By Segun Adeyanju
A technology entrepreneur, Cheryl Sew Hoy, says she is intentionally raising her children to think like entrepreneurs by teaching them how to solve problems, market ideas and negotiate even during everyday disagreements.
Sew Hoy, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tiny Health, said her approach to parenting is shaped by her own childhood experience growing up in Malaysia where her mother ran a small business selling items from catalogues.
According to her, she started learning about business at a young age when her mother allowed her to sell extra products from the family business.
She recalled that as a fourth grade pupil she hired another child to help carry the items while she focused on convincing potential buyers.
“I knocked on doors selling filing systems and talking alarm clocks. Even then I knew you had to identify a problem first and then offer a solution,” she said.
Sew Hoy said the small venture earned her about 800 dollars, from which she paid her helper 200 dollars based on an agreement they had reached earlier.
The early experience, she explained, sparked her interest in entrepreneurship, which later led her to build technology companies.
Her first startup, City Pockets, a digital wallet platform, was eventually acquired by Walmart Labs in 2013.
Years later, she founded Tiny Health in 2020 after her daughter developed severe eczema. She said existing treatments addressed symptoms but failed to tackle the root cause related to gut health.
The company developed a product designed to improve gut health, which she said produced encouraging results for her daughter and other children. By 2024, the startup had reportedly raised about 13 million dollars in funding.
Sew Hoy said the company has also become a practical example she uses to teach her children what entrepreneurship means.
According to her, she explains to them that entrepreneurs are people who create solutions to problems rather than simply selling products.
“I tell my kids that a business person sells things, but an entrepreneur builds a solution that did not exist before,” she said.
She also uses everyday activities to teach business concepts such as marketing and strategy.
Sew Hoy recounted how her daughter recently wanted to run a lemonade stand. Instead of setting up in their quiet neighbourhood, she took her to a busy park to demonstrate the importance of choosing the right location.
They offered lemonade for free but placed a tip jar at the stand, allowing the child to understand the concept of customer attraction and voluntary payment.
Within an hour, her daughter reportedly earned about 60 dollars in tips.
Beyond small business lessons, Sew Hoy said she also encourages her children to negotiate during sibling disagreements, believing the skill will help them resolve conflicts and develop problem solving abilities.
She expressed hope that the lessons would prepare them to think creatively and develop solutions to real world challenges in the future.
