You’ve got a unique name. What does it mean?
Clovis is the name of a French king and a city in the states.
Any nicknames growing up?
I don’t have a Chinese name the teacher used to call me xiao di di (little brother). Does that count?
What was the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
Until today at least, things have been quite smooth sailing. The one thing I can remember is passing my driving test that moment was quite happy.
If you we’re working on PasarBella, what would you do?
After I graduated I would have spent a year trying to get working experience in a place like Indonesia or China because in terms of opportunities I think the potential there is much more than what we can get in Singapore.
What was most surprising about starting PasarBella?
We had to adapt as we went along. We wanted to bring in wholesalers of the fresh produce but as we went along, it became more food focused and more about cooked food.
What does a regular day look like for you?
I help out at my dad’s office in the morning and come here in the afternoon. I don’t have an office and I’m always running around.
You must travel a lot. What do you miss when you’re away from Singapore?
When I’m away I miss local food and the convenience. At home, you don’t have to worry about washing your clothes and cleaning the house and, of course, friends and family from primary school.
Name a something you hate.
I hate shopping. I do most of my shopping once a year during Chinese New Year and I’ll buy all I need for the rest of the year.
What do you love?
Finance stuff, I majored in finance in school so from the time I was 21, I started playing the market. But I’m also interested in different business models so in the last six months I’ve been investing in different start-ups mostly in F&B.
Clovis Lim is the founder of PasarBella.
