Scaling with Love. Leading with Purpose.
From Fingertips to Frameworks
Leadership meetings often conjure boardrooms and billion-dollar empires. At Stellar, we’re not managing billions—we’re navigating the tension between scrappy and scalable.
Back when we had under RM1 million, everything was at our fingertips. Decisions. Mistakes. Growth. We did it all ourselves—because we had to.
Now we’re handling tens of millions. But what’s changed isn’t just revenue. It’s mindset.
We realized: scaling doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from leveraging better.
From shifting the founder out of the driver’s seat and building a team that leads.
This year, I stepped back. Literally to the back of the room—watching Samuel lead.
Some team members were deep in their work. Some were fully present. Some… still finding their rhythm.
And that’s okay. Because alignment? It’s not an event.
It’s a process. A posture. A culture.
Alignment ≠ Agreement
What I noticed that day wasn’t the content—it was the reactions. How people respond to the same message tells you where they are on the alignment spectrum.
Some nodded. Some questioned. Some hesitated.
That’s not a problem. That’s leadership.
Because alignment isn’t about everyone agreeing. It’s about everyone moving in the same direction, even at different speeds.
And the leader’s role?
To stay patient with the process.
When Strategy Isn’t the Issue
That same day, I coached a client preparing to go to China.
We were supposed to discuss sales and systems. But something felt… off.
He wasn’t stuck in execution. He was stuck in identity.
So I paused the strategic coaching. And shifted into life coaching.
We mapped his lifeline—the top 3 and bottom 3 moments of his life. The wins. The wounds. The regret.
He shared with brutal honesty. And I told him:
Your past isn’t a mistake. It’s a gift.
Transformation doesn’t come from rewriting your story.
It comes from reframing your relationship with it.
Ecclesiastes puts it like this:
“When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.”
So if you’ve been through pain? Don’t waste it.
Let it shape you. That’s the soil of wisdom.
Finding Purpose at the Intersection
To help him reconnect with purpose, I asked four questions:
- What do you love doing?
- What are you good at?
- What does the world (or your team) need?
- What can you be paid for?
Purpose often lives at the intersection of those four.
Here’s how I answered them for myself.
What do I love?
First: Family.
Not just my own—but building family in every space I touch.
I was raised in a home where meals were ministry. My parents ran a business, but it felt like a household. Staff weren’t just workers—they were part of the family. That spirit lives on.
At Stellar, our 200 team members eat together not because it’s required—but because we’ve created a table that feels like home.
You can eat out and pay for your own meal—or you can stay and eat with us, with high-quality ingredients and open company.
Because for us, family isn’t defined by blood. It’s defined by mission.
The second thing I love?
Unleashing potential—especially when it’s being wasted.
I was raised to hate waste. My parents couldn’t stand to see us loitering or underusing our gifts.
That became one of our core values:
“If God gave it to you—use it fully.”
And so, as a leader, I’ve made it my mission:
Help people find their purpose so they can unleash their potential.
Not just for performance—but for dignity. For impact. For the legacy they’ll leave behind.
What I’m Good At
Integration. That’s my strength.
We didn’t start by designing a grand education empire.
We started by trying to figure out how to raise our own kids.
We built a preschool not for business—but to learn from the real experts: preschool teachers. Then we built a school.
And every decision we’ve made—from food to curriculum to hiring—was tested against one benchmark:
“Would I give this to Aden, Eann, or Evan?”
If the answer’s no, it doesn’t make the cut.
That’s why I say:
“Family is my strategy.”
It’s not a slogan. It’s the framework behind everything.
Today, 900 students benefit from that standard. Because it’s not theory. It’s lived.
What the World Needs
Retention.
In education, the crisis isn’t innovation. It’s attrition.
The world underpays teachers—and loses them.
Parents don’t want fancy marketing or robots in the classroom.
They want teachers who stay. Who know their child. Who show up year after year with love and consistency.
So we made a decision:
If the world won’t pay teachers well, we will.
Even if it means wearing the corporate hat—especially when we’d rather not.
Because you can’t build long-term trust without long-term people.
And in this industry, that alone is a superpower.
What Can We Be Paid For?
Simple.
For solving real problems.
The world pays for value—not effort.
And retention is value.
Parents will pay for peace of mind.
They’ll pay for values, culture, and educators who love their children like their own.
And that’s why I teach my kids this:
“Don’t chase money. Chase value. The money will follow.”
I’m Not the Genius. I’m the Glue.
People often think the founder is the genius.
Not me.
I’m not the genius. I’m the glue.
Like Liu Bei, I attract people way smarter than me—and unite them around a common mission.
I don’t build empires by myself. I build teams that build legacies.
And we do it all with one principle:
Family first.
That’s not just how we treat people.
It’s how we lead.
Resilience > Results
That evening, I came home. My wife was cooking steak—not easy for the kids to chew, but getting better. She added eggs, fish, vegetables. Hosted guests. Helped with homework.
All without complaining.
And I sat there thinking:
“I’m so glad we didn’t give up.”
Two years ago, our marriage was at its lowest. We could’ve walked away.
But we stayed.
Now I get to live in the fruit of that perseverance—at home and at work.
Because real leadership? It’s not built in applause.
It’s built in the quiet, hard choices to stay. To forgive. To keep building.
Resilience leads to Desired Results.
Do Small Things With Great Love
At Stellar, we don’t scale through complexity.
We scale through consistency. Through culture. Through love.
Because in the end, it’s not about the size of your company.
It’s about the size of your heart.
Don’t chase scale. Chase substance.
Build systems, yes. But build them on soul.
On trust. On truth. On purpose.
Call to Action: Your First Step
- Map your lifeline. Top 3 highs. Bottom 3 lows. What did they teach you?
- Answer the 4 purpose questions:
- What do you love?
- What are you good at?
- What does the world need?
- What can you be paid for?
- Reframe your pain. Don’t bury the past. Wrap it as a gift.
You don’t need to know your full purpose today. You just need to take the next right step.
Because the best leaders aren’t born in spotlight moments. They’re shaped by quiet perseverance, deep reflection, and great love.
And if you do this right?
You won’t just build a company.
You’ll build a family.
You won’t just lead others.
You’ll become someone worth following.
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