# From Hackathon Rivals to $1M Startup

> Raymond Loong Ng, 21, deferred college to build Makeable in San Francisco after his startup raised $1 million in funding.
- Title: From Hackathon Rivals to $1M Startup · Business Insider
- Summary: Raymond Loong Ng, 21, deferred college to build Makeable in San Francisco after his startup raised $1 million in funding. Raymond Loong Ng, 21, put college…
- Keywords: raymond loong ng, makeable, afore capital, startup funding, san francisco, neural drive, college deferral, hackathons, business, technology, Hackathon, Rivals
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/gen-z-college-raise-funding-vc-startup-san-francisco-hackathon-2026-10
- Author: Amanda Goh
- Published: 2026-10-12T04:02:01.229+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: raymond loong ng, makeable, afore capital, startup funding, san francisco, neural drive, college deferral, hackathons, business, technology
## From Vietnam to Singapore to startups
Raymond Loong Ng was born in Vietnam and moved to Singapore at nine. As a child he sold toys, snacks and sneakers to classmates for pocket money.
## Tech as a tool for business
At sixteen, Ng interned at an auditing firm and spoke with business owners. He saw technology as a tool to advance in the business world.
## Building projects in Singapore
Ng got a diploma in applied AI and analytics at a polytechnic. He built an AI tool helping ex-offenders find jobs and started a community of young AI builders.
## Rivals become cofounders
Ng met his future cofounder at hackathons where they competed on rival teams. They often worked until two or three a.m. and decided to team up.
## Neural Drive at a medical hackathon
In late twenty twenty-three they entered competitions together and won. At a medical technology hackathon in twenty twenty-five, they built a device helping paralyzed patients communicate through brainwaves and eye blinks.
## Drawn to Silicon Valley
Ng grew up fascinated by Silicon Valley and watched Jobs and The Social Network. He applied to US colleges but was rejected by all before being accepted to the National University of Singapore.
## Afore Capital invests and brings them to San Francisco
In June, Afore Capital made a two hundred fifty thousand dollar pre-seed investment in Neural Drive. Ng and his cofounder joined its two-month Founders-in-Residence program in San Francisco.
## Deferring college to build
College was due to begin in August. Ng deferred his enrollment and his cofounder requested a leave of absence from school to focus on the startup.
## Makeable emerges from the pivot
During two intense months in San Francisco, Ng and his cofounder pivoted to Makeable, a startup letting people build physical products from ideas by describing them in a prompt.
## One million dollars raised, returning to San Francisco
In the final week of the program, Afore Capital made a follow-on investment bringing total funding to one million dollars. Ng and his cofounder are applying for O-one visas to return to San Francisco.
## Key takeaway

Raymond Loong Ng, 21, put college on hold after his San Francisco startup Makeable raised $1 million from Afore Capital, pivoting from a medical device called Neural Drive.