49. They Called Me Xiao Mei with Amber Tan

In this episode of Before We Get There, host Nicholas Braman interviews Amber Tan, who left her Singapore Airlines cabin crew career to set up a wholesale fish business at Jurong Fishery Port for her then-partner. Funding the venture with her own savings, she lost about $170K, discovered repeated lies and affairs, and ultimately ended the relationship after a friend warned what staying would model for her daughter. When her ex left debts and an incoming fish shipment under a company in her name, Amber took over, put in a final $10K, let a worker go, and learned the trade hands-on at 3:00 AM, breaking even by February. She discusses navigating a male-dominated port, code-switching between "SQ mode" and wet-market life, expanding via door-to-door delivery and a wet market partnership, and her hope to keep wet markets from dying.

Amber's links:Business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paogeseafood/

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valeisky/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/pao-ge-seafood Podcast links:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2h9gsrWKH9C1KY1OzR12kr?si=2a4d19970632465f Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/before-we-get-there/id1775182252 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beforewegettherepodcast/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nicholasbraman Website: https://nicholasbraman.com/podcast

00:00 Meet Amber Tan

03:17 Starting the Fish Company

05:18 Betrayal and Taking Over

09:16 Life at the Fishery Port

11:44 Last Straw and Daughter

16:25 Winning Over the Uncles

22:00 Motherhood Changes Everything

27:34 SQ Identity And Port Life