More Singapore companies set up to help ‘reserved’ young locals break the ice, make new friends

It started with a 10-second TikTok clip inviting strangers to join him on a ski trip in the French Alps. In a matter of weeks, 26-year-old Larry Lee from Singapore saw more than 100 strangers signing up.

Lee was on the threshold of adulthood then, close to graduating from university and joining the workforce full-time. He was weighed down by the feeling that this transition would mean less time to make friends and go outdoors, which was what prompted him to post the video in September 2022.

“After a while, the mundane routine of work sets in and every day feels the same,” he said. “I felt like I had to try and recreate my university travel experiences for people who were no longer studying.”

The ski trip led by Lee did not just help break the ice for his chosen group of strangers – it has snowballed into a full-fledged travel company called Sotravel. Lee now runs the firm full-time with a lean team of two others, reeling in young Singaporeans who have been bitten by the travel bug and are looking for new ways to form friendships.

His business is one of a handful in the city state tapping into pent-up demand fuelled by Singaporeans who are seeking fulfilling experiences and interactions after more than two years of talking to people behind computer screens or masks.

Lee said the Covid-19 pandemic left little room for what he called “organic” ways of meeting people. “Over the last few years, a lot of things have moved online. Work, dating and even shopping for groceries. Naturally, we need new organic ways to form genuine connections with others.”

Many young Singaporeans, who saw significant periods in their lives – such as entering university and starting their first full-time jobs – disrupted by Covid curbs, are eager to meet