What was changed
Pitstop Tyres, a Singapore auto repair shop run by Edmund Tan, was on the brink of bankruptcy when COVID-19 hit. His daughter Cordillia Tan, then working at a venture capital firm helping startups scale, joined the family business at the end of 2020.
The company was S$400,000 in debt and the father's account was in the negative. Cordillia applied her startup-growth playbook: she turned to TikTok in August 2021 to market the business, posting steady content for eight months of trial and error before a breakthrough.
The viral content rebuilt demand and cash flow, letting the shop repay its debt and expand beyond tyre sales and repairs into a fuller automotive service business.
By 2025 Pitstop Tyres was making more than S$1 million in annual revenue, and Cordillia had become the public face of a revived family business aiming to become Singapore's top auto shop.
What it achieved
From the brink of bankruptcy, Pitstop Tyres cleared S$400,000 of debt and now makes more than S$1 million in annual revenue, expanding beyond tyres and repairs.
Why it worked
Digital skills the founder lacked became the growth engine.
Content marketing built trust and demand without ad budgets.
The daughter could question assumptions the founder never questioned.
Family commitment kept the shop open through the worst of COVID.
What can be applied
The next generation can save a small family firm by importing skills the founder lacks — like digital content — instead of repeating the old playbook.
Aftermath
Cordillia Tan now speaks publicly about reviving the family business, and Pitstop Tyres continues to expand its services beyond tyres while keeping the family-owner model that the rescue preserved.
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