You find a good coffee spot, tell a friend, and the recommendation disappears into a chat. The café may gain a customer without ever knowing who sent them. Delilah "Dee" Chan wants local businesses to be able to follow that trail and reward the people who help bring customers through the door.
Her platform, DwellDrop, gives brick-and-mortar businesses a way to publish deals, distribute them through customers and track referrals. Customers can earn Dwell Points when they redeem eligible offers. When a friend redeems a deal they have shared, both receive points, subject to the offer's terms.
Chan spent five years at TikTok, from 2020 to 2025. Her last role was general manager for Singapore and Malaysia. She is now building Dwell, but she is clear that she did not leave TikTok specifically to start it. Stepping away gave her the time to explore the idea.
Leaving corporate life without a finished startup plan
In written responses to SG Daily, Chan described both the comfort of a long corporate career and the desire to build something she could call her own.
A long corporate career can make you comfortable, even successful. But, there's also a weight to spending years building businesses that, ultimately, aren't your own.
The idea became more concrete during a café visit. Chan wanted to know what else was happening nearby and where she might go next. The QR codes on the table helped with ordering or payment, but not with that question. She says she bought a personal computer that afternoon for $3,000 and started working out what she wanted to build.
Helping a good deal reach the right person
For a small shop, regularly paying to promote an offer can be expensive. It can also be difficult to connect an online advertisement with a customer who actually visits. Chan sees an opportunity in something shop owners already rely on: a satisfied customer recommending them to someone else.
DwellDrop aims to make those recommendations measurable. Merchants can publish offers and set their rewards, while customers have a reason to share a deal with someone who might use it. The platform is intended to help shops bring customers back, rather than simply hand out a discount at the cashier.
How customers use DwellDrop
Start with an offer on DwellDrop.sg, a QR code at a participating shop, or a link shared by a friend. Redeem an eligible deal in-store to earn Dwell Points towards a later visit.
If you pass the deal to a friend, referral rewards are triggered when that friend redeems it. Sharing a link on its own does not complete the reward journey. The points and conditions depend on the deal and merchant, so check the terms before making a trip.
You can browse the current offers on DwellDrop's deals page.
Hotpot, Thai milk tea and neighbourhood shops
DwellDrop soft-launched on 1 October 2026 and is working with a small group of pilot merchants. Chan names COCA, Tuk Tuk Cha, Xi Yan Zing, Italian Coffee Lab and Kapitan among its dining partners. She also points to Japanese-inspired izakaya Shakō-Ba and Siglap bar Merry-Go-Round.
The pilot extends beyond food. Chan's list includes Lido Dry Cleaning, florist-café 5 Petals and luxury reseller BJ Luxury. Elements Wellness and Shens Therapeutics are listed as coming soon, rather than already available. Offers and participating outlets can change.
An early pilot, not a finished success story
Chan is not putting a growth figure on the platform's impact yet. At Italian Coffee Lab in Pasir Panjang, she says the team is designing offers around customer behaviour in the area, rather than relying only on blanket discounts. Redemptions, referrals and repeat visits will be the measures to watch as the pilot develops.
For now, getting the product into people's hands is the milestone. Her advice to would-be founders is to begin before every question is answered, ask for help and listen carefully to customers. Even after more than two decades in business, she says she returned to NUS for a course on starting and managing a business.
For customers, the next step is simpler: find an offer at a shop you want to try, check its terms and share it with someone who would enjoy it.
Disclosure: SG Daily supported DwellDrop's launch. This feature is based on Chan's written responses and DwellDrop's public product information. Photographs were supplied for the feature.
