A Letter to Myself Podcast: How a life-threatening birth seeded the idea for a thriving baby bottle business
After she almost lost her life delivering her fourth child, Yvon and Leon Bock decided they wanted to start a new business to help families. The owners of Hegen tell Joel Chua how they navigate life as partners in life and business.
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Yvon and Leon Bock are the co-founders of Hegen, a Singapore brand well-known for its baby feeding bottles. But it was the traumatic delivery of their fourth child which spurred them to embark on a journey to help others. In the process, the couple created a profitable business.
Joel Chua sits down with them for their lessons on life, love and parenthood.Â
Here are some excerpts from the conversation:
A wild wish for a large family:Â
Yvon Bock: All the guys (when I was dating) were like: “Oh, we want to chill. We don't want to have kids.” And then he (Leon) is like: “I want to be father of six.” I was like: “That’s amazing!”Â
Leon Bock: You know it is easy for a guy to say (he wants many kids). How often do you hear a woman say that right? So, when she shared that her dream was to have a family of six kids as well, I knew I had to marry her.
The crisis on the fourth childbirth:Â
Leon: We didn't expect there to be too many complications as this is our fourth time. But the complication was that she had a ruptured bladder and lost a lot of blood ... there was a chance that she wasn't going to make it.Â
Yvon: I decided that I want to do something worthwhile and meaningful with this second chance at life, hence the company.Â
Leon:Â Yes, that was the day we felt that the idea of Hegen was seeded.Â
On their business and personal relationship:Â
Leon: A lot of people ask: “Leon, how do you guys work together and stay together 24/7?” So I tell them, it’s not about how much time we spend time together, it's about how much we can't take being apart. That really describes the two of us. Â
Yvon: Agree, absolutely.
Even after being married for 20 years, we are very playful and we have a very fun relationship. We still keep up with each other, like boyfriend (and) girlfriend. That's how to keep the relationship alive.Â
(This interview was first broadcast on 24 January 2025.)Â Â
Listen to Yvon and Leon's story on A Letter to Myself. This podcast, hosted by Joel Chua, features people with remarkable life lessons to share and airs every weeknight on CNA938. Â
If you know someone with an inspiring story, write to cnapodcasts [at] mediacorp.com.sg. Â
Follow A Letter to Myself on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.Â
