Open For Business

They say crisis is the mother of innovation, and when beauty and personal care outlets were closed throughout the pandemic, two university students stepped up to the challenge and created SweetPeachier, a personal care company whose star product is a hair removal device using Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) technology. Co-founder Kon Fa Rong shares their experience in juggling student life and entrepre...

Epitome is a workforce-analytic company that focuses on preparing workforces for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In 2018, they were selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur in the 83rd Endeavor International Selection Panel in Athen. Jan Lambrechts, CEO and Founder of Epitome, discusses more on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the journey with Endeavor and their future plans. Image Credit: bettshow...

Vendfun is a hospitality kiosk solutions provider for hotels. Its hybrid kiosks help hotel operators provide not just check-in and check-out services, but a complete elevated stay-in experience through automation. We speak with Founder Benny Wee about his pandemic pivot into the hospitality industry, and how his new kiosks are helping hotels generate income during these challenging times. Image Cr...

Global Mobility Service, Inc (GMS) is innovating at the intersection of fintech, transportation, and IoT. Through its proprietary payment assurance and data collection devices and mobility service platform, GMS partners with financial institutions to offer auto loans to those who fail credit screenings. They address some of society’s most challenging issues such as financial inclusion, pover...

Tanoti is a congregation of Sarawakian women weavers and artisans dedicated towards the production, promotion and proliferation of hand-crafted fabrics. From winning the World Craft Council Award of Excellence for Handicraft in 2014 and being a pioneer in upholding heritage preservation, Jacquelie Fong, Director of Tanoti discusses with us today on building the rural community of Sarawak and how t...

With food and beverage outlets primarily being shut or only open for takeaway and delivery services, how did F&B point-of-sale company Slurp! fare? CEO Reza Razali shares how Slurp! expanded into the fuel retail industry, their adaptation and addition of new services and supports for their existing customers, and their exciting plans for expansion in Southeast Asia and beyond. Image Credit: Ph...

Created by lawyers for lawyers, LXE is Malaysia’s first end-to-end digital platform that aims to improve communication and transparency between lawyers and their clients in the handling of litigation proceedings. We speak to the young lawyers behind the legal-tech startup about dabbling in tech, fundraising in their 20s, and their quest to digitally transform some aspects of the legal profes...

Finology started in 2017 by absorbing and reinventing Loanstreet. A year after, they activated instant home loan approvals for the real estate industry through Loanplus and in 2019, they became the first in Malaysia to allow for online renewals of motorcycle insurance and road tax. Fresh off their win at the Seedstars World Competition, we speak with co-founders Robin Ang and Jared Lim about their...

Founded in July 2020, Nutribah is a start-up that adopts a farm-to-table model for its organic produce using IoT-based smart farming technology to optimise production capacity while undertaking eco-friendly farming practices to reduce environmental degradation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After experiences with wrong orders, inattentive waitstaff, and other bugbears of the F&B industry, a group of people joined together to create their own data-driven food ordering platform. Two of Aliments’ co-founders, Lee Teng and Kelvin Kwek, explain how they’ve adjusted to the pandemic, as well as their thoughts on the challenges the F&B industry faces in the future. Image...

Millions of Malaysians are unfortunately all too familiar with the struggles that have come along with nearly a year and a half of working from home (WFH). Many have reported a drain in productivity and a depletion of creativity alongside rising instances of musculoskeletal issues such as backaches with long hours in front of the laptop and poor ergonomic choices. Balak’s - a homegrown furni...

With just 4 months to go before a very tough year ends, the main thing on the minds of most people is productivity. Working from home can bring about a comfort zone and a stress of its own, but whether you’re working from an office or from home, having massive productivity in the final months of 2021 is everything towards achieving your goals for the year. Jeevan Sahadevan gives us his simpl...

As part of our 64th Merdeka Day celebrations, we’re taking a look this week at Malaysia: The Next Chapter - companies and people who exemplify the potential in Malaysia’s future. Kien Fatt Medical Store has been dispensing Chinese herbs in Petaling Street for nearly 80 years. The father and daughter duo, Ng Chee Yat & Vanessa Ng, discuss their takeover from Mr Ng’s father, th...

As part of our 64th Merdeka Day celebrations, we’re taking a look this week at Malaysia: The Next Chapter - companies and people who exemplify the potential in Malaysia’s future. Jadi Batek is one of the biggest batik and souvenir shops in Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1976, it was the only batik shop in Bukit Bintang during the 70s and 80s. Colin Yong talks to us about the evolution of...

As part of our 64th Merdeka Day celebrations, we’re taking a look this week at Malaysia: The Next Chapter - companies and people who exemplify the potential in Malaysia’s future. Steven Lee, proprietor of Ban Wah Textiles, shares the shop’s history stemming from the era of World War 2, his pride in passing on his family business to his son, and how he is faring through the storm...

As part of our 64th Merdeka Day celebrations, we’re taking a look this week at Malaysia: The Next Chapter - companies and people who exemplify the potential in Malaysia’s future. Steven Lee, proprietor of Ban Wah Textiles, shares the shop’s history stemming from the era of World War 2, his pride in passing on his family business to his son, and how he is faring through the storm...

As part of our 64th Merdeka Day celebrations, we’re taking a look this week at Malaysia: The Next Chapter - companies and people who exemplify the potential in Malaysia’s future. We speak with Harith, the Green Carpenter about KL’s greenest manufacturing facility, The Green Factory, and how he’s turned his family’s near 3-decade old traditional carpentry business into...

With the long hold on the travel industry, the industry has been adapting in order to survive. GoQuo is a platform that helps airlines manage their flight tickets and create dynamic travel bundles. We speak to Ron Ramanan, CEO and Founder to find out how they are adapting and their journey ahead. Image Credit: Hiredly | my.hiredly.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With over 1 million units sold across more than 7 countries, Heal Nutrition shows that you can say goodbye to those gritty and gunky, sour and heavy muscle-building protein drinks - and have a more natural option instead when you crave a protein drink. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Awareness and demand for sanitisation, antibacterial, and antiviral products naturally saw a massive boom due to the pandemic. Sia Ban Ian, founder and CEO of Excelsia Technologies, discusses their disinfectant brand, Bactakleen, and how they’ve seen massive shifts pre-and-post pandemic. Image Credit: @jamestan777 | Carousell See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Holstein Milk Company - the producer of Farm Fresh Milk - started with 60 cows and now has over 6,000. The founder, Loi Tuan Ee speaks to us about the journey thus far and ahead. Image Credit: Our Parenting World | www.ourparentingworld.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KL-based fashion-tech startup Ellegra believes the next disruption in online retail will be driven by the level of curation you can offer your customers. And they aim to do this via their style boxes, which are curated by the platform’s personal stylists and - you guessed it - an algorithm. We speak to Founder Gwen Delhumeau about offering a highly personalised shopping experience, the true...

Safety, reliability and professionalism are among the biggest concerns parents have when it comes to hiring a babysitter. Kiddocare aims to resolve that through an ecosystem for parents that uses technology to match and connect them to babysitters. Nadira Yusoff, co-founder of Kiddocare, discusses how she aims to uphold its reliability, ensure the best service possible and her aspirations for it....

Founded in 2016, the main goal of Trapo Asia was to repurpose the manufacturing waste which was a byproduct of foam manufacturing, and turn it into high quality consumer goods. The end result is the well known Trapo range of car mats which provide antibacterial properties along with a host of other functionalities which aim to solve common pain points of everyday drivers. See omnystudio.com/listen...

When you think of famous pieces of art, fashion, or design, what comes to mind? Does your mind trend towards Western names or brands like the Mona Lisa, Chanel, or Giorgio Armani? Well, what about the artisans closer to home? Kylie Francis, co-founder of Dia Guild, an online platform curating Southeast Asian artisanal brands and stories, explains their dedication to championing Southeast Asian art...