Every feast needs a final dish, something that ties all the flavours together.

At HEXPO 2025, that dish came courtesy of Jeanette Cheah, HEX’s very own master chef of ideas and community. Her session, “The Secret Sauce,” was equal parts humour, honesty, and heart, the perfect way to close the Feastival of Innovation.

The Ultimate Transferable Skillset

Jeanette kicked things off with a scene everyone knows too well: “Would you like fries with that?”

It’s a simple question, but in true HEX fashion, she turned it into a metaphor for life, leadership, and learning.

Because whether you’re in a boardroom, a startup, or behind a café counter, hospitality is how you treat people.

“Some of the best founders I’ve ever met started in hospitality,” Jeanette said. “They learned empathy, resilience, and how to multitask under chaos, all while keeping a smile on.”

The crowd laughed, nodded, and scribbled notes. It wasn’t a lecture. It was a masterclass in perspective.

Dining Room vs. Kitchen Chaos

Jeanette drew parallels between running a restaurant and running a startup: the pressure, the pace, and the people who make it all work.

In both worlds, you’re constantly experimenting, testing recipes, adjusting ingredients, and serving something new every day.

Her advice? “Don’t be afraid to get messy. The kitchen is where the magic happens.”

Customer Reviews Are Everything

Every founder wants five stars. Every team wants happy customers.

But Jeanette reminded everyone that true hospitality goes deeper, it’s about creating experiences people remember.

“Your customer might forget the product,” she said. “But they’ll never forget how you made them feel.”

And just like that, she distilled brand building into something simple, human, and unforgettable.

Fresh Out the Kitchen: HEX Ventures

As Jeanette pulled back the curtain on HEX Ventures, she revealed how this next chapter of HEX is all about empowering founders across regions, from Southeast Asia to the Pacific, from South Asia to local communities across Australia.

Each program, each event, each founder is part of the bigger recipe: helping the next generation cook up ideas that change the world.

The message?
We’re not done, we’re just getting started.

The Secret Sauce

So what is the secret sauce?

It’s not funding, or tech, or even luck.

It’s people.
It’s purpose.
It’s passion, shared over a table, or a late-night brainstorm, or a HEXPO stage surrounded by hundreds of dreamers ready to build something that matters.

  Jeanette ended with a simple reminder that landed softly, like a good dessert:

“Memorable experiences are the ones that transform.”

And with that, the kitchen closed. but the fire stayed lit.

The Aftertaste

HEXPO 2025 wrapped not with a goodbye, but with a promise: to keep cooking, connecting, and creating unforgettable experiences.

From the student founders to the startup veterans, from the pitch stage to the pastry stand, every session was a reminder that innovation tastes best when it’s shared.

And if this Feastival taught us anything, it’s this:

HEX isn’t just serving ideas. We’re serving futures.