When Cilla Burgmann left Australia for Singapore, it wasn’t on an expat package or a cushy transfer. She quit, packed up, and started again—solo. A decade later, with two kids and a company she co-founded—PropertyNxt—Cilla says the move gave her more than a new address. It rewired how she sees career, community, money, and success.

Born in Denmark and raised on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Cilla’s parents modeled bold choices early: migrate, start fresh, chase a climate and energy that fit the family. That courage resurfaced in Cilla’s late twenties when she wanted more than the familiar agency grind. After a scouting trip, she chose Singapore—applied cold, landed a role, and jumped.

The early days were humbling. A boutique agency exposed every cultural blind spot at once: direct Aussie feedback meets Asia’s subtler norms; creative collaboration across different languages, schooling, and expectations. It wasn’t perfect—but it was an accelerated education in people.

Her CV zig-zagged: distributor-side marketing, Ogilvy, then Google for five and a half years. Then came what so many faced in 2023–24: a saturated market and redundancy. The job hunt was grueling. To stay sane, Cilla started building something on the side with partner Luke: PropertyNxt, an advisory for Australian expats to build property portfolios back home (not just buy whatever’s on a sales sheet). Strategy first. Options, not pressure. Education as the product.

Founding was both empowering and overwhelming. In corporate, KPIs frame your wins. In startups, progress can feel like two steps forward, one back—until momentum hits. Cilla learned to outsource earlier, ignore the shiny distractions, and play to her strengths (she calls it “arranging”: working backwards from the outcome to steps 1–5).

A new-year reset—and sessions with a career coach—flipped a crucial switch: success didn’t have to equal salary and status. PropertyNxt already gave her creativity, ownership, flexibility with the kids, and meaningful client outcomes. If she ever returned to corporate, she’d go in eyes wide open, interviewing the manager as much as they interview her.

Her “why” clicked when clients began seeing results—some adding 15–20% equity within months on tightly chosen new builds. Cilla brings empathy and education; Luke brings the location metrics and analysis; together they keep the advice objective and portfolio-driven.

The silent engine of it all? Community. Mentoring “Mental Walks,” coffees with founders, and expat friends who become family. Singapore shortens the distance to opportunity—senior intros, serendipitous collisions, support when the visa or job gets shaky. Cilla’s biggest practical advice to any new arrival: get an expat-savvy financial planner early so you can stay by choice, not just by luck.

Ten years on, Cilla still loves laksa and Kampong Glam’s energy. More importantly, she loves who she’s become: a mum, a maker, and a founder who defines success on her own terms.

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