“If you’re thinking about entrepreneurship, don’t stay in just one lane. Get exposed to different parts of the business early, whether it’s product, sales, operations or finance. It helps you understand what your teammates do, build empathy for their challenges, and become a better team player.” — Jax Lee (Chemical Engineering ’09)
For Jax Lee, CDE alumnus and CEO/co-founder of Nanolumi, entrepreneurship has been a journey of curiosity, iteration and learning from the market.
Nanolumi is a deep-tech company that helps verify energy products such as petroleum, biofuels and green fuels. By combining advanced materials, optics and software, the company gives these products a verifiable identity, helping companies and governments check their quality, origin and sustainability claims as they move through complex supply chains.
Jax’s entrepreneurial journey began during his NUS Overseas Colleges internship at a tech start-up in Silicon Valley, and has since taken him through pivots, market discovery and the challenge of building a business from the ground up. His advice to students and aspiring founders is simple: ask questions, tap university networks, and use your time in school to understand how different parts of a business work.
That spirit of connection and discovery is at the heart of CDE Innovation Day on 21 October 2026. The event brings together students, researchers, founders, industry partners and others interested in innovation and entrepreneurship — creating opportunities to exchange ideas, build connections and explore how research and technology can create real-world impact.
Get your tickets here.(opens in new tab)
