Strategist · Founder Advisor

Michelle
van Eck

Founder-side strategist and builder. I work alongside founders and leadership teams to clarify the idea, position it powerfully, and build the brand, experience and operating structure required to carry it into the world.

The origin

It began at fifteen, with an internship at the five-star Royal Plaza on Scotts in Singapore, a masterclass in service standards, customer experience, and the quiet art of exceeding expectations. That became the first cornerstone of how I think about brands: as something people feel, remember, and decide to trust.

Since then I have founded, worked in-house and advised from the side, a rare 360° view of what a business actually needs to scale. I cut through the noise of growth-hacking to build things that are robust, valuable and sustainable.

I see the pattern. Then I build the system.

A global pattern-recognition lens

Born and raised in Singapore, British–Canadian, based in Vancouver, built across markets, each one teaching a different part of the work.

Singapore · Hong Kong · Melbourne · Dubai · Vancouver · London · Cologne · Bali.

Explore the markets

How I think

Nature as methodology

I use movement and landscape, "strategy walks", to unlock non-linear thinking. The clearest structures rarely arrive at a desk.

The intersection

I treat strategy as the meeting point of art, science, technology, psychology, philosophy and economics, a holistic read, not a single discipline. I connect signals across fields that are usually kept separate.

Change is the only constant. I build for what's next.

Study, ongoing

A cross-disciplinary path of formal study and continuous executive learning.

Degrees

BA, Communication & Political Science, Simon Fraser University (2014). Business & Marketing studies, RMIT University.

Executive & online coursework

Connected Leadership & Financial Markets (Yale) · Organizational Analysis (Stanford) · Organizational Leadership (Northwestern) · High-Performing Teams (UPenn) · Corporate Strategy (University of London), and more.

Awards & honours

Ontario Scholar for Academic Achievement (2008) · Kindness Award, Government of Singapore (2007) · contributed to campaigns behind four consecutive "Best of the City" recognitions (Vancouver North Shore) · Crystal Award.

Philanthropy

Fundraising Coordinator, Druk White Lotus School (Ladakh) & Tabitha Foundation (Cambodia & Singapore). Volunteer work across Thailand, Singapore and the UK, with a focus on women, youth and families.

Early brand experience

Brand instincts shaped early, through front-line ambassador and experiential work with globally recognised names, LEGO, Ferrero Rocher, Kodak and the Vancouver Canucks, an education in brand as a lived experience before becoming the strategist behind it.

Questions

What a founder-side strategist is, and how the work happens.

What is a founder-side strategist?
Someone who works beside the founder, not outside the business as a vendor, connecting strategy, brand, experience and operating structure. I turn ambitious visions into structures that can hold: clear positioning, a coherent brand, and systems a team can actually run.
What does "structure" mean?
The relationship between what the founder believes, what the business promises, what the market understands, what the customer experiences, and what the organisation can consistently deliver. Most growth problems are structure problems in disguise.
Who is it for?
Founders and leadership teams at a consequential build, repositioning or next chapter, especially premium, cultural, media, community and high-trust businesses whose vision has outgrown their structure.
How do you work together?
Begin with the Structure Diagnostic or a conversation. Engagements run as a Structure Review, a Strategic Build, or an ongoing Advisory Seat, with mentorship, coaching and speaking also available.
Where are you based?
Vancouver. British–Canadian, born and raised in Singapore, working internationally.

Selected relationships

Classified by how the work happened, built inside, founded, advised, or brand & press. Not one undifferentiated wall.

Built from the inside
Royal Plaza on Scotts California Closets Sharegain Marylebone Design Collectif
Founded & built
FINCA Social Club BINX Creative · Elle Marketing · House of MvE · Latinoamérica Explicada
Advised & collaborated
Shining AI Solutions NextFactor Qi Integrated Health Westcoast Hot Yoga The Shophouse
Brand, product & event work
LEGO Kodak Vancouver Canucks Bell Media Pattison MAC Marketing Galderma GEA Vancouver Fashion Week
Aesthetics & wellness brands
Cynosure Sciton HydraFacial jane iredale SkinCeuticals Ultherapy Fraxel
In the press
Elle Fashion Magazine Western Living Vancouver Magazine The Georgia Straight Global News VancouverMom West Vancouver · North Vancouver

Early experiential & brand-ambassador work · press coverage · not all logos imply a retained-client relationship.

Transformative… a 40% increase in efficiency… a rare blend of genius. Veronica Chan · 10-year client, across manufacturing & construction
Advisory areas Work With Me