Kindred started because going independent in Singapore can be lonely
In 2021, after leaving an agency to go solo, our founder Aishah Rahman noticed the part nobody warned her about: the quiet. The work was fine. The not having anyone to think out loud with was not. The good days had no one to share them with, and the wobbly ones had no one to call.
So she started small — a WhatsApp group, then a Saturday coffee morning above a shophouse in Tanjong Pagar. The point was never to build a network. It was to build the room she wished she’d had: independents who’d cheer each other on, lend each other their honest opinion, and pass each other work without keeping score.
Three years on, Kindred is a few hundred founders, freelancers and makers across the island. The coffee mornings still run. The threads still answer at midnight. And the thing it’s really for hasn’t changed — making sure that working for yourself never has to mean working by yourself.
How we keep it good
Belonging before networking
We optimise for friendships that happen to be useful, not transactions dressed up as connection. Nobody is anybody’s lead here.
Small enough to matter
We cap each pod and keep the cohorts small on purpose. You’ll be a name people know, not a number in a 5,000-person Slack.
Made for Singapore independents
Built around how work actually happens here — the CBD, the East side, the seasons, the realities of being on your own in this city.
The people who keep the lights on
Aishah Rahman Founder & Community Lead Left agency life to go solo in 2021, then built the community she couldn’t find. Hosts most coffee mornings and reads every welcome thread.
Daniel Teo Programmes & Pods A former ops lead who keeps the calendar honest and the pods matched. If a workshop runs on time and a pod actually meets, that’s Daniel.
Mei Ling Foo Members & Partnerships Your first hello and the person who knows who you should meet. Looks after the directory, the partner perks and the small-table dinners.
Come and see for yourself
Words only go so far. The room is the thing — drop into a coffee morning and feel whether it’s for you.