Hi 👋

I’m Brandon.

Gamer. Financial storyteller. Tech explorer. Occasional spreadsheet magician.

This site is part storybook, part portfolio, part awkward life lessons with visuals. Scroll down to see the journey.

Portrait of Brandon Chew — gamer, financial storyteller, and tech explorer
Gaming icon

Chapter 1: The Gamer Years

Gaming was my first love — and my first teacher. I started playing Dota 2 at 12 and went competitive at 15. While other kids were learning algebra, I was optimizing build orders.

For 15 years, I chased mastery: strategy, focus, teamwork… and sometimes poor life decisions. Like that time I skipped a job interview just to queue another ranked match. (10/10 would not recommend.)

It took mentors, friends, and a lot of self-reflection to realize that mastery isn’t just about grinding — it’s about growth. Now, I help people find balance with gaming, devices, and tech. Because the real endgame isn’t esports glory. It’s enjoying the game and your life at the same time.

Finance icon

Chapter 2: The Finance Arc

After hanging up the mouse, I faced my next boss level: money. Salary, savings, investments, insurance — I charged in like it was a speedrun. But I obsessed over the what and how, forgetting to ask why.

Investments are emotional, and my emotions were… volatile. Hard-earned lessons (and a few costly “tuition fees”) taught me that financial literacy isn’t just numbers. It’s emotional awareness, patience, and perspective.

Now, I run a YouTube channel called Not The Best Finance, exploring how to be smart about money without losing your sanity — or your humor. Because mastering money isn’t about perfection; it’s about peace.

Workato logo
Elastic logo

Chapter 3: The Tech Season

While I was figuring out finances, I was also building a career in tech — because someone had to fund all those life lessons. Six years at Workato taught me integration, automation, and resilience. Then came an unexpected plot twist: layoffs.

But every reboot starts with better code. I joined Elastic, where I immersed myself in search and GenAI. Within five months, I earned four certifications, managed partner programs, and even built projects like this site.

Tech has been my sandbox — the place where curiosity meets creativity and execution. And as the world keeps evolving, I’m eager to keep building at that intersection — where technology amplifies what humans do best.

💼 The “Please Hire Me” Section Credentials, projects, and proof I’ve actually done stuff.

A highlight reel of what I've built, learned, and occasionally broken (in the name of progress).

See my full credentials & check fit →

ChickenDuck project thumbnail

ChickenDuck

Launch ChickenDuck

A AI-driven English/Mandarin learning platform that turns real content into practical fluency - Lessons into Flashcards. ChickenDuck piggybacks your 1:1 online lessons and does live transcription for AI-assisted vocabulary extraction. Upload learning assets for AI-assisted flashcard generation, eliminating the need for manual legwork so that you can just focus on learning.

  • Live transcription so you never miss a beat.
  • Define words in Live transcription to get vocabulary meanings when you most need it.
  • AI-assisted flashcard generation through Vocabulary Extraction from live lessons and tutor assets.
  • Proven Spaced-repetition algorithm for language learners.
Vibe Coding Sub-Agents Skills Websockets Soniox STT Google TTS Gemini Next.js FastAPI Supabase Stripe Claude Code SRS Claude Opus 4.5
Genaurasity project thumbnail

Genaurasity

In Progress

A fintech social enterprise platform that transforms everyday spending into charitable giving through automatic transaction round-ups. Features AI-powered charity matching, ML-driven donor analytics for charities, and automated tax deduction submissions for seamless philanthropic impact.

  • Cultivating a more generous society through everyday giving.
  • AI-powered charity matching based on donor preferences and values.
  • ML-driven donor management with behavior analytics and donation forecasting.
  • Automated IRAS tax deduction submissions for IPC-approved charities.
Vibe Coding Sub-Agents React Native Next.js FastAPI PostgreSQL Elasticsearch Stripe Claude Code Claude Sonnet 4.5
Imago project thumbnail

Imago

In Progress

A holistic spiritual formation app designed to guide followers of Jesus toward becoming more like Him. Imago integrates personality insights, reflective practices, and grounded AI to help users cultivate intentional rhythms of prayer, Scripture, and self-awareness — embracing transformation from the inside out.

  • Builds AI-assisted personalized “Rhythms” from MBTI/Enneagram and current lifestyle—surfacing strengths, growth areas, and right-sized next steps.
  • Spiritual Q&A copilot powered by RAG over curated sermons, books, and theological papers—answers are grounded, cited, and Pentecostal-aware.
  • Built with theological guardrails and continuous evals to ensure spiritual accuracy, minimize hallucination, and prevent misuse—keeping AI as a guide, not a substitute for God, the Spirit, or community.
  • Future roadmap includes fine-tuning a custom model to enhance response tone, terminology accuracy, and overall conversational UX.
Elasticsearch React Native Next.js FastAPI PostgreSQL AWS Claude Code Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) Embedding Vector Database Hybrid Search Reranking Evals Claude Sonnet 4.5 Spiritual Formation
Checkmate project thumbnail

Checkmate

Launch Checkmate

A playful simulation that teaches restroom spacing etiquette while demoing a full AI-assisted delivery workflow—from spec to shipped experience—built with creative coding copilots.

  • Spec-driven dev cycle authored entirely in Kiro and Claude Code.
  • Procedural scenarios that adapt to player choices with escalating humor.
  • Custom vibe-as-a-service design system to keep the absurdity on-brand.
Vibe Coding Spec-Driven Development Kiro Claude Sonnet 4.5

📚 The Lore Vault Latest Dispatches

Browse the full Blog

🕹️ Side Quests

Where curiosity runs free: drumming, mentoring, and the slightly chaotic art of being human — now available in GIF form.

Animated mentoring scene with students

MentoringSG & PlayMoolah

Helping youth with careers, finances, and life skills.

Youth Leader

Leading and guiding youth at church.

Reach Out

Pick a card, craft a quest, and let’s build the next chapter together.