Fresh out of university with no work experience or outside funding, Rachel Yeng, along with co-founder Henry Chandra, started their sofa slip cover business, Comfort Works 11 years ago and built it to become the global business it is today.

Courage, determination and grit – these are among the entrepreneurial qualities that has evidently seen Rachel through the uncertainties of starting and growing a business from scratch. It all began with an old, ugly sofa she moved with her to her then-boyfriend-now husband, Henry Chandra’s home. Intending to ‘fix’ the issue, Rachel decided to make a slip cover with the help of YouTube tutorials and a second-hand sewing machine. The final product caught the attention of her friends and neighbours, who soon began to put in their orders. Recognising the side business opportunity it presented, Rachel roped in Henry to become co-founder of the business. Rachel concentrated on product design and development while Henry was in charge of sales and finance.

In the early years, Rachel faced her own share of challenges, with product-market-fit and cash flow being the main concerns. She also faced project and product failures as well as rejections. Over time, business picked up and Rachel began working on the business full-time. She then made a bold decision to move to China despite not speaking the language, scrapping and hustling her way to gain knowledge about the business. Since then, Comfort Works has grown from having five to over 1,000 unique products and sofa slipcovers for over 25 brands.
However, Rachel’s most notable achievement is having maintained the original team of people who started this remarkable journey 11 years ago with her – testament of the healthy company culture and core values Rachel inculcates. Today, Comfort Works is over 100 members strong.