Inside Setareh Heshmat’s Daily Routine: Balancing Finance and Purpose

In the high-stakes world of venture capital, where billion-dollar decisions often hinge on speed and precision, maintaining personal balance is rare—almost radical. But for Setareh Heshmat, a leading figure in ESG investing across Southeast Asia, harmony between mind, body, and mission isn’t a luxury—it’s a non-negotiable.

At 32, the Singapore-based Director of ESG Investments has carved out a reputation for being razor-sharp in strategy while staying deeply connected to her values. Behind her professional success lies a thoughtfully designed routine—one that aligns productivity with intention, and ambition with well-being.

Morning: Grounded Beginnings

Setareh’s mornings begin before sunrise, at 6:00 AM, with a light run along the Marina Bay waterfront. “That stretch of sky and water gives me clarity—it’s where I set my tone for the day,” she says. Running is both meditative and energizing, allowing her to review her priorities mentally without distractions.

By 7:00 AM, she’s at a boutique Pilates studio nearby, often joining a small, women-led class. “Pilates trains you to control your core—physically and emotionally. I’ve found it mirrors what I need in leadership: flexibility with strength.”

After her workout, she heads home for a green smoothie and 20 minutes of journaling. This isn’t just a wellness habit—it’s where she reflects on ethical challenges, documents investment insights, and often sketches ideas for her blog.

“I’ve found that if I don’t set aside time to check in with myself, the external noise takes over. And in finance, that noise can be overwhelming.”

Workday: Strategy Meets Purpose

Her workday officially starts at 9:00 AM, usually with a round of calls or team stand-ups. By mid-morning, she’s deep into portfolio reviews, founder check-ins, and strategy planning—her firm oversees multiple ESG-focused startups across Southeast Asia, and every day is different.

At 12:00 PM, she often meets with startup founders, impact investors, or fellow ESG professionals over lunch—frequenting plant-forward restaurants around Telok Ayer and Tanjong Pagar. These meetings are less transactional and more collaborative. “I use lunch to listen,” she explains. “You learn more over a shared meal than in a boardroom.”

Her afternoons are packed with investment proposal reviews, impact data analysis, and due diligence sessions. She sets aside time for trend research—especially in climate tech, Web3, and ethical fintech—drawing from databases, whitepapers, and policy briefs.

What makes her stand out is how she balances rigor with reflection. She refuses to treat numbers as abstractions. “Every data point is a human decision. And every investment has a real-world consequence.”

Evening: Networks, Nourishment, and Night Rituals

Evenings often include networking events, panels, or industry mixers, especially around sustainability and innovation. But she’s selective. “I say yes only to events where the conversation goes deeper than valuation trends.”

By 8:00 PM, she’s usually home—cooking a quiet dinner inspired by her mixed heritage. Her current favorites? Persian-style tahdig with a Singaporean twist, or lemongrass tofu noodles. Cooking is her creative outlet, a space where finance doesn’t follow her.

Her nights end with either reading (typically behavioral economics or climate literature), painting minimalist art pieces, or watching a documentary. She tries to unplug by 10:00 PM, using journaling or herbal tea rituals to wind down.

The Philosophy Behind Her Routine

Setareh’s daily life isn’t about aesthetic productivity—it’s a strategy of alignment. Everything she does is filtered through a lens of ethical intention, personal integrity, and future-focused vision.

“I see my life as a portfolio,” she says. “If I’m not investing in my clarity, energy, and ethics daily, I can’t expect to lead others effectively.”

Final Thoughts: Living the Mission

In a field where burnout is normalized and ethics can get sidelined, Setareh Heshmat’s daily routine is a quiet rebellion. She proves that it’s possible to lead in venture capital with both precision and humanity—and that true impact begins not just with capital, but with how we live our hours.