Open For Business

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 surge in demand for gardening supplies over the last two years.

Image Credit: Shamrockbotanics Facebook Page

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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

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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 competitive Malaysian market, localing ice cream, and the minimalistic approach of Piccoli Lotti’s aesthetic.

Image Credit: Piccoli Lotti Facebook Page

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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 DTC brand NIUD, discusses their functional and inclusive bra-alternatives.

Image Credit: NIUD Facebook Page

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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

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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 single platform. We speak to Elisa and Amy about leveraging social media to spread awareness and supercharge their brand, the emotional heft of dealing with animals that need help, as well as running My Forever Doggo like a self-sustaining business.

Image Credit: My Forever Doggo Facebook Page

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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 the syllabus for their drumming course, the myriad challenges of running an online music lesson platform and more. 

Image Credit: Music Mountain Facebook Page

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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 well as the perks and challenges of being a one-woman band and brand.

Image Credit: Fintattoos Instagram Page

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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-commerce platform to combat climate change. 

Image Credit: PYNG Zero Waste Official Website

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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

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