FEAR OF MISSING OUT ON QUALITY FOOD?

Hipster hawkers are in trend these days. We met with the founder of ‘FOMO’, Wilmer Ang, who shared his thoughts on running his hipster hawker

 Written by: Cara Oh | Photos by: Cara Oh

Along the streets were clusters of people, city folks dressed casually in comfort and spontaneity. Across the street, chatter and laughter radiated. It was a place capable of creating unforgettable memories - FOMO.

FOMO, the abbreviation for ”Fear of Missing Out”, is a hipster-style food court situated at 38 Sultan Gate. Comprising seven different stalls with a variety of cuisines, FOMO caters to food lovers of all appetites and palates.

Before FOMO, the 29-year-old was a research analyst for the smartphone market. He revealed that it has always been his ambition to start his own business since his school days.

“We had the opportunity to take up the space. So we decided to grab it and set up a platform where young people like us can come together as a community to start something great,” he says.

Wilmer says: “Through research and asking around, we found that the main reason why people choose not to dine here initially was because they were unsure about the quality of our food. They saw us as just another ‘aesthetic place with no quality food’. Some seemed to have the impression that the food we serve would be awfully expensive too.”

When asked what his favourite part about running FOMO is, Wilmer expresses: “Amusingly, my favourite part is actually my biggest challenge. That is the everyday managing of the operations. I enjoy working with my partners and employees to make my customers happy. When they leave satisfied and smiling, it is the most rewarding feeling on Earth.”

“The challenges that I face on a daily basis differ every day, though. But that’s the beauty of this industry,” he says smiling broadly while looking down.

Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, the young businessman has made many mistakes, but he chooses to see them as his greatest takeaways.

He says: “The mistakes we have made from the start to the present are our most important lessons. We are bound to encounter many setbacks, and we may not be able to overcome every single one all the time. The most important thing is to learn from the incident and instil measures to prevent similar ones from happening.”

FOMO is Wilmer’s first venture. For now, he intends to continue to improve on bringing the best to the customers at FOMO.

In the future, he hopes to explore more of such concepts and expand his business, amplifying happiness through it.