Honestbee founder’s biggest lie in a web of deceit

Brian Koo, a scion of the family that controls South Korean electronics giant LG, has been looking to make a name for himself.

In 2013, he was running Silicon Valley venture capital firm Formation 8, and he began eyeing opportunities in Asia. It was around that time that he met Joel Sng, and they hit it off.

Sng seemed like a kindred spirit and a perfect business partner for Koo. They shared a vision for what would become Honestbee, an on-demand concierge for groceries and food.

But more than that, Sng’s resume was out of this world, suggesting he had ingratiated himself with the business and political elite. After graduating from Harvard University in 2008, he supposedly made investments in the who’s who of the tech world: Razer, Xiaomi, Airbnb, Uber, and Facebook among others.

Sng claimed that he had seats on various boards and advisory panels at organizations linked to the Singapore government, including the Prime Minister’s Office.

Two of Honestbee’s early investors are prominent figures in the city-state’s business community. There’s private equity investor Chee Cheong Gay and Melissa Kwee, whose family owns Pontiac Land Group, a real estate developer and hotel operator.

A $10 ruse?

How did Sng amass these credentials so quickly? He was good at charming potential partners and tapping into their motivations to get what he wants, multiple associates tell Tech in Asia.

While his early life remained fodder for gossip, Sng’s achievements centered around a preposterous claim: that he was the great-grandson of Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen.

It turned out to be a lie sold well. “Yes, he told me,” says Brian Koo in an exclusive interview with Tech in Asia. He adds that Sng, whose surname is the Hokkien equivalent of “Sun,” didn’t want that claim published in the media “for some reason.”

“I thought it was a sensitivity issue,” Koo says. He could sympathize because, coming from a prominent family himself, he dislikes how the media highlights his background over his own story.

Sng maintained that false veneer over many years. He once attended a dinner where someone would talk up his supposed lineage on his behalf. “Sng would nod sagely” without confirming nor denying it, a person present at the gathering tells Tech in Asia.

Ming Shen Cheo, founder of Singapore startup Nuffnang, recalls a prominent industry figure introducing Sng, who went by “Joel Sun” some years ago, as someone who’s related to Sun Yat-sen.

“He approached Nuffnang as a tech investor of some repute,” he says, “I received that name card and was told stories about how he was a descendant of Sun Yat-sen who liked to remain low-key.”

Ticking time bomb

Cracks start to show

Catch me if you can