Burnout almost forced her to stop but it turned out to become the turning point of her life.

In this episode of Asian Business Owners, I sit down with Jasmine Liu, a former banker who experienced burnout in 2017 while working in the fast-paced banking world in Hong Kong.

What followed was not just a career change but a complete shift in perspective.

After a transformative trip to Bhutan, Jasmine began questioning the corporate lifestyle she once embraced. She eventually founded Maestro Wellness, a B2B platform focused on improving corporate wellbeing and launched the Build Well, Live Well Summit to help organisations rethink performance, health and longevity.

We talk about:

• What burnout really feels like behind closed doors
• Why high performers often ignore early warning signs
• Transitioning from corporate banking to entrepreneurship
• Building a wellness business from scratch
• Launching a B2B platform
• Redefining ambition and long-term success

Get your free day pass at Garage Society!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction to Asian Business Owners Podcast

(00:30) Get a free day pass at Garage Society

(00:49) Jasmine's Background

(01:48) Experiencing Burnout and Its Impact

(06:52) Journey to Bhutan: A Turning Point

(09:20) Returning to Hong Kong: A New Perspective

(13:59) Transition to FinTech and Learning

(15:48) Building a Meaningful Business from Scratch

(19:27) Starting an E-Commerce Platform

(20:20) Sourcing High-Quality Products

(21:06) Managing Logistics and Operations

(22:24) Transition to MaestroWellness

(22:51) Addressing Corporate Wellbeing

(25:10) Building the B2B Wellness Platform

(32:26) What Companies Get Wrong about Corporate Wellbeing

(33:39) The Build Well, Live Well Summit

(36:06) Lessons for Future Founders

(37:56) Conclusion and Event Reminder

Get your free day pass at Garage Society!

👉 To find out more:

Jasmine on LinkedIn

Attend the Build Well, Live Well Summit here

To follow my journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Creating content shouldn’t feel like a full-time job.

In this episode, I share:

- Why most founders repurpose content the wrong way

- A simple system to multiply content without losing quality

- How to stay consistent without posting daily

Timestamps:

(00:13) Are You Tired of Creating Content?

(00:26) One Strong Core Idea

(00:55) Repurpose It

(01:30) Adapt But Never Duplicate

(02:15) Conclusion

Follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram for more tips and behind-the-scenes!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cyril Dhenaut scaled fast, built companies and lived inside high-pressure startup environments.

Then life changed and his definition of success evolved with it.

In this episode of Asian Business Owners, I sit down with Cyril Dhenaut, an entrepreneur shaped by Southeast Asia’s intense startup ecosystem, who experienced hypergrowth, agency building, exits and executive roles before making intentional career and life shifts after becoming a father.

We talk about:

• the real cost of hypergrowth
• how success evolves as founders evolve
• startup exits and identity
• balancing ambition, health and family
• choosing alignment over constant acceleration

Listen to the story of an entrepreneur entering a new chapter, moving away from a successful path to find alignment in another successful one.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction to Asian Business Owners Podcast

(00:31) Meet Cyril Dhenaut: A Journey Through High-Intensity Careers

(01:37) Misconceptions About Success

(04:16) Early Career Ambitions in France

(07:06) First Steps in Malaysia: A New Beginning

(08:40) The Fast-Paced Startup Environment

(11:22) Unexpected Layoff and New Opportunities

(14:00) Founding the First Agency

(16:43) Scaling the Agency Quickly

(22:40) Acquisition and Transition to CMO

(24:44) This or That Questions

(26:08) Reflecting on Career Choices

(26:29) Embracing Transitions: Career and Country Changes

(27:46) A New Opportunity: Joining a MarTech Company

(28:52) A Short Stint and a New Agency Idea

(31:22) Founding A Second Agency

(32:56) Balancing Entrepreneurship and Personal Life

(34:29) Scaling the Agency and Facing Challenges

(43:02) Exiting the Agency and Choosing Family

(48:14) A New Chapter: Interim Executive and Advisor

(53:31) Defining Success and Lessons Learned

👉 To find out more:

Cyril on LinkedIn

To follow my journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’re posting on Instagram, LinkedIn, in your newsletters, maybe even in YouTube.

Do you manage to get conversions?

In this Quick Wins episode, I explain how to choose one marketing channel to focus on based on your business model and your target audience.

You’ll learn:

- Why being everywhere is killing your results

- How to identify the channel that matches how you sell

- What to ignore

Timestamps:

(00:12) You Feel Scattered Between Multiple Platforms?

(00:34) Where Is Your Audience?

(01:08) One Channel = One Goal

(01:42) Consistency Beats Creativity

(02:02) Conclusion

Follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram for more tips and behind-the-scenes!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you know if you have bad habits when you start a business? Some habits look like dedication and being “serious”.

But after a while, developing your business, you realise some of the things that you do drain your energy and blur your focus, which ends up slowing your growth.

In this solo episode, I share 8 bad habits I had to unlearn while running my business and growing Asian Business Owners podcast. For example, I stopped making weekly to-do lists, instant responsiveness... I'd be curious to know your bad habits, share them with me on LinkedIn or Instagram (links below).

Timestamps:

(00:00) Welcome to Asian Business Owners

(00:52) What I Learned from Business and Podcasting

(01:09) Bad Habit 1: Perfectionism

(02:18) Bad Habit 2: Weekly To-Do Lists

(03:02) Bad Habit 3: Instant Responses

(03:50) Bad Habit 4: Doing Admin Tasks

(04:27) Bad Habit 5: Saying Yes Against My Gut

(05:16) Bad Habit 6: Back-to-Back Calls

(06:08) Bad Habit 7: Delaying Strategic Thinking

(07:02) Bad Habit 8: Letting Meetings Dictate Workouts

(08:10) Bonus Bad Habit

(08:59) Conclusion

Follow the journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most founders know they should delegate but they just don’t know what.

In this episode, I break down:

- The different types of tasks

- The tasks you shouldn't be doing yourself

- A simple test to decide what stays with you and what goes

Timestamps:

(00:13) Do you struggle to delegate?

(00:37) The types of tasks easy to delegate and the best practices

(01:08) Low-risks tasks and setting expectations

(01:36) Which tasks drain your energy?

(02:07) Conclusion

Follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram for more tips and behind-the-scenes!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After recording more than 80 episodes of Asian Business Owners, I often get asked the same question:

“What’s your favourite episode?” “Which founder left the biggest impression on you?”

To be honest, I don’t remember everything but there’s always one thing that stays.

In this solo episode, I share how I changed the way I listen to other's stories and I tell a few stories that truly stayed with me.

You’ll hear about:

• The % of a conversation we actually remember
• The power of one key insight over more information
• Stories of patience, resilience and determination from past guests

Timestamps:

(00:00) Welcome to Asian Business Owners

(00:47) Reflecting on How Much We Remember From a Conversation

(04:24) Alison Chan's Father's Inspiring Journey

(07:55) Laurie Mias's Determination with MONO Skincare

(11:14) Jingjin Liu on Pricing with Confidence

(13:16) Conclusion

Listen to the entire episodes:

Alison Chan and her father's story

Laurie Mias and how she built MONO Skincare

Jingjin Liu about building confidence and owning up to your pricing

Follow the journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If talking about your offer makes you uncomfortable, you're not alone.

In this episode, we cover:

- Why selling feels awkward for founders

- The mindset shift that makes selling feel natural

- How to talk about your offer through problems, not promises

Timestamps:

(0:23) Share problems, not solutions

(0:58) Talk about decisions, not features

(1:26) Invite instead of pushing

Follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram for more tips and behind-the-scenes!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy New Year everyone! I'm thrilled to be back for a new season of Asian Business Owners.

This week, meet Mehroo, coach and founder of Mums at Play. Mehroo shares her journey from Miss India and corporate career in India to navigating motherhood, career pivots and starting her own coaching business in Hong Kong.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How to navigate identity shifts and transitions
• Strategies to overcome imposter syndrome and limiting beliefs
• The importance of mental fitness, consistency and persistence in business

I love stories of reinvention and I can tell you this one is fascinating. Enjoy!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction to Asian Business Owners Podcast

(00:32) Meet Mehroo: Coach and Founder

(02:02) Mehroo's Journey: From Miss India to Motherhood

(04:30) Navigating Career Transitions and Motherhood

(08:22) Starting a Blog and a Community

(10:55) This or That Questions

(12:27) Creating the Mums at Play Community

(17:32) Adapting During COVID: Reinvention and Coaching

(20:31) Defining the Role of a Coach

(20:38) The Journey to Becoming a Coach

(22:42) Addressing Imposter Syndrome

(27:48) The Importance of Mental Fitness

(34:29) Upcoming Projects and Initiatives

(37:10) Final Thoughts and Advice for Business Owners

👉 To find out more:

Reboot Your Business event - 23.01.2026

Mums at Play

Mehroo on LinkedIn

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’re posting consistently and you're getting views and likes but no or very few leads or enquiries. Why does nothing happen?

In this Quick Wins episode, let's break down why content often fails to convert even when it looks “good”.

We’ll cover:

• Why content without direction kills conversions

• The biggest messaging mistake founders make

• Why clarity beats persuasion

Conversion doesn't mean being pushy or salesy. You simply need to help people connect the dots.

Timestamps:

(0:32) No direction = no conversions

(1:12) The outcomes mistake

(1:33) Connect the dots

Follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram for more tips and behind-the-scenes!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.