When I met Mark & Ara, we talked for 2+ hours non-stop.

About how they became a 7-figure distributor for Paper Shoot Camera, a Taiwanese digital camera brand. While working full-time jobs. 🤯 

Today in 10 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

• 🚀 How Mark & Ara went from techies to part-time business buyers

• 📸 Their secret to becoming distributors for Paper Shoot SG, MY & TH

• 🤔 Who is a good fit for buying vs starting a business

• 🫶 Mistakes and advice for buying businesses

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🛒 Becoming a 7-figure distributor | Mark Soh & Ara Kyi

Mark Soh is a co-founder of Paper Shoot Singapore & Malaysia. He also currently serves as an operations manager at an AI tech company. He has experience in corporate business development, product in a state-owned company, and starting an education business in Myanmar. In his leisure time, Mark enjoys playing golf.

Ara Kyi co-founded Paper Shoot Thailand. She also currently leads growth products in the decentralized finance and web3 space at OKX. She has led product teams at companies from small VC-backed startups to large companies across Southeast Asia, China and the US. She is an active angel investor in consumer and web3 startups. In her free time, she plays golf.

🚀 Tell us about your career journeys from working in tech to buying and building small businesses.

Mark - I've always known deep down that I wanted to be a business owner. After graduating, I flew to Yangon to start a learning center from scratch. The goal was to provide quality education to average families in Yangon. It was an incredible journey of about three months. I painted walls, sourced furniture and books, and collaborated with my partners to design the curriculum.

Additionally, I dedicated considerable time to hiring talented teachers. The center had a promising start, with 40 students joining within the first two weeks of opening. Unfortunately, our progress was cut short when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, followed by an unexpected coup.

These unfortunate events compelled me to return to Singapore, where I joined foodpanda. Later on, I transitioned to a traditional state-owned enterprise. These experiences have ultimately led me to where I am today – working full-time as an Operations Manager for a dynamic tech startup.

While working full-time, I found a strong passion for acquiring and building small businesses on the side. This led me to become the exclusive distributor of Paper Shoot for Singapore and Malaysia, as well as acquire a kids' football academy with my business partners. Within the first few months, we made 6 figures in revenue.

Ara - I met Mark in high school, and we got along very well as we were both interested in creating businesses. Our entire chat history is us analyzing different industries, trying to find those that we both resonated with.

Before Paper Shoot, I started a few ventures: I worked on my own AI startup during university and also started some nonprofit chapters. For example, during Covid, which was shortly after I graduated, I co-founded the Boston chapter of codebar which aims to promote diversity in technology through free regular workshops for minorities in the tech sector.

When I came back to Singapore after Covid, I realized that I value creativity, and I wanted to start something on my own that was focused on making people more creative, joyful and present. I wanted to start something that met the more spiritual and existential needs of people, beyond food and shelter. Starting Paper Shoot Camera in Thailand on the side while working my full-time role was a way for me to do that.

📸 You two became distributors for Paper Shoot in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, while you have also started businesses from scratch. What are the differences between becoming a distributor, buying a business, and starting from scratch? Who is a good fit for each of these paths?