In this Q&A, GiftHoney co-founder Jade Chan shares the story behind starting GiftHoney, the lessons learned from building it in Thailand, and what she’s paying attention to as the platform grows.
Q: For people who are new here — who are you, and what do you do?
Hi! I’m Jade, the co-founder of GiftHoney. I built this platform with my best friend, while sharing a house together in Bangkok with our adopted cats. I grew up in Singapore, moved to Thailand when I was 18, and now I’m living in my fifth country running two businesses.
Q: What were you doing before starting GiftHoney?
I was the Head of International at Dot Property Group, one of Southeast Asia’s leading property portals. I joined during its early startup phase and stayed through multiple acquisitions, so I experienced a lot of growth in my 20s. I mainly worked with international residential real estate developers (UK, Australia, Spain) to help them launch their overseas projects to Asian markets through online marketing and offline events.
Q: Why did you choose to make the pivot from proptech to e-commerce after 8 years?
After nearly a decade in proptech, I realised I wanted to build something more consumer-facing and emotionally driven. At the same time, I also wanted to get out of my comfort zone and do something scary and new. “Do it scared” is kind of my motto, because I’m scared often. 🫣
Q: Was there a specific moment when you thought, “Okay, I should actually build this”?
Wanting to send gifts to my mom or a friend – and then realising they’d moved or weren’t home – was a real struggle. That friction kept happening, and I kept thinking there had to be a simpler way to send something thoughtful. I also then connected with my best friend (also co-founder) Chai on the pain points of gift delivery (hers was receiving Xmas gifts from France)!
Q: What’s a small detail in GiftHoney that you’re weirdly proud of?
Ahhhh. So tough. I’m proud of a lot 😅 My top two would be our personalised message function for giftees (because who doesn’t love a cute little note amirite 🥹) and the fact that that many of our partners are small and women-owned businesses! Oooh and okay, one more – I loooove that we’ve partnered with Saved Souls Foundation to donate part of our proceeds to help animals in Thailand. Animals are a big part of both our lives, so I’m so proud we get to do help.
Q: What’s a behind-the-scenes part of GiftHoney that users never see?
How much time goes into the “boring” stuff – vendor onboarding, fixing tiny UX issues, and handling customer support. A lot of the work isn’t visible, but it’s what makes the experience feel smooth when things work.
Q: What are you trying to improve about GiftHoney this year?
We’re focused on continuing to find quality vendors – all our vendors are either recommended by the community (friends or expat groups), or has above 4.0 rating on Google! It doesn’t matter that they are a small business, because we want to support local. GiftHoney is a curated gifting platform, so we believe in fewer but better partners rather than a million choices.
Q: Is there anything new you’re quietly exploring this year?
For GiftHoney, we’re exploring a new market 👀 Personally, I’m also building another tech company that’s creator-first, which has been fun in a very different way.
Q: What would you tell someone who’s thinking of starting something on their own?
Just do it. Time is going to pass anyway. Write the general steps down, start with step 1, and literally just keep going no matter how long it takes. Don’t over think it and don’t wait until it’s perfect – you can correct it later.
Q: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I call myself a high-functioning homebody so if I’m not home being cozy with my 2 cats (Tchalla & Luna) watching K-dramas or editing videos (my creative outlet), I’ll either be at CrossFit, or playing board games with my friends!
Q: If someone only remembers one thing about GiftHoney, what do you hope it is?
That GiftHoney was built with so much love, and we hope at least one person feels loved because of it.
Jade Chan is the co-founder of GiftHoney, a digital gifting platform founded in Thailand.