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From championing local creatives to giving retired aircraft new life: How home-grown SMEs are embracing digital tools and innovation for success
Across various sectors, Xero’s new campaign honours the small businesses and entrepreneurs powering Singapore’s growth and competitiveness
(Clockwise from top left) The teams behind Goodstuph, Foreword Coffee, Nandina REM and Oriental Remedies Group prove that small enterprises can make a big impact.
PHOTOS: XERO
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When Lasalle College of the Arts began thinking about how to inspire Singapore’s next generation of creatives, it did not want a slick marketing pitch. It wanted something honest – and rooted in the same spirit that drives its students to keep creating.
So it turned to Goodstuph
More than a promotional video, it was a call to action: start creating now, not when you think you’re “ready”. That belief in growing talent from the ground up is also how the agency operates.
Nearly half of Goodstuph’s creative team are Lasalle graduates. It is a deliberate choice to nurture new generations of Singapore-moulded storytellers.
Goodstuph’s culture extends beyond client work and includes its online store offering playful keepsakes.
PHOTOS: GOODSTUPH
Goodstuph and other small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like Foreword Coffee, Nandina REM and Oriental Remedies, help power Singapore’s economy and shape the country’s identity. They make up 99 per cent of all enterprises, employ about 70 per cent of the workforce and contribute roughly half of the nation’s GDP.
It is this spirit of everyday Singaporeans doing extraordinary things that cloud accounting provider Xero
Launched on Nov 20, the campaign’s microsite features videos of its small business customers whose stories embody the values that have shaped Singapore
Says Ms Koren Wines, Xero Asia’s managing director: “We’ve witnessed first-hand how Singaporean businesses embrace technology to transform productivity, deepen customer relationships and scale across borders.
“These remarkable businesses, shaping Singapore’s society and economy, are unsung nation-builders, and we couldn’t be more proud to be part of their journey.”
Local creativity on the global stage
Goodstuph began in 2010, at a time when brands were only starting to experiment with storytelling using social media.
Seeing an online landscape dominated by Western brands and narratives, Goodstuph founder Pat Law sought to create hyperlocal content that speaks directly to Asian audiences.
“The intent was to be extremely, proudly Singaporean and to play on the same field as the big boys whilst giving that Singaporean flavour,” says Ms Law.
Ms Pat Law built Goodstuph from a one-woman outfit into a regional creative agency rooted in hyperlocal storytelling. Hear her story
Her one-woman outfit has since grown into a 180-strong collective operating across five countries in South-east Asia, such as Indonesia and Thailand.
As the agency expanded, so did the need for operational discipline.
When Goodstuph turned five, Ms Law migrated its operations to Xero, immediately automating invoicing, billing and follow-ups.
“If a client doesn’t pay, I can set auto-reminders that get sent out every 24 hours,” says Ms Law.
With routine work automated, her team was able to focus fully on creative output.
As it expanded, Goodstuph clinched over 100 awards and boasts a clientele that includes big names such as UOB, Prudential, Figma and Netflix.
PHOTO: GOODSTUPH
“It also helps that Xero isn’t ugly,” Ms Law laughs, referring to the platform’s user interface and user experience
With clearer oversight and smoother day-to-day operations, Goodstuph expanded more confidently into four other South-east Asian markets, aligning with Ms Law’s long-standing ambition.
She says: “That aim of just doing really good work for Asian brands in Asia, is the hardest thing to do but it’s all we want to do. Always.”
High tech meets high touch
While Goodstuph generates creative ideas for new media, Oriental Remedies Group
Ms Beatrice Liu co-founded the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) company in 2019, following a deeply personal experience.
“I got into TCM because of my mum’s journey with cancer,” says Ms Liu. “Her low pain threshold prompted me to seek alternative therapy, which ultimately gave me more time with her.”
Co-founder of Oriental Remedies Group Beatrice Liu taps automation to enhance clinic operations and help free staff to focus on patient care. Hear her story
Her clinics combine TCM with technology to provide patients with empathetic, personalised care.
“A lot of people see TCM and tech as two very separate things – the traditional and the progressive, but I see them as complementary to each other. We call it high tech and high touch,” says Ms Liu.
The company is continuously innovating to better serve patients. Currently, it is trialling an artificial intelligence (AI) programme that analyses photos of a patient’s tongue for a basic reading of their body constitution. The aim is to help patients visualise progress and adhere to treatment plans.
The use of technology has also been crucial to scaling the business. Ms Liu introduced automation that cut time spent on admin work – for example, reducing the task of sending appointment reminders from four hours to under one.
Oriental Remedies Group blends traditional Chinese medicine with technology to provide patients with better care.
PHOTO: XERO
After adopting Xero, she has also replaced the early days of pen-and-paper bookkeeping that she recalls as “such a nightmare”.
Today, she relies on Xero’s real-time financial dashboards to track each clinic’s cash flow and profit & loss.
“That visibility gives me way more confidence to make calls on what we can grow and where to invest in,” she says.
Inclusivity champions
At Foreword Coffee
Co-founder Nadi Chan was inspired by a boy with mild autism he once worked with – someone fully capable of performing tasks but who needed slight workflow adjustments. That experience made him question what workplaces could do differently to truly champion inclusivity.
Since 2017, the social enterprise has expanded to 10 locations across Singapore, even offering mobile coffee carts for events, wedding favours and customised coffee services. Over one-third of its staff identify as persons with disabilities or with mental-health needs.
“Singapore’s come a long way in being inclusive in the workplace,” Mr Chan says. “In F&B, where it can be hard to find manpower, there are lots of opportunities for people with disabilities to join the workforce, as long as there are some workflow adjustments.”
Foreword Coffee co-founder Nadi Chan leads a team where over one-third of employees are persons with disabilities or mental health needs. Hear his story
Staying true to its mission, new hires are assessed for attitude and interest rather than F&B experience, and uniquely, applicants’ caregivers are invited to be part of the interview process to reinforce workplace habits at home.
Once they’re hired, training is entirely tailored. Coffee-making is broken down into smaller, manageable steps to allow staff to master individual components before progressing to the full process.
Visual aids around the cafes serve as recipe reminders or task prompts, and staff can take orders using alternative means like pointing to the menu and verifying orders via screens.
With Xero’s Hubdoc, Foreword Coffee staff can snap and upload invoices easily, making document management more accessible for everyone.
PHOTO: XERO
Technology also plays a part in ensuring inclusivity. Using Xero, Foreword Coffee has eased document management for all its staff.
“When it comes to invoices, my staff can just quickly snap pictures and upload them onto Hubdoc,” Mr Chan says.
“It is my hope that more employers can take a step back and look at their (people with disabilities) potential, not their circumstances. Because given the chance, they will surprise you.”
From waste to materials
The youngest of this group of SMEs is Nandina REM
Nandina REM is the first company in the world to produce aviation-grade circular carbon fibre from reclaimed end-of-life aircraft
Its chief executive officer Karina Cady says it all started with a simple case of curiosity: “I saw a plane while cycling down East Coast Park, and I thought, where do they go once they can’t fly?”
Nandina REM chief executive officer Karina Cady leads the world’s first company that creates aviation-grade circular carbon fibre from end-of-life aircraft. Hear her story
After Ms Cady got Nandina REM off the ground, a partnership with A*Star accelerated the company’s capability to remanufacture high-value components, such as those from retired aircraft, into carbon fibres for advanced manufacturing industries such as aviation and automotive.
The company now works with global firms such as Sumitomo Corporation Asia & Oceania and Qantas, and has set up operations in the US, which is home to most of the world’s retired aircraft.
As a young company operating across multiple markets – including Singapore, Australia and the US – Nandina REM needed financial systems that could keep pace with its global supply chain and multi-currency transactions.
Reclaimed material from decommissioned aircraft is remanufactured into high-value components for sectors such as aviation, automotive and advanced manufacturing.
PHOTO: XERO
Xero was able to fill the gap, forming the financial spine of the company since its founding.
With financial clarity, Nandina REM was able to bring bookkeeping fully in-house, a significant advantage for a young company working in a complex, capital-intensive industry.
“Xero has really helped us navigate our rapid growth, because it allowed us to bring simplicity into what is considered a very complicated play,” says Ms Cady.
A nation built by small businesses
As part of its SG60 customer campaign, cloud accounting platform Xero is shining a spotlight on the small business heroes
The campaign’s microsite serves as a growing archive of stories – with new videos and articles rolling out in the coming months – featuring creative agencies, social enterprises, technology innovators and sustainability champions.
Among them are home-grown names such as AKIN, Ollie, Oysterly Media and Tack One, each contributing to Singapore’s cultural and economic fabric in their own way.
Says Ms Koren Wines, managing director of Xero Asia: “Singapore’s story is one of inspiring openness, enduring resilience, heroic boldness and vibrant multiculturalism. These values are not just part of Singapore’s national character – they are lived and breathed every day by its small business community.
“Our campaign is a tribute to everyday businesses achieving extraordinary things. I hope that the stories of these remarkable founders will inspire others to be tenacious, courageous and willing to challenge the status quo.”
Explore the stories of everyday entrepreneurs powering Singapore.
