Open For Business

The training and coaching industry has had some particularly tough challenges when it came to remote working. CEO of corporate training company D’Jungle People, John Kam, came on the line today to share how the company got through the MCO and some lessons both D’Jungle People and their clients learned as a result.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One thing’s for sure in light of COVID-19; digital transformation has skyrocketed and for many businesses the pandemic has been the trigger to finally make the leap. But for SMEs who don’t have the knowhow or the budget to go digital, where can they turn to for guidance and support? Gerard Pillai, Chief Strategy Evangelist of Alias Innovation, discusses the company’s FWD4.0 SME F...

Orders.my is a small scale side project born out of an independent consultancy firm that specialises in real estate development, which is interesting, given that real estate has little to do with the F&B or delivery industry. James Tan, the co-founder of Kai Assets, joins us today to tell us the story of his brainchild's beginnings.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Go digital or die" has become the reality of our post-pandemic world. Unfortunately in Malaysia, many were behind any form of digital adoption and were scrambling to get themselves digital ready. Thankfully, various parties have come together to put out an easy guide for anyone to go online. One of them is the eCommerce Jumpstart Programme by Sunway iLabs, in partnership with industry leaders lik...

In this episode of Extraordinary Endeavor, Mike Chu of PTT Outdoor and Yuet Kim Lim of PichaEats learn insightful tips on sales and commercial strategies for their respective industries from veteran Fitpreneur and our mentor for the episode, Vikram Aditya Bhatia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the strangest boons that the MCO has given us is the catalyst for many industries to finally go through with plans for digital innovation and transformation.  The property sector, for example, was in sore need of reinvention, which was the idea behind LoanPlus, an online platform designed to streamline mortgage and other housing loan processes. We had LoanPlus co-founder, Jared Lim, on...

When your business relies on face-to-face interaction to collect data and research, it can be a little tricky when you’re not allowed to be ‘face-to-face’. How does a market research company deal with this challenge during the MCO, and how will they adapt to these challenges when it comes to the new normal? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Both the events and travel industry have been hit hard as a result of the pandemic. So what happens to companies that deal in both travel and events at the same time? How does a company pivot when both its core industries have taken significant damage because of global lockdowns?  To expand on this, we got in touch with Yeoh Siew Hoon, the editorial director of Northstar T...

P eople not being outdoors has posed a huge issue for Spectrum Outdoor Marketing, as they provide outdoor advertising like LED billboards. We had managing director, Henry Low, give us a little insight on how an outdoor marketing company has been navigating the previous few months.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mulah is originally a homegrown customer relationship management company, with Mulah Rewards as an additional loyalty rewards program started in 2017. With many of their clients being primarily from the F&B industry, Mulah had to find an alternative use for the structure they’d put into place for their CRM. We managed to get co-founder Nicholas Kai to explain more about how they turned t...

Table distancing. Body temperature scanning. Contact tracing. Hyper-sanitizing. Dining at restaurants post-Movement Control Order is definitely not the experience we remember it to be. Storehub Chieftain Fong Wai Hong joins us to discuss the new normal for F&B businesses, quick wins to keep your customers comfortable at your outlet and strategies to keep cash flow steady in case another lockdo...

BookXcess is known for 3 things - discounted books, signature outlets, and its annual Big Bad Wolf massive book sale. In fact, it’s the largest book sale in the world. But with COVID-19 throwing everyone a curveball, companies like BookXcess need to figure out how to navigate this new world in which social distancing is the norm. We speak to Andrew Yap, co-founder of BookXcess, about aggress...

Many food operators facing shutdowns have turned to digital  delivery platforms to help them sustain their businesses. However, many of these delivery platforms like Grab require a merchants to pay a certain fee to use their services. Sean Goh, the Managing Director and Country Head for Grab Malaysia, joined us on Voice of SMEs to talk about this hot topic of discussion.    See omny...

Cashless payments have seen a steady rise in both consumer adoption and also with merchants, especially since the government initiated the e-Tunai campaign from earlier this year in January. Cashless payments are becoming the new norm, and competition within the cashless payment ecosystem itself is seeing a rise. One of them is TNG Digital's eWallet. Their Chief Executive Officer, Ignatius Ong, jo...

In this episode of Extraordinary Endeavor, we hear from the CEO of Mudah.my, Gaurav Bhasin, answering questions about marketing and product market fit during this time of crisis. Our entrepreneurs today asking the questions are Zare from Trapo and Julie Ng from Vase. AI, part of the ScaleUp Endeavor program. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For 8 years now, DF Automation & Robotics Sdn Bhd have been designing and manufacturing autonomous robots, including the Artificial Intelligence softwares their robots run on. One of their robots, MCK19 or better known as the Mak Cik Kiah 19, recently went viral.  Yeong Che Fai, the Co-Founder and Director at DF Automation and Robotics, came on the show to talk about MCK19.  See...

Haruka Bakery, a halal certified bakery with 4 outlets around town that started back in October 2016 has always been positioning themselves as a social enterprise, with various charities and partnerships with local associations. Today on Voice of SMEs, KC Lee, the founder of Haruka Bakery shares  about their challenges and strategies he’s taken to keep the bakery alive during this perio...

IGL Coatings produces innovative, safe and sustainable coatings and chemicals that are shipped to more than 50 countries around the world. Their latest product, a surface sanitiser called Ecoclean Pure could not have come at a better time but fulfilling demand for this product is proving to be hyper-disruptive for the business. We discuss the challenges in finding unexpected success during this MC...

In a time when defaults, evictions and rent delays are on the rise, Speedhome has focused its efforts on protecting its stakeholders and helping the rakyat “stay at home”. We speak to Speedhome CEO Wong Whei Meng about the multiple endeavors the proptech platform has embarked on since the MCO began, how they’re balancing cash flow vs. their purpose, and get some insights into wha...

Experts say Covid-19 has made a lasting impact on the beauty industry, and players will need to reassess their digital strategies, and focus on cross-collaboration and sustainability. One homegrown cosmetics brand that does all this really well - is Lip & Co Beauty. We speak to founder Kelvin Tan about how the company's ethos has helped them weather this storm. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Ramadan bazaars have been canceled this year due to COVID-19. For many, that spells financial disaster and the disruption of an opportunity that only comes around once a year. Like most businesses, the online space may be the only option to make a living while still abiding by MCO rules. We speak to Iskandar Danial, founder of Bazaar Rakyat, about giving vendors in the B40 community a platform to...

Over the last 5 years, Amazin’ Graze has scaled to serve customers all over the region. All their products are freshly baked on a daily basis at their central kitchen, which could prove to be a challenge during the MCO. We caught up with Amy Zheng, founder of Amazin' Graze, to see how the MCO has affected the day-to-day at Amazin’ Graze, and how they’re dealing with demand from n...

Thanks to the MCO, online platforms have seen a rise in traffic, but this poses a different problem for players in the ecommerce space - with this increase in demand, are these online platforms able to supply? Founder and CEO of Anchanto, Mr. Vaibhav Dabhade joined us to share some insights into the real scenario in the local and global e-commerce landscape, as well as how the industry will evolve...

One of the main benefits of being a part of the fitness community is the element of social cohesion, especially when it comes to group sports or group fitness events. Sadly, the MCO has put a pause on getting fit together… or has it? Sheyong Tan, co-founder and CEO of BiiB, discusses how they’re bringing group fitness events onto the digital space, and their Men vs Women Charity Chall...

As businesses gear themselves up for reopening, there remain many uncertainties as to whether our daily footprint will ever be the same again. Consumer behaviours have changed tremendously over the course of the past 2 months. So how can your businesse adapt to these changes?   Ashran Ghazi, the CEO of Dattel speaks to us about this. Dattel is one of the very few experts in the local market t...