Yahoo Finance 
Singapore entrepreneur sold home and car, and moved back with mum, to build renovation tech start-up Homeez
Singaporean Tyson Lim, the founder of home renovation platform Homeez, shared how he and his young family went "all-in" to build his tech start-up.
SINGAPORE — Tyson Lim got into the home renovation industry by accident – or luck – but has stayed on through challenging times over the years to now own online renovation platform Homeez.
Describing it as "Grab [the transport and food delivery app] for home renovation", Lim founded Homeez in 2020 to connect homeowners directly to suppliers, a model that removes middlemen mark-ups.
It was also his way of bringing more transparency to the home renovation market, which has been consistently ranked among the industries with the top number of complaints received by the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) each year. Complaints lodged against home renovation contractors in the first half of 2023 alone totalled 631, and took the top spot in 2022 with 1,454 complaints received.
A key value proposition of Homeez is its escrow services. As a platform matching homeowners and suppliers, the company acts as a custodian that ensures payment is only released upon satisfactory completion of a job while removing the risk of non-payment to suppliers.
The 31-year-old told Yahoo Finance Singapore that the company now has up to 200 customers on a weekly basis. Though the startup turned profitable in 2023, Lim's journey is one that's paved with personal sacrifices and tough lessons.
'Eating grass'
Coming from a single-parent family as the oldest of four siblings, Lim shared that he took up a hairdressing course after his N-levels as he wasn't sure what to do given his dismal grades. He then worked for a monthly salary of about S$1,800 cutting and washing hair before serving his National Service.
Faced with limited job prospects after his stint in the military, Lim joined the renovation industry as he felt that it had a low barrier of entry and professional certification wasn't a strict requirement. He worked his way from the ground up as a sales interior designer at a company owned by a family friend.
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It was in this role that a then-20-year-old Lim discovered his passion for design and wanted to help more aspiring homeowners realise their dream homes. The job offered no basic pay, and income was earned entirely through commissions. It took him 11 months to make his first sale, during which Lim said he had to resort to "eating grass".
"I survived because of my then-girlfriend, now wife. She was in poly, so her allowance was S$10 a day. She would give me S$5 to eat my lunch. She's a gem," Lim recalled.
Nothing to lose
Lim did his best to learn the industry ropes. About two years later, a financially struggling Lim began thinking more ambitiously beyond just being an interior designer. Believing that his qualifications would only get him low-paying jobs, Lim said that his only option was to move forward and start his own business.
His chance came in 2015 when a friend was looking for a business partner to launch an interior design firm. Sensing a good opportunity, Lim took up the offer. Using his experience in sales, Lim took on the role of training interior designers for his new start-up. To finance the company, he borrowed about S$120,000 from his mother and grandfather.
The firm was profitable quite soon and within three years, Lim was able to repay his loan, and grow his company to have 50 interior designers. However, the company soon ran into cash-flow problems that Lim attributed to a "lack of financial gatekeeping" and shady practices by some interior designers, including one who was caught embezzling about S$300,000 meant for suppliers.
"When I started my first company, I wasn't well versed with business terms and financials. We didn't run it well. Both my partner and I were sales people, not finance people," said Lim.
"Interior designers only take their commission after they finish a project, which can take a long time. So, they often take advanced payments from the company – us. Sometimes, they then become unmotivated to solve your problems anymore because they've already been paid," Lim explained.
It soon came to a point where Lim and his partner had to inject more cash into the company. This eventually led to differences in direction, and they parted ways.
Think Grab, but for home renovation
Vowing never to be the boss of an interior design firm again, Lim took about a year off to get married and become a father. At the same time, he continued to offer consulting and training services for interior designers while contemplating his next move. Drawing lessons from his past mistakes, Lim started tinkering with solutions to problems he faced in his first company. He eventually got the idea to harness technology and build an online platform that could tackle what he said was a transparency problem plaguing the industry.
"Grab is one of my idols. We really mimic their business model and the way they run, but in the renovation industry," he said.
Finding a tech partner was tough.. I went to co-founder events looking for tech co-founders, who are actually like the hot girl in class that everybody wanted to 'tackle'.Tyson Lim, Homeez
"Instead of teaching individual interior designers on a weekly basis, I now teach a machine learning system to assist homeowners. It's cost savings, and that's essentially what Homeez is. With my knowledge and skills in teaching interior designers, I simplify and gamify the process to allow homeowners to use an online platform for free so they can skip the sales talk, high commissions and high mark-ups," said Lim.
Finding suitable start-up partners
But when Lim thought of Homeez, there were just two problems. He had no tech capabilities to take on such a task and didn't feel confident financially to start another company. What he needed was to look for marketing and tech partners.
"Finding a tech partner was tough. I remember calling every friend I knew, I went to SG Tech and pitched them my idea, and I went to co-founder events looking for tech co-founders, who are actually like the hot girl in class that everybody wanted to 'tackle'," said Lim.
Eventually, Lim teamed up with his army buddy, Eugene Chia, who took on the IT lead role, and Jon Ho, who was Lim's wedding photographer, to take on the marketing role. Together, the trio set out to build Homeez and hired developers from around the region. Homeez was launched in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
The company's first two years were gruelling. Lim shared that all three co-founders took no pay, and they reinvested any earnings made into the company. All three had to work other jobs to sustain themselves; Lim took on consulting work, Ho was a freelance photographer, and Chia did food delivery.
You must be a person who's always learning and you have to always stay hungry.Tyson Lim, Homeez
Lim had also sold his house and car and moved his family back to his mother's home in order to finance the business. In total, he raised S$150,000 to launch the platform and was the sole financier among the three co-founders.
"I went all in. I downgraded my life, sold my home and lived with my mum. I also took my life savings to start Homeez," said Lim, whose daughter was two years old at the time.
Such strenuous financial circumstances took a toll on one of the co-founders, who had to leave the company in search of higher income. Chia, who was the chief technology officer at the time, had family obligations to fulfil and left the company amicably. Fadhil Kamal then stepped in to fill the role, while Chia remained a shareholder in the company.
Stay hungry
After 11 years in the renovation industry and building his own business, Lim's top advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is: "You must be a person who's always learning and you have to always stay hungry."
Lim also felt the right mentors are important.
"Find mentors that are like-minded. Learn from people who have walked the path," he said.
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