Zhixin Lim, founder of Liminary.

Hi , I’m Zhixin.
I’m building liminary.

I spent my career as an actuary in venerable financial institutions, with a parallel life writing and speaking about AI, technology, and the future of the profession. Liminary is where those threads converge — the bet that sixteen years of domain expertise, uncommon care (call it taste, craft, or giving a dang), and AI (plus the rest of the modern tech stack) ship useful and beautiful products at a fraction of the old cost.

How I got here

2000

The dream

15 years old, in a small town in Malaysia. The internet opened up a wider world. Got into web design. Dreamed of building something that levels the playing field for the underdogs.

2009

The detour

Started my career as an actuary. Spent the next sixteen years deep in actuarial modelling and risk management. Long enough to know which problems AI can actually solve.

2026

The apprenticeship

Joined a startup to learn from experienced founders. A deliberate apprenticeship in selling, shipping code, and the realities of an early-stage company.

May 2026

The arena

The time is right. Started Liminary. As Naval Ravikant puts it, life is lived in the arena. And as my childhood hero would say, to infinity and beyond!

The bottom line: I’ve been writing and speaking about technology and business for years. It’s time to build.

Master plan

What we’re building

  1. Step one. Small and useful.

    Build and ship simple and useful products. Near-zero cost to run and maintain. The smallest possible scale, deliberately, to prove the model works.

  2. Step two. Niche and profitable.

    Build more complex, more useful products. Real ops cost. Making these profitable is the real test.

  3. Step three. Big and serious.

    The product I’ve wanted to build. Meaningful and levels the playing field. It’s the kind of product that needs steps one and two to have actually worked.

In fewer words:

  1. Build simple products.
  2. Use that money to build not-so-simple products.
  3. Use that money to build the one I’ve always wanted to build.
  4. While doing above, also offer consulting services to extend the runway.

Don’t tell anyone.

What we know. Sixteen years of domain expertise — actuarial, quantitative, and modelling work across life insurance and asset management.

What we love. Impeccable design. Sharp cinematography. The history of how anything good got built.

Services

Liminary takes on consulting engagements. We excel in work that requires analytical rigour and judgement.

Sixteen years of actuarial work across life insurance and asset management. What I’m hired for:

  • Capital and solvency modelling. Solvency II risk calibration (market and non-market scenarios), with-profits fund run-off models, climate risk stress testing.
  • Asset-liability modelling. Portfolio optimisation models, liability proxies, Economic Scenario Generators.
  • Investment risk oversight. Risk appetite frameworks, exposure monitoring, breach triggers and escalation protocols.
  • Model risk and validation. Independent validation playbooks, end-to-end model reviews, pragmatic governance frameworks.
  • AI and automation in actuarial workflows. Where AI helps (and where it doesn’t), automation roadmaps, build-vs-buy calls, hands-on implementation.
  • Interim C-suite support. Trusted backup for Chief Actuaries and CFOs during stretches that need more bandwidth or a senior outside perspective.

Credentials: Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (FIA, 2013); various IFoA working parties; publications in the British Actuarial Journal and The Actuary magazine.

Two ways to engage. Both transparent.

By the day

From £1,250 / day (+VAT where applicable)

For ad-hoc work, technical questions, or short engagements where scope can’t be defined upfront. Booked in half-day or full-day blocks.

By the project — fixed fee

For work where the outcome is the point, not the input. We agree on the deliverable and on what it’s worth. Three rough sizes (specific quotes after a thirty-minute call):

Sprint

A short project with one clear deliverable. Typically two to four weeks.

Engagement

A longer project with clear scope and multiple deliverables. Typically one to three months.

Embedded

Ongoing access on a monthly retainer. Typically three days a week, with priority response between days.

Book a call

Products

Three steps, built in order. Each one funds the next.

Step one

Small and useful.

In build.

Step two

Niche and profitable.

In build.

Step three

Big and serious.

TBC.

Onward

Got a problem worth a second opinion?

Book a 30-minute call. We’ll know quickly if there’s a fit.

Book a call

Just here to read along?

Follow on LinkedIn. Regular posts on technology, AI, and Liminary as it’s built — no “I’m pleased to announce”.

Follow on LinkedIn