At just 22, Daphne Goh dove into the café world with a marketing degree, a $200K startup fund, and a passion for coffee—launching her first café, Assembly. That’s where she met Shirlynn Eng, a linguistics graduate who, despite receiving a full-time offer as editor, continued working part-time in the kitchen for a year. When Daphne was ready to open her second café, Atlas, she knew exactly who to call—and invited Shirlynn to join her as a partner.
In this episode of NOTG, Melvin Lim chats with Co-Founders Daphne and Shirlynn. They look back to their unconventional journey—how they grew from The Atlas Group of Cafés from one café to a collection of six uniquely crafted brands. They share what it was like building something from scratch, the tough calls, the self-doubts, and the importance of finding the right people and holding on to trust. They also reveal the behind-the-scenes realities most people don’t see in the F&B world—like managing peers of the same age, and realising that leadership means aligning expectations and standing firm—even with friends.
If you’re thinking of starting your own venture or leading a team, there’s a wealth of wisdom waiting for you in this episode!
00:00 Introduction
00:57 Ownership of The Atlas Group of Cafés
01:08 How they became partners
01:57 Expansion of the first café
02:36 After graduation to coffee
04:31 Taking risks
06:34 Challenges in owning a business in a young age
08:13 Investment of the first business
09:09 Biggest expense
10:40 Advice on starting a café
14:25 Applied for a part-time service crew, but straight to the kitchen
18:11 Transition from a part-timer to a partner
20:07 Opening shops in different districts
23:43 Challenges of opening a new shop every year
26:46 New factory
28:08 Seeing all the founders everyday
30:00 Easy to burnout with partners / Celebrating 12 years anniversary
35:34 Number of crew members
36:00 Biggest challenge to managing a team
41:57 Growing leaders
44:55 Hiring external managers
48:57 Biggest cost of running a café
51:45 Precious customers
52:25 Future plans of Atlas
54:38 Rising rental rates
55:48 People not believing in you / Curse Unit
57:58 Starting all over again
01:00:25 What professional skill currently working on?
01:02:29 What is holding you back for being your best self?
01:03:28 Outtakes
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