Business Mentors

Get to know the business mentors
supporting our founders here.

albert yang 1

Albert Yang

Founder & CEO
Smile Rain

benny chan

Benny Chan

Head of Singapore Channels and Digitalisation
UOB

Carine TanChain of Thought

Carine Tan

Founder
Chain of Thought

clarissa loh uobvm 1

Clarissa Loh Su Hui

Executive Director, Venture Management
UOB

hussein sulaiman

Hussein Sulaiman

Investment Principal
Jumpstart Disruptive Innovations
(JDI)

jo ng inspire marketing

Jo Ng

Founder and Director
Inspire Marketing

Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor
Advisors Collective

joewin tan 1

Joewin Tan

Founder
Quant Consulting Group

lesley ngai

Lesley Ngiam

Founder
Bit By Bit Marketing

Lily WuCanva

Lily Wu

Strategic GTM Lead (SEA)
Canva

mohan belani

Mohan Belani

Co-founder & CEO
e27

Partner
Orvel Ventures

moon yiu

Moon Yiu

Founder & CEO
DigitSense

Founder
Twixo

Patrick Ng Spark Launchpad 1

Patrick Ng

Innovation Director
Spark Launchpad

paulkan 400x400 1

Paul Kan

Country Head
SME Banking Singapore
(Emerging Enterprise)
UOB

sean tan kilsa

Sean Tan

Co-Founder & Senior Managing Partner
KILSA Global

vanessa ong

Vanessa Ong

Managing Director
Gernise Global Pte Ltd
Mamashop
Glyken

Albert Yang

Founder & CEO, Smile Rain

Key Skillsets:

  • Pricing Strategy & Transformation
  • Revenue Growth & Profitability Optimization
  • Pricing Governance & Execution
  • Data-Driven Decision Making

With nearly 20 years of experience in pricing transformation, Albert has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Dell, Philips, Schneider Electric, Johnson Controls, and Zimmer Biomet. He has led pricing initiatives across Asia-Pacific markets, helping organizations drive revenue growth, improve profitability, and strengthen pricing governance.

A Certified Pricing Professional (CPP) with an MBA, Albert brings a practical, data-driven approach that bridges strategy and execution. He helps organizations turn pricing insights into actionable decisions that deliver measurable business impact.

Benny Chan

Head of Channels and Digitalisation, UOB Singapore

Key Skillsets:

  • Digital Transformation & Innovation
  • SME Banking & Financial Services
  • Omnichannel Customer Experience
  • Business Growth & Market Expansion

Benny is a banking and transformation leader with over 20 years of experience driving business growth, turnaround strategies, and digital innovation. Throughout his career, he has helped businesses navigate transformation, built new banking segments, and supported market expansion initiatives across the region.

A pioneer in SME banking digitalisation, Benny has led initiatives spanning digital account opening, online lending, sales enablement platforms, data-driven customer insights, and omnichannel banking. His work focuses on enhancing customer experiences while integrating digital and physical channels to drive sustainable growth.

Carine TanChain of Thought

Carine Tan

Founder, Chain of Thought

Key Skillsets:

  • Leadership & Executive Coaching
  • Business & Growth Strategy
  • Brand & Go-to-Market Strategy
  • Founder Development & Decision-Making

Carine is a leadership and business strategist who works closely with founders and leadership teams to build clarity, alignment, and sustainable growth. She is known for helping leaders navigate complexity, strengthen decision-making, and translate strategy into meaningful action.

Having worked across multinational brands including Nike, adidas, Hasbro, and Sephora, as well as high-growth startups, Carine brings a commercially grounded perspective to growth and leadership. Her approach focuses on strengthening both the strategic and human dimensions of leadership, enabling founders to scale with greater clarity and intention.

Clarissa Loh

Executive Director, UOB Venture Management

Key Skillsets:

  • Private Equity & Venture Capital
  • Impact Investing & ESG Strategy
  • Investment Due Diligence & Execution
  • Technology & Growth Investments

Clarissa brings over 20 years of experience spanning private equity, venture capital, and operational finance. She has played an active role across the investment lifecycle, from deal sourcing and due diligence to execution, with a strong focus on technology and impact investments across Southeast Asia.

In addition to driving investment activities, Clarissa leads responsible investing and ESG initiatives, helping integrate sustainability considerations into investment strategies. Her background also includes finance and business development roles at General Electric, where she gained broad experience across multiple business functions in Asia.

Hussein Sulaiman

Investment Principal, Ventures & Investments

Key Skillsets:

  • Startup Growth & Scaling
  • Venture Investing
  • Ecosystem & Community Building
  • Cross-Border Market Expansion

Hussein has over 11 years of experience mentoring, building, and scaling technology startups across Southeast Asia. He works closely with founders and entrepreneurs, supporting their growth journeys through investment, strategic guidance, and ecosystem development.

His experience spans both startups and innovation platforms, having been part of the early teams at companies such as BeMyGuest, Lazada, and Zilingo. He has also led cross-border startup initiatives in Indonesia and Vietnam, helping connect founders with opportunities, resources, and growth networks across the region.

Jo Ng

Founder & Director, dormiente Singapore, Inspire Marketing
Co-Founder & Director, Advisors Collective

Key Skillsets:

  • Brand & Retail Strategy
  • Omnichannel Growth & Customer Experience
  • Digital Transformation & Change Management
  • Board Advisory & Leadership Development

Jo is a global brand and retail strategist with extensive experience driving growth across luxury, beauty, lifestyle, and tourism retail sectors in Asia Pacific. She has led brand transformation and market expansion initiatives, helping businesses strengthen their market presence and achieve sustainable growth.

With leadership experience across both multinational corporations and entrepreneurial ventures, Jo combines strategic thinking with deep consumer insights to support business transformation. She also works closely with leadership teams and boards, guiding organizations on growth, innovation, and long-term value creation.

Joewin Tan

Chief Executive Officer, Quant Consulting Group and ACE.SG Women Entrepreneurship Committee (WEC) Member

Key Skillsets:

  • Financial Literacy & Business Finance
  • SME Growth & Business Strategy
  • Entrepreneurship & Resilience
  • Leadership & Public Speaking

Joewin is an entrepreneur, speaker, and financial literacy advocate with over a decade of experience building and scaling successful businesses. She is passionate about helping SMEs strengthen their financial foundations and make confident, informed decisions for sustainable growth.

Drawing from both entrepreneurial successes and challenges, Joewin is known for her practical approach to business resilience and financial management. She empowers business owners to navigate uncertainty, overcome setbacks, and build long-term success through disciplined financial strategies.

Lesley Ngai

Founder of Bit by Bit Marketing | Mentor with ACE.SG WEC

Key Skillsets:

  • Go-to-Market & Product Marketing Strategy
  • Digital Growth & Content Marketing
  • Business Transformation & Innovation
  • Startup Mentorship & Leadership Development

Lesley is a business leader and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience across financial services, media, and startups in the Asia-Pacific region. Throughout her career, she has led transformation initiatives, built high-performing teams, and driven growth through innovation, customer engagement, and business strategy.

Drawing on experience in both corporate leadership and entrepreneurship, Lesley works closely with startups and founders on product marketing, go-to-market execution, digital growth, and business transformation. She is passionate about empowering entrepreneurs with practical strategies, helping them navigate challenges and scale with confidence.

Lily WuCanva

Lily Wu

Strategic GTM Lead, Canva

Key Skillsets:

  • Go-to-Market Strategy & Execution
  • Business Growth & Scaling
  • Strategic Partnerships
  • Entrepreneurship & Startup Development

Lily is a go-to-market leader with experience building and scaling businesses across technology, marketing, and fintech. As a serial “first-in-seat” operator, she has played key roles in establishing and growing new functions, bringing together commercial strategy, partnerships, and execution to drive business growth.

Combining corporate leadership with entrepreneurial experience, Lily has worked across North American agencies, venture-backed technology companies, and high-growth startups. Having also built and successfully exited her own business, she brings a practical perspective on scaling organizations, navigating growth challenges, and driving market expansion.

Mohan Belani

Co-founder & CEO, e27
Partner, Orvel Ventures

Key Skillsets:

  • Startup Growth & Scaling
  • Venture Capital & Fundraising
  • Ecosystem Building & Partnerships
  • Market Access & Business Development

Mohan is an entrepreneur, investor, and ecosystem builder dedicated to supporting the growth of technology startups across Southeast Asia. He has worked extensively with founders, investors, corporates, and governments to help startups scale through fundraising, strategic partnerships, market access, and business development opportunities.

As an active early-stage investor, Mohan has backed numerous startups and funds across APAC and the US. He is passionate about helping founders navigate the challenges of building sustainable, high-impact companies and believes strongly in the role of entrepreneurship in solving meaningful problems at scale.

Moon Yiu

Founder & CEO, DigitSense

Key Skillsets:

  • AI & Digital Transformation
  • Product Strategy & Innovation
  • Emerging Technologies (AI, IoT, XR)
  • Business & Technology Leadership

Moon Yiu is a technology entrepreneur and product leader with over a decade of experience driving digital transformation and AI innovation across industries including sustainability, education, retail, finance, and biotechnology. She works closely with organizations to identify opportunities for growth through emerging technologies, data, and digital solutions.

Drawing on experience across AI, machine learning, IoT, extended reality, and MedTech, Moon helps businesses translate innovation into practical outcomes. Her approach combines technology strategy, product thinking, and transformation expertise to deliver solutions that enhance decision-making and unlock new business opportunities.

Patrick Ng

Innovation Director, Spark Launchpad

Key Skillsets:

  • Innovation Strategy & Venture Creation
  • Technology Scouting & Strategic Partnerships
  • Design Thinking Facilitation
  • Executive Leadership & R&D Innovation

Patrick is an innovation leader with over 23 years of experience across engineering, R&D, and corporate innovation. He has led innovation initiatives, identified emerging technology opportunities, and helped organizations build better products through structured innovation and venture creation approaches.

Deeply passionate about entrepreneurship, Patrick works with both startups and enterprises to turn ideas into viable ventures. He also teaches innovation and entrepreneurship at universities, guiding founders and leaders through design thinking, venture building, and strategic execution.

Paul Kan

Country Head, Business Banking Singapore, UOB

Key Skillsets:

  • SME Banking & Financial Solutions
  • Business Strategy & Growth Advisory
  • Financial, Credit & Risk Management
  • Regional Expansion & Market Development

Paul is a banking leader with more than 20 years of experience across Singapore, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with SMEs and business owners, helping them navigate growth, strengthen financial performance, and develop strategies for long-term success.

His expertise spans business banking, product strategy, portfolio management, and regional market development. A frequent speaker at business forums, Paul is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs and empowering teams to identify opportunities, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable growth.

Sean Tan

Co-Founder & Senior Managing Partner, KILSA Global

Key Skillsets:

  • Market Expansion & International Growth
  • Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystem Building
  • Business Development & Venture Scaling
  • Cross-Border Negotiation & Stakeholder Management

Sean is a business builder and market expansion specialist with more than 25 years of experience helping companies enter, grow, and scale across ASEAN and international markets. His background spans technology, banking, business development, and entrepreneurship, with deep expertise in cross-border partnerships, stakeholder management, and growth strategy.

Since becoming an entrepreneur, Sean has focused on building ventures and enabling companies to expand into new markets through strategic partnerships, ecosystem development, and market-entry initiatives. He works closely with businesses across sectors including sustainability, renewable energy, healthcare, mobility, and technology, supporting their regional growth and expansion ambitions.

Vanessa Ong

Owner and Founder, Gernise Global Pte Ltd

Key Skillsets:

  • Business Growth & Entrepreneurship
  • Strategic Partnerships & Distribution Management
  • Sustainability & ESG Advocacy
  • Community Building & Social Impact Leadership

Vanessa is an entrepreneur and business leader with extensive experience in distribution, supply chain management, and regional business growth across Southeast Asia. She has successfully built and grown businesses serving industries such as automotive, electrical, and telecommunications, while championing sustainable business practices and long-term value creation.

Beyond her commercial achievements, Vanessa is a passionate advocate for community building and social impact. She actively supports entrepreneurship, particularly among women business owners, and is committed to leveraging business as a force for positive change through sustainability, philanthropy, and community-focused initiatives.