If you're a tech founder sitting on $20M, $50M, or $100M+, you're already on one of the Advanced Levels of the Wealth Game.
The next big challenge?
Capital Concentration Risk and Coordination Failure.
Without a system to manage liquidity events, private investments, tax obligations, family governance, and cyber threats, your empire can crumble faster than you think.
A "family office" is that system.
Think of it as a command center for managing your capital, life, and legacy.
You don't need $500M to start. In fact, many digital-first founders effectively run family offices with less than $100M and are smashing it.
To do that effectively, you need a tactical setup. A family office brings order, resilience, and scalability to your financial life. It gives you control, privacy, and a professionalised system for managing wealth and capital preservation.
Let's break down how to run a family office that doesn't break the bank, maintain privacy, and add value beyond what your wealth advisor already does.
You don't need $500M to start a family office — smart setups start at $20M-$200M.
Start lean: Virtual or Multi-Family Office models outperform Single-Family Offices below $200M.
Jurisdiction strategy is everything: tax, privacy, and succession protection must be engineered globally.
Prioritise investments, tax strategy, legal structuring, cybersecurity, and family governance early.
Keep total family office costs under 1% of assets — scalability and efficiency are non-negotiable.
Leverage technology aggressively: reporting, communication, document management, and security.
Think like an entrepreneur: modular, digital, and evolution-ready — not bloated or bureaucratic.
🧙🏻 The Family Office Archetypes
Before diving into models, understand where you fit among the family office archetypes:
Visionary Entrepreneur Family Office
- Profile: Established by tech entrepreneurs who've exited their ventures
- Strategy: Bold, high-risk/high-reward approach focusing on direct investments in startups
- Advantage: Industry connections and insider access to discover the next unicorn
- Challenge: Balancing growth ambitions with wealth preservation
Traditional Business Owner Family Office
- Profile: Typically, first-generation business owners
- Strategy: Conservative, low-risk investment approaches
- Resources: Heavy reliance on banks, multi-family offices, and personal networks
- Challenge: Often lacking a formalised investment thesis
Embedded Family Office
- Profile: Minimal setup integrated within the founder's operating business
- Strategy: Passive investments in familiar or complementary businesses
- Advantage: Low overhead by leveraging existing business infrastructure
- Challenge: Limited independence from the core business
Professionalised Family Office
- Profile: Sophisticated setups with an in-house Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and larger AUM
- Strategy: Clear portfolio strategy targeting either preservation (5-6% returns) or growth (15%+ returns)
- Advantage: Institutional-grade infrastructure and expertise
- Challenge: Higher operating costs require substantial assets to justify
As Chew Mun Yew, head of private wealth at UOB, notes: "There are four critical enablers to partner with family offices: expertise with an advisory approach; efficient tech platforms; comprehensive bank propositions beyond just investments; and regional connectivity to serve the multi-jurisdictional nature of families."
