Asian Business Owners - A.B.O.

The biggest career changes aren't always the ones we plan. In this Key Moment from my conversation with Mehroo Turel, coach and founder of Mums@PLAY, we talk about unexpected career pivots, listening to yourself and how every chapter can prepare us for the next one, even if you realise it afterwards. 🎧 To (re)listen to the full episode with Mehroo : Transition & Reinvention: From Miss India t...

Over the past 12 months, my business has changed. I made a series of decisions that didn't lead to a big breakthrough but changed how I operate and the direction of my business. In this solo episode, I share the seven decisions that had an impact on my marketing agency and my podcast. I talk about: • Building a personal brand • Refining my positioning • Learning to delegate more • My realisation a...

Growing up, Jerwine followed the path that made sense. A stable career, a secure future and a life that looked successful from the outside. But she had something else on her mind. There was always a creative side of her asking for more. In this conversation, Jerwine shares what it took to leave accounting behind, build THE BLOMSTRE in Hong Kong and trust herself enough to create a life that finall...

After more 80+ founder conversations, there are certain moments that stay with me. This week, I'm revisiting a powerful excerpt from my conversation with entrepreneur and podcaster Rasheed Shroff. We talk about progress and the tendency many founders have to focus on what's next while overlooking how far they've already come. We all felt felt behind, impatient or stuck comparing ourselves to bigge...

A few years ago, when I started my business, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what entrepreneurship would look like. I knew it would be difficult, I knew I would have to work hard. What I didn't expect was how many of the biggest lessons would come from mistakes. The kind that cost time, energy, confidence and opportunities. In this solo episode, I share five mistakes I've made as a founder a...

What happens when the life you imagined for yourself no longer feels right? Growing up in France, Aurelien Joly thought he would become a doctor. His family supported that path and his future seemed largely mapped out but as he got older, something didn't feel quite right. A decision to study languages, learn Chinese and move abroad eventually led him to Asia, where he would build a completely dif...

Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as freedom, flexibility and independence. But once you’re actually building a business, the reality feels much more nuanced and emotionally heavier. In this solo episode, I talk about four things we should stop glamorising about entrepreneurship and what founder life has genuinely looked like for me while building my marketing agency and this podcast in Hong Kon...

Olivier Elzer returns to Asian Business Owners for a deeper conversation about what it really takes to build and sustain excellence over time. Known for earning multiple Michelin stars and building a successful restaurant group in Hong Kong, the Olivier Elzer Hospitality Group, Olivier shares the lessons entrepreneurship has taught him about pressure, humility, consistency and long-term thinking....

When I started my marketing agency and podcast, I had no real idea what I was doing. A few years later, I’ve learned that entrepreneurship is less about having everything figured out and more about learning to navigate uncertainty. In this solo episode, I share five things I wish I knew before starting my business. I talk about: Unstable revenue Why being good at your work is not enough How confid...

After starting his career as a journalist, Anthony Sar spent years interviewing founders, CEOs and industry leaders. Until one day, he realised he didn’t want to just tell their stories anymore, he wanted to build. In this episode, we talk about what it takes to move from observing to building, pivot across industries and stay relevant over time. Anthony shares how he built Finoverse, the company...

After more than 80 conversations with founders, I realised that I don’t remember everything, I remember one thing., one perspective, one piece of advice. That may be enough to change how I think and decide. In this solo episode, I reflect on what really stayed with me after all these conversations and how it changed the way I listen. I talk about: how little we actually retain from conversations s...

For a long time, I thought I was on the right path. Good job, stable career, clear trajectory but something didn’t feel right. After years in the corporate world in Paris, I hit a wall: burnout, loss of motivation and a growing feeling that I needed to change something. In this solo episode, I (re)share the story behind that turning point. How I left corporate life, moved abroad and slowly rebuilt...

Entrepreneurship changes how you see people, what you expect from them and what support really means. This is Part 2 of my conversation with Rasheed, entrepreneur and host of Entrepreneurs Stories Podcast. In this episode, we talk about the personal side of building a business and the part that affects your life outside of work. What we discussed: Why not everyone will understand your journey Why...

Building a business changes more than your work, it changes how you handle clients, how you set boundaries and who you spend time with. In this special episode with Rasheed, host of the Entrepreneurs Stories podcast, we talk openly about the less visible side of entrepreneurship. Here's what we cover: Why building in public feels vulnerable at first The challenge of setting boundaries with demandi...

I thought some things would get easier with time but they didn’t so I just learned to live with them. This is Part 2 of this personal solo episode of Asian Business Owners. I continue sharing what I still find difficult as a founder, what the reality behind running a business is. If you haven't listened to Part 1, where I talk about unstable income, ups and downs and mental load, go have a listen...

When things feel off, most founders try to reset by doing more: more goals, higher objectives, more expectations, which goes with more pressure. That’s the mistake. In this Quick Wins episode, I talk about a different way to reset, to actually create clarity and sustainability. You’ll hear: Why you should stopping adding more How to redefine success Why motivation isn’t the problem Timestamps: (00...

I thought some things would get easier with time but hey didn’t. So I just learned to live with them. In this solo episode of Asian Business Owners, I share, very honestly, what I still find difficult as a founder. Just the reality behind running a business. In this first part, I talk about: Unstable income and what money really represents The constant ups and downs Why doubt never fully goes away...

You post consistently, people follow you, like your content but... they never become clients. Do you know why? In this Quick Wins episode, I break down why your audience isn’t converting and what to change to turn attention into actual business. What you'll learn: Why most followers don’t understand what you offer How to communicate your offer clearly without feeling repetitive How to create urgen...

Data is supposed to help founders make better decisions. But how much of it is actually reliable? And what happens when the data looks solid but the assumptions behind it aren’t? In this episode of Asian Business Owners , I sit down with Tamir Abdel-Wahab , co-founder of Preferences AI , to talk about how founders can use data more critically, what most companies still get wrong about market resea...

Micro communities, AI-generated content, interactive emails… new marketing trends appear all the time. They look exciting, promise growth and they often make you wonder if you’re missing something. But not every trend deserves your time. In this A.B.O. Quick Wins episode, I share three simple questions founders can use to decide whether a marketing trend is actually worth exploring. I talk about:...

As a founder, you’re constantly faced with opportunities, requests, collaborations and ideas. Some look exciting, some feel urgent, some sound too good to say no to. But one of the most important skills in entrepreneurship is learning when saying no is actually the healthiest decision for your business. In this episode of Asian Business Owners, I share five situations where I’ve learned that sayin...

Do you have a client who pays relatively little but takes up a lot of your time? Constant emails. Extra requests. More reassurance than expected. If this sounds familiar, the issue usually isn’t the client, it’s the boundaries that were never clearly set. In this Quick Wins episode, I share 3 practical ways founders can build healthier client relationships while protecting their time and focus. We...

If you’re a people pleaser, being a founder can become even more exhausting. Saying yes too fast, replying instantly, overdelivering more than expected, explaining and justifying every decision. In this episode of Asian Business Owners, I share five boundaries I had to learn as a people-pleasing founder to protect my time, regain clarity and grow a more sustainable business. These shifts didn’t ha...

You make a decision. It feels right. And then doubt creeps in. You revisit it. Question it. Sometimes even consider undoing it completely. In this Quick Wins episode, I break down why, as founders, we second-guess our decisions so often and how to stop letting doubt take over our headspace. The way to overcome this isn't to become more confidence but rather to better understand what’s actually hap...

You don’t need to say much for people to form an opinion. Your voice does it for you. In this episode of Asian Business Owners, we explore how your voice shapes confidence, credibility and leadership often before your words are fully heard. Together with executive voice coach David Pope, we unpack why many founders and leaders sound less confident than they actually are and how voice, presence and...