For two decades, Hsien Naidu has helped brands grow from one to many — now, her franchising software makes sure they stay that way

“There are times when I tell people quite plainly: stay in your job. Don’t become a franchisee. Owning a franchise and having a job are two completely different realities.”

Hsien Naidu doesn’t say this for effect. Her voice doesn’t carry the smug satisfaction of someone who has made it and now speaks in riddles to those still figuring it out. It comes instead from a place of hard-won clarity — the kind you only earn after watching enough people chase the dream of independence and run headlong into its weight.

Naidu has spent two decades helping business owners expand from one outlet to many, advising everyone from hopeful first-timers to established regional players. Through her company, TreeAMS, she has built a system that distils the chaos of franchising into a single, living structure.

“In franchising, a lot of people think the most important thing for growth is finding franchisees,” she explains. “But from my 20 years of experience, I’d say that’s not actually the case. In fact, I believe the real key lies in how much attention you give to operations.”

TreeAMS — short for “Tree Automated Management System” — was born from that realisation. The platform helps franchisors manage every aspect of their business, from standard operating procedures and staff training to audits, product sourcing, and maintenance. At its simplest, it keeps everyone aligned.

“Over the years, I’ve worked with many companies to expand into the region, and more than half of them failed when they went overseas,” Naidu recalls. “It wasn’t because they couldn’t sell the brand — it was because they couldn’t sustain the success of their franchisees abroad.”

By integrating all the moving parts of a franchise into one system, she found a way to make growth sustainable. “When everything is harmonised and orchestrated properly, it functions like a symphony — every part plays in rhythm, creating a seamless flow,” she notes.

Tech with a human spine

Still, her focus isn’t solely on technology. The heart of TreeAMS, and of Naidu’s work, is people — their habits, their decisions, and their capacity to learn. “At the end of the day, TreeAMS is simply a platform — one that streamlines the workflow of franchising. It doesn’t replace people. In fact, it strengthens their ability to perform.” The platform automates reporting and analytics, freeing managers from the monotony of Excel and letting them focus on “upgrading, uplifting, and improving systems.”

When Naidu first entered the field, franchising in Asia was still driven by instinct. Today, it’s defined by data and structure. “In the beginning, our main focus was on SOPs — they were absolutely essential,” she reflects. “But as we evolved, we realised that franchisors need more than just one tool. Each system may work well on its own, but the real challenge isn’t the lack of technology; it’s the lack of integration.”

It is this insistence on integration — technological, operational, and human — that gives her philosophy its depth. She sees failure not as a technical problem but as a cultural one. “Business owners have to invest in human transformation alongside digitalisation,” she continues.

“People are often accustomed to viewing their roles in isolation, but in reality, when there’s a service failure, it’s rarely one person’s fault. The beauty of a platform like this is that it enables business owners to detect and address issues before the customer ever experiences them.”

The fine print of freedom

Her measured pragmatism feels rare in a landscape that often romanticises entrepreneurship. When Naidu tells aspiring franchisees to “stay in your job,” she isn’t being cynical; she’s being protective. “Being a boss isn’t glamorous. The buck starts and stops with you,” she admits. “Every single aspect of the business lands squarely on your shoulders.”

She has seen franchisees lose sleep, hair, and sometimes relationships. Many underestimate the capital required, believing that the franchise fee alone secures their future. “They think, ‘The franchise fee is $200,000; I have $200,000 saved, so I’m good.’ But that’s not enough. You need to think about operational breakeven — how long it’ll take for your business to start covering its costs. Building stability takes time.”

Her advice is precise: prepare extra capital and emotional stamina. “If you’re looking for a franchise to replace your job, don’t,” she warns. “Even if you can’t stand your boss, you’ll still get your paycheck at the end of the month — unless you do something truly disastrous.”

Naidu’s honesty feels disarming in an industry that thrives on expansion rhetoric. Yet, her realism is also what grounds her optimism. “For a Singapore-based brand, the local market is limited,” she points out. “Franchising becomes a strategic move because it allows companies to leverage brand equity and expand regionally.”

diaFor her, franchising remains “a robust model” — one that can withstand even the volatility of a rentier economy — provided its fundamentals are sound.

Her gaze widens when she speaks of creativity and competition. Asked whether franchises leave room for innovation, she resists the binary. “By definition, a franchise has to be replicable — it needs to be simple enough for others to reproduce successfully,” she explains. “But that doesn’t mean creativity has no place in franchising. It simply means that creativity must be built into the system itself — hard-coded into the way the franchise operates.”

Competition as equilibrium

That belief extends to her view of the broader market, where Chinese brands are entering Singapore in droves. She neither celebrates nor laments it. “Right now, with the influx of Chinese brands, we have to ask why they’re entering Singapore in the first place,” she observes.

“Many of them are likely facing increasing pressures in their domestic market, so their expansion here is also a form of strategic safeguarding.”

To Naidu, market competition isn’t a moral issue; it’s a natural rhythm. “Every stakeholder — from landlords to franchise owners — is acting within their own economic interests,” she remarks. “In an open economy, demand always rebalances the market. If consumers don’t buy, the business simply doesn’t survive.”

And yet, for all her talk of systems and economics, she returns always to something human — the quiet resilience required to lead. “A successful franchisor keeps innovating, keeps the brand fresh, and stays committed to serving customers well,” she concludes.

“But ultimately, I believe franchising succeeds when franchisees themselves succeed. The health of the ecosystem depends on profitability at the unit level, not just the top.”

It’s a worldview both generous and exacting: the strength of the tree lies not in its height but in the health of its roots. “When that foundation is strong,” Naidu says softly, “everything else stacks up naturally.”