Entrepreneur Stories

The founders of local success story Neon Tiger share how they built a thriving beverage business without quitting their day jobs!  This story is packed with bold ideas, strategic decisions, and lessons learned along the way.

From creating innovative, low-sugar fruit sodas inspired by authentic Asian flavours to securing retail giants like City Super, Park n Shop, Pacific Coffee and DKSH as a distributor, Doug and Pete share how they navigated sourcing, production, and scaling beyond borders. They reveal their approaches to managing partnerships, handling setbacks, preparing for international expansion into the US, and co-founding as friends and family.

Whether you’re dreaming of launching your own product, scaling your startup, or balancing entrepreneurship with a full-time career, their insights and lived experiences will motivate and guide you to turn your ideas into reality.

What they cover:

🌟 Balancing entrepreneurship with a full-time career

🌟 Transforming ideas into tangible products and a distinctive brand

🌟 How they’ve managed sourcing, production, and scaling operations

🌟 Working as business partners with a lifelong friends and your life partner

🌟 Cracking retail and securing shelf space in Hong Kong’s leading retail chains

🌟 Targeting international expansion and growing beyond Hong Kong 

🌟 And so much more!

Connect with Doug Aitken: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trilby-white-711168b/

Connect with Pete Sabine: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aitkendouglas/

Connect with Me (Rasheed Shroff):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasheedshroff/

Banyan Workspace: https://banyanworkspace.com/

Subscribe for more raw conversations with entrepreneurs and experts on building meaningful success. 

This husband-and-wife team transitioned from their corporate careers to become industry disrupting entrepreneurs who build and exited TWO thriving businesses!

From founding Hong Kong’s leading veterinary healthcare group to creating a game-changing pet retail platform, their journey is packed with strategic decisions, tough lessons, and pivotal moments.

In this enlightening conversation, they share how they scaled complex businesses, managed partnership dynamics, and prepared for lucrative exits that caught the attention of global giants Mars and Jebsen. 

Connect with Trilby White:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trilby-white-711168b/

Connect with David Gething:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-gething/

Connect with Me (Rasheed Shroff):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasheedshroff/
Banyan Workspace: https://banyanworkspace.com/

Subscribe for more raw conversations with entrepreneurs and experts on building meaningful success.

Trying to “have it all” as an entrepreneur or busy professional is bloody hard. The pressure is constant, and the 3am worries are real. In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Liz Bradford, former C-suite leader, executive coach, and longevity expert, to dismantle the myth of unsustainable hustle. We explore a practical framework for building a high-performance life that actually lasts, without sacrificing your health, relationships or sanity.

We cover:00:00 The 3am Founder Wake-Up Call02:15 Redefining Purpose: It’s not a world-changing quest08:40 The Critical Pillar Everyone Ignores: Financial Wellbeing15:22 Optimising for Energy, Not Just Time (The Productivity Lie22:10 Longevity = Investing in Your #1 Asset: Yourself30:05 The Founder’s Paradox: Your Business is Your “Baby”35:50 Moving from Scarcity to Abundance in Leadership

This isn’t about working harder. It’s about working smarter, with more energy, and a clear purpose—so you can perform at your peak for the long haul.

Connect with Liz Bradford:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-bradford-transform-perform/Website: https://transformperform.ai/

Connect with Me (Rasheed Shroff):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasheedshroff/Banyan Workspace: https://banyanworkspace.com/

Subscribe for more raw conversations with entrepreneurs and experts on building meaningful success.

Whether you’re building a team or shaping corporate culture, this conversation will bring you vital lessons in championing equity, sustainability and inclusion! Award-winning social entrepreneur Olivia Cotes-James shares how a personal mission to challenge the stigma around women’s periods led to her founding two socially-driven businesses that are transforming workplaces across Asia by making menstrual health a core part of DEI. Her company LUÜNA pioneered sustainable menstrual products that address health and environmental impacts. Building on this foundation, she recently launched Good Period, an initiative that partners with leading companies to ensure menstrual equity is embedded into workplace culture, reinvesting profits into programmes that expand access to reusable menstrual care across local communities. Olivia’s story is a powerful example of how personal challenges can spearhead collective change.

Students may have a reputation for enjoying a pint or two, but ex-HKUST student Naman Tekriwal has gone step beyond most! While still a student, he bridged the gap between two problems - the wastefulness of surplus bread and the need for yeast in beer production - creating what is today one of Hong Kong’s best known sustainable craft beers - Breer! Now, at just 24, he is recognised as one of Forbes 30-Under-30 honourees, and is also the founder of What You Building, HK’s largest entrepreneurship community, and backs new founders through his venture studio Orange Juice Ventures. In this episode, Naman talks to Rasheed about how his family background inspired him to innovate with purpose, what he has learnt through his scaling of Breer to international markets, and how he continues to build businesses that generate both value and meaning.

The inspiring stories behind the founding of two of Hong Kong’s most respected and impactful non-profits are just the start of this illuminating conversation. Dr Christina Dean (Founder, Redress) and Gabrielle Kirstein OBE (Founder, Feeding Hong Kong) didn’t just launch charities - they built highly effective enterprises for change. Discover the strategic business principles they leveraged to transform  “waste" into tangible value through strong partnerships and circular economies, how they’ve driven industry-wide change, mastered the art of data-driven impact, and built resilient and purpose-led organisations. Christina and Gabrielle’s hard-won insights are invaluable for any leader aiming to make a difference.

As the grandson of the revered Don Manuel Loy, the visionary founder of Casa Loy Tequilera, Luis Loy carries forward a legacy built on more than 60 years of experience in the agave industry. How does growing up immersed in a family company influence the way you think about business?

From the experiencing the humble beginnings of Casa Loy as an agave farm to the conscious creation of three global tequila brands, Luis reveals how inheriting entrepreneurship has shaped him. A fascinating look behind the scenes of one of Mexico’s premium tequileras, his story is the very definition of pride, passion and familial responsibility.

How did a young graduate with a non-tech background create a city-wide movement to redefine our relationship with Food Waste? In this revealing conversation, Carla Martinesi walks Rasheed back though the trials and tribulations of creating CHOMP, Hong Kong’s food waste distribution app. Her entrepreneurial journey in 3 short years has been a remarkable one; from building the confidence to cold-pitch her unproven concept to industry bigwigs and fighting outspoken prejudices over her age and sex, to developing a successful business that earned her recognition by Forbes Asia’s “30 Under 30” list. Carla’s Entrepreneur Story is an inspiration to anyone with big dreams, who feels passionate about leading a purpose-driven business, or who may be held back by preconceived notions of expertise or experience.

In this special crosspost episode, Rasheed sits down with fellow entrepreneur and friend Carmen Salameh, host of the Asian Business Owners (ABO) Podcast. They discuss their respective journeys, some of the lessons they’ve learned, and dive into how finding their voices and pushing the boundaries of their comfort zones with their podcasts has impacted them in business and in life.

If you haven’t listened to Carmen before, check out the ABO podcast here to appreciate her insights and wisdom.

Carmen’s LinkedIn Profile

What has 30 years of shaping AI taught the founder and CEO of System In Motion, Stéphane Monsallier? In this expansive episode, Stéphane traces back his pioneering entrepreneurial journey, and reveals the insights and experiences that enable him to transform today’s business technology, helping companies to innovate, scale and redefine their industries with confidence. The conversation includes; how entrepreneurs and SMEs are moving the needle on AI; what skills you need to stay relevant in today’s business world; what companies need to focus on to ‘future-proof’ themselves; why AI is not going to end your career; parental advice for helping prepare our next generation for an AI-embedded world; and much more!