The leaders of Singapore’s Ninja Van, 99 Group and Chope reflect on building their tech‑enabled businesses from the ground up

Often regarded as the poster boy for Singaporean entrepreneurship, he co‑founded mobile security company tenCube, which provided a first‑of‑its‑kind service offering complete protection of the mobile device, and its data and privacy, while in university in 2005. It was acquired by American software giant McAfee for US$25 million just five years later.

Cheung ventured into angel investing next, and was one of the early investors in homegrown unicorn Carousell and other start‑ups such as Tech In Asia. He also launched bill sharing app BillPin, before deciding to shut it down after a year, and co‑founded 99.co in 2014, motivated by the frustration of navigating the cumbersome real estate search process. The real estate platform, now a leader in the region, sets itself apart with user‑friendly features such as price analysis data and smart filters to help users rent, buy or sell properties with ease. Backed by prominent investors such as real estate private equity fund management firm Gaw Capital Partners, 99.co expanded through strategic acquisitions, including that of Indonesia’s online real estate destination UrbanIndo.

99 Group now operates several other platforms, such as SRX in Singapore, and 99.co/id and Rumah123 in Indonesia, where Cheung is now based, in Jakarta. The group has raised more than US$88.5 million across six funding rounds, with its most recent being a US$11 million Series C extension round led by existing investor Gaw Capital Partners and joined by OCBC NISP Ventura in March 2023.

Securing funding can be challenging for start‑ups—and in the current funding environment, therein lies a paradox. “It’s easier to raise money with a PowerPoint presentation than for a company that’s working and successful,” Balasingam remarks. He explains that investors often shy away from solid, established companies, which seek incremental infusions, because they perceive limited returns. “They’re thinking, ‘Maybe I can [double] my money … but with something brand new and untested, I can make [15 times my investment].’”

Cheung, who started his first company when venture capital in the region was scarce, noted the irony of today’s landscape. “When I started my first company in 2003, there were no venture capitalists. There’s way too much money available now,” he says.

Despite this, he points out that investors are still chasing sexy mythical home runs, leaving many good investable opportunities on the table. He notes that companies meeting market needs are likely to thrive. Quoting American business magnate and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, he says: “Instead of asking what will change tomorrow, ask what won’t. People always want things cheaper, faster, and with more variety.” Understanding human desires is crucial not only for navigating market trends, but also for managing internal teams. Strong relationships—among co‑founders, employees and hires—form the foundation of success.

For the trio, scaling brought challenges, especially in managing people, which remains a delicate balance. Lai’s experience with Ninja Van highlights how essential this human element is when scaling a business. Like Cheung, his drive to solve inefficiencies was the spark behind his success. The former Barclays derivatives trader encountered major delivery inefficiencies when running his made‑to‑measure menswear brand, Marcella—and this led him to launch Ninja Van in 2014. Ninja Van’s early days were “scrappy”, Lai recalls. With only one second‑hand van, gruelling 22‑hour workdays, and mattresses in the office serving as beds, the founding team embraced the hustle. And their efforts paid off.

Ninja Van is now a leading tech‑enabled courier and logistics provider, with more than 2,000 hubs and stations across the region, delivering nearly two million parcels daily. Despite fierce competition, the company continues to focus on sustainable growth. In 2021, it raised US$578 million in a Series E round with support from investors including Alibaba Group and B Capital Group. Expansions such as Ninja B2B, a business‑to‑business service, and Ninja Cold, for cold chain logistics, have further solidified its place. With growth comes inevitable friction. “It’s easy to … have a start‑up founder mindset,” says Lai. This drives an obvious divide between those who founded the company and the professionals hired to run it. “It takes a lot of effort to make the professionals feel that they have a vested interest in the company.”

Although Ninja Van addressed this divide early on, he acknowledges it still caused challenges. One solution to these growing pains is the implementation of a clear job levelling and banding system, which is essential for maintaining fairness as companies grow. “Every employee feels they’re underpaid and every boss feels they’re overpaying,” he explains, stressing that there is rarely a consensus on compensation. “It allows [for] more objectivity on salaries as the organisation grows.” Without these structured systems, he warns, feelings of inequity can infiltrate the organisation, leading to nepotism and favouritism that create a politically charged workplace.

Establishing a shared company culture is also key. For Balasingam, this begins with codifying values. “When you first start out, there’s a natural alignment because everyone’s been part of the journey from the ground up,” he shares. “But as you grow, it’s harder to maintain that same depth of understanding—new people come in, but they haven’t lived through the same defining moments, making it difficult to keep that connection to the underlying purpose.” By defining its core values, Chope ensures new hires understand the company’s ethos, aiding integration. However, values mean little if they are not embodied by the leadership. “When junior employees see that senior leaders aren’t embodying those values, whatever’s on the wall is just wallpaper,” Lai chimes in, adding that enforcing those values is often more difficult than it sounds.

Strong co‑founder dynamics influence broader company culture as well and are crucial during the challenging stages of growth. “It’s important to rely on [the support of your co‑founders], as they fully grasp the weight of [your] decisions,” Balasingam shares, highlighting the complementary roles, in operations and strategy respectively, that he and his co-founder, Chope’s executive chairman and former chief executive officer Arrif Ziaudeen, play. “Even when we disagree,” he says, “we present a united message.” Maintaining these dynamics also requires trust. “If you trust that the person’s intention is good, a lot of things can be solved on a logical level,” Cheung notes.

Yet, as companies grow, dynamics may evolve and “outgrow their duration”. Recognising this is pivotal to ensuring that the company’s leadership remains adaptable. Entrepreneurship can be a solitary path, with founders bearing the burden of decision‑making alone. Cheung acknowledges this reality, describing the journey as “lonely—it’s meant to be; it’s part of the fun”. Having invested in 30 companies, he believes that founders are the best people to lead the company. “Unless the founder is burned out or not motivated, they’re often the best people for the job,” he says.

Reflecting on his early days of entrepreneurship, Cheung shares how “imposter syndrome plus naivety” led him to take “well‑intended but bad advice”. He learnt to overcome this by trusting his instincts, adding that “making your own call is probably the best course of action”. This resonates with Balasingam, whose journey also involved grappling with self‑doubt while finding his path forward.

At 22, Balasingam took a leap of faith by joining Chope instead of attending a prestigious arts university, having opted for a gap year due to his parents’ concerns about the practicality of an arts degree. It was then that he met Arrif. Surrounded by peers with prestigious degrees, he struggled to feel like he belonged. “I was 22 when I started,” he reflects. “Everybody around me had these amazing degrees and pedigrees that I didn’t.” His determination helped him push through self‑doubt, eventually allowing him to trust his own instincts.

Ultimately, this journey led to the milestone many start‑up founders dream of: acquisition. This July, Chope was acquired by Southeast Asian super-app Grab as part of its omni‑commerce strategy for an undisclosed sum. Balasingam characterised the acquisition as “bittersweet”, but the “best decision’” for the company’s development. As he explains, the competitive landscape and fundraising challenges made it difficult for Chope to scale independently, and while it meant losing some autonomy, the deal provides Chope with new growth opportunities. Ultimately, it was about putting the company’s interests first. “We took ourselves out of the equation,” he shares. “It’s not about our own ambitions or us as leaders anymore … [it’s] about how we can maintain the value we worked so tirelessly to create.”

As the conversation draws to a close, Cheung, ever the realist, offers this sobering perspective for aspiring entrepreneurs: “Don’t do it. It has now become so ‘sexy’ to start something. The bar is too low.” Lai, though, advises to carefully assess the opportunities first. “Is this opportunity going to go away? Are you certain it’s so unique? If the answer to the first is no, I’d say take another five years,” he says, also encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs to work with and learn from seasoned professionals before venturing out on their own. “Don’t rush it.”

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