Debbie Yong

Atypical Asia with Debbie Yong

Business EN ↓ 6 episodes

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 meansIf you’re building something meaningful, this space is for you.

Author

Debbie Yong

Episodes

The Future of Ageing: Silver Economy, Longevity, and Active Living - Ageing Asia's Janice Chia 01.07.2026 1:06:08

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 de...

Modernising Feng Shui: AI, Legacy, and a Family Business - Wei Feng Shui's Mark Tan 22.06.2026 1:09:46

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 princip...

The Future of Love in Asia: AI Dating and Digital Twins - Coffee Meets Bagel's Shn Juay 08.06.2026 26:15

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 bri...

From Failed IPO to Global CEO - Coffee Meets Bagel's Shn Juay 25.05.2026 24:00

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...

From 1-room flat to $80M hospitality empire - 1-Group founder Joseph Ong 31.01.2026 57:55

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. Jo...

Atypical Asia: Stories of Leadership and Innovation in Modern Asia 30.01.2026 1:08

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...