Industry AmpUP: In the Business of Love

On 12 February 2026, in the season of love, we kicked off the first SMU Industry AmpUp session of the year with a panel discussion centred on 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆.

Titled “𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩: 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙘 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙒𝙚𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨,” the session brought together more than 70 hashtag#sgSMUalumni for an engaging conversation on how evolving norms, demographics and expectations are transforming Singapore’s “love” industry, from modern dating trends to wedding planning and beyond.

Our three alumni panellists shared perspectives from across the ecosystem:

Alex Tam (BAcc & BBM 2013), Group CEO, Paktor / Gaigai, discussed the evolution of dating app design, balancing user well-being with AI-driven personalisation, and what the future of matchmaking may look like.

Joanna Tan (BBM 2015), Co-founder, Lily & Co / Rose & Revel, shared how wedding expectations are shifting towards boutique, bespoke and experience-driven celebrations shaped by couples’ values.

Yuvan Mohan (BSocSc 2014 & MiM 2016), Council Member, Families for Life, explored broader societal trends, relationship access, and efforts to support young adults in building meaningful and lasting partnerships.

The discussion was moderated by Dr Kenneth Tan, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the SMU School of Social Sciences, who brought academic insight and thoughtful facilitation to a lively exchange with the audience.

This session showed how a single theme like Love can open up conversations across multiple interconnected industries and perspectives.

On a related note: our panellists are also hashtag#SMOOchies 💑. Curious what that means? Find out more about the recent hashtag#SMOOchies launch here:
https://lnkd.in/gz8FG27X

What other topics or industries would you like to see explored at future SMU Industry AmpUp sessions? We’d love to continue curating conversations that stretch perspectives and spark new ideas for the alumni community.

🎥 Catch the full recorded session from this SMU Industry AmpUp series here: https://lnkd.in/gQG9GX6w