Columbia University grad left Google to now write memoirs for families  

Speaking to Hui Yi Chin, I made a pointed observation: “You seem like someone who’s just really willing to say no.”  

While Chin is an easygoing individual, she admits that with big decisions in life, she’s somehow had the courage to say no to things that just don’t align with her beliefs and values.   

Instead of staying to work in New York, where the pay is much higher than in her home country of Malaysia, she decided to say no because it didn’t align with what she wanted.   

That trait of hers, perhaps, should’ve been a sign that she would go on to be a solo entrepreneur one day.   

Cultivating a successful corporate career  

After completing her master’s degree in Columbia University, Chin returned home to Malaysia and began working at a series of notable companies. She spent three years in Creador, a private equity firm as an analyst. She then worked at Capbay, a Malaysian fintech company that provides financing solutions, as a business performance manager.  

Then, she landed a job at tech giant Google as an analytical consultant.   

In 2024, two years into her stint there, the regional Google team had undergone a restructuring. While reshuffling the team, Chin’s role in Malaysia was made redundant. She was given the opportunity to move to Singapore instead, but she decided to take a bolder step — she walked away from Google. 

Chin’s first foray into memoirs was through writing one about her mum. Source: Hui Yi Chin

Writing down her mother’s story  

How much do you actually know about your parents? Their childhood, their struggles, their love story, their fears, their hopes and dreams? 

Especially for Asian families where talking about emotions are not a norm, the chances are you don’t know much about their history. Such was the case for Chin, but she wanted to change that.  

While on her career break, Chin saw an opportunity to understand her mother’s journey through life a little better. In fact, why not write a book for her to really memorialise her legacy? Finding it awkward to interview her mother herself, though, she brought in someone else to ask her questions, then used the answers to weave the story herself.   

While her mum was initially uncertain about the process, she became excited for her own book upon its completion, proudly showing it off to friends and family.  

“Understanding her past helps connect the dots to understand her as a person,” Chin says about the experience. 

Chin previously studied in Bard College and Columbia Business School in New York. Source: Hui Yi Chin

Helping other families preserve their story  

Throughout her career, Chin has gotten the opportunity to work and interact with many notable entrepreneurs and talents with stories that are “truly worth inscribing for future generations to know,” as she puts it.  

Not all of them may want to publish and commercialise a book about their lives, but they might still want to create a memoir that can preserve their legacy for their children and children’s children. 

This desire was something Chin noticed when those around her started asking if she could help memorialise the stories of their family members too. Realising that there was potential for a business there that she could tap into, she created Inscribed to be a service that keeps stories alive.  

Her husband was a big encouragement in making that business happen. He quoted Zig Ziglar, an American author, to her: “If you believe your product or service can fulfil a true need, it’s your moral obligation to sell it.” 

And so, despite entrepreneurship being “extremely scary” and “very intimidating,” Chin decided to pursue it with Inscribed. 

“Somehow I just feel like this is the right thing for me to do, and I’d like to give it a shot,” the solo entrepreneur shared.  

Chin’s clients have most been referred to her through word of mouth. Source: Hui Yi Chin

Finding her own voice telling others’ stories  

While Inscribed is still a relatively new pursuit, Chin has been able to secure numerous clients to produce books about their stories. Or rather, their family’s stories, as it’s oftentimes the children of the subjects who request for her service.  

To produce the books, Chin would spend several hours with the subject, asking tailored questions about their life. Of course, the process is dependent on each project’s brief and expectations. Beyond life stories, she has also done books that details one’s career as a retirement gift, as well as penned love stories between couples for their nuptials.  

Inscribed offers services in Chinese too, as many of the parents or grandparents she works with are much more expressive in their mother tongue.  

Her services are typically around the RM8,000 range, though it highly depends on the expectations and breadth of the work.

Looking ahead, Chin hopes to continue expanding and streamlining her products, perhaps offering some more standardised options for those who want a more accessible option compared to her more bespoke projects.  

Although Chin has a background in economics and has worked corporate roles, she’s now found her calling in solo entrepreneurship and helping others author their stories.