​About

​​​At Figuring Shit Out, we put on events for Founders who don't normally go to events. We didn't believe Singapore needed another panel, fireside chat or Q&A so we did the radical step of asking speakers think ahead of time about what they wanted to say. Beyond palatable food & hopefully more than palatable networking, why schlep across town to sit in a cramped room for an hour: Perspective!

​​All our speakers come from fascinating career backgrounds that caused them to look at the world and think about problems in uniquely insightful ways. Each of our talks provides a unique lens on the problems facing startups that Founders can absorb to provide a new toolkit of insights for their own founder journey.

​​​Topic

​Most founders obsess over product and runway, then treat people strategy like a series of emergency hires. The result: senior roles filled too early, scrappy “we’ll just DIY HR” cultures, and teams that look great on paper but fall apart in real life.

​Mark Mullinix unpacks what happens when you hire before you’re ready, skip the boring people stuff, and say “yes” to anyone willing to join. Drawing from hard-won lessons building and scaling multiple startups (including hiring his first sales lead and CFO far too early, landing on the Ministry of Manpower naughty list, and building teams on enthusiasm rather than fit), he'll talk about how making the right hiring decisions (and avoiding the wrong ones) can protect both growth and founder sanity.

​This talk explores how smarter people strategy can keep your company from blowing up as it scales. You’ll learn:

• ​How to recognise when you really need that senior hire and when you’re just trying to outsource discomfort

• ​Why “we’ll handle HR ourselves” is a fast track to cultural (and regulatory) debt

• ​How to design roles and engagement models that match your stage, not your ego

• ​Simple ways to build a team that works well together, instead of a collection of talented individuals who don’t

• ​Practical checklists and questions to stress-test your next hire, so you can move fast without breaking your culture

​If you’ve ever regretted a hire, ignored an HR problem until it exploded, or felt your culture drifting as you grew, this session will give you concrete ways to stay flexible, intentional and human as you build your team.

​About the Speaker

​Mark Mullinix is General Manager, Singapore at The Fractional Directory, where he helps organisations access senior leadership talent more flexibly and sustainably. He works with founders, CEOs and boards to integrate experienced fractional leaders across growth, operations, finance, product and more — strengthening capability, accelerating clarity and supporting long-term business resilience. Over the last fifteen years, Mark has been part of leadership teams that have built and scaled ventures across Asia-Pacific, from founding a strategic consultancy, to launching technology powering leading credit card rewards programmes, to establishing Singapore’s largest loyalty coalition backed by Temasek and DFI Retail Group.

​His path to fractional leadership has been deliberately unconventional. Mark began his career in radio broadcasting and arts production management in the United States, where live environments taught him calm under pressure, complex operational coordination and how to lead people through unpredictability. After completing his MBA, he moved into strategic and partnership roles at American Express, working on co-brand launches, travel industry collaborations and post-acquisition blueprints. In this talk, Mark draws on stories from his last decade-plus working on startups to help founders figure out people and talent in uncertain startup environments.

​​​​Event Details:

• ​​​​📅 Date: Wednesday, 28th January

• ​​​​🕒 Time: 6:30 PM - 9 PM

• ​​​​📍 Location: Monk's Brew Club, 57 East Coast Road

• ​​​⏰ Agenda:

  • ​​​6:30 - 7pm - Networking

  • ​​​7 - 7:40pm - Talk

  • ​​​7:40 - 8:00pm - Q&A

  • ​​​8:00 - 9:00pm: Networking & Bites

• ​​​Website: https://speakers.figuringshitout.com/

• ​​​WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EcdZhBqS6tWBTRSuEMChLj

​Upcoming Speakers

​​
​​​Just Enough DevOps Process - The First Steps Count the Most

​​​— Geoff Halprin, Fractional SRE/DevOps/DevEx

​​Proudly supported by Singapore Global Network

​Singapore Global Network (SGN) is a division under Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). Join SGN to become a member of a 110,000-strong global network of professionals and friends with Singapore at its heart. Learn more at www.singaporeglobalnetwork.gov.sg.