{"id":13503,"date":"2026-03-13T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/?p=13503"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T08:39:23","slug":"more-than-a-business-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/2026\/03\/13\/more-than-a-business-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than A Business Partner"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Like many young couples, Ms Desiree Chang (Arts & Social Sciences \u201925) and Mr Matthew Tan (Year 3, Arts & Social Sciences) met in junior college. Six years later, they have journeyed through A-levels, National Service, and time at the University \u2014 and unlike many couples, the unusual experience of running a business together.<\/p>

What began as a shared interest in thrifting gradually evolved into Woofie\u2019s \u2014 an online venture that later expanded into a brick-and-mortar store selling second-hand clothes. The experience was a crash course, not only in running a business, but also succeeding in a relationship. \u201cWe learnt each other\u2019s triggers and strengths, just in a different way,\u201d says Ms Chang, 25.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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GROWING TOGETHER<\/strong><\/p>

The early days of Woofie\u2019s were marked by adjustment. During Mr Tan\u2019s stint in National Service, Ms Chang managed pop-up events largely on her own. \u201cWe were doing a lot of pop-ups when Matt was in NS. So I had to go to the events and set up everything on my own,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>

When Mr Tan completed NS and joined her more actively in running the venture, they had to learn how to work together as partners. \u201cThere were bound to be arguments along the way. We also had, and maybe still have, different opinions about running a store,\u201d Ms Chang says.<\/p>

But these disagreements were never allowed to linger. \u201cWe eventually always talk it out and that helped,\u201d Mr Tan adds. It also helped that they were clear about one thing: the relationship comes first. \u201cWe were clear that the relationship was more important than the business,\u201d Mr Tan says. \u201cThings can sour very quickly and couples may lose that bond. We were determined not to allow that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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They were intentional about it. Even when the business demanded most of their time and headspace, they made it a point to return to each other. They heard from other couples in similar situations that boundaries mattered \u2014 one pair even suggested keeping separate chats for work and for the relationship. \u201cWe knew that was the ideal,\u201d Mr Tan says, though they admit they never went so far. Instead, they relied on conversation. At the end of the day, they reminded themselves that \u201cwe were in this together.\u201d<\/p>

Running something together meant they saw each other under pressure but it also deepened trust. As Ms Chang puts it, \u201cWe learnt a lot about the other\u2019s strengths. I\u2019m very good at execution\u2026 For Matt, it\u2019s more ideation. So we trust each other in those domains. I think that trust carried over to other aspects of our life as well.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A NEW PHASE<\/strong><\/p>

Last year marked a turning point. With the realities of scaling a small business setting in, Ms Chang decided to enter the workforce full-time. \u201cUp till graduation, I still thought I might do this full-time,\u201d she says. She has since begun work as a management associate at Enterprise Singapore. Mr Tan, currently studying history at NUS and on an internship at GovTech Singapore, continues to oversee the venture.<\/p>

The shift has changed their daily rhythm.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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For years, much of their time together revolved around the business. Now, their days unfold separately. They have met this newfound distance head-on. \u201cAfter every work day, we meet up for dinner and share about our day,\u201d Mr Tan says. \u201cIt\u2019s quite interesting to have completely different days because we used to spend all our days together.\u201d<\/p>

Physical closeness has also helped ease the journey. \u201cOur houses are just ten minutes apart by foot,\u201d he says, describing it as \u201can underrated aspect\u201d that has supported them \u201cthroughout all the years of our relationship.\u201d Even as roles evolve, the business remains a shared chapter. \u201cIt\u2019s still our shared experience,\u201d Mr Tan says, adding that Ms Chang\u2019s input remains valuable. \u201cYou don\u2019t just switch that off.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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LESSONS LEARNT<\/strong><\/p>

What have they learnt from the experience? For one, they\u2019re both even more committed to thrifting. \u201cYou realise just how much goes to waste and how your actions make a difference,\u201d says Mr Tan. And on their relationship, they\u2019re unanimous that the journey has made them a stronger couple. They\u2019ve learnt how the other thinks under pressure and how to disagree without losing trust. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen each other at our most stressed,\u201d sums up Ms Chang. \u201cAnd we\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"Woofie's
Woofie's Warehouse<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Thrifted
Thrifted Clothes Racks<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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FINDING A BALANCE<\/strong><\/p>

Running a business while managing a hectic university schedule can be tough\u2014here\u2019s how the couple did it:<\/p>

  1. Plan with purpose:<\/strong> Mr Tan intentionally structured his class schedule so he did not have to be on campus every day. That freed up time to focus on the business instead of squeezing it into leftover hours.<\/li>
  2. Make it a routine: <\/strong>For Ms Chang, sticking to a fixed schedule was key. She set aside regular after-school hours for the business until it became second nature. Because she genuinely enjoyed running it, the time commitment felt purposeful rather than like a sacrifice.<\/li>
  3. Find meaning: <\/strong>Ms Chang adds that finding impact made the work more meaningful. \u201cOne of the most impactful moments for me was being invited to take part in Project Hak, which raised funds for social projects in Laos. We sold some of our clothes there to raise funds for the project, and it felt really special to see something we built contribute to a bigger cause within the NUS community.\u201d<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As love and business intertwine, Ms Desiree Chang (Arts & Social Sciences \u201925) and Mr Matthew Tan (Year 3, Arts & Social Sciences) open up about the challenges and rewards of mixing romance with entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":13519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","category-startups"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13503"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13523,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13503\/revisions\/13523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}