Our Story

Our Story

It started in Oct 2013, when our founder Bryan Choo, felt it was strange that Singaporeans had to turn to foreign guide books to read about where to get the best chilli crabs in Singapore. 

He felt more could be done for locals, and that inspired him to create the first hyperlocal publisher that captured these nuances in Singapore, created by locals – The Smart Local.

After getting huge viral success on Facebook, Bryan realised back in 2014 that the company had to diversify. He gradually built up huge followings on all the major platforms like YouTube and Instagram (and today, TikTok and Telegram). TSL was now multi-platform, offering advertisers a truly unique and holistic option that was not present in the market. Over the next few years, the goal was to make TSL multi-brand. So he focused on developing specific brands that catered to particular communities – and advertisers loved this. By 2018, TSL had grown to include popular brands like MS News, Eatbook and ZULA (and later TelegramCo, Uchify and Wiki.sg). TSL became multi-brand and had a huge ecosystem, becoming a media collective.

The years that followed was marked with future expansion, as TSL opened regional offices in KL and Thailand. In 2023, TSL Media Group invested more in SaaS, data and tech, through the launching of NeuHR and the acquisition of a software company. The goal was to further develop data-driven capabilities, to help formulate the best in class approach to creating campaigns clients.

Today, TSL Media Group is an award-winning media tech collective that is home to 8 well-loved media brands in the region.

Our Mission

Connecting the world through a hyperlocal lens

Our Vision

To become the leading media tech collective in Southeast Asia

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