Image Credit: Milieu Insight
CEO Sundip Chahal (Left), Founder Gerald Ang (Right)
In the dynamic world of consumer insights, Singapore-based startup Milieu Insight has been quietly reshaping the landscape. Founded in 2016 by Gerald Ang, alongside co-founders Juda Kanaprach, both market research veterans, and Kelvin Li, ex-investment banker, the company was built on a vision to simplify the complexities of market research and data analytics. Today, Milieu Insight is a rising force in Southeast Asia, redefining how businesses harness data for smarter decisions.
What started with just a small, passionate team of three has grown into a 70-strong workforce spread across six countries. With its advanced technology, mobile-first strategy, and focus on user experience, Milieu Insight has disrupted the traditional market research industry. It has also caught the attention of global brands seeking fresh insights into the region’s diverse consumer landscape. Now, with the recent appointment of industry veteran Sundip Chahal as CEO, Milieu Insight is ready for global expansion, setting its sights on the U.S. and U.K. markets.
From Frustration to Innovation
Ang founded Milieu Insight out of frustration with traditional research methodologies. “I believe market research should make everyone’s life easier, not harder,” Ang shares. “The traditional market research industry was based on primitive methodologies and inefficient processes, and I wanted to build a tech-driven, automated research product that would operate more efficiently and intelligently, revolutionising the way market research is conducted.”
Ang’s vision paid off. In just seven years, Milieu Insight has become a formidable player in Southeast Asia’s consumer research market. The company now boasts over two million active users on its survey app and has seen its client roster grow from 45 to 180 in less than two years.
“It has been an incredible journey,” Ang reflects on the company’s rapid growth. “We were just a small team of passionate innovators, but we’ve grown and expanded in pursuit of our mission to revolutionise consumer insights. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many industries, but for us, it has accelerated the acceptance of online research and propelled our growth.”
Ang’s vision for Milieu Insight extends beyond just providing data to clients. “Our focus is on improving the accessibility and efficiency of consumer insights. We want to make our customers’ lives easier at every step of the process, from survey design to data analysis and visualisation. More than just delivering data, we want to empower businesses to make better decisions based on real-time, actionable insights.”
This customer-centric outlook has been a key driver of Milieu Insight’s success. Ang explains, “We’re constantly thinking about how we can create value for our clients. Everything we do is designed to simplify and streamline the research process. Our goal is to be a true partner to our clients.”
As Milieu Insight prioritises growth and expansion, Ang plans to maintain the company’s innovative spirit and customer focus. “Scaling brings its own set of challenges, but it also presents incredible opportunities. As we scale, we’re excited to bring our innovative approach to new markets while staying true to our core values – customer focus, accessibility, and impactful insights,” says Ang.
Culture as the Cornerstone of Growth
Milieu Insight’s rapid growth is closely tied to its company culture. Ang vividly recalls a conference where he heard the phrase, “culture eats strategy for lunch.” This simple yet profound statement resonated deeply with him and has since made it a guiding principle in Milieu Insight’s journey. “No matter how good your strategy is, if you don’t have a strong, positive culture within your company, you’ll never achieve your goals,” Ang emphasises.
Ang’s commitment to fostering a strong company culture has played a crucial role in Milieu Insight’s expansion. He firmly believes that aligning the company’s vision and mission with a set of shared values is the key to creating a sense of common ground and purpose among all employees. “It’s not only about having these values written on a wall or in an employee handbook,” he explains, “it’s about living and breathing them every single day.”
To ensure that Milieu Insight’s values are deeply ingrained in the organisation, Ang leads by example. He recognizes that as the founder, his actions and decisions set the tone for the entire company. “Leading by example has been crucial to embedding these values into our daily operations and decision-making processes,” Ang states. He actively participates in company events, encourages open communication, and prioritises employee well-being, demonstrating that the company’s values are not empty words but a lifestyle. This authentic and consistent way of doing things has created a culture that attracts top talent, fosters advancement, and drives the company’s impressive growth trajectory.
A New CEO for Milieu, Sundip Chahal Joins the Crew
With a solid foundation, Milieu Insight is now expanding into the global markets. The man appointed to lead the path is Sundip “Sunny” Chahal, former Chief Operating Officer at YouGov, who joined as CEO in 2024. Chahal brings over two decades of experience in scaling research and commercial operations globally and a fresh perspective on the industry’s challenges and opportunities.
“What drew me to Milieu Insight wasn’t just their impressive growth in Southeast Asia, but the potential I saw in their technology and approach,” Chahal says. “We are already best in class, and we have the capability to empower businesses to launch and collect real-time data and insights on a global scale. Competitors claim they can, but often disappoint clients with clumsy technology and poor data quality,” he asserts.
Chahal’s path to joining Milieu Insight was non-linear. After leaving YouGov, he took a career break to reassess his next move. “I didn’t want to join a large corporation or a traditional research agency,” he reflects. “I was looking for a company with unrealized potential where I could make a significant impact and I needed to work with a team I can trust’
Chahal believes Milieu Insight can expand far beyond its Southeast Asian roots into the U.S., U.K. markets, and beyond. “The beauty of our approach is that it’s inherently scalable,” he notes. “We’re bringing a new way of thinking about consumer research to markets hungry for innovation.” This expansion will not follow the traditional playbook. Chahal emphasises, “We are unique, and we won’t build it the way every other company did 20 years ago, or even how new entrants are approaching these markets. Of course, we’ll go where clients demand, and we know our offer and platform resonate in these markets.”
A Shared Vision: Innovating for Global Impact
As Milieu Insight targets global markets, the synergy between Ang’s vision and Chahal’s global expertise drives the company’s innovative approach to consumer insights. This shared vision is evident in the company’s commitment to advancement, as exemplified by its newly announced features. These include an AI survey assistant and a data visualisation tool, both of which promise to transform survey design, analysis, and data presentation.
“At Milieu Insight, we’re looking to fundamentally change how research is conducted,” Ang explains. “Our focus is on optimising the entire research supply chain, making our customers’ lives easier at every step of the process.”
Chahal adds, “The innovation here is constant. We’re able to take a concept and put it into production quickly. There isn’t a big chain of command. We’re all under one roof, making and implementing decisions rapidly.”
Yet, despite this focus on technology, both Ang and Chahal emphasise the human element underpinning Milieu Insight’s success. “At the end of the day,” Chahal reflects, “our business is about understanding people. The technology we develop and the data we collect are all in service of gaining deeper insights into human behaviour and preferences.”
This philosophy is evident in the company’s panel management strategy. It boasts one of Southeast Asia’s most extensive active survey panels, with over two million deeply profiled users. “We’re constantly thinking about how to engage our panellists more meaningfully,” Chahal explains. “Creating a community, not just a data source, is our priority.”
Charting a Global Course
Milieu Insight’s expansion represents more than just geographical growth. It is a bold step toward influencing consumer insights globally.
Ang, reflecting on the company’s development and the next chapter ahead, says, “Our growth has always been rooted in our core values and our mission to democratise research. As we expand, we’re not just scaling our operations; we’re scaling up to increase our impact. We want to empower businesses worldwide with accessible, actionable insights.”
“Bringing in someone with the right energy, sincerity, and skill set to scale up is key,” Ang adds, “With Sunny, we have the right person to accomplish what needs to be done.”
The story of Milieu Insight is far from over. In fact, the most exciting chapters are yet to be written. Given its advanced platform, allied to its approach to data collection, strong company culture, and roadmap for global expansion, this Southeast Asian success story may soon become a household name in boardrooms worldwide. As Ang and Chahal prepare to steer the company into new territories, the future of consumer insights is being rewritten, and Milieu Insight is holding the pen.
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