Paloe | CFO Advisory

Paloe is one of the pioneer CFO advisory firms in Singapore. We have partnered with more than 100 companies at various stages of their growth.

Regardless your company size, industry or stage of growth, Paloe understands the unique challenges of your business. We work hand-in-hand with you to build robust CFO functions and formulate proven financial strategies to manage your cashflow, maximize profits and supercharge your growth.

Beyond overcoming short-term challenges, we at Paloe help you transform the way you do finance through our holistic approach to set you on the trajectory of sustainable, long-term growth.

Sam Lee leads Corporate Finance & Advisory segment at Paloe. Over the past seven years, he has served many prominent technology companies including Artisan Green, Dedoco, Detrack, Geniebook, Haulio, Kegmil, MICEPad, Moovaz, Overdrive IOT, USEN, etc.

At Paloe, we partner CEOs and CFOs in technology companies to:
- build and maintain financial model
- design performance dashboards on Power BI
- analyze performance and perform scenario analysis
- prepare dataroom and co-ordinate Q&A process during due diligence phase
- support and run M&A / fundraising process
- optimize and automate finance and operational processes
- identify potential partners in new markets

Sam Lee is also a Registered Management Consultant accredited by Institute of Management Consultant. With this endorsement, he is able to lead projects that qualify for Enterprise Development Grant.

If you are interested to find out more, feel free to email sam@paloe.com.sg.

Managing Partner

Partner, Corporate Finance & Advisory

Sell-side M&A advisor in the sales of a Singapore-based Low Code Development Firm

Sell-Side M&A Advisor / Interim CFO - Low Code System Integrator

Provided financial advisory for a Deep Tech SaaS company in their Pre-Series A round

Fundraising Advisor -  Pre-Series A for Deep Tech SaaS Startup

Buy-side M&A Advisor in a 100% acquisition of a Singapore-based Medical Device Retail Chain

Buy-side M&A Advisor - Medical Device Retail Chain

Acted as Interim CFO to provide due diligence assistance in the proposed acquisition of a Singapore-based System Integrator

Interim CFO - Business Intelligence System Integrator

Sell-side M&A advisor in the majority stake sales of a Logistics SaaS company

Sell-side M&A Advisor - Logistics Tech SaaS Company

Prepare and co-ordinated Financial Due Diligence for an Edutech Company based in Singapore

Due Diligence Assistance - Pre-Series A Edutech Company

Provided financial advisory for a SaaS company in their Pre-Series A round

Fundraising Advisor - Pre-Series A for Future of Work SaaS company

Acted as Interim CFO during the successful exit for a regional SMB SaaS Company

Interim CFO - Exit Planning for SMB SaaS Company

Institute of Management Consultants (Singapore)

Council Member

Member - Business Development Sub-Committee

Skills Union

Venture Financing Trainer, NTU SGUnited Skills Programme in Digital Entrepreneurship - Batch 2

Venture Financing Trainer, NTU SGUnited Skills Programme in Digital Entrepreneurship - Batch 1

Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE)

Speaker / Trainer - Accounting and Finance Sharing

Speaker / Trainer - Financial Model and Valuation

Olea Private Limited

Olea is a boutique consulting firm founded in 2011. It is accredited by SPRING Singapore to provide financial advisory services under Innovation and Capability Voucher ("ICV") scheme. Over the years, Olea has served over 30 clients under the ICV scheme.

Projects that can be covered under the ICV scheme include:
1. Financial assessment and planning for growth: To assist SMEs chart out and validate their financial needs, in view of their business expansion plans
2. Planning and budgeting: To assist SME structure and implement proper planning and
budgeting practices in managing overall financial resources
3. Cash-flow and working capital management: To assist SME identify, assess and address gaps in cash-flow and working capital management

Information about ICV voucher: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/icv-voucher-singapore-smes-sam-lee

Consultant

Maersk Group

APM Terminals is one of the biggest port and terminal operator globally with over 60 container facilities across 34 countries and over 130 Inland Services locations across 49 countries.

My role requires me to actively assist in identifying and developing terminal projects within the Asia Pacific region, including investment evaluations for new container and non-container terminals or inland services facilities, as well as major expansions in existing terminals. 

The role has a primary focus on M&A / PPP projects within South East Asia, with support for projects in other Asia Pacific countries on an as-needed basis.

Participated in McKinsey Basic Analyst Training conducted for Maersk In-house Consultants in Kitzbühel, Austria (December 2014)

Highlighted transactions and deal experiences available upon request.

Manager, Investments and Strategy

KPMG Corporate Finance Pte Ltd

Achieved Double Promotion in 2013
Service Excellence Award 2014

Spent most of his two-year stint at KPMG covering Myanmar M&A deals.
Highlighted transactions and deal experience available upon request.

Senior Associate, Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory

Standard Chartered Bank

Supported in the execution and origination of M&A and capital markets transaction in Southeast Asia

- Created Singapore Public Takeover slide template and maintained Singapore Privatization Database
- Prepared 13 Singapore privatization pitches (including a competing offer for an announced deal), 1 Malaysia privatization pitch and 2 equity raising pitches for Southeast Asian companies

Investment Banking Intern

KBC Bank

Trade Finance Intern

Featured by Business Times, CNA938, MoneyFM, TechinAsia, E27, SG Tech, BFM, SME Horizon and Straits Times

At Paloe, we help CEOs and CFOs of companies in SEA to build and scale up their CFO function. 
➨➨ For companies with CFOs, we partner CFOs to fill up any expertise gap. 
➨➨ For companies without CFO, we help CEOs to build and operate their CFO function.

WHAT DO OUR CLIENTS SAY ABOUT US?

"Paloe has been an invaluable partner in Dreamcloud's journey to acquisition. Sam Lee and his team clearly have the right ethos, and they were a real asset to have on the team. They are knowledgeable, helpful, and consistently impressed us by going above and beyond to ensure we could focus on the important things and that we reached our objectives."
- Daniel Lim, CEO, Dreamcloud (acquired by Temus, Temasek / UST JV)

"They were there when we need to rush out documents and were always willing to go the extra mile to support us. His experience in the fundraising process and understanding of the software sector helps to position the company towards a successful fundraising exercise."
- Zhi Zhong, CEO, Geniebook

"Sam has deep experience and understanding of digital business models that have helped Express Melody pin-point our key growth drivers. Their financial model has been very detailed and allowed us to simulate our business."
- Jerry Chen, CEO, Express In Music (acquired by Tokyo-listed USEN)

“Employing a full time CFO for a startup of our size is overkill yet the accurate tracking of key financial metrics is a must. That's where Paloe fits this need like a glove. Paloe’s team had been instrumental in creating financial models and actively involved in all financial matters.”
- Eric Koh, COO, IVS

"His ground-up approach wins the respect of my staff and makes transformation efforts easier. His clarity in explaining concepts helps provide direction to my team. Beyond expertise, he goes beyond his role as a consultant. His personal touch, honesty, and encouragement are what other consultants do not do."
- Janan Kwek, CEO, GlobberCo

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?
→ Exit Planning and Sell-Side M&A for SMEs / Start-Ups
→ Preparing VC-backed companies for Series A / B Fundraising
→ Co-ordinate dataroom and manage due diligence processes
→ Interim CFO for VC-backed Companies
→ Build Financial Model for VC-backed Start-Ups
→ Conduct investment evaluation and due diligence for M&A acquisition
→ Financial and Tax Due Diligence for SaaS Companies
→ Design Power BI Dashboards to monitor performance metrics

Sam Lee

More and more business owners and founders I speak with are exploring Kuala Lumpur as a real expansion territory.

Not just for market size slides. But for hiring, building a second base, and opening new business lanes.

And honestly, the best part of KL isn’t a secret hack. It’s the relationships you build with people who are doing the work.

A few memories that stick with me:

Years ago, right after our Malacca retreat, Lin Rongjie  and I had dinner. He shared his conviction on the prospects of hiring in Malaysia.

I was skeptical, but I listened. And true enough, we eventually did it.

Then I remember my first properly coordinated KL trip was with Jeremy Foo.
Same flight.
We split up for our own meetings in the day.
Then regrouped at the airport for dinner.

Simple move.
But it started a chain of coordination.

Fast forward, what began as Jonathan Fung and I trying to find a 1 to 1 slot somehow turned into a BNI Champions Singapore ⭐ coordinated work trip.

A road trip. A group of 7.
Meetings by day, and evenings set aside to bond, compare notes, and help each other make introductions.

Big thanks to Pamela Knaggs, Raymond Tan, Zachary Ang, Roy Jenpire, Benjamin Wong, and Jonathan Fung.
Also great having Timothy Liew, Kelvin Li, Zachary Lee, CFA (李惠翔), Sean Chi, and Aden Wong join along the way.

If there’s one lesson here:
Expansion is rarely a solo sport.
When you travel with the right people, you don’t just do meetings, you build momentum.

If you’re a frequent KL traveller, shout out in the comments. Maybe we plan a coordinated trip together.

Sam Lee Chengyi

CEO @ Paloe | We partner with CFOs, SME Owners & Founders to scale CFO function (People • Process • Platform) and get Transaction Ready (M&A • VC • IPO • Franchising) | Pioneer CFO Advisory Firm in SEA

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Good morning!

I’ve been spending more time listening to the sharpest minds in VC and startups on LinkedIn. There’s a lot of noise, but also some real gems.

So starting this week, I’m curating 10 posts that are worth your scroll so you don’t have to doom-scroll to stay informed.

This week’s themes:

Market cycles & fundraising reality
From why the 2015 cohort still dominates today’s unicorns (Ilya Strebulaev) to why down rounds are not death knells (Peter Walker) and the hidden “Why now? startup killer” (Michael Blakey).

AI beyond the hype
Several VCs and operators remind us: AI itself isn’t the edge. It’s how you use it, how your agents work across contexts, and who can turn hype into real, compounding value (Roberto Croci, Alex Pall, Robert Smith).

GTMs, customers & brand power
From retailers betting big on celebrity-founded brands (Scott Van den Berg), to Podium “selling to themselves” as the ideal customer (Craig Bristol Dixon), to a refreshing take on networking like a kid wanting to go to parties (Obediah Ayton).

Capital is evolving too
And yes, even Private Equity morphing into Private Credit (Hassan Awada) gets a spotlight because the capital stack founders raise from today will look very different from a few years ago.

If you’d like the weekly “VC pulse” roundup in your feed, do subscribe to my Linkedin Newsletter.

And of course, always happy to chat about what this means for your own fundraising and finance strategy.

Good morning Everyone! We will be monitoring the pulse from some of the key Linkedin personalities in the VC community. See below a curated list of Li

Open article: Global Tech Pulse: Linkedin News Feed by Sam Lee Chengyi • 1 min read

Every year at Paloe, we do one thing that’s become my favourite tradition.

We put as much of the tech ecosystem as we can… into one room.

Founders. VCs. A few carefully curated ecosystem partners.

No big stage. No hard sell. 
Just honest conversations over dinner.

This year feels extra special.
We’ve crossed 250 sign-ups, and the event is now officially fully subscribed.
We’ll be hosting it at 30 Bencoolen – now known as Oakwood Bencoolen, a new boutique hotel under the Ascott Group.

For me, this dinner has never been about “deal-making”.
It’s about relationship-building.
Trust first, transactions later (if at all).

If you’re joining us next week, a small suggestion:
Don’t rush into your pitch deck.
Pick 3 people you genuinely want to understand.
Ask what they’re solving, not what they’re raising.

I’m really looking forward to catching up
with many of the movers and shakers in our ecosystem next week.

And if you’d like to be part of future ecosystem gatherings like this,
feel free to connect or drop me a note. Happy to keep you in the loop.

#TechEcosystem #SingaporeStartups #NetworkingDoneRight

Paloe | CFO Advisory

Tomorrow will be an interesting afternoon for Paloers as we learn how we show love and care.. On my way to Batam now as the advance party. Curious about what we are doing? 

Stay tune to our updates….

JerryChen-Sound Sight Scent for FnB Retail HORECA USEN Store Experience Asia (USEA) instore tech

USEA

USEN Store Experience Asia in consumer behavioural and tech solutions for F&B, Retail and Hotel. 

We have been a leader for a decade in music branding to multiple F&B chains, Retail groups and Hotels. USEA is backed by USEN-Next Holdings, a US$450m market cap listed company in the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It is one of the biggest B2B in-store music, media and service provider in the world. The company is a one-stop solution for local and regional clients in Asia offering reliable all-rounder 24/7 tech support and consumer behavioural insights.

At USEA, we offer more than just background music, scent fragrance, smart digital signage, in-store radio advertising and HR solutions. Specializing in Asian consumer psychology and in-store operations dynamics, the group currently provides service to more than 750,000 outlets. A convenient solution provider to clients in on-site installation of sound speakers and cabling services are part of the all-rounder approach to allow our clients to leverage on our large USEA network in Asia.

USEA’s VISION is for every business, every store, every brick-and-mortar establishment, to capitalize on the benefits of experiential marketing and ultimately deliver the best and most comprehensive user/customer experience their brand can provide.

USEA’S MISSION is to be the Southeast Asian leader and choice partner for experiential marketing — to generate innovation, captivate the senses, expand the consumer airspace, and complete the brand experience through state-of-the-art technology and branding solutions.

Group CEO

Express IN Music

Audio branding - more than just soundscape and jingles. It is combination of art and music psychology to bring out the voice within a brand. To speak volumes and be heard.

CEO & Business Development Director

Express Melody Pte Ltd

Sound branding sets the right mood ambient for a better brand recall and music science that ups revenue by streaming the right music at the right time to the right concept for F&B, Retailers and Hotels.

It is where music psychology comes together with technology - Express Melody solution.

www.expressmelody.com

Managing Director

Launch Group

Strategic Planner

🌟Transforming Consumer Experiences through Sound, Sight, and Scent 🎶👁️🌺

This journey has led me to revolutionize the way retailers, F&B chains, and hotels curate immersive consumer experiences. Let me take you on a captivating journey of my professional trajectory and the exciting transformation of our company.

🎵 The Birth of Express In Music 🚀

In 2010, I embarked on a mission to create a company that would redefine the role of background music in shaping customer experiences. Express In Music emerged as a pioneer, offering innovative and tailor-made background music solutions for businesses in Singapore.

🏆 Award-Winning Success within ASEAN 🌟

Through our unwavering dedication and a passion for raising the bar, USEA swiftly earned recognition as an industry leader. Our commitment to innovation, impeccable service, and the ability to craft unforgettable soundscapes propelled us to become an award-winning company within the ASEAN region.

🎌 The Transformation: Becoming USEA 🌐

In 2019, USEN Next Holdings, a prominent Japanese listed company based in Tokyo, recognized the immense potential of our enterprise. Acquiring our company, they infused us with their expertise, resources, and global perspective. Rebranded as USEA, representing USEN Southeast Asia, we embraced a new vision of delivering the Ultimate Store Experience in Asia.

🔊👁️🌺 From Sound to Sight and Scent: Elevating Experiences 🌟

While our roots lie in soundscapes, I firmly believe in the power of technology and consumer psychology to elevate the in-store experience. USEA has now expanded into the realm of the 3 "s": Sound, Sight, and Scent. We curate comprehensive solutions that encompass not only background music but also digital signage support and scent fragrance in-store. Our focus on evoking emotions and creating multisensory environments that leave a lasting impact on customers.

💡 Embracing Technology, Trust, and Operational Excellence ⚙️

As the founder of USEA, I take immense pride in our commitment to consumer psychology and the pivotal role of technology in enhancing the buying process. We consider ourselves a tech-oriented company, utilizing cutting-edge innovations to deliver exceptional consumer experiences within enclosed spaces. With a deep understanding of human psychology, we leverage technology to shape environments that captivate and engage customers, forging strong connections between brands and their target audience.

#ConsumerExperience #SoundSightScent #Innovation #TechDriven #OperationalExcellence #TransformingSpaces #MultiSensoryExperiences

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Sam Lee

JerryChen-Sound Sight Scent for FnB Retail HORECA USEN Store Experience Asia (USEA) instore tech

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taplio

The Battle

Sam Lee

JerryChen-Sound Sight Scent for FnB Retail HORECA USEN Store Experience Asia (USEA) instore tech

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sam Lee's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreSam Lee's LinkedIn Performance