Fancy starting your own business in Singapore, or just admire those who do? These entrepreneurs make it look easy, so we wanted to give them a big old high five!
Mumpreneur. Love or hate the title, the women out there who combine motherhood with running their own business deserve a truckload of respect, and then some. From figuring out how to start a business in Singapore while on a Dependant’s Pass to finding a space to work in that’s not a Lego-strewn warzone and quickly sorting out a plan B when your childcare arrangement falls through at the last minute, there’s a lot to juggle.
We thought we’d say a big fat “hurrah!’ to the mums of Singapore who are making it work for them. Excuse us while we pile a whole lotta love onto these butt-kicking ladies!
24 Singapore-based mumpreneurs that we salute and admire
Marissa Nasution – Moana
If you’re looking for a coach in any area of your life, Marissa Nasution is the person to hit up. She specialises in organisational psychology, career coaching, and conscious parenting. She does this by creating strategic frameworks, hosting training and development workshops, speaking at seminars, consulting and coaching. Phew! Marissa also founded Moana, an all-natural skincare and wellness brand. Its products are made in Bali from sustainable local ingredients.
Nursyazanna Syaira – Fluff Bakery
Prior to motherhood, Syaira was baking up a storm with Fluff Bakery, which she co-founded with her husband. We adore this quaint bakery for its treats… particularly the cupcakes and doughnuts! Lately, Sya’s been busy with the next stage of Fluff’s evolution – an expanded sit-down cafe at a new space in North Bridge Road. That’s not all that’s keeping her busy! She’s also occupied with Noah, her son. Noah’s the happy ending after an emotional rollercoaster involving a tumour in the brain and tedious adoption process.
Dr Aparna Sundar – Global Mindful Journey
Dr Aparna wears multiple hats: she’s a KonMari home organising consultant, sustainability advocate, Montessori positive parenting coach, AND she contributes to our website! She’s passionate about empowering parents to foster meaningful family connections by creating a peaceful home environment through mindful organising strategies. Want to know how she does it? Dr Aparna shares her family’s low waste lifestyle, Montessori-inspired parenting journey, and tips to organise your home using the KonMari Method on her Instagram.
Marina Mathews – MM Communications
To say that Marina is a wonder woman is an understatement. On top of solely running her PR agency, she’s also a single parent to two active younglings. That’s not all: Marina also has a side hustle selling products on Amazon. Why? She claims it’s because she doesn’t have enough to do! Even though her work requires working on weekends after office hours, Marina makes sure to slot in time to socialise with her team and friends outside of work by hosting dinner parties.
Sorelle Henricus – Executive Writer
Previously an English professor (wow!), Sorelle put behind her career to found Executive Writer, putting the wordsmithing skills earned from a PhD in English to work. The boutique agency offers strategic writing and editing services that can level up an organisation’s contributions to the industry it’s in and even beyond. Sorelle also works with individuals on a dreamy new resume that can land them that elusive interview for their next role – all without the pain of writing it themselves!
Ekta Tejwani – MeetMumz
Mum-of-two Ekta started MeetMumz when she was pregnant with her second child. Living in a foreign land, away from family support, she sincerely yearned to create a safe, supportive environment for herself and her children. Helping mothers find #FriendsLikeFamily, she kickstarted the idea of MeetMumz: a community building app for mothers! Ekta is proof that the best ideas are born when you’re pregnant! (Both literally and figuratively, we might add!)
Mangla Sachdev – Printsipal Printing
Mangla is no stranger to business. Since she was 17, she has started various ventures in almost every country and city she’s lived in. Psst, if you’re looking to try something new – maybe a new challenge, or wondering what it would be like if you returned home in the next few years – then click here for a free book of over 20 ideas. Mangla currently runs Printsipal Printing with her BFF here in Singapore; she’s set to launch a new course for expat women and digital nomads around the world soon.
Sujata Sheth – Art4Keep
Inspired by her family and fellow mums, Sujata Sheth created Art4Keep, to celebrate kids’ art by preserving them and personalising it into beautiful coffee table books. She started her passion project during the height of the pandemic when she lovingly converted her daughter’s drawings into a beautiful keepsake of treasured artworks. When her friends saw her work, they urged her to start her business, and from there on, Art4Keep was born. Aside from being a mompreneur, Sujata also works as a doctor in the emergency department of a public hospital in Singapore.
Typhaine de Bure – Lice Lassies
Got a lice crisis in your home? Call Lice Lassies! Typhaine started the head lice removal business after she tried looking for someone to help her out with the predicament. All you have to do is schedule an appointment (which is confidential, so you don’t have to worry or be embarrassed!), and the team will pay you a visit. They’ll do a thorough comb-through (using non-toxic products) and leave you with tools to break the lice cycle. Easy-peasy!
Lulu Suresh – La Tierra
From hand-block printing workshops to fashion and home linen, La Tierra caters workshops to kids and adults, which is a “fun and creative process,” according to Lulu Suresh, founder and creative director. She also creates natural dye accessories and clothing and conducts workshops from time to time at her home studio while juggling between home and kids. Clothing and home linen (both hand block print and natural dyes) are available for purchase at her studio as well as Design Orchard and Ginko Collection. Lulu also participates in various pop-ups across Singapore.
Kara Bensley-Austin – The Wyld Shop
Fellow Aussies might describe Kara as ‘an all-round good chick’ – she’s fun, friendly, a great mum, and she works hard without taking life too seriously. What she does take seriously, however, is fashion. Through her business The Wyld Shop, Kara brings great Australian style to Asia, with most of the designs offered exclusively to the region. Check out the range online, at regular pop-ups around town, or at The Wyld Shop showroom at Joo Chiat Road.
Chloe Chick – SisuGirls
All parents of daughters want their little ladies to grow into confident and resilient women. Chloe Chick decided to take this desire one step further by starting SisuGirls in the hope of inspiring young girls – including her own daughter – to embrace adventure and new experiences (think skateboarding, rock climbing, and just about anything a young girl might think is awesome). Chloe and the Sisu community basically want to build the next generation of kick-ass girls who are brave, strong, and willing to give anything a go, and we think that’s rather fantastic.
Robyn Liang – Le Petit Society
Affordable, high-quality children’s clothing is harder to find than it should be, so we love Robyn Liang for filling that gap with Le Petit Society. She ditched a banking career to launch the brand online in 2013, and we now spend many a lunch break wandering through their new ‘in real life’ store at Downtown Gallery. The clothes here are fun and stylish while also being hardy and practical, which every parent knows is the holy grail in kids’ fashion. Robyn has two little girls who keep her busy while she plots world domination: Le Petit Society also has stockists in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, and Greece.
Rachel Teo – Trehaus
Like most parents, Rachel felt the constant seesaw between work and family shouldn’t so often sit in favour of work, so she did something about it. Rachel is the CEO of Trehaus, a beautiful co-working space with in-house childcare. Setting yourself up here for the day means you can be close to your kids without having to pry their sticky fingers off your keyboard every 12 seconds (check out our review of Trehaus to see what we mean). Any parent who’s attempted working from home knows the infinite value of a dedicated workspace and a watchful eye on tap, so Rachel, we salute you!
Jayne Nadarajoo – The GUILD International College
Like many mums who decide to start a business, Jayne Nadarajoo did so in response to her own experiences. She wasn’t satisfied with how she saw children being nurtured in Singapore’s pre-schools, so, being a mum of two pre-schoolers at the time, she started her own in 1999 – White Lodge – no small feat, although Jayne’s extensive early childhood experience meant she knew exactly what she was doing. Since then, Jayne has used her knowledge and expertise to work on other exciting education projects, with The GUILD International College being the most recent. The GUILD is Singapore’s first all-inclusive college and strives to provide ALL students with the flexibility they need to identify their paths and excel at their own pace. Something we’re definitely on board with!
Hong Henwood – Affordable Style Files
We just have to say it – Hong Henwood is trouble. By that, we mean can’t-stop-Insta-scrolling kind of trouble. Her Instagram feed is everything we want our home lives to be, and the good news is, it’s her job to make it happen. Hong runs her interior design business and Dempsey retail store the same way she dispenses her style inspo: seemingly effortlessly, with a light, breezy, fun vibe. We hope her kids appreciate their stylish surrounds at home because if they don’t, we’re moving in. Check out Hong’s tips for creating a beautiful home.
Natasha Cullen – Beloved Bumps
A breath of fresh air in the baby ‘industry’ in Singapore, Natasha launched Beloved Bumps to help parents-to-be get themselves ready for labour, birth, and all the fun stuff that follows. Natasha has two boys of her own, and she’s a UK-trained midwife who loves what she does. With four locations across the island, Natasha and her team offer a total package including prenatal education, fitness classes, and even a ladies’ lunch, all delivered with a friendly, non-judgey tone. We like it.
Aarathi Arumugam – The Party Elves
We do love a kids’ party, and we love them even more when Aarathi from The Party Elves weaves her magic on them! Aarathi left the corporate world to try her own thang as a children’s event planner, and for her, the party never ends (even while starting the business as a mum of a six-month-old). She loves helping her clients come up with themes for birthday parties and baby showers, and will arrange everything: the cake, the food, the venue, the entertainment, and even the goodie bags. Party on, Aarathi, we love your work!
Charlie Cameron – Lottie is Loving
A stylist and blogger who also makes a mean raspberry coconut fizz, Charlie Cameron unleashed her creative talents on the Singapore market after having children and moving on from her career as an event producer. Her blog will simultaneously give you home envy, birthday party inspo, and a whole new lease on your at-home culinary life. It’s fair to say HoneyKids is loving Lottie is Loving!
Rae Yun – Oh Happy Fry
Anyone who brings some of our fave kids’ brands together under one online roof gets a big HoneyKids “well done you!”. Rae Yun does exactly that with her online store, Oh Happy Fry. Think Bobo Choses, Rylee & Cru, and A Little Lovely Company, to name just a little lovely few. With a super strong Instagram following (@ohhappyfry and @theramengirl) and two gorgeous kids, it seems Rae’s got mum-preneurialism nailed.
Charmaine Seah-Ong – Elementary Co
Charmaine is a style superstar in the creative scene here in Singapore: she’s the co-founder of boutique marketing agency Elementary Co and a purveyor of fashion inspo to more than 23,000 Instagram followers (@eleventhhour). Charmaine and her daughters are probably the coolest mother-daughters in town – if we could maintain even an ounce of their cool factor while doing the working mum thing, we’d be pretty darn happy with ourselves.
Mrs Ng Gim Choo – EtonHouse
Mrs Ng forged a successful accounting career before raising her three children in the UK and Hong Kong. Inspired by the play-based preschool education her daughter enjoyed in the UK, Mrs Ng founded EtonHouse in 1995. Today, there are more than 100 EtonHouse schools in a whopping 11 countries. Mrs Ng has won several awards in the UK and China, and regularly raises funds for education charities – she once won $10,000 for scoring a hole-in-one and donated the money to a school! She’s not only an inspiration to working women but also her youngest son, the Executive Director of EtonHouse. We suspect he’ll learn a thing or two from his amazing mum.
Rhonda Wong and Race Wong – Ohmyhome
What do you get when you combine two sisters with successful careers in banking, real estate, trading, entrepreneurialism, film, and music? Other than slightly weary at the thought of all that over-achieving, you get a brilliant service called Ohmyhome. Launched by Rhonda and Race Wong, it’s a mobile app that empowers the local community in the process of buying, selling, or renting their HDB homes. Basically, it cuts out the middleman to help save time and money (or there are options for those who’d prefer not to DIY). These sisters are a dream team, managing the launch of the business throughout pregnancy and motherhood. Go, ladies!
Chris Edwards – HoneyKids Asia, Honeycombers and Launchpad
We couldn’t share the good work of Singapore’s mumpreneurs without a little pat on the back to our very own founder, Chris Edwards. She took the bull by the horns when she moved to Singapore, launching a media business that now helps thousands of locals and expats navigate life in Singapore, Bali, and Hong Kong. There’s also her newest project – Launchpad! She’s a big fan of walking the talk and just getting on with things and is brutally honest about the never-ending struggle for mums who are trying to ‘have it all’.
Feeling inspired? If you’re looking for a like-minded crew then join Launchpad!
Launchpad is a community of entrepreneurs building businesses that are a force for good in Singapore. With free masterclasses, events, peer mentoring, expert advice and so much more, this community could be just what you need to kickstart your business. Psst, a few of the incredible mumpreneurs above are already members!
Photography (Kara Bensley-Austin & Natasha Cullen): Hayley Durack Photography
