Working quietly so your business can surface.
Teratai Works was founded on a simple observation: small businesses in Singapore rarely lack good ideas — they often just lack time. We help them reclaim some of it.
Back to HomeHow Teratai Works came to be
The name comes from the Malay word for lotus — a plant that keeps its surface clean while doing real work beneath the water. That image shaped how we think about AI for small businesses: the support should be invisible, and the calm should be yours.
We started in 2022 after seeing a pattern among owners we knew personally — capable people spending too many hours on repetitive tasks because no one had shown them a practical path through the noise around AI tools. Most of what was being written about the topic was either too ambitious or too vague to be useful for a business of five or ten people.
So we built an approach sized for that reality: honest assessments, careful setup, and ongoing support from someone you can actually reach. We work with shops, studios, clinics, and agencies across Singapore — businesses that have real work to do and want their tools to help rather than complicate.
3+
Years active
85+
Businesses helped
SG
Based locally
Our mission and the values behind it
Start where you are
We do not assume a level of readiness you have not described. Every engagement begins with understanding what your business actually looks like today.
Tell the truth about scope
If a tool is not worth your investment at this stage, we say so. Honest counsel is worth more than a project that looks good on paper but creates ongoing friction.
Stay for the quieter parts
The value of a well-placed tool often appears weeks after setup. We remain involved because that is when the adjustments matter most.
"Our work is done well when you stop noticing it — when the tools are simply part of the day, quietly carrying what they were built to carry."
— Teratai Works, founding principle
A small team with a focused purpose
We are a compact team, which means you deal with the same people throughout your engagement — no handoffs, no account managers in between.
Ravi Haridas
Founder & Lead Consultant
Ravi spent eight years in operations consulting before turning his attention to how smaller businesses interact with emerging tools. He leads every Surface Reading personally.
Siti Cheong
Integration Specialist
Siti handles the technical side of all Beneath the Surface projects, connecting tools to existing systems with care and documenting everything clearly for the teams she works with.
Aaron Lim
Client Support & Retainer Lead
Aaron manages ongoing retainer relationships, keeping an eye on how tools are performing and handling the regular tuning that keeps things running sensibly over the longer term.
Standards we hold ourselves to
These are the commitments that shape each engagement from the first conversation through to ongoing support.
Data handled with care
We only connect tools that operate under published privacy terms you can read. We explain each tool's data handling before anything is put in place.
Everything documented
Every integration comes with written notes your team can refer to. Nothing is left in the consultant's head — you hold the records of what was set up and why.
Scope reviewed openly
Before any work begins, we confirm the scope in writing. If circumstances change and the scope needs to shift, we discuss it before proceeding — never after.
Staff included from the start
We do not install tools and leave. Walkthroughs for your team are included in every integration, so the people who use the tools daily feel comfortable with them.
Tools tested before handover
We run each integration against realistic scenarios before calling it ready. Edge cases are noted and either handled or flagged clearly so there are no surprises in the first week.
Confidentiality maintained
Client information — business processes, systems, internal data — is treated as confidential. We do not share details between clients or use your setup as reference material for others.
AI tools for small business in Singapore — what we have learned
Small businesses in Singapore operate in one of the most connected commercial environments in the region, yet many still handle enquiries, scheduling, and record-keeping entirely by hand. That is not a failing — it is a sign that the available tools have rarely been presented in terms that make the effort feel worthwhile at a modest scale.
What we have found, working across hospitality, retail, professional services, and education, is that the useful fits tend to be narrow and specific. A well-tuned enquiry assistant for a law firm operates very differently from one built for a bakery's WhatsApp line. The underlying technology may be similar; the configuration, tone, and integration points are specific to each business.
The businesses we work with most successfully are those with a clear sense of which tasks cost them the most time and which outcomes they actually want. We help translate that clarity into a setup that holds up over months, not just in the first week after launch.
We are happy to speak with any Singapore-based small business that is curious but unsure where to begin. A Surface Reading gives you a plain view of the landscape — and that view has value on its own, regardless of whether you decide to proceed further with us.
A conversation costs nothing, and it might be useful.
We keep initial conversations brief and purposeful. Tell us a little about your business and we will give you an honest view of whether and how we could help.
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