Impact doesn’t start with solutions, but with unmet needs

“True impact begins with a deep understanding of unmet needs.”

David Hong. Founder of Novalux Investment Management Pte Ltd

Intro

Coming from the world of finance, David Hong was used to building solutions — financial products, investment strategies, performance models. And Eureka challenged a fundamental assumption.

Before: solution-driven thinking

Like many in both finance and healthcare, David believed progress came from:

• Better products

• Stronger innovations

• More sophisticated solutions

The goal was optimisation.

The shift

Eureka introduced a different starting point: Don’t begin with the solution. Begin with the need. In translational medicine, he discovered that real progress depends on:

• Identifying unmet needs

• Aligning stakeholders

• Iterating between real-world context and technical development

Cross-industry realisation

What surprised him most was how directly this applied to finance.

“We were building products — but not always asking what people truly need.”

He began to rethink how funds are structured, how risk is understood, how client expectations differ. From chasing returns → to understanding people.

A new way of working

David now approaches decision-making through stakeholder alignment, context awareness, long-term relevance over short-term optimisation.

“Being a Eurekian made me more conscious of different perspectives and how to align them for meaningful outcomes.”