By SGN | 28 Oct 2026
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak got to tinker with computers from an early age, but it wasn’t like that for me growing up in Shanghai.
Most kids would play games at an internet cafe or type a few DOS commands at school to make a turtle draw shapes, but having a PC at home was a rare thing.
Somehow, I convinced my parents to let me build a DIY computer. I bought every magazine about computer hardware, destroyed a lot of parts along the way, but I finally assembled my first computer at 14.
That early obsession with really understanding what you’re buying and finding the best deal has never left me.
In my youth, China’s economic outlook was overwhelmingly positive, and opportunity was everywhere. 2008 was the Beijing Olympics. 2010 was the Shanghai World Expo. The world was our oyster.
When I left for the US in 2010 – to attend the University of Michigan–Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute – I had no idea the world had been through a financial crisis. As a fresh graduate in Seattle, I wondered why the houses were so cheap, not realising that a huge financial bubble had just burst several years earlier.
Drawn to the thrilling pace and diversity of Asia
I began my career as a software engineer at Expedia, which I joined thinking I would get to travel for work. Sadly, my only business trip was a train ride to Portland for a conference. I then spent eight years with Facebook, first as a software engineer and engineering manager in Seattle, then as a software engineering manager in Singapore.
My wife and I loved life in Seattle, and the landscapes of North America are wonderful for exploring nature, but we also tired of strip malls with the same few logos and longed for the thrill of diverse, fast-paced cities. We found ourselves constantly flying 13 or 14 hours to Asia for holidays and thought: Maybe we should just move there.
About ten years ago, I even explored founding a startup in Japan. In the end, I lobbied for Facebook to open an engineering office in Singapore.
Thanks to the groundwork that the likes of EDB had done, Facebook agreed to set up an office in 2018. I moved to Singapore as part of the landing team to kick off a recruiting frenzy for product engineering that ran for the next few years.
I fell in love with Singapore right after I moved – its multiculturalism, its mind-blowing efficiency. My wife was skeptical at first, but two months in she told me, “I’m never moving out of here.” Facebook brought me to Singapore, but Singapore is what got me to stay.
It helps that Singapore has a clear strategic commitment to attracting talent and building up its tech scene. That made me decide to grow my career here, and to help develop the Singapore tech ecosystem.
I believe turning Singapore into the next global tech hub is multi-decade work, and I’m all in: I became a Singaporean citizen, and I’m investing my entire future here.
From Meta to founding HeyMax
At the end of 2022, I became a “beneficiary” of one of Big Tech’s first major layoffs, when Facebook, now known as Meta, let go of 11,000 employees worldwide. Our team in Singapore was among those affected.
Together with three fellow engineers who were laid off from the same team, I decided to build a startup. Our first idea was an AI assistant for managing personal finances, but we landed on something smaller and more tangible: credit card rewards. It’s a product people genuinely care about, and something I had a lot of experience and expertise in.
That was how HeyMax was born.
Because miles are the main reason most people optimise their credit cards, we moved into issuing our own miles – Max Miles – and creating an ecosystem that lets people aggregate their rewards and increase their earning velocity.
Singapore made it super easy to start a company. The process is clear-cut, you barely need lawyers, and people trust Singapore-based firms that much more. For first-time entrepreneurs like us, we didn’t have to worry about the basics and could focus entirely on getting the product and the user feedback right.
When we went out to raise money during the depths of a funding winter, we were met with almost complete silence. But that turned out to be a gift. It forced us to be frugal, build something self-sustaining and scalable, and develop a good brand story before fundraising.
HeyMax grew fast. In three years, we’ve expanded into Hong Kong, Australia and Japan. We now have over 200,000 users and more than 1,000 partners across the globe. We have issued over a billion Max Miles, and we’re very proud to have helped power hundreds of thousands of trips that they have taken.
Why Singapore feels so much like home
What surprised me most initially about Singapore was how much it felt like home, even though we had never lived here. It was partly the Asian heritage, of course, but also how Western it is in certain areas like doing business.
After so many years in the US, I really appreciate the diversity here. I love how Singapore’s superpower is being truly multidimensional – in ethnicity, culture, religion and in how people do things.
Singapore really welcomed us. Within years of arriving I received permanent residency, and after that, I became a citizen. Today, my wife, our two daughters and I are all Singaporean.
Meritocracy here is real. Singaporeans and Singapore businesses focus far more on merit than on who you know. I came in without any prior network, and people still gave me the benefit of the doubt, heard my pitch and connected me onward. Nobody shied away just because I wasn’t one of them.
For an engineering-minded person like me who just wants to generate value for the whole ecosystem, this is ideal. Singapore is deeply practical. I love the story of Singapore as a startup nation that gets things done very effectively.
During COVID, I walked through practically all the heartland neighbourhoods and old HDB housing estates. These days I spend a lot of time around Sin Ming and Toa Payoh. There are so many hidden gems – a noodle stall here, a prata shop there – where we’ve become regulars, and our daughters now count these dishes as food of their home.
Whenever friends visit Singapore, I take them to the heartland estates rather than the usual tourist stops. I think the real, everyday life of Singaporeans is the most interesting thing a visitor can see. It’s how you understand the nuances of local culture and comprehend how Singapore has designed comfortable, scalable lives for its citizens.
Building connections and nurturing founders
When we started HeyMax, I knew practically no VCs or other founders. Starting from zero, I put myself out there and was willing to be vulnerable. But people take an interest when you present your real self, share quality thinking and deliver real value.
From there, my connections compounded. I invested in relationships with the region’s operators and super-connectors, with founders who had succeeded before and were willing to help newcomers. These included Jx Lye of Acme Technology, JJ Chai of Rainforest and Rob Liu of ContactOut. I’m continually impressed by how plugged in Singapore’s ecosystem partners, from EDB to Enterprise Singapore, are when it comes to helping local startups grow.
I’m involved in entrepreneur circles, including SEA Founders, where I learn from more experienced founders or help newer entrepreneurs find their footing. I spend a good amount of time connecting people, answering questions and paying forward the help I received when I was starting out.
If you’re starting out as a founder in Singapore, just reach out to other founders like me and you’ll get introduced to the right people. The Singapore tech ecosystem is closely connected, and as long as you come with the right intent and ask thoughtful questions, people will help. Everyone here wants the ecosystem to grow.
Interested in working in Singapore or starting a business here?
Find out more about the new Overseas Networks & Expertise (ONE) Pass as well as other work passes that may suit you.
