Woman Of Tomorrow

Shirley Crystal Chua, founder and CEO of Golden Equator, talks about making it as a woman in a male-dominated tech world.

- Karen Tee

When Shirley Crystal Chua first met Japanese billionaire entrepreneur and investor Taizo Son in 2017, she launched straight into her “30-second elevator pitch”.

“With people like Taizo, there’s always a long queue of people waiting to meet him,” she says of Son, who famously moved to Singapore a year prior to that, in search of technology companies to invest in.

So, when Chua, the CEO and founder of fintech, business consultancy and fund management company Golden Equator (GE) crossed paths with him at Slush Singapore, a tech start-up event, she knew she had to seize the opportunity to tell him about the work she was doing. To her surprise, the very next day, he paid a visit to Spectrum – a sleek technology and innovation business club that she co-founded – located at Duo Tower. Early last year, he not only became the group special adviser to Golden Equator, but he also moved Mistletoe, his early stage venture firm, to be based in Spectrum.

Chua’s takeaway from this experience is this: “Women should ask for things more – I see that more in Western culture but less so in Asia. I always encourage my staff to ask for things – if you want a lunch appointment with your CEO, don’t be afraid to ask for it. I asked Taizo to let me share my story and to visit us and, from that, he has brought a lot of value, from his knowledge to his connections.” Indeed, when asked by reporters at Spectrum’s launch what differentiated it from other such ecosystems, Son quipped: “Me.”