Atypical Asia with Debbie Yong

Debbie Yong

Atypical Asia is a podcast spotlighting the founders, creatives, leaders, and thinkers shaping Asia in ways that don’t fit the usual playbook. Hosted by Debbie Yong, former business journalist and branding and communications strategist, each episode goes beyond surface-level success stories to explore the decisions, doubts and detours behind the work. We talk about: - Building brands in Asia (and beyond) - Leadership, identity, and visibility - Creative risk amd career pivots - Culture, power, and what “success” really means If you’re building something meaningful, this space is for you.

Episodes

  1. The Future of Ageing: Silver Economy, Longevity, and Active Living - Ageing Asia's Janice Chia

    Jul 1

    The Future of Ageing: Silver Economy, Longevity, and Active Living - Ageing Asia's Janice Chia

    Janice Chia hears it all the time: "I've retired, I want to do nothing." Her reply: that's the surest way to decline. Janice Chia is the founder of Ageing Asia and the World Aging Festival, and one of Asia's most outspoken advocates for rethinking what it means to grow old. She started Ageing Asia 16 years ago at 30, back when banks would politely route her call to the CSR department because they thought seniors were a charity case. Her grandma started it. Janice grew up close to her, watched her stay fiercely independent into her 80s, and saw up close how a person moves from active to chronic conditions to forgetfulness. Ageing Asia is built around what she calls the Age of Laughter, a pun on filial piety where the same word means laughter, and the relationship with seniors becomes about enabling them rather than doing things for them. In this episode of Atypical Asia, Janice Chia joins host Debbie Yong to talk about why "retire and do nothing" is the surest path to decline, the silver economy nobody wanted to fund 16 years ago, why today's seniors may outlive their 40-something children, and how to approach your parent's first year of retirement the way you approached their first day of preschool. [01:29] What first drew her into ageing, and the grandmother who started it [04:50] The "Age of Laughter" vision, a new take on filial piety [09:49] Why banks once transferred her ageing pitch to the CSR department [11:30] What a 30-year-old was doing in the ageing sector [12:55] Why retiring "to do nothing" is the surest path to decline [15:49] Why today's retirees may outlive their middle-aged children [18:13] What happens when you actually ask seniors about their dreams [22:02] Commune at Henderson, where young and old live side by side [38:43] Why strength training is the quiet key to ageing well [44:30] The loneliness epidemic among older men nobody talks about [52:07] The plan for seniors to earn $1,000 a month through micro jobs [58:16] Where Singapore leads on active ageing, and where it still lags [1:03:20] Why ageing in place is the cheapest way to age well If you are caring for ageing parents, building for the silver economy, or just thinking about how you want your own next 30 or 40 years to go, this conversation is a clear-eyed map. Follow Atypical Asia on Spotify so the next episode lands in your library, and leave a rating to help more people find the show. About Atypical Asia Atypical Asia is a podcast hosted by Debbie Yong, with honest conversations featuring the founders, leaders, and creatives reshaping the global narrative on Asia. New episodes every fortnight. Learn more at atypicalasia.com.

    1h 6m
  2. Modernising Feng Shui: AI, Legacy, and a Family Business - Wei Feng Shui's Mark Tan

    Jun 22

    Modernising Feng Shui: AI, Legacy, and a Family Business - Wei Feng Shui's Mark Tan

    Mark Tan's friend told him: your dad is Jackie Chan. You don't fight that well. When he gets old, the business dies with him. Mark Tan is the CEO of Wei Feng Shui Group. His father is Singapore's first grand feng shui master, and Mark gave up a banking offer in the US to come home and inherit the practice. He grew up not really knowing what his dad did, until his primary school principal pulled him aside to ask if he could be introduced. From that moment on, the business hovered around him: rooms he wasn't allowed to enter, books he wasn't allowed to touch, formulas he had to memorise without explanation. He always wanted to be a businessman like his dad. He never wanted to be the feng shui master. In this episode of Atypical Asia, Mark Tan joins host Debbie Yong to talk about taking over a business where the founder is also the entire knowledge base, why he set his team to reverse-engineering his dad's formulas after years of being told "don't touch this", what changes when an entire marketing team quits inside a year, and where AI helps and doesn't help an ancient craft. [02:01] Growing up in a feng shui family [06:03] Why he wanted to be a businessman, just not a feng shui one [11:46] The phone call from his parents that changed his mind [15:58] His first years in the family business: bag-carrying, translation, no guidance [22:38] The "Jackie Chan's son" warning from a friend in F&B [31:09] When the marketing team dwindled to one in a single year [48:21] What keeps him up at night now, after a decade in charge [55:19] Where AI helps in feng shui and where it can't reach [1:00:14] The half-million dollar rock myth [1:03:04] Why feng shui works alongside hustle, not instead of it [1:07:14] What the future of feng shui could look like If you're working in a family business, modernising a legacy industry, or curious how tradition holds up against AI and a new generation's anxieties, this conversation gives you a lot to think about. Follow Atypical Asia on Spotify so the next episode lands in your library, and leave a rating to help more people find the show. About Atypical Asia Atypical Asia is a podcast hosted by Debbie Yong, with honest conversations featuring the founders, leaders, and creatives reshaping the global narrative on Asia. New episodes every fortnight. Learn more at atypicalasia.com.

    1h 10m
  3. The Future of Love in Asia: AI Dating and Digital Twins - Coffee Meets Bagel's Shn Juay

    Jun 8

    The Future of Love in Asia: AI Dating and Digital Twins - Coffee Meets Bagel's Shn Juay

    A friend of Shn Juay built an AI twin of herself to flirt, screen matches, and book dates. The real her just shows up. Shn Juay is the worldwide CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel, a dating app built for people who want a serious relationship rather than an endless feed of profiles. She calls it a personal mission to make dating safer, and she talks about it as a woman as much as a CEO. Her point: even brilliant, senior people lose their judgement the moment they fall for someone. It is how a person who is careful and logical at work hands over $10,000 to someone they have fallen for, no questions asked. In this episode of Atypical Asia, Shn Juay joins host Debbie Yong to talk about verifying real identities with Singapore's national digital ID, why an endless stream of profiles quietly numbs your judgement, how Gen Z is putting love on hold to chase a career, and what happens to dating when AI can flirt, screen, and schedule on your behalf. [00:42] What first drew her into dating apps [01:51] Why being sharp at work won't protect you in love [02:20] Using SingPass to verify age, identity, and marital status [03:46] Why honesty on a profile leads to a better relationship [06:56] One global app, but dating is never one size fits all [09:33] Why Gen Z is putting love on hold for their careers [11:49] What actually matters in a partner, beyond money and titles [14:13] A survey on money, and women open to partners who earn less [16:27] How men and women really use dating apps differently [18:19] AI companionship, loneliness, and the partner who never disagrees [22:54] The friend who deployed a digital twin to screen her dates [24:52] Why real chemistry still can't be programmed If you're dating, building in this space, or just curious where technology is taking love, this conversation is full of clear-eyed takes on modern relationships. Follow Atypical Asia on Spotify so the next episode lands in your library, and leave a rating to help more people find the show. About Atypical Asia Atypical Asia is a podcast hosted by Debbie Yong, with honest conversations featuring the founders, leaders, and creatives reshaping the global narrative on Asia. New episodes every fortnight. Learn more at atypicalasia.com.

    26 min
  4. From Failed IPO to Global CEO - Coffee Meets Bagel's Shn Juay

    May 25

    From Failed IPO to Global CEO - Coffee Meets Bagel's Shn Juay

    Shn Juay flew to New York to ring the opening bell. Her team had already popped the champagne. Then the stock never traded. Shn Juay is the worldwide CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel. Before that, she spent years at Paktor, a homegrown Singapore dating app, rising from head of marketing to COO and then CEO of the group as it scaled across Asia. She trained as a marketer and was working at a fashion media startup when Paktor's founder asked her to help fix the app's gender ratio. This was before Tinder had reached Singapore, back when putting yourself on a dating profile still felt like admitting you were desperate. She took the job anyway, and went on to build dating products across the region while raising three young children between the flights and the constant firefighting. In this episode of Atypical Asia, Shn Juay joins host Debbie Yong to talk about turning down the COO and CEO titles she didn't feel ready for, leading a company through a failed IPO with no playbook to follow, why Paktor failed twice in Korea before it finally worked, and the strange logic of a dating app that does its job only when users find someone and leave. TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Why she turned down the COO and CEO titles [01:37] Getting into dating apps before Tinder reached Singapore [05:03] The failed IPO: ringing the bell but never trading [07:54] A trial by fire in LA, with no crisis playbook to follow [11:14] Why Paktor failed twice in Korea before it worked [16:08] Ruthless prioritisation, three kids, and the mental load nobody talks about [18:34] Generalists vs specialists, and how startups outgrow their first hires [20:47] Why she hires for breadth, not just depth [21:39] Leaving dating for gaming, and why her heart pulled her back [22:30] The dating app paradox: building a product people should leave If you're a founder, an operator, or simply interested in leadership and startups, there's a lot here on scaling across Asia, hiring well, and leading through a crisis. Follow Atypical Asia on Spotify so the next episode lands in your library, and leave a rating to help more people find the show. ABOUT ATYPICAL ASIA Atypical Asia is a podcast hosted by Debbie Yong, with honest conversations featuring the founders, leaders, and creatives reshaping the global narrative on Asia. New episodes every fortnight. Learn more at atypicalasia.com.

    24 min
  5. From 1-room flat to $80M hospitality empire - 1-Group founder Joseph Ong

    Jan 31

    From 1-room flat to $80M hospitality empire - 1-Group founder Joseph Ong

    From launching a restaurant "in the middle of nowhere" as an MBA experiment to running an $80-million business today — this is Joseph Ong’s story. Joseph is the founder of 1-Group, a leading hospitality group in Singapore and Malaysia with 30+ dining and lifestyle concepts, including iconic destinations like 1-Altitude, 1-Arden and The Alkaff Mansion. But his story didn’t start there. Joseph grew up in a one-room HDB rental flat, a public housing category reserved for Singapore’s most disadvantaged families. In this episode of Atypical Asia, Joseph joins host Debbie Yong to unpack how he broke out of the poverty cycle to build — and sustain — a hospitality business at scale and what it really takes to survive in one of Asia’s most fickle industries, including: [00:55] Growing up in a one-room HDB rental flat — and the value of education [05:12] Early signs of his unconventional approach to business and leadership [09:17] Starting an F&B business as an MBA “experiment” [12:47] Being an outsider in the hospitality industry [16:35] Creating a destination in the middle of nowhere [21:00] “Remote entrepreneurship”: designing a business as a side hustle [25:13] “Collective leadership”: delegation, trust, and where leaders often get it wrong [34:15] 1-Group’s biggest failure, and what it taught him [37:17] How 1-Group approaches brand building and venue planning [43:37] Staying competitive in a famously fickle industry [46:23] Singapore’s night economy [52:43] Advice for first-time restaurant entrepreneurs [54:20] Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals (BHAGs) [55:54] The future of Asia’s restaurant industry If you're a founder, business operator or community leader thinking deeply about leadership, innovation, and how Asia builds for the long term, you'll want to tune in. About Atypical Asia Atypical Asia is a podcast about unconventional leaders, innovative business rebels, and the human stories shaping modern Asia — beyond the stereotypes. Subscribe for more conversations. New episodes fortnightly. #AtypicalAsia #LeadershipInAsia #AsianFounders #BusinessInAsia #Innovation #BrandBuilding #Hospitality

    58 min

  6. Trailer

    Atypical Asia: Stories of Leadership and Innovation in Modern Asia

    Asia’s most interesting leaders don’t fit the mould.Atypical Asia is a podcast about the rebels and rulebreakers building, leading, and re-imagining modern Asia — beyond the tired tropes and stereotypes.I’m Debbie Yong — former journalist, brand strategist, and lifelong question-asker — and in this series, I sit down with founders, executives, and changemakers to explore the human stories behind leadership, innovation, and ambition across the region.If you’re curious about:– what leadership really looks like behind the scenes– how Asian founders and leaders navigate power, identity, and growth– and why the “atypical” path often leads to the most meaningful workYou’re in the right place.New episodes drop every fortnight.Subscribe to follow our journey.

    1 min

Trailer

About

Atypical Asia is a podcast spotlighting the founders, creatives, leaders, and thinkers shaping Asia in ways that don’t fit the usual playbook. Hosted by Debbie Yong, former business journalist and branding and communications strategist, each episode goes beyond surface-level success stories to explore the decisions, doubts and detours behind the work. We talk about: - Building brands in Asia (and beyond) - Leadership, identity, and visibility - Creative risk amd career pivots - Culture, power, and what “success” really means If you’re building something meaningful, this space is for you.

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