Open For Business

Do you know what the real difference is between ice cream and gelato? And is gelato the healthier dessert option? You can find the answers from gelato-maker Ann Gie Leong, the founder of Hummingbird & Mallows Gelato. She has been making local and botanical-inspired artisan gelatos since 2020 after working as a pastry chef in Singapore for 6 years prior to the launch of her own business. ...

The rise in popularity of custom mechanical keyboards in Malaysia is driven by a pretty healthy marketplace that's serving the community. As one of the early pioneers, Rebult Keyboards stays ahead of the rest by constantly offering more options to customers, including custom keyboard kits that were previously much more difficult to acquire locally. They join us on the show to share the story of ho...

In the middle of the pandemic, Randall Wong found that his boutique gym business was slowing down. And like many other entrepreneurs Randall had to think about how he would sustain through a pandemic that had no fixed end date. After some research into the pandemic’s effect on people’s health, Randall saw that more and more people were developing an interest in nutrition. Shortly afterwards, and w...

Many F&B entrepreneurs were brought down to their lowest during the pandemic, but for Arieni Ritzal, founder of Gula Cakery, the challenges only served to propel her forward into expanding her ever-growing foodie empire. She shares how she muscled her way through the lockdowns and her excitement in keeping this progress going onwards and upwards. Image Credit: Gula Cakery Facebook Page See omn...

YesHello is a software that built for the SMEs, benefits the employees and customers with a shared team inbox and manage all Customer Service and Sales WhatsApp conversations in one place without using regular Whatsapp on personal phones, hence the SMEs are not missing any business opportunities. We speak to Carliff Rizal Carleel, the brainchild behind the solution. Image Credit: YesHello Facebook...

Phil’s Pizza started in August 2020 with its first outlet in Bangsar selling pizzas. This pizza place is founded by Sara Rashid and Phillip Dominic. They share their journey of starting a business during the pandemic, and how they use creative ways to differentiate themselves in the F&B crowd. Image Credit: Phils Pizza Facebook Page See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Snackfood closed down back in 2020, and has found itself back in business, in a brand new location: Centrio at Pantai Hillpark. This charming gift emporium prides itself in not just providing the wonders of discovering the perfect gift, but also in elevating the in-store shopping experience for people.  We speak to Adeline Choong, founder and creative director of Snackfood, about this fresh s...

We catch up with Bryan Chin, founder of the Malaysian sneaker community leader, SneakerLAH which was recently valued at RM35.2 million from NAVER through its affiliate company and reseller platform, KREAM. The strategic buyout sees KREAM choosing to take 22.47% stake (RM7.48 million) into Shake Hands Sdn Bhd., the parent company to SneakerLAH. How did a small community event wind up with such a va...

Started in 1969, Getha is a lifestyle brand, featuring 100% natural latex. Inspired by the native word – getah, the brand name was thoughtfully chosen to represent a brand that is inherently from Malaysia, renowned for our high quality rubber and natural latex products. We speak to Melissa Tan, the CEO of Getha to share stories behind this business. Image Credit: Getha Facebook Page See omnystudio...

In conjunction with Merdeka week, we’ll be speaking to local family businesses that thrived for generations. Chai Huat Hin was established back in 1972 selling dried seafood and traditional oriental groceries. In 2016, with the help of the founder’s granddaughter Lana Ng, they have leveled up by opening the doors to digitalisation. She shares the challenges at the initial stages of digitalisation...

We tend to associate batik with formal or traditional wear, but it's undeniable that batik has been making a comeback, as more local brands put a new and modern spin on batik wear for all occasions. One of those brands is Batik by Nellie Pop and Jee, run by a mother and daughter duo, doing their bit to bring slow fashion back in style. We speak to Wong Ann Jee, one of the co-founders, to find out...

Back in 2019, we had so many questions for Dylan about Split’s proposition to “pay for the customer first”. We then had so many questions about offering non-credit card instalment plans. Now, with ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ sweeping the e-commerce landscape, we have more questions about Split’s decision to go the other direction - save now, buy later, and get some discounts. We invite Dylan back on the s...

Sometimes coming up with your own idea and company is a struggle, and you want a helping hand. Enter MyLaksa, a local F&B outlet dedicated to sharing Penang Asam Laksa with the country - co-founder and managing director, Daniel Ong, explains how they’re providing entrepreneurial opportunities to aspiring business owners and how they’ve handled the struggles of the pandemic.  Image Credit:...

Eclimo is Malaysia’s own EV motorbike maker that have been in business since 2008. They have worked with a myriad of clients which includes KFC, Polis Diraja Malaysia, Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah and Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang.    As society grows more conscious about our carbon emissions and the environment, the EV space is heralded as the future of mobility. We’re joined by D...

No, it’s not just a bag of mud! In an effort to encourage sustainability, Shamrock Botanics puts agricultural byproducts and waste through a multi-step, months-long process to produce nutrient-rich soil and fertiliser for everyday plants. We speak to founder Rachel Kwan about getting into the botany business, the types of ingredients found in Shamrock’s products, as well as catering to the sudden...

When it comes to opening and running an F&B outlet, the word passion is often heard but what are the challenges and is it a lonely, hard slog? Yeong Yeng Yee, owner of  Fat Bird Ramen tells us his journey and what keeps him going despite rising cost and a shortage of workers.  Image Credit: Fat Bird Ramen Facebook Page See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Chong Nge Seng decided to pursue his dream of owning an ice cream business, he had to quit his job and go to Italy to learn the art of gelato-making. Similarly, Brian Jeevan learned the craft in Singapore before embarking on this venture. Today, Piccoli Lotti is ready to expand, with two new outlets already opened in 2022 and more to come. We speak to Chong and Brian about navigating the comp...

Women’s fashion unfortunately still faces a level of stigmatisation, especially when it comes to our undergarments, where certain styles are deemed more appropriate than others. However, wearing a bra can be an uncomfortable or even painful experience, with underwires that literally scratch our skin or bra straps that cut into our shoulders. So what other choice do we have? Carmen Lew, founder of...

SmartClean is a Cleanliness & Hygiene Intelligence company, building AIOT & SAAS powered Intelligent Cleaning management solutions. Lav Agarwal, the CEO of SmartClean explains how he aims change the ways which cleanliness & hygiene in the built environment are monitored, measured and managed to improved health and hygiene standards.  Image Credit: Lav Agarwal Linkedin Profile See...

My Forever Doggo isn’t a shelter for strays. And it isn’t a non-profit organisation. Founded by Elisa Khong and run by a small team of passionate individuals, including Amy Wong, social media manager, My Forever Doggo is a startup that creates content to encourage love, kindness, and the adoption of doggos looking for their forever home. They do this by featuring dogs from various shelters under a...

The presenters & producers of BFM 89.9 are coming together to highlight some of their personal favourite local companies for the "BFM Collective". Music Mountain is Malaysia’s first ever online on-demand drum lesson platform that aims to make music education accessible for all. We speak to co-founders Rudy Malik and Intan Razak to find out more about the idea behind Music Mountain, developing...

What does it take to run a tattoo business? For Fin T, founder of FinTattoos, it’s about blending her passion for art and ink with a sense of entrepreneurship to create a full-time career. But as a solo tattoo artist, there are only so many customers Fin can take, so how does she outline the growth of her company? We speak to Fin about the shifting perception of tattoos over the last decade, as we...

Malaysia is notoriously not fantastic at reducing waste - we generate about 38,699 tonnes of garbage every day, or about 1.17kg per person. But for the sake of saving the planet for the next generation, it’s about time we made some changes. Co-founders Rick Lim & Ong Hwee Wen discuss their passion to Protect Your Next Generation, or PYNG, for short - and how they’ve set up this zero waste e-co...

Founders Kalyana Mohan and Rouvin Thiruchelvam have created Swipey, an all-in-one SME expense management platform for your business needs. They discuss how they aim to take care of all business expenses in one shot, as well as their goal of building customer-centric digital banking services and standing out in the fintech space. Image Credit: Shutterstock | Den Rise See omnystudio.com/listener for...

There are no winners and losers in But Honestly, a card game that gamifies talking and fosters deeper connections between players. The cards encourage emotional awareness and mental health literacy by prompting players to open up about personal stories based on various levels of “difficulty”. In this sequel to an episode of I Love KL from 2021, we welcome Shi Qi Ting back to the station to talk ab...