Embedded Files
Loh Jyn Yih - Chief Financial Officer
Bachelor in Accountancy (HonS) with a Second Specialisation in Predictive and Forensic Analysis and a Minor in Entrepreneurship
Experiences
Audit & Assurance
Forensic Accounting with Liquidation & Litigation Support
Ideasinc Veni Cohort 3
Passions
Investment in Stocks and Cryptocurrency
Basketball
Volunteering (mainly in helping the elderly and mental wellness)
Photography
About Myself
About Myself
Good day to everyone reading my blogspace!
My name is Jyn Yih, a final year Accountancy student (as of AY21-22) with a second specialisation in Predictive and Forensic Analysis and a Minor in Entrepreneurship. This page contains my journal in my learning journey of being an Entrepreneur.
My interest in Entrepreneurship sparked when I was asked by my close friends to try and build up a start-up on real problem in the hawker industry in Singapore. In the process, I realised how I could let my creative juice run free and also aiding in my desire to find more practical experiences to aid in my learning journey as an accountant as I pursue my studies in Accountancy. However, due to the team's lack of proper experience, we believed that we were not able to properly execute the business idea we had with the skillsets we possessed at the period of time. Subsequently, I decided to join the Minor in Entrepreneurship (MiE) course earlier in June 2021 to improve my prospects as an entrepreneur, expand my network and be able to better position myself to successfully start a company up.
Another spark in my journey of entrepreneurship would be my teammates. A big part of entrepreneurship is that ideas are cheap and what truly matters is the cohesiveness and camaraderie of the team executing the idea. I am blessed to have met my current teammates in MiE, all of who are likeminded, passionate and fun yet serious people who wish to grow together as we pursue this journey.
To all future participants of MiE, I hope this blog will serve as an source of inspiration and advice as you pursue your journey in Entrepreneurship!
For all past, present and future entrpereneurs, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/jyn-yih-loh-670097172) to network and be able to have a two-way sharing our experiences in our journey as Entrepreneurs and learn from one another!
Formation of our team
25th September will be the first day that my fellow batchmates and I embark on our journey in ET9135A. Formation of the team was simple as Gabriel, Nigel, Stevenson, Kelvin & I had previously worked together in our ET9131-34 modules. We welcomed 2 new members, Richmond and Qi Qi into the team. I was subsequently nominated by my team to be team leader.
This lesson was also the introduction to our mentor, Mr Roderick. He had given us tips and recommedations to a few of our proposed ideas for our team to ponder on in the coming weeks.
25th September 2021
25th September 2021
2nd October 2021
2nd October 2021
Brainstorming session #1
On the 2nd of October, my team and I met on Zoom to continue with brainstorming for business idea.
Lots of ideas were flying around. Yet, there was a lack of depth from research in any of the ideas that were brought forward. As we were able to boil down to 2 main ideas ideated by Nigel + Kelvin & Gabriel + Richmond, I, as team leader, decided to ask the 2 teams to provide a pitch to the team, covering aspects such as value proposition, financial feasibility and a rough scope of how each of us will be able to contribute meaningfully as individuals in this business idea. For Qi Qi, Stevenson and myself, we decided to start searching on previous batches for the skeleton of the business proposal so as to allow the team to straight away start on the business proposal upon choosing the idea and the idea being vetted by Mr Roderick.
The meeting was subsequently concluded and we decided to reconvene on 7th October to hear the pitches from the 2 different schools of thoughts.
Brainstorming session #2
As per the previous meeting, the 2 teams made their pitch for all of us to decide on the ideas. The 2 main ideas were: 1) helping small companies/start-ups in the baking field to optimise the business aspect while being able to focus on their baking crafts, 2) Promoting art therapy through terrarium making.
At the conclusion of 2 very passionate and fiery pitch, an overwhelming response led to the team in taking up idea number 1. Kudos to both team for taking the time off to research deeply and delivering 2 passionate pitches.
With that, we contacted Mr Roderick for him to vet our business idea and managed to set the date for 10th October 2021.
7th October 2021
7th October 2021
10th October 2021
10th October 2021
Brainstorming session #3 + idea finalised with Mr Roderick
Upon meeting Mr Roderick, we presented the 2 different ideas that were brought up in previous meetings and our preferred choice.
Mr Roderick was on the opinion that idea number 1 was not feasible in being able to make sales within the 6 months that we will have in this course. It was then where the team presented idea number 2 and Mr Roderick was more keen on this idea as we will definelty be able to make a sale within the next 6 months. Mr Roderick subsequently provided us with more tips and recommendations to aid us in our task.
At the conclusion of the meeting, we now have a fixed business idea and we are able to commence on doing the business proposal in preparation of our business proposal presentation on the 16th of October, 9am.
MiE Batch 57 - Business Idea proposal presentation
Today was Batch 57's business idea pitch, an accumulation of the various teams' effort and preparation over the past week.
For my team, we had spent the past week on numerous zoom calls to coordinate efforts to research and ensure that we were well prepared for the presentation that we gave.
Mr Roderick's comments to us:
1) Ensure that we research thoroughly on how terrarium aids art therapy and ensure that our team is well-versed in the topic to be able to successfully communicate and execute our business idea.
2) Ensure that we have established key partners and supply chains before executing the business idea
3) Look into past batches businesses and identify their main problems and determine if it is applicable to our business idea.
After the presentation and at the conclusion of the class, the team held a separate call to discuss our plan moving forward. We split ourselves into 3 areas of work -
1) Establishing supplier and key partners relationship (Done by: Gabriel, Nigel and Jyn)
2) Market research and validation (Done by: Stevenson, Qi Qi)
3) Doing up the prototype design and setting up of our team's technological platforms (Done by: Richmond & Kelvin).
We have also agreed to meet up every Saturday to share with team on our progress.
16th October 2021
16th October 2021
Weekly Meeting #1
The team held its first weekly meeting, with many more to come.
As Team leader, I brought up the relevant discussion points:
Financials: Preparation of paid up capital, budgeting
Operations: Timeline of setting up the process flow for our customers & workshop program to teach basic building and maintanence of our terrarium
Marketing: To start conducting market validation & survey of our business problem and solution
Technology: Finding the most optimal platform to push our products online
24th October 2021
24th October 2021
30th October 2021
30th October 2021
Visit to local suppliers
Some of the group made a trip down to an area near Thomson road which houses one of Singapore's largest nurseries, such as Far East Flora (FEF). We chanced upon a hidden gem near FEF, called Candy Flowers. We were able to find some of the plants we are planning to include in our range of plants.
After our trip to Candy Flowers, we went over to JM flowers and were able to source for other miscellanous products such as the sand, pebbles and soil.
At the conclusion of our trip, I managed to take note of the prices provided by the various florist and I came up with a proposed budget to the team which will be used in our weekly meeting on Sunday, 31st October 2021.
Weekly Meeting #2
The team held its second weekly meeting.
The relevant discussion points that was discussed:
Financials: Updated cost price of our COGS, budgeting with the paid-up capital received from all team members.
Operations: Christmas design and workshop program flow update
Marketing: Continue on market validation & setting up of our instagram platform (@felixnatura.sg)
Technology: Continuing on the design of our website and what is the optimal placement of our product listings.
As team leader, I gave my input on finding the most optimal solution to all the problems which was provided by my team. At the conclusion of the meeting, I am happy to say that our team is progressing at a pace quicker than expected even though everyone is rushing for deadlines in the month of November. Thank you to everyone!
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 31st October 2021)
31th October 2021
31th October 2021
6th November 2021
6th November 2021
Visiting Suppliers and conducting product trials
While there was purpose to today's trip to check out and source our suppliers, the trip was an eye-opening trip nonetheless, seeing so many types of plants available in one place, with so many people willing to travel to an far and isolated place to take interest in the plants and the concept of gardening.
This has given us better insights on our operations process flow, our logistical flow and also the cost of our products to paint a more realistic picture of our MVP.
Our next steps are to still visit a few more suppliers to ascertain the best pricing, create a concept for our packaging and proceed on with sales soon.
Colorful cactus!
Colorful cactus!
So many plants.....
So many plants.....
& many more.....
& many more.....
Weekly Meeting #3
The team held its third weekly meeting.
The relevant discussion points I brought up that was discussed:
Financials: Updated cost price of our COGS after the trip to our suppliers, discussed pricing strategies with operating & marketing team.
Operations: Moving onto packaging design & ordering figurine for christmas design, with workshop flow planning due soon
Marketing: Moving from survey to interviewing candidates on our business solution
Technology: Continuing on the design of our website, taking note of new product listing & placement
As team leader, I gave my input on finding the most optimal solution to all the problems which was provided by my team. With the supplier relationship established, we can now proceed on the product design/MVP stage in preparation to convert our 0 to 1 sales by December
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 7th November 2021)
7th November 2021
7th November 2021
8th November 2021
8th November 2021
Visiting other suppliers
I decided to make a trip down to another location (very isolated i might add) to diversify our supply chain should our main supplier not have the required inventory to sustain our operations.
I got to admit, the trip brought me to an unknown part of Singapore which was peaceful and scenic, reminded me of Malaysia or even abit of Laos.
Back to the topic of visiting other suppliers, there were 2 shops facing across each other, both dealing with landscape and as a nursery. They had a larger variety of plants & terrarium casings as compared to our main suppliers, but their cost prices was slightly higher than our main suppliers.
It was an eyeopening trip, which provides Felix Natura with an alternative source of supply chain. This could also help us with providing a wider variety of plants & terrarium designs for our customers.
(Pictures are collapsible)
Weekly Meeting #4
The team held its fourth weekly meeting.
The relevant discussion points I brought up that was discussed:
Financials: Managed to source for suppliers which actually helped us to lower our costs. Looking at further ways to optimise our budgets.
Operations: Asking for ideation of the design of our workshop flows.
Marketing: Starting on building a control group to test our MVP.
Technology: Continuing on the design of our website, updating after photographs of our existing inventory has been done.
As team leader, I gave my input on finding the most optimal solution to all the problems which was provided by my team. We are awaiting for supplies from overseas to proceed on the product design/MVP stage in preparation to convert our 0 to 1 sales by December alongside our online store, social media marketing and also rolling out our workshop.
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 21st November 2021)
21st November 2021
21st November 2021
4th December 2021
4th December 2021
Weekly Meeting #5
The team held its fifth weekly meeting.
The relevant discussion points I brought up that was discussed:
Financials: Proceeding with bulk purchase for our first 100 sets. confirmation with everyone on the confirmed suppliers
Operations: Coming up with Christmas-themed terrarium designs to serve as an inspiration for our customer
Marketing: Reaching out control group who are testing our MVP for their orders.
Technology: Continuing on the design of our website.
We are looking forward to making our first sales soon as soon as all our parts which we have purchased overseas previously comes to Singapore. The team is proceeding at a good pace and I am thankful that everyone is putting in the effort for this idea to come into fruition
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 4th December 2021)
Product trial
It was definelty a hectic week for myself as i had a big hand in the procurement, packing and delivery of our product trial while juggling other commitments on the side.
There was definelty alot of trial & error in the process of packing as this was the first time that this was conducted on a grand scale (packing for 10 orders)
It was tiring, but being able to see the idea which was just an idea 2 months ago taking flight makes me proud of the journey all 7 of us had embarked on as we expand into making our first sales hopefully by next week as our website is operational.
10th - 18th December 2021
10th - 18th December 2021
19th December 2021
19th December 2021
Weekly Meeting #6
The team held its fifth weekly meeting.
The relevant discussion points I brought up that was discussed:
Financials: Sourcing new materials to aid in improving our MVP more aesthetically pleasing at a low cost.
Operations: Ideation of workshop video concept
Marketing: Analysis of feedbacks provided by product trial users
Technology: Remarks on websites + 3 steps progression to roll out our product listings progressively and ensure website is up to standard.
With the launch of our website, this will enable us to take in sales in the upcoming week. Although the website took longer than expected to be completed, at least we have started on sales for the christmas period which we hope will create some demand for our product
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 10-19th December 2021)
First 10 sales
Our first 10 sales was an eyeopener as we made alot of changes to our product as per the feedbacks from our product trial series.
It was definetly wasn't easy having to do the packing and deliveries for our first 10 customers throughout the week, but at the end of the day, I am glad that we have started sales and thus starting a new milestone in Felix Natura's journey!
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 20-25th December 2021)
20th - 25th December 2021
20th - 25th December 2021
26th December 2021
26th December 2021
Meeting #7 + Cohesion
As detailed in the Team blog, I hosted the team at my place on the day after Christmas for the following objectives:
1) Inventory stock-take & Quality check of the terrarium casings which came from overseas
2) Development model of the "Classic" & "Enclosed" product lines
3) Deployment of our two aforementioned product lines
4) Weekly Meeting
The relevant discussion points I brought up that was discussed:
Financials:
Incorporation matters
Discussion on improving the quality and aesthetic of our product while keeping in mind the budget
Operations:
Timeline of workshop
sourcing for alternate suppliers to secure our supply chain network
Build-up of our logistic network and being able to send product through the network
Marketing:
Pursuing new platforms for outreach of our products: dateideas.sg
Technology:
Remarks on websites
Roll-out of Step 2 of our website
We ended the meeting with a hearty meal and cohesion to conclude our 3rd month together and celebrate christmas as we prepare to usher into another year ahead for 2022!
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 26th December 2021)
Rounding 2021 with 21 sales
Our second week of sales ended with us having a cumulative sales of 21 of our terrarium DIY kit! This led to us having a gross revenue of $600!
This is a momentual event for all of us at Felix Natura, given that quite a number of terrarium kits were purchased by people outside of our friend circle as it was thanks to our strong marketing team!
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 27-31st December 2021)
27th - 31st December 2021
27th - 31st December 2021
3rd January 2022
3rd January 2022
Meeting #8
The team held its eighth weekly meeting. The relevant discussion points I brought up as team leader that was discussed are:
Financials:
Pricing strategy for our Enclosed & Classic terrarium set
Operations:
Sourcing for new plants: Ruby star
Workshop Ideas for NTU Banyan Hall
Marketing:
Ideas for CNY social media posts
Technology:
Initiating talks of customer service and enquires to fulfill customer satisfaction
The team is looking at pushing CNY-themed terrarium as we are looking at
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 3rd January 2022)
Site Visit
Decided to spend the week achieving 2 goals: Sourcing alternative supplier and also doing up the workshop guide video for Mr Roderick
I took the opportunity to visit a newly sourced supplier to determine if price point is competitive as compared to our existing supplier. While at the supplier, was able to find a plant that Richmond was looking for as he aims to convert some B2C sales through Financial Advisors (FA) - Ruby Star. We shall look at adding in that plant as one of our collection of plants if possible.
In addition, Operations team spent a day at my house doing the fliming for the workshop guide video which we intend to show Mr Roderick as part of his review of our workshop and provide us with valuable feedback to conduct the feedback.
4th January - 9th January 2022
4th January - 9th January 2022
Fliming for our terrarium building guide video
Fliming for our terrarium building guide video
Curating our CNY product!
Curating our CNY product!
Coming up with extra ideas for CNY!
Coming up with extra ideas for CNY!
10th January 2022
10th January 2022
Meeting #9
The team held its nineth weekly meeting. The relevant discussion points I brought up as team leader that was discussed are:
Financials:
Pricing strategy for our Enclosed & Classic terrarium set
Operations:
Sourcing for new plants: Ruby star
Workshop Ideas for NTU Banyan Hall
Marketing:
Ideas for CNY social media posts
Technology:
Initiating talks of customer service and enquires to fulfill customer satisfaction
The team is looking at pushing CNY-themed terrarium as we are looking at
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 10th January 2022)
Meeting #11 - Weekly update
The team held its tenth weekly meeting. The relevant discussion points I brought up as team leader that was discussed are:
Operations:
Following up on workshop leads from NTU Banyan Hall
Sourcing for new plants (Ruby Star)
Marketing:
CNY & Valentine day
Technology:
Building up Workshop page link
Finishing up Terrarium care link
Customer service link
As we have built a foundation for Felix Natura with our current progress, Jyn also took this opportunity to reorganise the company as we delve deeper into the following sectors: Workshop operations and Customer Service. This will enable us to diversify our revenue stream while also ensuring that we cater to our current customers.
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 24th January 2022)
24th January 2022
24th January 2022
30th January 2022
30th January 2022
Meeting #12 - Weekly updates
The team held its twelfth weekly meeting. The relevant discussion points I brought up as team leader that was discussed are:
Financials:
Pricing strategy for our CNY terrariums across all our platforms
Operations:
Refining of flow for workshops
Sourcing for Richmond's special terrarium designs
Marketing:
Running through social media advertisments for CNY
Starting on ideas for Valentines' Day advertisment
Reflecting on Mr Rodericks & Ms Lily's comments on our marketing directions
Technology:
Refining the process for Customer enquires and ensuring a standard for customer satisfaction
This week, my main task was to realign the team on the direction for February 2022 as we look forward for sales of 2 major festivities, Chinese New Year & Valentines Day.
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 30th January 2022)
Meeting #13 - Weekly update
The team held its thirdteenth weekly meeting. The relevant discussion points I brought up as team leader that was discussed are:
Operations:
AAR on CNY execution
Starting on product design for Valentines' Day
Workflow & design for workshop
Marketing:
AAR on CNY marketing strategy
Starting on Valentines Day marketing strategies
Technology:
Starting Valentines Day product listing
Adding on terrarium kit accessories
Automating customer enquires sections
I used this week to conduct an AAR on our CNY sales ( where we made close to 11 sales) so as to further enhance our sales direction for Valentines' day. We are also starting to focus alot more on our developing workshop for B2B direction & leaning our marketing strategy.
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 7th February 2022)
7th February 2022
7th February 2022
13th February 2022
13th February 2022
Meeting #14 - Weekly updates
The team held its fourteenth weekly meeting. The relevant discussion points I brought up as team leader that was discussed are:
Financials:
Pricing strategy for our workshop
Refining the pricing strategy for our product listings
Operations:
Reviewing final workflow designs for the workshops
AAR on Valentines' day sales
Marketing:
AAR on Valetines day marketing strategy + Dateideas.sg
Starting on marketing for B2B workshops
Technology:
Finalisation of our website designs for workshops sections
This week, I reviewed with my team on AAR for our Valentines' day sales (where we made close to 14 sales). There was a great cheer on our back-to-back festivities and how we were able to achieve good sales targets for the two festivities, setting precedences for our future events.
Moving forward, we would want to push towards B2B Workshop as it presents a better opportunity to spread the love and also help us with our sales volumes.
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 13th February 2022)
Meeting #15 - Gearing towards Business Showcase
The team held its fifthteenth weekly meeting. The relevant discussion points I brought up as team leader that was discussed are:
Operations:
Curating the list for materials for Business Showcase
Preparation for workshop with WePack
Marketing:
Refining marketing strategy for Business Showcase
Technology:
Ideations for refining websites for Business Showcase
I used this week to discuss on Felix Natura's future after MiE. I wanted to understand everyone's commitment after MiE, with people like Qi Qi & I graduating, so as to see if we can retain the team to build Felix Natura.
Everyone was looking to stay, though some preferred passive roles due to their commitments. We seek to see what we can achieve with a timeline set by when everyone graduate (except Qi Qi & I), with the main direction towards building our branding in B2B workshop.
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 20th February 2022)
20th February 2022
20th February 2022
27th February 2022
27th February 2022
Meeting #16 - Weekly updates
The team held its sixteenth weekly meeting. We mainly worked on refining our business showcase slides and also ensuring that everything is in place for our workshop with WePack!
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 13th February 2022)
WePack X Felix Natura workshop
This was a day that we were highly anticipating for as we had slowly and carefully curated our workshop process flow for this day!
Sadly for Gabriel and I, we were still down with COVID-19 Positive which we attained a week earlier and we were able to only help deliver the logistics and clean up the venue after the end of the workshop. Though this not severely impact our team as we had Nigel, Richmond & Qi Qi who were capable facilitators on their own, so kudos to their efforts for conducting the workshop successfully!
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 2nd March 2022)
2nd March 2022
2nd March 2022
Kudos to Nigel, Richmond & Qi Qi!
Kudos to Nigel, Richmond & Qi Qi!
Thanks to our capable facilitators!
Happy terrariums!
Happy terrariums!
Everyone present at the workshop was happy :)
Setting up the workshop
Setting up the workshop
Helping to set up the event before our participants come in!
3-8th March 2022
3-8th March 2022
Preparing for Business Showcase
During the week before our eventual business showcase where our team will showcase what we have done and achieved for the past 6 months, we had to prepare our presentation slide deck for our eventual presentation.
In addition, Nigel and I took the time to also carefully curate 1 terrarium of each product listing we had on top of our already large amounts of terrariums that we previously built to showcase to our future batches of MIE students.
Next and final stop will be our showcasing on the 9th of March and we can't eagerly wait to showcase what our team has done for the past 6 months!
Creative Terrarium DIY kit
Creative Terrarium DIY kit
Enclosed terrarium
Enclosed terrarium
ET9135 - Business Showcase
Today is the day all of us are eagerly waiting for!
It definelty felt so surreal, having been just the students listening to our previous batches sharing their experiences with us to us sharing our experiences with the future batches.
The whole set-up and presentation was definelty very exhausting, but at the end of the day, being able to share my experience with the future batches made it enriching and fulfilling, just like how Batch 56 did for us.
Our team's presentation was good and we gave it our all and I am grateful for my team's dedication for the past 6 months. Kudos to my team and thank you to everyone for playing a big part in this journey!
The full version of our meeting can be found at this link (blogspot dated 9th March 2022)
9th March 2022
9th March 2022
13th March 2022
13th March 2022
Felix Natura x NTU Welfare Service Club (Elders)
This is a bonus blogspot for myself as I was personally requested by my volunteer club to help conduct a terrarium-building workshop during their Volunteer Enrichment Day as I was part of the main committee.
As none of my members were available for this event (partially because it was a last minute event), I took it upon myself to run a workshop for 30 people on my own to make up for the Felix Natura x Wepack workshop which I was unable to take part and facilitate due to my COVID-19 Positive status.
As everyone in the event was enjoying themselves with the relaxing and fun atmosphere, this reinforced my team and I's gratification from conducting physical workshop as it brings joy to people and also bonded everyone together.
The overall feedback from the event was very positive as alot of the people in attendance enjoyed the team-bonding event while being able to build something that is uniquely theirs!
Conclusion
Conclusion
This will be my final blog post here on this website.
I was asked by the course coordinator this question during my business showcase:" what is your biggest takeaway from MIE?". My answer was simple, the knowledge & foundations that our professors taught and instilled in us on the entrepreneurial spirit and also the friendships that were forged in 6 +3 months of MIE.
Despite the ardulous nights where we had to rush through our presentations throughout the whole of MIE, I have never regretted once signing up and setting foot in MIE course. MIE has really provided me a platform and exposure to the world of Entrepreneurship, and I intend to further pursue this journey, if possible, with the great team of mine!
As team leader, I had set out to ensure that my team didn't focus on the grades, but more of making this journey as fun as possible together, to which this extent, i hoped i had fulfill what I set out to do. It has been an honour to have gone through this journey with a team of driven, like-minded and fun people (this also extend to everyone in Batch 57!). So my advice to any team leaders reading this blog, please ensure you set the right tone and example as the rest of the team will look to you for directions in your entrepreneurial journey.
As our journey in MIE comes to an end, a new door opens and awaits all of us as we intend to continue Felix Natura. In addition, we intend to pursue a few new business ventures as a team when we are able to stabilise Felix Natura as a running business.
To the upcoming batches, I shared with Batch 59 that "Great things in business are never not done by one person. They are done by a team of great people". Treasure and value the people around you and forge good connections with your team and some friendships can last a lifetime!
If any of the future batches wishes to chat or are in need of advices, do connect with me on Linkedin (www.linkedin.com/in/jyn-yih-loh-670097172), I am more than willing to share my experiences with anyone :)
Till then,
Jyn Yih
Team Leader of Group 1
Co-founder | Finance Director of Felix Natura LLP
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