Michael Distel

Writing about yourself feels strange. There is something inherently awkward about summarising a life in a few paragraphs, deciding which parts matter and which to leave out. This page is mainly for me to reflect and think about my journey so far, to see the connections between different chapters and notice what patterns emerge. But if any of it is useful or interesting to you, that is a welcome bonus. It is not complete, and it will probably change, but it is honest enough for now.

A Path to Singapore

I have been calling Singapore home since 2005. When I first arrived, I had little more than a few dreams and a backpack, no job, just the hope of building something here. Not long after settling in, I found work at Citect (2006–2008) and then Schneider Electric (2008–2011), writing software for power plants and water treatment facilities. Schneider acquired Citect in 2008 for around A$287 million. The work was not as flashy as blockchain or AI, but I learned to appreciate the precision required when things absolutely cannot fail. Eventually, though, the slower pace did not suit me, and I started looking for something different.

Early Ventures

In 2011, I co-founded Feel Beautiful, importing skincare products across Southeast Asia. It sounds simple but taught me about logistics, compliance, and the daily reality of running a business. We bootstrapped and scaled the company, continuing at Feel Beautiful (feelbeautiful.com.sg). We grew to around twenty people across multiple countries. I learned more about finance and operations than I expected. After that, I did freelance consulting (2017–2021) and worked as an interim CTO, helping startups with technology questions. This was also when I first encountered blockchain development, building a Bitcoin exchange for a private bank in Australia and working on other crypto projects.

Learning about VC

In April 2018, I became CTO at FoodRazor until May 2020, working on restaurant back-end systems. The company raised S$900k in 2021 led by Cocoon Capital (after my tenure). That fundraising process gave me my first real look at how investors think. FoodRazor was acquired by OrderEZ in February 2023. I had the opportunity to join Cocoon Capital as an Investment Associate (July 2021–January 2024), the same firm that had led FoodRazor's investment. This let me sit on the other side of the table and learn about timing, founder-market fit, and how much of early-stage investing comes down to signals versus stories.

What's Next

From January 2024 to October 2025, I worked at BuildBear Labs on blockchain testing infrastructure, helping developers test their applications against blockchain networks without the usual complexity. BuildBear raised US$1.9m seed from US VCs during my time there. At the moment, I do not have anything solid planned and am hunting around for the next thing to do. I am curious about what problems are worth solving and where I might be useful.