'My kid's milk powder was paid for by borrowed money': Dad of 2 on hustling his way out of a $200k debt

With a $200,000 debt, $2.43 in his bank account and a baby on the way, Brien Chua had to choose between a stable finance job or taking a leap of faith in the business world nine years ago.

Now, the 40-year-old is CEO of leading e-commerce homeware brand Houze Storage Inspirations and is no longer in the red. But his success did not come easily, he tells AsiaOne over a Zoom interview.

From quitting his promising banking job on the same day his mum was retrenched to finding out that he and his wife were expecting mere days after accepting a business opportunity in Shanghai, it's as if life was playing a cruel joke on Brien.

But instead of crumbling under the pressure, the father of two told us all he could do was "suck it up".

"There was one solution. I just had to succeed. There was no choice."

Giving up stability to chase his entrepreneurial dreams

With most of his family working in the financial industry, studying accounting and finance in university seemed like the natural choice for Brien.

But despite landing jobs at United Overseas Bank, and later Standard Chartered, he says he "just needed so much more".

So he quit his job in 2008 to jet off to China, then still considered "up-and-coming" in the business world, Brien tells us.

Looking back on the scene as he broke the news to his parents, Brien chuckles as he tells us his parents were initially "very, very angry".

"I was sitting in the car and [my dad] was like, 'Did you know your mum got retrenched today?'

"I said, 'Okay, did you know I quit my job today?' And there was a very long silence."

Fortunately, his parents eventually came around and they have supported him through the ups and downs in his career, he shares.

'My wife was pregnant in Singapore and I could do nothing'

With his desire to build his own business also came risks — in the few years after quitting his job, Brien launched and closed four businesses.

One, a Chinese doughnut franchise, left him with about $200,000 in debt. But he was able to cash out and settle down in Singapore with his China-born wife, Demi Ye, 36.

Brien considered returning to banking then, but his job hunt remained fruitless. Eventually, he decided to give the business thing another go and head over to Shanghai to take on a job opportunity with a frozen yoghurt company.

Mere days after he had accepted the job offer came an unexpected twist — Demi was pregnant.

Like many first-time parents, he was "so happy, but also very stressed," he says.

With his son coming along, he thought of giving up the job and staying in Singapore, but his wife — who he calls his pillar of support — dissuaded him.

"She said, 'Look, Brien, you've already been looking for a job for so long and you haven't been able to find anything. So why not? Just go first.'"

With his wife remaining in Singapore, Brien started work in Shanghai, trying his best to fly back as often as possible.

Still, it was one of the toughest periods for the couple.

"At night, I'll be over there, crying and homesick. My wife was pregnant in Singapore and I could do nothing."

Brien admits that he turned to alcohol and smoking to cope. Meanwhile, Demi, who was adjusting to living with his parents and dealing with the hormonal changes that came with pregnancy, was even suicidal at times, he shared.

"Looking back, we got through it but it wasn't easy."

Juggling career and fatherhood

Towards the end of Demi's pregnancy in 2012, Brien decided that he needed to return to Singapore for good.

Still in debt at the time, he joined Chinese plastic houseware manufacturer Citylong, helping them establish their presence in Singapore from scratch.

But even as Citylife, the company's home goods brand, grew, Brien still faced financial troubles — both from his business debts from what he calls his "more dangerous days" and a newborn baby.

"How did I cope financially? It was debt after debt after debt," he tells us bluntly. "My first kid's milk powder was paid for by borrowed money. Our house was paid for by borrowed money."

He became even more hungry for success, but there were trade-offs.

"Every event, every kindergarten rehearsal and performance, I was always on my phone," Brien admits. "I was there physically, but mentally I was somewhere else."

Even as he promised his kids he'd try to leave work early, he would end up reaching home at 8.30pm on good days and after 10pm on regular days.

The turning point came when he sold off his Citylong shares in 2017 and took a few months' break to rethink what he wanted to do in life, he says.

"In 2012, I had two kids — one was my business and one was my son."

Likening Citylong to a child that had been "sent out for adoption", he says he had an epiphany.

"Here, I have my kid who has spent these five years with me, I haven't given him anything. And then it became very clear."

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Looking back at those five years still hurts, Brien says.

"I just feel so sad. Like, what was I doing? Yes, money is important. Having a successful career is important. But you don't want to be that guy where you're rich, you have a big house but your son is rebellious."

When he started his own storage solutions brand Houze, he vowed that he would make family time a bigger priority.

And fortunately for Brien, his foresight in establishing Houze's online presence on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee paid off when Covid-19 hit. With more people shopping for home goods online, Houze saw a 100 per cent increase in business in certain months, he says.

The company turned profitable amid the pandemic, and he was even able to clear his debts.

Now, with Demi helping out as the company's assistant general manager and Brien taking care of the strategic side of things, he's found a better balance with his nine-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter.

He's the one sending his kids to school and picking them up, he says. And he makes sure to spend time swimming and cycling with the kids on the weekends no matter how busy he gets.

The dutiful dad doesn't even mind when his son invades his bed, he laughs.

"I'm very happy. He can kick me, punch me at night, but the quality time is very important."

kimberlylim@asiaone.com