Value investor: Neil Orvay is meticulous in planning his time

When Neil Orvay invested in a spa business 10 years ago, he had no intentions of getting involved in the industry. "I was in investment banking and an opportunity came to invest in a small start-up, so I thought I would give it a go; it was purely investment," says the CEO of Asia Spa & Wellness, which now runs six Sense of Touch day spas, Capelli Hair Salon, the time-efficient Fast Beauty and a newly opened medi-spa.

Orvay, who has worked in London, Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong, took the plunge after conducting some simple research. "In the market serving expatriates, there were very few options and my due diligence basically consisted of trying to book a massage three times, and not being able to get a slot because it was fully booked," he says. "And I thought, okay, this is worth doing."

After years in the intense world of finance, Orvay stepped away in favour of a more balanced lifestyle. "I quit investment banking not to have more money … I quit it to take control of my time," he says.

However, becoming an entrepreneur in the spa industry is not as relaxing as one may suppose. "It's just like any other retail business - it's competitive, it's difficult [and] just because the front end is very relaxing, it's not relaxing for the owners," Orvay says.