Why F&B in Singapore Can Be Challenging
For many in the F&B industry, the dream is to find a profitable niche and then scale quickly. But as Chua Ee Chien learned, that strategy can be a fatal mistake, especially in Singapore. He argues that the country's unique market forces businesses to thrive at the extremes—either as a high-end destination for those with money to spare or as a low-cost hawker stall serving the masses. The "middle ground," where you compete with everyone and their mother, is a place where businesses "go to die."
His own experience serves as a cautionary tale. He admits that his business, which started with a single outlet, made the critical error of expanding too quickly, a common tendency in Singapore. This over-eagerness, he believes, is what "killed" the venture. He learned that being "fickle" is a Singaporean trait, and without an effective strategy to combat it, even the most promising concepts can fade away.
The Unsung Heroes of Success: Hard Work & Resilience
"Quiet Quitting," Ee Chien's message is a refreshing reminder of the old-school virtues of hard work and unyielding resilience.
He argues that these are the skills that ultimately allow you to adapt and survive. He recounts facing a 60% increase in cooking oil prices and a 30% jump in a chef’s salary in just six months—insurmountable challenges that demanded more than just a good business plan.
His philosophy challenges the idea that a successful pivot is an act of pure genius. Instead, he believes it is born from the gumption to push through and the wisdom to recognise a new opportunity when it presents itself. He learned that even if you have the intelligence and capital, without resilience, you won't be able to pivot and try new things.
The Maverick's Journey to Finding Joy
Ultimately, Ee Chien’s journey is about more than business; it's about personal growth. It's the story of a man who moved from a "good white-collar job" to a venture he found on a website and then back into the corporate world. His key takeaway is simple: don't do what your mother, father, or society expects of you. Do what you genuinely enjoy.
He reflects on how he learned more in three months at Uber than in two years at a prestigious bank because the work was "super fun" and provided an environment where he was constantly learning. This search for enjoyment and new experiences has defined his journey and continues to guide him as he explores new opportunities in the fast-paced world of AI and Web3.
To dive deeper into Ee Chien's candid philosophy and hear more about his journey from finance to F&B and beyond, be sure to watch and listen to the full episode of the Offscript part of the Wild & Wise Podcast. Hosted by Gerald, Ben, and Vincent, this podcast explores how entrepreneurs and business leaders stay resilient and adaptable in a world that never stops evolving. Whether you're an F&B owner, a student, or simply someone navigating a career change, you'll discover valuable insights into pushing boundaries and finding your purpose in a fast-changing world.
Be Wild & Wise Today
Are you ready to unlock your strengths and achieve personal or professional growth? Whether you need help with personal branding, team alignment, or strengths-based coaching, Wild & Wise is here to guide you. Book your free consultation and take the first step towards your transformation.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique.
Related posts
Explore more articles from Wild & Wise
The Missing Playbook: How Founders Navigate Identity Shifts
When Derek stepped down from VidSee after nearly a decade, people kept asking: "What's next?" He couldn't answer. Not because he lacked ideas, but because he didn't know who he was without the company that had consumed his identity.
"It didn't even feel like just a work identity," Derek told the podcast hosts. "It was a very personal identity that became work. And to be stripped away from that, I was like, Who am I really?"
The Identity Fusion Problem
Derek's story reveals why typical career transition advice fails founders. This wasn't losing a job—it was losing an extension of himself. For years, people had said, "Derek is VidSee, VidSee is Derek."
When well-meaning friends advised, "your work is not your identity," Derek found it impossible to accept. "It wasn't work," he explains. "It was my existence there. What I built."
This fusion between founder and company creates unique grief when separation occurs. Unlike other professionals, founders aren't just leaving a role; they're severing from their vision, values, and years of emotional investment.
What Founders Actually Grieve
Derek's experience illuminates the multiple layers of loss:
Loss of Purpose: VidSee represented Derek's mission to empower Asian storytellers. Losing that vehicle meant losing his primary source of meaning.
Loss of Identity: Being known as "VidSee's founder" shaped how Derek saw himself and how others saw him.
Loss of Structure: The consuming daily rhythm of running a company suddenly vanished, leaving him unmoored.
Loss of Community: Teams, investors, and industry peers formed his primary social network.
Loss of Future Vision: His imagined trajectory—for himself and the company—required complete rebuilding.
Why "Getting Over It" Doesn't Work
Derek initially gave himself a deadline to sort everything out by year's end. When December arrived without resolution, his frustration compounded the sense of being lost.
The breakthrough came when he stopped managing his grief and started feeling it fully. "If you're sad, feel sad. If you're angry, feel angry," he reflects. "Why are we suppressing what we're supposed to feel?"
This meant waking up at 3 AM with anxiety, writing in caps lock when frustrated, and sitting with the full weight of loss. Rather than pathologising these responses, Derek began understanding them as necessary.
The Turning Point
Derek's perspective shifted after watching a simple YouTube video with the message "everything ends." This basic truth helped him contextualise his experience within natural cycles rather than personal failure.
"As much as the founder, building and building and building, you cannot have things end," he explains. "You got stakeholders, you got investors—you can't have things end. So I was never in that psyche or that language."
Rebuilding, Not Rejecting
Friends suggested Derek "throw away" his past and start fresh, but the healthier path involved integration. "There were people around me that were like, no, don't throw away, you rebuild. You stack on top."
This reframe helped Derek see VidSee as one vehicle for deeper values that predated the company and would continue beyond it. His current venture, BE (The Be Company), represents evolution rather than departure—still empowering creators but with expanded scope.
What Actually Helps
Derek's journey reveals what founders need during transition:
Permission to Feel: Explicit support to sit with difficult emotions without timeline pressure.
Protected Time: Derek describes his "adult gap year" as essential for reflection without productivity demands.
Story Sharing: Talking with strangers about his experience helped Derek realise he wasn't alone.
Community: Connecting with others navigating similar transitions provided validation and practical advice.
The Hidden Gift
Derek's grief forced examination of patterns he'd ignored during company building—overwork, neglected relationships, leadership blind spots. "If I were to work on myself better, then maybe it could affect how I show up in relationships with co-founders," he reflects.
This self-examination became the foundation for more sustainable approaches in his next venture.
Redefining Success
Rather than measuring how quickly founders bounce back, we might consider:
- Depth of self-understanding
- Quality of rebuilt relationships
- Development of sustainable practices
- Integration of learning into future work
By these measures, Derek's year-long process wasn't delayed—it was a thorough preparation for better leadership.
Confirmation Bias: The Invisible Blindspot in Leadership
I've just started my second degree. A Bachelors Degree in Psychology (Organisational Psych). Part time of course. And as I embark on this fun new chapter, re-inventing my new way of life - family, life, fitness, work, I've also decided to take what I learn in uni and apply it to my workshops, strategies, clients and work.
Here's a take on Confirmation Bias. I've seen it at work in the office. I've seen this at work in my own reflections. Let's get into it a little more, from the lens of leadership.
Ever you ever noticed how some leaders only listen to those who agree with them? Or dismiss ideas that challenge their assumptions?
That’s confirmation bias at work.
Confirmation bias is our tendency to favour information that confirms what we already believe and to ignore or downplay anything that contradicts it. It’s human. It’s subconscious.
And for leaders, it can be dangerous.
What does this look like at work?
Here are a few real-world examples:
- Hiring decisions
- Innovation blind spots
- Performance reviews
Why leaders need to care:
Leaders, you have the responsibility to shape culture. We are all humans and when confirmation bias goes unchecked, we limit ourselves and also the business.
- Diversity of thought gets stifled
- Innovation slows down
- Trust within teams may erode
What could be the biggest risk in leadership when Confirmation bias is in play?
Unawareness. Most leaders don’t even know they’re doing it.
What can you do?
As I begin my Bachelors in Organisational Psychology, here’s what I’m learning: self-awareness is everything.
Here are a couple of thoughts that could help you as a leader:
- Slow down your decisions. Ask yourself: What might I be missing?
- Encourage dissent. Invite voices that disagree with you.
- Keep a bias-check partner. Someone who’ll challenge your blind spots.
You don't need to know all the answers in leadership. You need to have a vision, a plan and more importantly, you need to be open.
If you found this helpful, follow me for more thoughts as I share what I’m learning on organisational psychology, leadership, and the mindsets that drive better work.
Stop Following and Start Building Your Life by Design
What if you approached your life like a video game designer approaches their craft? You are both the player and the architect, equipped with different skills to develop and systems to master. This is the essence of the "Hunn-verse," a framework for seeing life as an ongoing project of intentional growth and conscious design.
The term "Hunn-verse" comes from thinking of your life as your own personal universe, similar to how you might talk about the "Marvel-verse" or "Star Wars universe." It's your personal world where you decide what matters, what success looks like, and how you want to experience everything.
In your personal universe, you're not just following someone else's script. Most of us inherit our life's structure from external expectations. Our careers become our identities, our possessions define our worth, and our schedules dictate our priorities. But the Hunn-verse suggests a different approach: your life is a collection of systems you can design—relationships, finances, health, creativity, and learning. When your current patterns of thinking create problems instead of solutions, you can consciously choose to rewrite the rules of your personal universe.
The Discipline of Enough
Central to building your personal universe is mastering the concept of "enough." We live surrounded by voices telling us we need more: more income, more space, more experiences, more everything. This creates a perpetual state of reaching for the next thing, only to find that each achievement quickly becomes the new normal.
Your personal universe approach involves intentional experimentation. What happens when you spend a week eating only simple, whole foods? How does it feel to drive the fancy car versus taking public transit? By consciously exploring different experiences, you gather data about what actually contributes to your well-being versus what you've been conditioned to believe you need.
This isn't about deprivation, it's about calibration. When you know your true minimum for happiness, everything above that becomes genuine abundance rather than anxious accumulation. You begin to operate from gratitude rather than scarcity, making decisions from choice rather than compulsion.
Living in High Resolution
Hunn advocates for experiencing life in "4K or 8K resolution" instead of the blurry, distracted 240p that characterises much of modern existence. This means cultivating what Zen practitioners call "beginner's mind"—approaching familiar experiences with fresh curiosity and deep attention.
Consider your next meal not just as fuel, but as a story. Who grew these ingredients? What weather patterns and soil conditions contributed to their flavour? What traditions and techniques went into their preparation? This kind of curious attention transforms routine consumption into a rich, interconnected experience. You begin to see the web of relationships that make your life possible.
Building Your Personal Universe
Your "-verse" isn't a destination, it's an ongoing practice. It's the work of examining your life's systems, questioning inherited assumptions, and making deliberate choices about how you want to exist.
This means regularly asking: Which aspects of my life am I running on autopilot? What would I design differently if I were starting fresh today? How can I create more alignment between my deepest values and my daily actions?
Whether you call it the Hunn-verse, the [Your Name]-verse, or simply "my life by design," the invitation is the same: step back from the life that's happening to you, and begin creating the life you actually want to live in your own personal universe.
The Journey Behind the Philosophy
These insights come from Hunn Wai, a co-founder of Lanzavecchia + Wai design studio, whose own life exemplifies the personal universe approach. Educated both in Singapore and Eindhoven, his journey spans winning product designs and healthcare innovations to digital explorations like NFTs. Most recently, he co-curated Future Impact 3 at Milan Design Week and the Washi Paper, Craft X Tech Project.