What made you decide to set up TheKopiWrite?
Ms Kopi C: I got the idea from the lack of introspective, thought-provoking articles in the local scene. There was definitely no platform like Medium or Thoughtcatalog where people could submit their works and have it published. Although our generation loves snackable content, I felt that there was a saturation of lifestyle articles, listicles, guides and content aimed at being viral. I wanted something more personal, like a blogging platform of sorts. Hence I came up with the idea of TheKopiWrite, a collective platform for expression. I love entrepreneurship so I was really excited to get it done!
Who’s the team behind the site?
Ms Kopi C: Me and my very close friend from secondary school are the founders of the site. I roped Ms Kopi O in because I know she loves writing and has been freelancing on the side. She’s an awesome writer haha so she can help me handle the content and editorial aspect of the site, while I handle the creative, tech and business side of it.
What was the most difficult/tedious part of setting up the entire shebang?
Ms Kopi C: Oh, definitely when I was trying to do everything on my own at first, before I roped in my co-founder. Website development was a real challenge, because the cost of hiring a developer was too much for me to bear. So I had to get basic coding knowledge by myself haha and experiment with email campaigns and all the other necessary stuff. It was like a huge crash course haha! After I got advice from the company I interned at and roped in my co-founder, Ms Kopi O, everything was a lot easier.
Ms Kopi O: Definitely the learning process. I wouldn’t call it a crash course haha I would call it a car crash! We just tripped, stumbled and picked ourselves up along the way. I definitely didn’t anticipate the amount of work and things going on behind the scene haha. But the sweet part was when we started getting submissions and got so many talented writers join us as in-house writers. [MUCH LOVE GUYS]
What plans do you have for TheKopiWrite?
Ms Kopi C: Right now it depends on our viewership. Talks are already underway to collaborate with a local designer to creating exclusive merchandise for the site. We’re also in the midst of obtaining a booth to showcase TheKopiWrite!
Ms Kopi O: For long term expansion plans, we’re looking to extend TheKopiWrite’s reach to Singaporeans communities overseas as well. Think their experiences would make for a very interesting read.
What do you guys do outside of TheKopiWrite?
Ms Kopi C: I am actually a freelance designer and a business student. Writing hasn’t always been my forte, although I l do love to dabble in it. I created this site with a hope of improving my writing as well, just as how we accept almost all submissions and provide input on how to edit their work if needed.
Ms Kopi O: No comment. 😛
Last question – What’s up with the anonymity? Why haven’t you shown your faces? Who are you guys exactly?
Ms Kopi C: We like to keep ourselves anonymous because I feel that this is an advantage we can take while using the internet. We want our work to be recognized for its merits, instead people attaching preconceived notions about it based on our identities.
Ms Kopi O: Because I am Italian Mafia.
Ms Kopi C: >.>
