10 minutes with...

DARYL NEO, chief executive officer and co-founder, Handshakes

What is the business model of Handshakes? We use a subscription model. Our clients purchase credits or searches, which are consumed as they use Handshakes, essentially a corporate intelligence platform that collates and analyses data from a wide range of sources. The bulk of our clients today are from the finance, auditing and regulatory industries. Handshakes helps make more informed decisions and better business deals through increased transparency.

Would Handshakes have happened if it wasn’t for your experience as a stock exchange regulator?

Most likely not. Building Handshakes required a lot of domain expertise which I would not have gotten had I not worked at the stock exchange. My partner and I used to be regulators at the Singapore Exchange, where the tedious process of manually reviewing corporate data inspired us to start this platform in 2011.

What has been your most memorable experience so far through Handshakes? When we scored our first paying customer. It took us three years from ideation to minimum viable product to the first subscription customer, during which time we went through infinite building, testing, and enhancing. More importantly, it was three long years pre-revenue, so that first client really meant a lot to us.

Describe a recent meal that impressed you.

The uni pasta prepared by chef Yohhei Sasaki at il Cielo at Hilton Singapore – thick, creamy sea urchin sauce with al dente linguine – was amazing.

What’s your favourite comfort food? I enjoy cooking, and one of my favourite comfort foods to whip up is Spanish omelette with chorizo. It’s quick and simple, and the ingredients are common items in my fridge.

And where’s your go-to dining destination in the world?

Without a doubt, Japan. I appreciate the effort and skill that Japanese chefs put into their food, and the quality of their ingredients is topnotch. I speak basic Japanese, so I enjoy going off the beaten trail to eat at non-english speaking restaurants like a local.

With such a time-consuming project on your hands, how do you achieve work-life balance?

I take a day of rest each week where I try not to do any work. These days have become my cooking days, during which I do some marketing and try new recipes.

What’s next for you?

If I had the choice, I’d love to spend some time travelling the Silk Road from China to Turkey.