A Builder at Heart

All of us have our own unique passions. SMU year 4 student, Joon Xiang’s, is tinkering with software. What started as small automations for personal use — like streamlining the process of booking driving instructor sessions — became his first taste of creating something useful for a wider group of people.

That simple project flipped a switch. Suddenly, building wasn’t just about code — it was about purpose. And that spark carried him through hackathons, late-night prototypes, and eventually, into the world of entrepreneurship.

He stumbled into it, but Joon Xiang soon realised that SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) is the best place for him to hone entrepreneurship skills and experiment through not just one but multiple programs.

A Chance Encounter in Shenzhen

When the Global Innovation Immersion (GII) programme came up, Joon Xiang jumped at the opportunity and to his delight, he got in. The placement in Shenzhen was unfamiliar territory — new city, new language, new culture. But it was exactly the challenge he was looking for.

“You really get thrown into an unfamiliar environment where you are forced to adapt, to learn, to be independent. And I think there's no better way in university than the GII to get the most out of an overseas experience.”

Among those connections was Wai Horng, a fellow SMU student also interning in Shenzhen. Joon Xiang then met Felix Ling through Wai Horng, founder of Zhi Yin, a technology company dedicated to developing accessibility solutions for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community.

Though Zhi Yin retains its focus on the Chinese market today, Felix has a strong affinity with SMU and Singapore in more ways than one throughout his journey. Starting with being the INTA Foundation Social Innovation Prize winner at the 11th biennial Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC) in 2023, Felix had fostered deeper collaborations with SMU Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (IIE), offering internships to ambitious SMU students interested in creating social impact through technology.

For Joon Xiang, what began as conversations over technology and impact soon evolved into a serious idea: bringing Zhi Yin’s work on Augmented Reality (AR) interpreter glasses to Singapore.

“I’m fond of the Greenhouse space and the people there are very welcoming. I want to find a new chance in Singapore. I understand Joon Xiang very well, I've been working with him for so long, and I’m very honored and happy to have worked with him.”

Felix Ling, founder of Zhi Yin.

That was the seed of SentinelTech - Zhi Yin’s ‘experiment’ in venturing outside of China and into Singapore, led by Joon Xiang.

Coming full circle

The trio managed to apply for SMU IIE’s Business Innovations Generator (BIG) incubation programme. For Joon Xiang, the six-month stint was a crash course in the realities of building a startup. For Felix, he was thrilled to partner with SMU again.

“The biggest lesson for me was validation. It's not just about the product, but rather how you engage with prospective users, buyers, and other stakeholders. You shouldn't be too caught up with just building because ultimately, you're trying to solve a problem, right? You deal with people.”

Through BIG, SentinelTech gained access to mentors, legal advisors, and disability advocates. Weekly check-ins with their incubation manager, Jinzhou Yi, meant constant feedback, sometimes tough, but always valuable. The founders connected with different mentors and experts on a weekly basis, allowing them to learn and iterate at a supercharged pace.

“Jinzhou was very helpful. There's weekly check-ins where seasoned mentors and people from various industries would come down to give feedback. And I found them really useful - these insights were from successful start-up founders themselves. Some have exited, some are business leaders. Through Jinzhou we got to know one mentor that was actually quite related to the space that I'm in. He runs a consulting agency dealing with disabilities so it was especially nice to get his feedback.”

The Hard Choice to Pivot

At the end of the 6-month programme, the team eventually made the difficult decision to pause SentinelTech’s Singapore plans. Their conclusion was clear: the technology, though promising, was still too early-stage to expand beyond China. Singapore’s market also proved to be too small.

“It wasn't a failure. For us, BIG was a safe space to experiment and de-risk. We validated the market, tested assumptions, and made an informed choice. That’s still a win.”

Looking Ahead

Today, Felix continues to advance the development of the Zhi Yin AR Glasses, which he envisions to integrate live voice-to-text transcription and sign-language recognition through cameras embedded in the lenses. This would represent the world’s first AR glasses concept designed to enable truly two-way communication for users who communicate through sign language. Interested in Zhi Yin's work and products? Learn more about them here: https://cn.linkedin.com/company/shenzhen-zhiyin-accessibility-technology.

Meanwhile, Zhi Yin has recently formed a partnership to distribute the LEION HEY2 smart transcription glasses in the accessibility market. Through this collaboration, Zhi Yin aims to make advanced assistive technologies more accessible while continuing its own research and development of the Zhi Yin glasses. For Joon Xiang, the experience at SentinelTech has only deepened his conviction to keep building.

“I’m still tinkering with new projects. Social impact through tech is something I care deeply about, and this journey reminded me why. Even if SentinelTech didn’t continue here, the lessons and connections will stay with me.”

From tinkering with a scrappy booking tool to co-founding a startup with international collaborators, Joon Xiang’s story reflects what SMU entrepreneurship is all about: curiosity, courage, and learning by doing.

• SMU IIE’s BIG incubation program (January 2026 cohort) is now open for applications! Apply here: https://iie.smu.edu.sg/big 
• Check out the next startup event at Greenhouse to get your feet wet: https://iie.smu.edu.sg/greenhouse/events 
• Looking to commercialise your research like Puffer? Learn about the KTC team: https://iie.smu.edu.sg/ktc 
• Try out startup life by working for a startup first? Apply for SMU IIE’s Global Innovation Immersion (GII) at https://iie.smu.edu.sg/gii