About Cinderlane
A practice built for conversations that matter inside a family business
We focus on the operational layer — the part of family business life that sits between the family's personal relationships and the formal world of legal and financial advice.
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How Cinderlane came to be
Cinderlane began from a straightforward observation: family businesses in Singapore often have access to good legal advisors, good accountants, and good financial planners — but very few have someone to speak with about the operational questions that sit in between those disciplines. How does the business actually run? Who is responsible for what? How do family members and non-family staff understand their respective roles?
These are not questions with a single correct answer, and they rarely benefit from a prescribed methodology. They benefit from careful listening, thoughtful conversation, and a written record of what was discussed and agreed. That is what Cinderlane offers.
The practice is based in Singapore and works with owner-operator family businesses across a range of sectors. We are not a large consultancy, and we do not intend to be. The arrangement is closer to that of a trusted outside reader — someone who can look at a piece of operational writing and say, clearly and without agenda, what they see.
Our work is deliberately narrow in scope. We do not advise on shareholding, ownership structures, estate matters, taxation, or legal disputes. Where those topics arise in conversation, we refer to qualified professionals and step back. This clarity of scope is not a limitation — it is what makes the operational conversations more useful.
What guides us
Values that shape how we work
Listening before advising
We spend more time in conversation before committing anything to paper. The written output is only useful if it reflects what the business actually said, not what we expected to hear.
Scope kept clear
We hold a careful line between operational matters and professional disciplines that require regulation. Where the line appears, we name it plainly and refer accordingly.
Written output, every time
Every engagement leaves something behind in writing — a summary, a note, a set of agreed steps. Oral conversations are useful; written records are lasting.
Confidentiality as standard
Family business conversations are personal in character even when they concern operations. We treat everything discussed as confidential and handle written materials with appropriate care.
Both sides of the room
Family members and non-family staff see the same business differently. We create space for both perspectives — not to arbitrate between them, but to ensure the written summary reflects what is actually present.
Pace over urgency
Operational problems in family businesses are rarely sudden. We work at a pace that allows proper understanding to develop, and we resist the pressure to produce conclusions before the conversation is ready for them.
The team
The people behind Cinderlane
Tan Li Wei
Founding Advisor
Twenty years working alongside Singapore family businesses in an operational capacity. Experienced in facilitating conversations between family members and senior non-family management across a variety of business types.
Rajan Nair
Senior Associate
Background in operational management across manufacturing and distribution businesses. Focuses on role clarity and internal communication within family enterprises preparing for management transitions.
Margaret Chan
Client Engagement
Manages initial enquiries and the practical side of engagements. Ensures that every client interaction is handled with discretion and that written outputs are delivered clearly and on time.
How we work
Professional standards we hold ourselves to
Confidentiality protocol
All client information — spoken or written — is handled as confidential. Non-disclosure arrangements available on request before any engagement begins.
Written deliverables
Every engagement produces a written output agreed in advance. We do not close an engagement without delivering the written materials described at the outset.
Referral when appropriate
Where a topic falls outside operational scope — legal, financial, or clinical matters — we name it clearly and refer to a qualified professional. We do not work outside our competence.
Transparent scope
At the start of each engagement, we confirm the scope and price in writing. We do not expand the scope of an engagement without separate discussion and agreement.
Our approach
Family business operations in Singapore — a distinct kind of work
Family businesses in Singapore operate within a context that is not quite the same as either large corporations or small independent enterprises. They carry the weight of relationships that predate the business itself, and they often face operational questions that touch on both professional and personal dynamics at the same time.
Cinderlane works specifically within this context. Our advisors have spent substantial time alongside Singapore family businesses — not as lawyers or accountants, but as people who sit in the room and help make sense of what is actually happening at an operational level. This includes how decisions get made, how responsibility is allocated, and how the business communicates internally among family and non-family staff alike.
The Operational Review is particularly suited to businesses that have grown to a point where informal arrangements are starting to show strain — where the way things have always been done is no longer quite working, but where no one has yet had the time or the outside perspective to name what needs to change. The Council Facilitation session serves family businesses that have a family council or similar body in place and need structured outside support for a specific conversation. The Sounding-Board is for owners and senior leaders who find ongoing operational questions easier to navigate with a consistent outside voice available.
All of our work is grounded in what the business actually needs, not in a predetermined methodology that the business must be reshaped to fit. We write plainly, we refer appropriately, and we keep our scope honest.
Work with us
Interested in working with Cinderlane?
We are happy to have an initial conversation at no charge to discuss whether one of our arrangements would be a practical fit for your business.
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