YT18 | Founder of 1880 on entrepreneurship, leadership and building a community in Asia – Marc Nicholson 

Meet Marc Nicholson. Originally from Montreal, he has led a diverse journey—from a child actor in Haiti to volunteering in Indonesia and earning a Masters in Human Rights, he successfully founded 1880, a Singapore-based private members club focused on addressing global challenges through civil discourse.

In this episode, Marc explores his entrepreneurial challenges, the unique dynamics of operating in different Asian markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bali, and the importance of embracing cultural differences. Marc also reflects on the evolving nature of his identity and the value of kindness and collaboration in business. Tune in now!

Discussion Topics: Founder of 1880 on entrepreneurship, leadership and building a community in Asia

• Meet Marc Nicholson, the visionary behind 1880
• From Montreal’s theater stages to human rights in Asia: Marc’s early superstar days 
• Why did he shift from human rights to business?
• A serial entrepreneur in Singapore: overcoming failures & learning from missteps
• Asian market unveiled – Singapore, Hong Kong, Bali
• Marc’s leadership philosophy: kindness at the forefront
• Diversity isn’t just a buzzword at 1880; it’s the heartbeat
• Words to younger self: keep the entrepreneurial flame alive

Transcript: Founder of 1880 on entrepreneurship, leadership and building a community in Asia

Yana: Hello and welcome to another episode of YanaTV. Today we have a very special guest, Marc Nicholson, who is the founder of 1880 and I’m sure many of you at least heard about the club or maybe already a member. So Marc, thank you so much for joining us in the studio.

Marc Nicholson: Hey, thank you, it’s great to be here.

Yana: And I’m so curious to hear your journey because when I look at you and know bits and pieces about your life, you have done so many things. So it’s really hard to put you in a box. I’m like, is he an entrepreneur? Is he a family man? Is he a professional? Have you ever worked for someone? Yes, you have.

Marc Nicholson: Not very successfully.

Yana: And I have known you in Asia for a very long time But let’s start from the beginning for those who might not know you that well. Where were you born?

Marc Nicholson: Sure, I was born in Montreal, Canada. I grew up in Montreal, a French Canadian city, the second largest French city in the world outside of Paris, so in two languages Montreal’s a wonderful city. I had a great time.

Yana: Okay. Yeah. And what did you do before you came to the continent of Asia?

A superstar from an early age

Marc Nicholson: So that’s a big question, so growing up in Montreal, I did a couple of things that were significant for me. I was an actor in a company.

So I was like a child actor, if you like, but I was part of a theatre company that was very special, and I became the chairman of the board, actually, when I was 14.

And we did productions, so I joined, I was a member probably from when I was 10 till I was 18. We toured Canada, we toured Europe, I did radio, television, film work.

Yana: You’re a superstar from a very early age. Look at that. 

Marc Nicholson: Yeah, that! I was in the theatre. And most of what we did we created ourselves. So that was an amazing experience. And it led to me we did a show once about teenage suicide. And as a result of that production, I wanted to go and volunteer for Suicide Hotline. I was 16 at the time and the requirement was you had to be 25 in fact to work on a suicide hotline. But I had shared the script with them and told them about my involvement and they said, okay, you can go through the training, I did, and after the training I started to work on a suicide hotline. My, last two years of high school, I was doing theater, I had sport and all that activity, and I had this very private thing that I didn’t And, Not many people knew I was doing it, but I was working on Suicide Hotline.

So anyway, Montreal. When I left, I went to school in the States. Studied in University of the States and then I came back to Canada and I had a deep desire to work in development and human rights.

Okay. And so I joined Canada’s equivalent of the Peace Corps and I went to live in a village in West Java in Indonesia, a tiny place called Cisurupan.

And I lived with a family in this village that had four toilets, or choo stations, if you like. So with no running water you wash yourself with your left hand, and it’s a very beautiful culture and really an incredible experience. So the objective was that we were going to build a water delivery system to provide clean water to the villagers.

And we worked with the villagers on that and really one of the best years of my life. But because I, my theatre interest, I started a small theatre kind of program. We wrote a play with the kids and performed it. And that was really magical. So that was maybe my first experience of living in Asia.

Yana: What age were you at the time?

The change resided outside of where I was

Marc Nicholson: I was 23 at the time And did that for a year. Anyway, then I went back. I then decided to pursue a master’s degree in, in So I went to The Hague in the Netherlands and studied. I did a degree in international law, social justice, and human rights. After that, I moved to Cyprus. I worked for something called the Middle East Council of Churches as the coordinator of the Justice, Peace, and Human Rights program, which is a bit of a mouthful.

Towards the end of that, I really decided that I wanted to… I wanted to understand business and I wanted to get into business. I was quite disillusioned by that point of working as an activist in human rights. Yeah, I think it was I felt that, that change and power and influence resided outside of, Where I was. 

Yana: So you couldn’t make the change you wanted to make doing what you were doing.

Marc Nicholson: Absolutely right. It’s, in fact, a very competitive field, there’s many people who are pursuing it, but there are only so many jobs that are available, and otherwise you have to develop your own strategy for your own charity or what have you.

Yeah, but I was pretty. Out there, and I didn’t have a focus, and so I said, okay, I want to go and combine what I already have with a business degree, so I went and did an MBA in London, and in London I I met my wife, and yeah exactly yeah, but, my wife, Jean is Singaporean, and she had been living in London for a number of years, we studied together, and And then we decided, when we graduated, we worked and lived together.

And then in 2001. We were both working in dot com businesses, and that was the collapse of dot com 1. 0. And we said hey, let’s go to Asia. I was very keen to move to somewhere in Asia. I thought it would be Shanghai or Shenzhen or what have you.

But we set up camp here in Singapore and for a number of reasons. And in fact, SARS is one of those reasons we never left. I was going to set up a business in Shenzhen, but That was somewhat the epicentre of SARS and so we decided it was not right to move our young family. We just had a baby. My daughter was born and we said, maybe we shouldn’t do that. Maybe we’ll stick it out in Singapore and then Jean got a job and I started a business and then life just took over. We never Had a window to leave and live, like I love Singapore.

We’ve had a great time here raising our kids. And now I have my business here. So life is good. This is home.

Yana: And I know you have been here, what is it, more than 20 years? I am 21 years old. You have done many things. And even with AT&T, you guys are doing all kinds of stuff right now.

You’re expanding, right? Yes. With the project and new projects, you’re expanding to different cities in Asia. So I’m just curious about the entrepreneurial journey here. So here you are, right? You come as Sylvester. Okay, half Canadian, half French. Here you are, you show up in Asia, you become the founder, you start the business.

A few tough questions. Okay, so what was the biggest challenge? or doing the business here?

I’m a habitually failed entrepreneur who happens to be successful

Marc Nicholson: Yeah, so it’s not the first business I’ve done in Singapore. It’s probably the 10th business.

Yana: Okay. So you’re like a serial entrepreneur. Something works, something doesn’t.

Marc Nicholson: Correct. I am a habitually failed entrepreneur who happens to be Successful for this window. So I’ve done many things that didn’t go out.

Yana: That’s funny. Yeah.

Marc Nicholson: Yeah but I think it’s true for most and, for the entrepreneurs out there, expect failure. It’s a very healthy journey. It’s not a fun journey, but it’s a healthy one. So I had various companies before. Some did okay.

Some didn’t do okay. And when I had the idea to start 18-80 I wasn’t really sure and I thought it was quite ambitious and really another kind of important thing for entrepreneurs, if you can, is to have a really wonderful supportive spouse. My wife kept saying to me, keep going, this is the thing you’re meant for.

Yana: But you were the first one, right? Is it the first private club in Singapore?

Marc Nicholson: Not the first. There were others first of the sort of modern types, there are many clubs in Singapore, but you’re right, we’re Unique.

Yana: It is unique with everything that it offers.

So when you ask, what’s the biggest challenge? Okay, so raising money is a huge challenge. Getting people to believe that it’s going to work, acquiring customers like selling membership and designing the space and finding the property and all of those things are difficult.

And those are the expectations that any entrepreneur has to be prepared to confront. The things that I wasn’t prepared to confront were maybe with those, the things in my head. And this is what I always tell entrepreneurs, your biggest struggle is going to be with yourself. Exactly.

It’s those, to use a Hockney saying, it’s those self limiting beliefs and those voices in your head that try to protect you, really, to tell you, you shouldn’t do that, or you can’t do this or what have you. And that was like an amazing journey to confront those and push them back and fight them and say, I’m going to keep going.

That’s, did you have professionals helping or friends helping? Yeah. So like I say, my wife was the one who, who kept in the darkest times. I was like, ah, maybe I can stop. She was like, no, keep going. And that she had my back was very reassuring.

But also the consequence of not going ahead would’ve been far more drastic. If I had. Just said, oh, it was a great idea but the Market isn’t right, or I’m not right, or what have you. So anyway, we went for it and, we’re six years on, it’s been an amazing experience.

It’s exceeded all of my expectations by a large degree. And now we are in the process of opening two more projects. One in Hong Kong. And one in Bali, in Indonesia. And they are, for some weird reason, going to open at the right time which was not the intention. They were supposed to open nine months apart, but some weird law. we’re having twins at the same time. 

Yana: Clearly, you’re having twins. Do you know how much work it is when you have twins?

Marc Nicholson: Yeah I can’t say I know the answer to that, but I do know that making these two things and they feel like babies is all consuming. It’s a lot. It’s big. And it’s really fun. And I’m loving it. I feel very fortunate to be in this position.

Yana: things you learned in Singapore working with the Singaporean Market, even though Singapore is a very international Market, but it’s still Singaporean Market and here you go Bali, entirely different types of people living in Bali and going there, and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is also different. Yes. So how does that work business and mentality wise?

Does Hong Kong still have remnants of a colonial attitude?

Marc Nicholson: Yeah, so I think that’s a very good question. I had about 15 years of already living in Singapore. And I had many businesses, like I said. And I’ve worked with people, more senior than me and more junior than me.

And so I understood. I, culturally I understood my family is Singaporean and so I found the challenges there less bewildering. Going into a Market like Hong Kong, which is in many ways more, it’s everything Singapore is like a little bit more,

Yana: Yeah. It’s a bit New York.

Marc Nicholson: It’s very New Yorkish, it’s very, full on, it’s very intense, and in many ways it’s more expensive and more challenging than Singapore. So that’s been a really big learning curve on many fronts. you learn?

But in many ways, the cultural challenge is not with People in Hong Kong, like from Hong Kong, but with this, I find the expat community in Hong Kong is different from the expat community here. I think there is, I was surprised by, let’s say, the remnants of a colonial attitude and I don’t like that division.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and I think that maybe because I’m married to a Singaporean and I have Singaporean family, that I feel more integrated into Singapore society, whereas I find that more difficult in Hong Kong. And I find it’s a city of two halves and, I could be wrong about that, but on one level I find it very difficult. To get where we want to, but on another level I find a very cooperative attitude there. So I’m saying something that’s slightly in opposition, two opposites can exist at the same time.

Yana: And then there’s all kinds of cultural things happening in Hong Kong that are strictly of these times. And so linguistically, we find that we will have to cater much to a much larger Mandarin than you probably expected.

Marc Nicholson:  Yeah. No, but there’s a greater degree of mainland Chinese coming in. And there’s definitely a shift in China in Hong Kong. And that’s exciting and fun to be part of. And so we’re riding that wave. And then Bali is a totally different kettle of fish. Where I think, I find great pleasure.

That’s been fascinating because we’re working with a local team. They’re based in Denpasar in Bali. They’re 100 percent Indonesian and they’re really most beautiful kind of just

Great work ethic and the attitude of let’s just get this done and and just beautiful. And so that’s wonderful. And Bali is a very special place for those of us who know it and love it.

Yana: And Bali, the country, Bali is Indonesia, but it also isn’t, right? Bali is Bali. So my question I guess to you, okay, now you’re doing this business and to you guys opening a space, right?

But then how was your experience working with people there? I assume you work largely with local people, with Indonesians. Yeah, a hundred percent. So what is the experience as an entrepreneur?

Bali is not just Indonesia, Bali is Bali

Marc Nicholson: For me, really great, I said, I lived in Indonesia, so you know I have my little repertoire of sentences that I remember and that is, people always love it when you make an effort to speak in their language. I also have a huge fondness for the food

Yana: It’s a different kind of energy and it’s different. Experience then, like, how you motivate people.

Marc Nicholson: I want to say get the best out of, but that sounds

Yana: It’s a very good way of putting it. We’re all trying to get the best out of each other. It’s like we’re all walking each other home in a way.

Marc Nicholson: And it’s a cooperative effort, right? And you want to find a way to work and bring out the very best in people and bring out the best in yourself, right?

Yana: As a leader also, right? Exactly.

Marc Nicholson: the project. So that’s been really fun. And I would say it’s almost like being three different people. Like what works in Singapore, what works in Bali, and what works in Hong Kong are three different things. And, I’m There, there are,

I’m familiar with entrepreneurs who operate much bigger businesses in many more countries, let’s say 16 Markets across Southeast Asia or across Asia. And I know that those people would say the biggest mistake that people make coming to Asia is thinking that it’s one Market.

It is absolutely not. What works in Indonesia. Does not necessarily work in Vietnam, or in Thailand, or in Laos, or in Cambodia, etc. And that’s what makes this super exciting, that’s what makes it way, way more challenging.

But it’s not to say that you can’t build a business across Asia that will satisfy local Market demand. Absolutely can, but just don’t make the assumption that because it worked in Hong Kong, it’s gonna work in Bali, or because it worked in Singapore, it’s gonna work in Vietnam.

Yana: So is there like a basic line that lets say people who go into business and maybe especially for foreign, foreigners, people like us, even though we live here for many years, we were not born here, right? And we also look different.

We don’t look Asian. So people like us who go into the Market here and start the business. Singapore, Hong Kong, Bali, what do you need to pay attention to?

Kindness just works in the Asian Market

Marc Nicholson: I think the big mistake that people make coming out here is thinking of a very disciplined or aggressive approach.

Like even the cultural differences of working in North America and working in the UK. are pronounced, they’re significant and coming out to Asia, I’ve met chefs who have had entire teams walk out of their kitchen because they came with a Gordon Ramsay esque approach and they’re very confrontational and they’re very hard on people.

It’s do your work, and they will yell and they will swear and what have you. And people will take offence on a totally different level. And they will literally just walk out the room and sorry, you don’t treat me. So personal respect is something that I think you have to be very sensitive to.

Just in the world in general kindness kind of works. Kindness works. Yeah. Kindness just works. Really just being a nice human being and being kind and respectful Generally people like to work in that environment But I also know people who, there’s the abused child syndrome where, you’re just really hard on people and you push them really hard and they will perform harder.

This is not my style. I appreciate that it exists and people who want to work that way can have it. But I think we come from a very collaborative ethos when working together. This is something that I think intellectually I have processed over time, which is that it came from a time and a place where the individual is considered the most important. Your individual rights, your individual freedoms, me, right?

I would argue in favour of protecting the unit over the individual and the family, and broadens outward. And I do think that we. We often misinterpret the approach that people take, whether it’s Asia misinterpreting the West or it’s the West misinterpreting this Market.

Yana: You just briefly shared about the expert community and I know, for 1880, you guys have a very sort of diverse membership, correct?

So you have a lot of expatriates and you have a lot of local people also. Yes. And so again, just your experience as I don’t know, what do we call you? Do we call you an expat? Do we call you half Singaporean, right? So your experience of expats and locals here.

Marc Nicholson: My experience of expats and so that’s a fun question, because I originally said that we wouldn’t care, once you walk in the door, what race, religion, gender you are. We’re interested in nothing more than your mind, and your curiosity, and your kind of passion for whatever it is. Helping the world dance, music, whatever those things are that drive you, that’s what I was interested in.

We’re completely agnostic on differences. But it became very clear to me that I missed the point. And over the years I’ve figured out that you absolutely want to celebrate the differences that people bring in. Their cultural differences, their historic differences, their belief systems, and their way of thinking.

That is the real juice. That’s what makes the kaleidoscope so beautiful. And so that’s something that, that now I think we’re, we actively look for difference. And we want to celebrate it more.

Yana: Yeah. Um, you just said that you’re not the same person you were 20 years ago. Yeah, for sure. If you look at Marc 20 years ago, and you would like to say something to him.

What would you say?

It is important to make those mistakes in order to learn

Marc Nicholson: I think it’s important to make those mistakes and have those qualities had I been as wise when I was 20 I, or 20 years ago I might be living on a mountain and be a sage. do all these crazy things, but I love the energy of and the search for your own meaning and your own purpose and that is maybe life’s journey and we all need to go on it.

More than anything, I would say, stop worrying about what you’re doing. Just keep going. There was more anxiety than there was necessary. There were more sleepless nights than was necessary. And just the simple belief that you… The worst case scenario is just not that bad. So that’s a practice that I’ve started to have.

Which is just meditate on the idea of what is your deepest fear. And then take it apart. And then you go, oh, there’s nothing really to fear. It’s not that bad. right? Worst case, you’re still going to get up and be able to walk the next morning. So I think that’s the thing. Just calm down and enjoy the ride.

Yana: Thank you. Thank you so much. That was such a great conversation. That was Marc Nicholson on Yana TV and Marc and I would love to hear from you guys. So in the comments, please let us know about your entrepreneurial journey.

And especially if you have this diversity, maybe you worked in different countries, so you run businesses in different countries. Just curious to hear, why did you learn? It’s all about the collective. We are all sharing here. And. Of course, remember, subscribe to the YouTube channel, share this video with a friend, and thank you and MUSE studio, our venue and videography partner for supporting Yana TV.

See you next time.