Open For Business

Smart logistics is fast becoming a critical enabler of Malaysia’s aerospace ambitions, and one company helping make that happen is Triangle Worldwide. Behind every aircraft part and engineering breakthrough, there’s a logistics system working quietly in the background, one that must be fast, precise, secure, and globally connected. From handling time-critical Aircraft on Ground (AOG) scenarios to...

What if learning about money felt less like a lecture and more like a game? Vespid, a Malaysian startup, is building the "Duolingo for personal finance" to make financial literacy accessible and engaging for young people. But the journey here wasn't straightforward. Co-Founder and CEO Edrea Lee shares the story of Vespid's major pivot, from an ambitious plan to be the "Robinhood for Malaysia" to a...

Mascon Technologies, a Singapore-based Maritime Tech start-up founded in 2022 aims to help digitise, verify and simplify the work done on the ships - quite literally - and in the office. We speak with Mascon’s CEO and Co-Founder, Hakim Sanwan, about their inception story, the challenges of building a tech company in the maritime sector, their ambitions ahead, and how Mascon is positioning itself w...

Many Malaysian SMEs generate healthy profits but still struggle with cash flow and fail to secure funding. Why? The problem often lies in the gap between accounting (looking backward) and finance (planning forward). DashAdd, an AI-powered platform, aims to bridge this gap for good. Co-Founder and CEO Awzair Hamid explains how his pre-seed startup is building an AI financial analyst named "Tawfeeq"...

How does a homegrown Malaysian badminton brand, with roots in 1980s shuttlecock manufacturing, scale to an eight-figure business with a presence in over 40 countries? For Absolute Protech Sports, the answer lies in branding, product innovation, and a deep understanding of what players want. Founder and Managing Director Dato’ Ronnie Chong shares the four-decade journey of Protech. He discusses the...

We speak with Edward Ling, the founder of Edvance, a Malaysian fintech company that helps families afford private and international school fees, while giving schools more stability in how they manage their cash flow about why he thinks fixing the school payment system might be the most overlooked way to improve education in Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could working in your browser with tools like Google Docs and Salesforce be the biggest cyber threat facing enterprises today? According to Vivek Ramachandran, founder of SquareX, the answer is a resounding yes. He argues that as work has moved entirely online, traditional security has been left blind to a new generation of sophisticated, browser-native attacks. This is precisely why his cybersecu...

The Truly Loving Company is Malaysia’s first social enterprise to adopt a corporate profit model for goods—developing, manufacturing, and marketing a range of high-quality household cleaning products under the TLC brand. Julia Chong, the Founder and CEO of TLC joins us to break down their bigger mission, how the company plans to scale its social impact as well as the challenges to set up a social...

What if venture capital wasn’t built to chase unicorns in Southeast Asia, but to build camels instead? On Open For Business, Umar Munshi, Managing Partner of HASAN.VC , unpacks how his firm is rethinking venture capital for Southeast Asia and beyond, with a focus on ethical, halal-aligned startups grounded in resilience, not hype. We explore the origins and philosophy behind HASAN.VC ’s Camel Mani...

With over 100,000 users across 1,000 companies, BrioHR is fast becoming a potential major HR tech player. But how does a Malaysian-based startup take on global giants like Deel and Employment Hero? For Co-Founder and CEO Benjamin Croc, the answer lies in localisation, strong client relationships, and a relentless focus on usability and AI integration. On Open For Business, Benjamin shares BrioHR’s...

Most people don’t think of algae when it comes to climate action, but it might just be one of the most powerful tools we’ve got. We speak with Jean Tan, Co-Founder and Chief Ecosystem Officer of Atoz Carbon Cycle Platform. Her team is using microalgae to do more than just capture carbon – it’s helping crops grow better, improving soil, and even supporting the food chain – all through one integrate...

Harith Ridzuan, also known as The Green Carpenter, transformed his family’s woodworking business into a sustainable manufacturing company that’s now working with everyone from local cafés to global brands. Now, he's taking a bold new step by launching a retail space for The Green Factory. Today, on Open For Business, we explore what’s behind the move, how it's being funded, and his vision for it —...

ChatGPT, AI tutors & the future of student advice, that’s the focus of today’s Open For Business. As students shift from Google searches to ChatGPT prompts, how does that change the way they choose universities and plan their future? Founded in 2014 to tackle the chaos of online education forums, EduAdvisor has grown into a sizable education consulting platform, guiding over 5,000 student enro...

With over 2,500 centers onboard and over $64 million in annual gross transaction volume, AOne is quietly transforming the education sector with its all-in-one SaaS platform. But can it win against deeply entrenched behaviors in the industry? In this episode, Dr. Darren Gouk, Founder & CEO of AOne, shares his journey from nutritional chemistry to edtech founder, the reason behind their 2019 pri...

Justine Cakes & Kueh founder didn’t plan on starting a kueh business. She began with cakes, baking on the side while holding a corporate job. Today, Justine Lim is known for turning Malaysian desserts and dishes from pulut tai tai to nasi lemak and chicken rice cakes, into eye-catching creations that still feel familiar. In this episode, she shares how it all started, what pushed her to take i...

ZUZU Hospitality is a tech-enabled revenue platform helping independent hotels digitise, optimise, and compete in a travel ecosystem dominated by big brands and OTAs. With over 2,500 hotels onboarded across Southeast Asia and India, and US$30 million raised to date, the startup is taking on a global challenge: making tech work for small players in a highly fragmented, competitive industry. In this...

In this episode, we speak with Richard and Rachael Prentice, the husband-and-wife co-founders of Rise and Plunge, Malaysia’s first dedicated contrast therapy spa offering private, Scandinavian-inspired experiences combining infrared saunas and cold plunges. We explore their journey from corporate careers to entrepreneurship, the science behind contrast therapy, and how they’re working to make cold...

What began as an internal tool has grown into a Malaysian-built challenger to Mailchimp. But in a crowded global market, how does Enginemailer really stand out? According to Fleet Commander Jeffri Shahul Hamid, it starts with unlimited subscribers, a pay-as-you-use model, and tools for both marketing and transactional emails. That’s how his team quietly built a platform now powering half a billion...

Yeoh Chen Chow is one of the most recognizable names in Malaysia’s startup scene. From co-founding Fave to scaling Groupon and KFit, he’s now launched 1% Advisory & Coaching, a minute-by-minute, fractional advisory firm helping business leaders make better decisions, faster. In this episode of Open For Business, we dive into Chen Chow’s entrepreneurial journey, from small-town beginnings to st...

Owning a hotel sounds glamorous, but beneath the surface lies a high-risk, capital-heavy, and often misunderstood business. Dr. Timmy Ho, Managing Director of Pragmatique, a boutique hotel asset management consultancy, joins us to break down the realities facing hotel owners in Malaysia. Since 2021, Pragmatique has guided hotel owners through the entire investment cycle, from site selection and fi...

In 2009, JWC started as a small café in Johor with just 16 seats. Today, it has grown into an eight-figure, multi-company coffee group with retail outlets, a coffee academy, a roastery, and a fast-growing wholesale business. In this episode, we speak with Nelson Lai, Founder & CEO of JWC Global, and Michael Tan, Wholesale Director of JWC Roastery, about this company's journey from bootstrapped...

Today, on Open for Business, we speak with SEEd. Lab, QuinTerra and ArtsProud , three entities using business as a force for good. QuinTerra is tackling food waste by using black soldier flies to break down organic waste, paired with aquaponic farming to grow food more sustainably. Meanwhile, ArtsProud helps seniors reconnect through the power of art. Using music, movement, and creativity, their p...

iPay88 Co-Founder Chan Kok Long reflects on over 20 years building one of Malaysia’s pioneering fintech companies; sharing lessons from the exit, self-actualisation, and his new beginnings in MedTech. Chan looks back on overcoming early skepticism toward digital payments in 2006, navigating a strategic acquisition by Japan’s NTT Data in 2015, and what made it a “good exit”, in this view. He also e...

In this episode, we speak with Nisha Paramjothi, founder of EnPrivacy, a B2B SaaS platform focused on tackling data privacy risks in the era of public LLMs and AI. We dive into the story behind EnPrivacy, from its inception to the real-world challenges of building a startup at the intersection of AI and compliance. Nisha shares insights into the mission driving the platform, the hurdles they’ve en...

In this episode, we explore the future of retail with Shaji Rajappan, COO and Co-founder of Retailetics — the startup behind ezyCart, an AI-powered self-checkout solution aiming to transform the supermarket experience. Born in 2018 from a vision to solve inefficiencies in traditional retail, Retailetics combines machine learning and computer vision to bring smart, seamless shopping to brick-and-mo...