Dissatisfaction with her career, and a family memory, led Kate Cham to found her caregiving business and she has never looked back.
What’s your story?
I began my career in management consulting but felt a calling to do work that directly improves lives. My husband and I both grew up with grandparents who spoke only Mandarin and dialects. His grandmother, who raised him, needed care later in life and had never hired a helper—we knew she needed someone who could speak Mandarin to feel safe and understood. We realised many families faced the same challenge. That inspired us to continue to specialise in Mandarin-speaking caregivers who offer both practical support and true companionship. Hearing how our caregivers become like family continues to drive our mission.
What excites you most about your industry?
The chance to help improve lives daily. Caregiving is deeply personal, and the impact is immediate as you get to see families relieved, seniors supported, and caregivers empowered. The industry is also evolving with better training, innovation, and recognition, and I’m excited to shape that future.
What drives you in your career to push beyond what other people consider normal?
Families that trust us with finding good carers for their ailing elderly parents. That responsibility keeps me pushing for higher standards with better screening, better support, and more transparency. I’m driven by the belief that caregiving can be done with empathy and excellence, not just adequacy. And also knowing that my decisions can impact lives.
What have been the most useful skills you have learnt and applied in your journey?
Listening deeply, hiring well, making fast yet grounded decisions, and building systems that scale without losing the human touch have been core to our growth. This balance allows us to respond thoughtfully while moving with clarity and speed. We’ve learned that empathy paired with strong operational discipline is a powerful combination – one that strengthens teams, improves outcomes, and ensures we remain both effective and human-centred as we scale.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
“Do the right thing even when no one is watching.” Integrity builds a reputation money can’t buy. It guides every part of our business.
Who inspires you?
There’s not just one person who inspires me, as our team of caregivers inspires me the most. They show resilience, courage, patience, and heart every single day. Caregiving is demanding, yet they continue this path for years with the same kindness and purpose. Their unwavering commitment reminds me why we do what we do.
What have you learnt recently that blew you away?
What continues to blow me away is the extraordinary dedication our caregivers show. Recently, I spoke with Ana, who cared for an elderly client with dementia for 7 years until she passed. In the early stages, the elderly lady was often angry, physically aggressive, and confused, there were times the police intervened. Yet Ana persevered with patience and compassion. She found small ways to bring joy: buying her favourite meals, treating her to Mr Coconut, joking with her, even doing playful “runway walks” to make her laugh. Her commitment, kindness and empathy despite the challenges truly blew me away.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
If I could do it over again, I’d delegate earlier and build structure much sooner. In the early days, I tried to handle everything myself, which limited our speed and stretched me thin. Empowering others and putting foundational systems in place would have accelerated our growth, improved decision-making, and created more room for the team and the organisation to thrive.
How do you unwind?
By spending quality time with my husband and toddler. Sometimes I enjoy a relaxing massage on my massage chair, and intentionally disconnecting from work at the end of each day to reset my mind.
What is a major mindset change, belief shift or ‘ah ha’ moment that you’ve experienced in relation to your career?
Realising that scaling a caregiving agency isn’t just about numbers – it’s about building trust at every touchpoint. When we invested in people and processes, everything changed.
Everyone in business should read this book:
High Output Management by Andrew Grove. It’s an invaluable guide on building clear processes, managing teams, and creating consistency at scale. In our live-in caregiving business, quality, trust, and reliability are everything. The principles in this book help us design systems that support caregivers better and deliver a consistently high standard of care to families.
Shameless plug for your business or career:
Anglo Caregivers provides compassionate live-in caregivers to help elderly Singaporeans age well at home. Our mission is to match families with reliable caregivers who serve with heart and can connect in Mandarin or English. We proudly celebrated our 10th anniversary in September 2025, having supported over 1,400 families. We believe caregiving goes beyond physical tasks and that true care requires emotional connection. That’s why we pioneered Mandarin-speaking caregivers, ensuring seniors feel heard, understood, and genuinely supported.
How can people connect with you? :
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-cham/ (personal)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wongdehanvincent/ (my husband and co-founder)
Social Media Links?
Anglo Caregivers:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anglocaregiverssg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anglocaregivers/
This interview is part of the CallumConnects series.