In 2009, Nanz Inc is a partnership between entrepreneur Nanz Chong-Komo and editor Theresa Tan. The vision of this website and daily “online talkshow” is to give Asian women a source of education, equipping and empowerment to “do life better”. The highlights of the website content and activities are transported into live seminars a few times every year, building up a community of women who network for ideas and support from one another.
She is the celebrated author of the business bestseller, One Business, 99 Lessons, Nanz is best known as the owner of ONE.99Shop, a one-price store that became a multi-million dollar business with 14 branches before it closed. Her success with ONE.99shop won her the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2000.
A former model who was a regular on the catwalks and in fashion magazines, Hong Kong-born Nanz was also the anchor host for the Seoul Olympics in 1988, for Hong Kong’s ATV network. Today, Nanz is a sought-after speaker who addresses professionals and executives in multinational companies and business associations. She is also currently serving as a Councillor of Northeast CDC.
At home, Nanz is married to a financial professional and they have three children.
Helping women in many aspects of their daily life is Nanz’s passion, and her mission is to see women’s lives changed for the better through this website and its activities.
Theresa Tan is a writer, editor, screenwriter and a playwright.
At the age of 19, she won first prize at the 1989 National Short Play Competition with Pistachios and Whipped Cream. Following an internship at The Straits Times, she spent a year as a copywriter before joining 8 Days as their arts correspondent. After many years reporting entertainment news (the zenith of which was seeing Madonna at a press conference and having an exclusive interview with Sting), Theresa changed industries and became the Editor of Female magazine and eventually Editor-In-Chief for ELLE Singapore.
After a personal three-year hiatus following ELLE, Theresa became a columnist for DARE magazine, then the editor for Tiger Tales (inflight magazine for Tiger Airways) and then, the short-lived Vanilla magazine.
In 2003 Theresa was a co-founder of Women Make A Difference (WMD), a women’s group that champions women’s and children’s causes. She is currently serving as a Councillor with Southwest CDC under Mayor Amy Khor.
Theresa is married to a civil servant and they have three children.
In 2000, Theresa interviewed Nanz as part of a special feature called “Women Of Substance”, for Female magazine. Nanz was at the peak of her success as the owner of One.99Shop.
In 2004, Theresa and Nanz met again at a lunch meeting, and re-established their friendship. Nanz had undergone a very public bankruptcy in 2003 but Theresa noted that she seemed happier than ever. She had given birth to Zara and was now expecting Christian. After Christian’s birth, Nanz shared with Theresa a manuscript she had put together with another friend. She had a dream that her book should be called One Business, 99 Lessons.
Thus ensued Nanz’s and Theresa’s first project. Taking the chapters already written and editing them into mini-chapters, and adding some new materials, the duo completed the book by February 2005. It was an instant best-seller, making the top of the national list the fortnight it was released. One Business, 99 Lessons went on to sell over 17,000 copies, which is very good for the Singapore market.
After the book, Nanz and Theresa knew they had an unusual and productive working relationship, and were eager to do their “next thing” together.
After months of discussion and one baby more each — both Nanz’s and Theresa’s third kids were born within two weeks of each other — finally the idea came about for an online website that could reach more women and touch more lives.
Theresa was inspired by an old magazine article about supermodel Cindy Crawford. The article was titled “Cindy Inc” and it was about Cindy Crawford’s empire of businesses that had taken a life of their own (her workout videos, her annual pinup calendars etc) which didn’t really need her involvement past the initial photo or video shoot. Basically, “Cindy Crawford” had become a successful brand, and Cindy the person had time to spend with her loved ones, get married, raise her children, and more. She had (and still has) it all.
“Nanz is exactly like Cindy Crawford,” says Theresa. “Her name has become a brand, even more so now than when she had ONE.99Shop. The association she has with personal branding, female entrepreneurship, a strong positive mindset — these are attributes she possesses which have become synonymous with her.
“We wanted to create a business that teaches women — especially Asian women —that everyone has an intrinsic value. Asian women are peculiar — they can be so accomplished and educated, yet have such low self-esteem that they do foolish things to themselves. We want to see more Asian women do life better — live their dreams, start that business, practise integrity, love and value themselves.
“In every Asian woman, there lies an ‘Inc’. And Nanz Inc exists to map the way.”
