24/10/2025
$1,000,000 in the past 9 months.
No staffs. No investors. No e-commerce experience.
Just an idea… and a belief that it could work.
I was fortunate to have Xenon Tan guide me early on.
His mentorship on eCommerce taught me how to build the store and sell, even with zero staff.
When we started SmileFam, I didn’t even know how logistics worked.
I was traveling in Nepal when I told my biz partner Brett Le Ming
“Wouldn’t it be great if our business could still run while we’re here?”
That thought became our mission, to build something that works even when we’re not around.
The first sale was $119.
We packed boxes till our hands turned blue and got paper cuts from blue packaging.
Fast forward, SmileFam became one of Singapore’s fastest-growing oral care brands.
We didn’t just slap a logo and sell.
We built a real product, our own whitening formula that’s gentle, tested, and effective.
That’s why customers trust us.
Every morning and night, someone out there uses what we built.
That’s the best feeling in the world.
💡 3 Takeaways From This Journey
1️⃣ You don’t need experience.
You need belief and the courage to start.
2️⃣ Automate and outsource early.
Focus your time on what drives growth, not what drains energy.
3️⃣ Build something real.
Anyone can sell. Few create something that genuinely helps people.
If you’re building something from zero, don’t wait for permission.
Start, fail, learn, and repeat, until it works.
