A Shentonista Valentine’s — Mike & AJ: Branching Out

In the first part of our Valentine’s Day feature, we’ve seen how starting a business as a couple—and thriving in both the professional and personal realms—isn’t as daunting as it seems. But of course, everyone’s story is different. Sometimes, things don’t work out, and that’s okay; other times, unexpected doors might open, leading to diverging paths, but at the heart of it all, what matters most is the relationship.

Sure, it’s exciting to be both soulmates and co-owners of a business, but the real magic lies in prioritising the relationship and knowing when to let go or step away from this shared venture, especially when the line between the personal and professional gets too hazy. In the case of our second couple in our series, Mike and AJ, they chose to split their resources, expand their business, and chase a new dream concurrently when they found themselves butting heads too often over the way they were co-running their first shared business, Anteiku Studios.

Having started up Anteiku, a curated clothing and handmade jewellery store, in the thick of the pandemic, the pair has worked hand in hand for the past four years, growing the business from season to season, from a shared shoebox space at Pearl’s Hill Terrace to a cosy yet spacious store of their own at Haji Lane. While Anteiku’s growth is a testament to AJ and Mike’s hard work and synchronicity as business partners, their move to an independent space brought with it its own set of worries and concerns—some of which highlighted the differences in their vision and goals for the store. “We were co-owners to the point where our opinions mattered too much, and this co-dependency no longer served us as business partners,” Mike explains.

This is why late last year, he decided to take a step back from Anteiku to start up Rocks Café, an F&B space where Anteiku’s customers could hang out and connect over a cuppa or snacks, while AJ continues to helm Anteiku today. “Mike’s always had the passion for making food, and for me, I don’t think I’ve ever burnt out from running Anteiku because I still love what I do, and I still feel very happy every day, even when I’m tired, so this decision made the most sense for us,” AJ adds. Of course, the pair still works closely together, referring to each other as co-owners of both Rocks and Anteiku when asked, but now, with two businesses under their belt instead of one, they’re each able to focus more on what they love most, both at work and outside of work.

As business partners, Mike and AJ complement each other seamlessly. Mike is the louder, more extroverted half, while AJ is the quieter, more thoughtful one. But over the years, they’ve mellowed out and reached a comfortable middle ground, as most couples do. “I think one of the best things I’ve taught AJ is how to not be so introverted,” Mike jests. Though he’s half joking, AJ agrees. “Yeah, before getting together with Mike, I wouldn’t communicate with people and found it hard to keep a conversation going. Now, one of my favourite parts of the job is meeting and talking to customers!”

Considering how in sync Mike and AJ are today, it might come as a surprise that the pair didn’t always get along—in fact, they described themselves as enemies when they first met back in school. “I hated his guts!” AJ tells us. “But I guess opposites attract like what they say, because we really went from enemies to lovers.” So what exactly sparked the shift in dynamic? “It’s a funny story,” Mike shares. “We were at East Coast at someone’s party, and AJ and I were both trying to get a cab to go home, but prices were surging and we were kids with no money, so we were kind of forced to talk while we waited for our cab together. We just sat by the beach and talked for hours. But we were enemies at that point lah, so it wasn’t cute at all!” But jokes aside, that night marked the beginning of something special that the couple now shares, which is a fun, lighthearted relationship and a willingness to spend most of their time together.

In fact, though the two have separate responsibilities at work, they still make it a point to find pockets of free time to spend with each other. When things are slow at Anteiku, AJ escapes to Rocks for a little chat and coffee break with Mike, and even though Anteiku’s opening hours start earlier than Rocks on the weekends, Mike’s daily routine is to accompany AJ to work, no matter the time. “Even though we’re split between Anteiku and Rocks now, we still have the luxury of working together in a sense and seeing each other every day. AJ also crashes at my place most of the time, so even if we do work long hours separately, we’re always going back home to each other,” Mike tells us. Of course, there have been sacrifices made along the way, like how the pair barely have time to go out on proper dates these days, but they count their blessings that they’re able to chase their shared dreams while building a life together—something they recognise that other couples might not have the luxury of experiencing.

Through their natural interactions and affectionate jabs, their chemistry as life partners bleeds into the way that they run their businesses too. The pair made the mutual decision to pour their own life savings into building up Anteiku, and now Rocks, without relying on their parents for financial support, though the pair assures us that their parents are supportive of their entrepreneurial ventures in their own ways. “I’m really proud of what we have because we built it with our hard-earned money and our own hands. We really pushed ourselves to make it work, but we both agree that we don’t need to be rich or whatever—we just want to be happy with what we’re doing all the time,” AJ shares.

And despite their young age, their grit and wisdom as entrepreneurs is commendable. Between Rocks and Anteiku, the pair works an average of 10 hours daily (even on the weekends), something Mike didn’t even realise till AJ brought it up. Even so, they still ensure that clear boundaries are set between their professional and personal lives. “Sometimes we’ll be texting as partners, but then I’ll suddenly want to bring up something related to work. I don’t feel like it’s very nice to bring it in in the same private conversation that we’re having, so we created a separate chat just to talk about work stuff,” AJ shares. “There was one time I messaged Mike as my partner to say ‘walao, my business partner is being f**king annoying!’ And he replied ‘yeah, same!’”

Another way in which the couple maintains their sanity with such intertwined lives is by supporting each other in their hobbies outside of work. AJ tells us that Mike recently got into Beyblades and has even been participating in tournaments. “When he joins these events, I’ll take over at Rocks and make all the drinks and clean up just so he can have time for himself and his new hobby instead of grinding at work all the time.” On the flip side, after AJ locks up at Anteiku for the day, she gets her own time to chill out at Rocks, without the pressure to help out in any way. “Work-life balance,” as AJ says, though to Mike, he jokes that there is no balance either way.

Through our short chat with them, it’s clear that Mike and AJ have a relationship that’s truly special—one that transcends their age and experience as partners in work and life. Though when asked what love means to them, the couple finds themselves stumped. “You know what would be funny?” Mike asks. “If AJ says love is Anteiku and I say love is Rocks.” The pair cracks up immediately, and agrees upon that as their final response, which, knowing the backstory behind them and their businesses, makes perfect sense to us in more ways than one.

Anteiku Studios
24 Haji Ln, Level 2
Singapore 189217
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Rocks Cafe
98 Arab St, Level 2 (Back Alley Entrance)
Singapore 199794
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