosystems, challenged their assumptions about innovation, and walked away with a new relationship to failure — one participant put it plainly: "From now on, my motto will be 'I love to fail.'"

They built robots from chopsticks at Stick'Em. They traced the origins of modern Singapore along the river. They sat with the founders and asked questions that textbooks don't answer. Every stop was designed to close the gap between learning entrepreneurship and living it.

And when it was over? The students said they'd send their peers on it too.

A huge thank you to our partners who made this possible: Stick'Em Robotics, Green Nudge, Pollinate, and Changi Experience Studio — your generosity in opening your doors to the next generation of founders means more than you know.

If you're an institution, agency, or organisation looking to take your students or teams on a learning journey that actually changes how they think — let's talk.
📩 [email protected]

Building a regional network starts with a single conversation. 🌏

On May 11, Reactor is hosting Sisig Sharings in Makati. We’re bringing together a delegation from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Manila’s community of young professionals and student leaders.

Our goal? To foster cross-cultural competency and strengthen the ties between the SG and PH startup ecosystems. It’s a relaxed evening designed for exchanging insights, sharing market perspectives, and expanding your professional circle in Southeast Asia.

Join us for a night of meaningful networking (and great food)!

📅 Date: May 11
🕕 Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
📍 Venue: Makati, Philippines
🎟️ RSVP: https://luma.com/6dzytcr5

Let’s cultivate the next generation of founders, together.

If the pitches we saw at APPA EntreCamp 13.0 are any indication, the future of sustainable city dining is in very capable hands 🌏✨

We just wrapped up an intensive two-day mission at APPA EntreCamp 13.0, where 16 young founders dived deep into the theme of “Securing the Sustainable Urban Food Future.” This wasn't just about theory; it was about real-world friction. From exploring Bangkok Rooftop Farming to see sustainable urban agriculture in practice to building their own AI-driven demand forecasting and food waste management platforms, these students proved that they don’t need to "grow up" to start solving global problems.

Huge thanks to our partners at Bangkok Rooftop Farming for opening your doors and showing our Reactornauts what a successful social enterprise looks like in the sustainability sector. Your insights on land utilization and business operations were a total game-changer for the participants' final pitches.

Ready to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurial talent at your school or organization?

Let’s build something together! Reach out to us at [email protected] 🚀

A week in Singapore can change how a young founder thinks for years ✈️

Last November 2025, we welcomed Next Challenge School’s high school founders (around 15 to 18 years old) into Singapore for an immersion designed to do one thing really well: stretch their entrepreneurship learning beyond the classroom and into a living startup ecosystem. They already study entrepreneurship in NCS Korea, but there’s something different about learning it in a new country, with new founders, new systems, new context. It makes the lessons click in 3D.

Highlights include…
👉 a One-North guided tour (plus a Reactor-exclusive workshop)
👉 an SMU Greenhouse visit with founder sharing and plenty of cross-cultural connection-building
👉 a Vidacity social enterprise experience
👉 TP TWIST joining our networking session to share how the polytechnic system in Singapore works, then jumping in for Human Bingo to make “networking” feel less scary and more human
👉 and Paperland sharing their founder journey, including how they started building their company in university (real proof that you don’t need to “wait until later” to begin)

Huge thanks to our partners for making this learning journey possible. Special thanks to Next Challenge School, SMU GII, Vidacity, Stick’Em, TP TWIST, Princeton Poh and Bala from Paperland for showing up with your time, stories, and openness.

If you’re an education leader or organisation looking to design a similar EntreTrip and ecosystem immersion for your students…
📩 Let’s build this together: [email protected]

Coding just got a major vibe check 🤖

We recently wrapped the Global Vibe Coding Challenge, where "I can't code" turned into "I just built an AI-powered product" in record time. Over two intensive sessions, 29 young founders from around the world didn't just learn about AI, they used it as a lever for productivity, prototyping solutions on GatherTown that solve real-world friction. From "Room Raid" gamified cleaning missions to verified exchange communities, these participants proved that when you give students the right tools (like Lovable and Gemini), the gap between an idea and a launch practically disappears.

A massive thank you to our partners at Next Challenge Foundation (NCF) and Next Challenge Asia Ventures for helping us cultivate this cross-cultural startup ecosystem. It’s inspiring to work with teams that believe in moving fast and empowering the next generation to build for the future, not just wait for it.

Ready to launch a high-impact entrepreneurship mission at your organization?

💌 Reach out to us at [email protected] and let’s build something awesome together.

Real-world readiness isn't built through theory. It's forged when students are given the agency to navigate market volatility in real-time.🌏

Our recent Entrepreneurial Case Challenge at Tenby Schools Penang saw students taking on the role of consultants to solve complex problems for local industries. Using our CIAB framework, teams navigated mini-projects in F&B and tourism, responding to weekly scenarios shaped by current affairs. This "learn by doing" approach ensures that participants aren't just memorizing facts, but are developing the entrepreneurial mindset required to thrive in a volatile market. The result? A room full of empowered, independent thinkers ready to launch their own trajectories.

A big thank you to Tenby Schools Penang for collaborating with us to cultivate the galaxy's best young founders.

Ready to bring project-based career challenges to your students?
Reach out to us at [email protected] to start the journey. 🎓

SPARK Hub Incubation Journey 3.0 was a founder's fast lane from "we have an idea" to “we have a customer” Across 7 startup teams, we dove deep on the fundamentals that actually move the needle:

👉 real problem validation, like our “The Mom Test” interviews
👉 sharper problem statements and clearer North Star metrics
👉 Lean Canvas → MVP pipeline
👉 GTM experiments with at least one validated sales channel
👉 pitch deck iterations and office hours, leading to a Demo Day that felt like both graduation... and a launchpad

Teams learned startup theory and finished our programme with a validated idea, a MVP 1.0 with user feedback, a 3-month growth roadmap, AND the starting momentum to keep going. Plus: seed grant support of up to AUD 1,200 per team for startups that met the criteria.

A huge thank you to our partners who made this journey possible for these startups, RMIT University Vietnam and The Sentry, as well as our mentors and industry guests…...
Justin Xavier - RMIT University
Greg Ohan - The Sentry
Thuy Hoang - The Sentry

👤Quy Le from GiaoHangNhanh
👤Kevin Davis from Persona Studios
👤Tu Thanh Nguyen from Kyons
👤 Alex Nguyen from Vertex Ventures SE Asia & India
👤 Ha Doan from Beacon Fund
👤Tu Bui from Busines Startup Support Centre
👤 Trang Vi from Openspace Capital
👤 Lan Phan from IBP
👤Sunny Tran from AQUILA.is
👤 Thao Lam from Impact Link Asia
👤 Santiago Chanchila from Danta Labs
👤 And our trainer, Charles Liao!

Investing in local student startup ecosystems is at the heart of what we do. By supporting these young founders today, we’re ensuring they have the trajectory and resilience needed to solve the world's biggest challenges.

Stand with us and kickstart entrepreneurship education programmes with your institution:
📩 Reach us here → [email protected]

ATTENTION STUDENTS ‼️

We hear you, and we see you 🙌 Thanks to your enthusiasm towards the programme, we are OFFICIALLY EXTENDING THE APPLICATION PERIOD!

Applying to My First $1000 has been made EASIER! We no longer require you to submit your headshots and reference details 📝 By joining this programme, you will have the opportunity to get mentored by industry experts and learn how to execute your business ideas.

The last chance to submit your application is on 7 March 2026—after that, no more extensions, folks.

So, what are you waiting for?
Head to my1st1000.sg and get your gears going!

*Join us for the virtual info sessions on:
⭐ 4 March @ 08.00PM (GMT+8)
⭐ 7 March @ 02.00PM (GMT+8)
RSVP through 👉 my1st1000.sg/info-sessions

Reactor School came to 100% Bettr: The Unfiltered Summit with a booth, a handful of sticky notes, and a keenness to have conversations about rethinking what success looks like for our youths.

Our CEO, Khairul Rusydi, joined the "CTRL + ALT + Good" panel to discuss the responsibility of tech in our communities. It was a privilege to share the stage with Andrea Y. Park (Microsoft), Nurul Jihadah Hussain (The Codette Project), and Chong Ing Kai (Stick 'Em)—leaders representing the full spectrum of Big Tech, social inclusion, and youth innovation.

Off-stage, the Reactor team was at our booth engaging directly with the future. We spoke to students from all walks of life—from secondary schoolers to university undergraduates—as well as educators looking for something different.

The standard route isn't the only route. We were there to champion Alternative Pathways, showing that entrepreneurship offers a viable, rigorous trajectory for young people who want to build in a way that aligns with their values and dreams, not just follow the conventional paths.

A massive thank you to the Bettr Group for bringing the community together, and, The Majurity Trust for hosting us at The Foundry.

If you’re an educator, student leader, or youth focused org keen to explore entrepreneurship in Singapore and beyond, shoot us an email: [email protected]