Combining her business skills with her understanding of the emotional needs of those requiring care has been the focus of Chloe Lim’s service provision.
What’s your story?
I grew up on the conventional Singapore education track and later graduated with a Double Degree in Accountancy and Business. My career began at Bain & Company in 2018, which felt like a dream job—I loved the exposure, the complexity of the work, and even the prestige. Still, I knew I didn’t want to stay in consulting forever. In 2023, I joined Homage, where I saw how complex, personal, and emotionally demanding caregiving is, and how essential foreign manpower is to Singapore’s ageing challenge. That insight, along with caring for my grandmother, eventually led me to acquire a maid agency and build gentleHelp.
What excites you most about your industry?
The domestic help industry has many existing pain points: lack of transparency, mismatched expectations between employers and helpers, insufficient training … the list goes on.
To date, there are over 300,000 domestic helpers in Singapore – that is 1 domestic helper for every 5 households. This is a broken yet vital industry, which is exciting because there is a lot of incentive and potential to innovate!
What drives you in your career to push beyond what other people consider normal?
For me, “business” is not merely a tool to make a living; it is also an engine to drive forward changes that I hope to see in the world. This is an important motivator for me to push beyond “normal” limits.
Beyond increasing the number of placements we make, we want to make sure each placement generates a high positive impact for both the employer and the domestic helper. This has been the main driver for many of our initiatives across employer education, helper reinforcement training and empowerment.
What have been the most useful skills you have learnt and applied in your journey?
My time at Bain & Company has trained me to think structurally, break down complex problems, and stay resilient in high-pressure environments.
Homage taught me the human side of caregiving; that real care cannot be automated, industrialised, or rushed. It demands empathy and presence.
These two worlds, analytical thinking and human-centred care, have shaped the way I run gentleHelp today.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.
Beyond material comfort, I’ve grown to recognise that the “why” and “meaning” are very important to me.
This advice has pushed me to live life more authentically, and step out of a traditional career track into gentleHelp.
Who inspires you?
My late grandmother is my source of inspiration.
Despite the many challenges (health, financial and family) her life threw at her, she remained positive, thankful and encouraging.
What have you learnt recently that blew you away?
It blew my mind to learn that a significant proportion of domestic helpers still end up going home, not better off than they were when they first came to Singapore.
This is a stark reminder that there are still many systemic inequalities in this system that need to be resolved.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I would give myself an easier time and learn to appreciate the small moments — the companionship, the tiny wins, the everyday happiness.
How do you unwind?
Usually with an outdoor run or workout.
This helps me to clear my head and reset my emotions, which is especially important in a people-centric business like ours.
What is a major mindset change, belief shift or ‘ah ha’ moment that you’ve experienced in relation to your career?
That technology is not the end goal or “product”. It is merely a tool.
When we first took over the agency, we wanted to digitise & automate everything, even the interactions with our helpers and employers. But we soon realised the human touch is not replaceable: we value conversations that go beyond “fill in the blank”, in-person walkthroughs, even home visits to wheelchair-bound clients.
The “aha” moment was understanding that technology should remove unnecessary work so we can spend more time where it truly matters: supporting families, empowering helpers, and deep listening.
Everyone in business should read this book:
Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury. It’s a great reminder that most decisions aren’t just “yes or no,” or “my position vs yours.” The real magic happens when we dig deeper into each other’s motivations and interests; that’s where solutions that work for everyone start to appear.
Shameless plug for your business or career:
gentleHelp is a modern domestic helper agency built on respect, empathy, and practical support. We combine structured screening, thoughtful matching, and personalised guidance to help families find the right helper, while ensuring helpers are treated with dignity and professionalism. With digitised processes and genuine human connection, we aim to make caregiving smoother, more sustainable, and more humane for everyone involved.
How can people connect with you?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloelimsx/
Social Media Links?
Website: https://www.gentlehelp.com.sg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gentlehelp/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gentlehelp.com.sg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gentlehelp/?originalSubdomain=sg
This interview is part of the CallumConnects series.