\u201cIt\u2019s true that female founders are still a large minority,\u201d she says. (Only about 30% of SMEs in Singapore are women-owned, based on OCBC data from 2018 to 2023.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost founders or businesspeople are males. But in Singapore, I think the discrimination is fortunately not there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Verleen is the co-founder of Alchemy Foodtech<\/a>, which sells a range of products that make everyday foods healthier. This includes their signature Alchemy Fibre for Rice, a powder that increases the fibre content of rice and reduces its glycaemic index without changing its taste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verleen runs the business with her husband, Alan Phua<\/a>. The co-founders recently welcomed their first child. We spoke to her to learn about her entrepreneurship journey and how it hasn\u2019t<\/em> been disadvantaged by her gender and entry into motherhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Also: <\/em><\/strong>Venus Rising: Is It More Difficult To Be A Woman Entrepreneur?<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Verleen\u2019s entrepreneurial streak comes from her \u201cmotorhead\u201d dad, who ran a car trading business. But while his passion was cars, hers was making healthy food. When she baked, for example, she would experiment with making her baked goods not just tastier but also healthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople feel that when they eat healthy, they have to compromise on food taste. But as a food scientist, I want to use the knowledge I have to deliver the promise that healthy food doesn\u2019t have to be yucky,\u201d shares Verleen, who graduated from university with a food science degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can have tasty, healthy food as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alan had also been keen on starting his own business. So, combining their shared interest in making a difference in the world and love for ice-cream, they started Soyato, a business selling low-fat vegan ice-cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The couple ran Soyato from 2010 to 2017. During this time, though, they began brainstorming what else they could do to make a bigger impact. This was when Alan hit upon the idea of tackling diabetes\u2014a year before the Singapore government declared war on the chronic disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alan had grown up knowing firsthand the severe consequences diabetes could have on individuals and their loved ones. Both his grandmothers had passed away from diabetes complications, and many of his aunts and uncles are also diabetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diabetes is also a big global problem: more than half a billion people have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll the food porn we see every day on Instagram and TikTok isn\u2019t helping the situation because people really love good food,\u201d says Verleen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, I think it\u2019s for us to show how we can use technology to make an impact on the everyday foods we eat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Also: <\/em><\/strong>How Much Does It Cost to Live Healthier Each Month in Singapore?<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Verleen and Alan started working on Alchemy Foodtech in 2015 while still running Soyato. They initially juggled both businesses but then decided to focus their efforts on Alchemy Foodtech, which felt like the project with a bigger purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The co-founders made a small exit from Soyato and applied for grants to kick-start their research and development efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Securing funding was challenging. The grant panels didn\u2019t understand what they were trying to do and how it involved tech. They\u2019d ask \u201cWhat do you mean you\u2019re trying to make something healthy? Is this just a recipe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe needed to convince them there\u2019s real tech in this,\u201d shares Verleen. \u201cIt\u2019s like material science, just that the materials we\u2019re dealing with are edible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It took a lot of persuasion, but Verleen and Alan managed to clinch a Technology Enterprise Commercialisation Scheme grant worth $250,000 from SPRING Singapore. (This government grant<\/a> is now known as the Startup SG Tech and it is administered by Enterprise Singapore, which succeeded SPRING Singapore.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The duo subsequently worked with the National University of Singapore to produce prototypes and received $1.8 million in seed funding. They then started a lab and hired a team to develop their products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, Alchemy Foodtech\u2019s technology is patented in around 20 countries\u2014\u201cI fought very hard for every single patent\u201d, says Verleen\u2014and is used by food and beverage businesses like chicken rice chain Boon Tong Kee and Chinese restaurant Dian Xiao Er in Singapore, and the China outlets of Canadian coffeehouse chain Tim Hortons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The business has also expanded into offering other products like sugar-free baking premixes and sweetening syrup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women keen on starting a business will be encouraged to know that Verleen hasn\u2019t faced much discrimination as a female founder in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe I do feel a bit more discrimination when I\u2019m in countries where female entrepreneurs or C-suites are a lot rarer,\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn Singapore, female founders are respected. And there are some opportunities that female founders can tap into [but male founders cannot].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of these is the OCBC Women Unlimited programme<\/a>, which offers female-founded startups waivers on loan application processing fees, among other benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there are differences in how female and male founders are treated, Verleen thinks these boil down to having (or not having) common interests with the other party, rather than being a gender issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor example, let\u2019s say two males are talking about work and they realise they\u2019re both Manchester United fans. But that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t join the conversation if you\u2019re a female and Manchester United fan,\u201d says Verleen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s just that there are much fewer female Manchester United fans compared to males, right? So, in that sense, it may not be so much of a male or female thing per se<\/em>. It\u2019s about establishing common interests with the other party you are talking to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verleen and Alan had their first child, Asher, earlier this year. Although she didn\u2019t fully disconnect from work during and after delivering her son\u2014in fact, she was replying to emails in her delivery suite\u2014she said her team was \u201cvery nice\u201d and \u201ctried not to disturb me so much\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they didn\u2019t need to. In preparation for the big day, the couple had broken the news of Verleen\u2019s pregnancy to their teams when she was four months pregnant. They had also discussed how the business would be run while the couple was on parental leave and wouldn\u2019t be physically in the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since each team had a manager with the autonomy to run it, the couple focused on providing the information the teams needed ahead of time and ensuring they could run independently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a female entrepreneur, it\u2019s definitely about juggling between having the newborn and the work,\u201d says Verleen. \u201cBut the good thing was that the teams were also quite self-sufficient and could handle a lot of the day-to-day work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verleen shares that the biggest difference she experienced after giving birth was travelling for work less frequently. She and Alan used to travel together every month, but he now goes on work trips solo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot travelling for work also gave me much more time to be involved in the operations here,\u201d she says. \u201cSo, it\u2019s also not a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alchemy Foodtech practises a work-from-home policy, which lets Verleen flexibly spend time with her baby at home while still working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One piece of advice Verleen has for aspiring female entrepreneurs? Find a good co-founder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs much as people say, \u2018Oh, this person is a superwoman who can do everything herself\u2019, entrepreneurship is really hard,\u201d says Verleen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s an unbeaten path and you need to find a way to make it work. So, I think it\u2019s important to find a partner with whom you can do this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Verleen, this person should have different skills from you, but the same mindset and goals. They should also express mutual understanding of each other\u2019s quirks. (Verleen laughingly says Alan doesn\u2019t mind if she spam-texts him at 3 am when she can\u2019t sleep because she\u2019s thinking about work.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, although her work partner happens to be her life partner, she doesn\u2019t think her advice applies to only co-founders who are a couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the end of the day, you\u2019re two individuals wanting to do something together, right?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of people say building a company is like getting married. But it\u2019s true because you have to spend so, so much time with your other half.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Also: <\/em><\/strong>Mixing The Perfect Blend Of Science And Art: How 27-Year-Old Joyce Lian Launched Her Own Boutique Perfume Brand, Scent <\/em><\/strong><\/a>Journer<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, In Singapore<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Verleen Goh is a young mother who runs the business with her husband. \n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":12634,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[94],"tags":[2066,2064,104,1982,2068,2067,136,1979,2069,2065],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Verleen-Goh-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFor The Love Of (Healthy) Food<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cooking Up A New Creation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Boon-Tong-Kee-Facebook-post-1024x651.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn Singapore, Female Founders Are Respected<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/OCBC-Women-Unlimited-programme-1024x535.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPreparing For Motherhood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Every Superwoman Needs A Good Co-founder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n