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Find a problem, not an idea. Ideas will change all the time, and so will solutions. However, if you choose a real problem, the problem will always stay the same, since it exists.
Introducing Rice Inc and Lincoln Lee
Lincoln Lee is a co-founder of Rice Inc, a social enterprise founded in December 2017. He and his co-founder Kisum started this project when they were still undergraduate students at University College London. Their idea to reduce the loss of rice during harvesting came about after discovering a shocking article about how 80% of rice was wasted before it even got onto the plate. Inspired, the two co-founders strove to find a solution to this problem, and thus began their journey with Rice Inc.
Through Rice Inc's services, farmers are able to reduce waste and contamination, as rice is often dried on the ground and in the sun in many impoverished regions, making the harvest vulnerable to poor weather and pests. The startup, which has helped farmers process 2,250 tonnes of rice and prevented 200 tons of losses, has won numerous awards, including the HULT Prize for student social entrepreneurs and the Norman Borlaug Award for their contributions to agriculture and food production.
Q1. Many students have innovative startup ideas, but one of the most difficult challenges is to come up with a feasible business model. What do you think is the most important aspect that students should be aware of when structuring their business models?
Lincoln: There are several things students should be aware of when structuring their business models. Here are some key points to keep in mind:
1) Find a problem, not an idea.
Many people then to always look for the next big idea, but in entrepreneurship, ideas will change all the time— so will solutions. However, if you choose a real problem, the problem will always stay the same, since it exists. This helps you anchor your work as you will always have a solid foundation to go back to.
2) Ensure that you’re suited to tackle this problem.
There are tons of problems in the world, but you will always have an easier time tackling something that you or the people around you face. For example, there might be a war going on half way across the world; that’s a real problem, but you are probably not going to be the most effective person at solving it.
3) Your team.
When you’re looking for your co-founders or your first team members, it is very important to choose wisely. This is because they will embody your company and will be there as examples when you expand. A rule of thumb is, “Can you imagine staying with these people in the same room for a month straight without killing each other?” If you can’t, then perhaps you need to ask if you can really work together, as there will be many challenging times ahead.
Q2. How did you balance between building your startup and academic work? For students who have great ideas but are being held back by pressure from university academic work, what approach would you advise them to take?
L: I think that running a business is very similar to having an extra-curricular activity or taking an active role in a club/society in university. If you allocate the same amount of time as that to your business while in university, you should be fine. If you have an idea, don’t let your studies hold you back. Also, don’t be afraid to be flexible with your time as you control your own schedule.
We had to take a break from Rice Inc after we had won the HULT Prize simply because we needed to focus on our final year exams and graduate!
Sometimes having both makes for a much better balance – for us, Rice Inc was a break from studying, and studying was a break from Rice Inc.
Q3. Do you think any of your personalities have contributed to the success of your business? Or more generally, what do you think is the most important soft skill that student entrepreneurs need to have?
L: There are several key important soft skills to have as an entrepreneur
1) Resilience
Entrepreneurship is rightly touted as one of the most difficult career paths to take— there will be a lot of challenges, so resilience is a key factor to have.
2) A desire to learn
You’ll always need to be open to learning more as an entrepreneur. When we first started, we didn’t know anyone in our industry, or anything about running a business. We simply started asking and learning from those with more experience.
3) Empathy
This is an important soft skill in general. A large part of what you do while running a business has to do with how well you engage and understand the motivations of your team, your customers and your partners. You’re interacting with humans at the end of the day, so understanding what makes them tick is paramount to success.
Q4. If you had the chance to go back to when you first started Rice Inc and reflect on what you did, what would be one thing that you wish you knew or you would have done differently?
L: I would have tried to enjoy the process more during the first few months and spent more time at the communities we were working with. I would also spend more time focusing on our customers.
Q5. The pandemic has made the world more aware of sustainability risks and ESG issues. Being the co-founder of Rice Inc that focuses on reducing rice wastage, where do you see our progress in sustainability in five years’ time?
L: I think that over the next 5 years, this shift towards sustainability will only continue. What would be interesting to see is the new solutions and ecosystems of business that would emerge from this shift, as they might truly offer some exciting opportunities that will properly tackle climate change.
We might shift into a situation where incorporating sustainability into business practices is not the exception but the norm, which is exciting. It’s an unknown world but it’s an exciting and better one.