Germaine Tan is the founder of Clarity Collective, where she works across coaching, training and mentorship. She is also the co-founder of DisruptHER for Women, works on brand and community partnerships with HDI Singapore and The Ladies Cue.
Across these roles, Germaine works with women, youths and professionals at turning points in their careers and lives, helping them find clarity on what to do next.
Outside of work, Germaine gravitates naturally towards people and conversations. She is curious about how people think, what they are navigating, and what is often left unsaid. At the same time, she protects pockets of space for herself, including morning runs that help her process her thoughts before the day begins.
It is a life built around clarity, connection and intentional choices. But Germaine’s understanding of investing did not begin with portfolios or market returns. It grew from watching people make trade-offs, moving through different seasons of life, and eventually walking away from a successful corporate path to build something less conventional.
Learning To Read What Is Not Said
Looking back, Germaine says she was often the person others turned to when they needed to think through a situation.
“I was known to be resourceful, and I tended to step in when I felt I could help,” she shares.
Growing up, her father was running his business and was often not around, which made her closer to her mother. That shaped how she thinks about presence today.
“It’s not just about being there, but how you show up,” she says.
That instinct became sharper during her time in oil and gas, where she worked across different markets and cultures. She realised that the same message does not land the same way everywhere. How people communicate, make decisions and respond under pressure can differ significantly.
She also worked with strong female leaders, some of whom made real trade-offs between career and family. That stayed with her.
“It made me question what success looks like, and what it can cost.”
Today, that perspective informs how she approaches coaching and mentorship. Rather than only looking at what is happening on the surface, she pays attention to the constraints, motivations and unspoken concerns behind a decision.
When Investing Was Just About Money
Growing up, Germaine did not think deeply about investing.
“I understood saving, but I saw investing mainly as something financial,” she says.
Her first exposure to investing came in university through a roommate, but it was only after she started working and making her own decisions that she became more aware of it financially.
She began with familiar blue-chip stocks such as Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SingTel. It was not about being sophisticated. It was about learning discipline, staying invested and not reacting too quickly to short-term movements.
Over time, her financial investments expanded into local banks, REITs and ETFs. With multiple roles and responsibilities today, she does not actively monitor the market. Instead, she prefers a steadier approach, focusing on assets she understands and businesses with strong fundamentals.
Even her children’s angpow money is something she sees as an opportunity to start early and let compounding work over time.
Leaving A Six-Figure Career To Start Again
One of Germaine’s earliest major investment decisions was not a stock purchase.
It was leaving her corporate career at its peak to pursue a Master’s in Education.
At the time, she was around 30 and earning a six-figure annual income. On paper, the decision did not make obvious financial sense in the short term.
But it became one of the defining investments of her life.
That decision shaped the work she does today, the people she reaches, and the kind of impact she is able to create through Clarity Collective and DisruptHER for Women.
Germaine and her Co-founder, Andrea Chuah
“None of these guaranteed immediate returns, but they shaped how I think, how I make decisions, and the work I do today.”
For Germaine, this was where investing started to mean something larger than money. It became about what she was building, who she was building with, and whether what she was building could hold through uncertainty.
Investing In People, Trust And Clarity
Germaine at her DisruptHER community meet up event
Germaine does not see investing as purely financial.
“In the work I do across coaching, training, mentorship, and platforms I’ve built, including DisruptHER for Women, a lot of it is about investing in people,” she says.
That means taking the time to understand someone properly, building trust, and supporting them through different stages.
Through partnerships, she has also seen how investing in people can scale beyond one individual. Done well, bringing together brands, communities and experiences can create value on both sides, not just visibility, but something people actually engage with and remember.
To her, investing also includes patience.
In coaching and mentorship, she has found that the outcome often depends less on whether someone has options, and more on whether they understand what is driving their choices.
“It’s rarely a lack of options. More often, it’s a lack of clarity on what’s really going on.”
When Personal Growth Becomes Necessary
Some of Germaine’s most important investments have been non-financial.
After the birth of her second child during COVID, she experienced hearing loss. That became a turning point.
“It made me realise how much I had been focused on holding everything together for everyone else, while neglecting myself.”
For her, it reflected something many women experience: carrying the invisible load across work, family and everything in between.
That period pushed her to take personal growth more seriously, not as something optional, but as something necessary.
She also invested in her relationship with her husband. Having children changed the dynamics of their marriage, and there was a season where they felt lost. Over time, they found their way back by being more deliberate about how they showed up for each other and what they wanted to build together.
These experiences now shape how she works with others: helping them navigate transitions, make sense of where they are, and move forward with more clarity.
The Cost Of Following What Others Are Doing
Germaine has also made poor investments.
Early on, she followed what others were doing without fully understanding what she was putting her money into. This included individual stocks that were getting attention at the time.
The lesson was straightforward: momentum can be persuasive, especially when you are starting out.
Beyond financial investments, she has also overextended herself by taking on too much, trying to support everyone, or stepping into roles that were not hers to hold.
Both experiences taught her the same lesson.
Today, she is more careful about where she invests her time, energy and money. She focuses on what she understands, what she believes in, and what has strong fundamentals, rather than what is popular or moving quickly.
Consistency Matters More Than Timing
Germaine believes one of the biggest misconceptions about investing is waiting for the right time.
Whether it is investing money, making a career move, or prioritising health, waiting for perfect conditions often leads to inaction.
“Consistency matters more than timing,” she says.
Her own investing habits reflect this. Financially, she keeps things simple by automating a small monthly amount into her investment portfolio. This removes the need to rethink the decision every time.
Beyond money, she applies the same discipline to how she spends her time and energy. With many collaboration requests and initiatives coming her way, she has learned that she cannot say yes to everything.
“It’s less about doing more, and more about knowing what is worth continuing.”
The Everyday Investor Takeaway
For Germaine, investing is not just about finding the right opportunity. It is about staying with the right ones long enough.
Her advice to someone starting out is simple: do not overcomplicate it. Understand what you are putting your time or money into. Build consistency first. You do not need to do everything at once, but you do need to start.
In a world that often celebrates visible success, Germaine Tan’s story is a reminder that some of the most important investments may not look impressive at the beginning.
They may look like leaving a stable path, choosing personal growth, rebuilding relationships, protecting your energy, or learning to say no.
The returns may not show up immediately. But over time, they can shape the kind of life, work and “portfolio” you choose to build.
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