Open For Business

In conjunction with Table & Apron’s 8th year anniversary, its founder Marcus Low joins the conversation. He is here to share its journey on how it handled the challenges faced during the pandemic and its core business development since its last interview in 2017. 

Image Credit : Table and Apron Website

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2022 has completely changed consumer behaviour in regards to coworking spaces. In the last two years, coworking brand Colony launched Castra, a rooftop glamping spot, and The Rooms, a dramatically designed event space, to cater to shifting consumer needs. Timothy Tiah, executive director, expounds on the origins of both spaces, opening a glamping spot a month before the pandemic hit, and starting smaller, more affordable coworking facilities in suburban areas within the Klang Valley.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the pillars of Malaysian culture is the humble kopitiam. Somehow, despite the fancy cafes and restaurants that pop up with increasing regularity, there’s just nothing as welcoming and homey as the dark coffee swirling in the white and green porcelain. One artist and entrepreneur who fell in love with just that kopitiam je ne sais quoi is Jack Yin, who discusses how he expresses his passion for kopitiams and other Malaysian cultural oddities through his art, and how his business has seen its fair share of ups and downs throughout the pandemic.

Image Credit: Jacktus.my Insatagram

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sipjoy is a cafe-focused mobile app platform that connects local independent cafés to coffee drinkers and café goers with one-flat-price coffee pass that allows cross-café coffee redemption. They have recently won 2nd place in the ASB101k Start-Up track. Vincent Sin founder and CEO of the SipJoy App together with Evelyn Saw joins us today to unravel their coffee journey.  

Image Credit : Rawpixel.com | Shutterstock

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Renovation, interior design, and remodelling are crucial stages when moving into a new home. One challenge during this time is visualising, in 3D, what different furniture and fittings might look like in a new space. Sean Lai, co-founder of SofaX, plans to close that gap by allowing users to decorate their homes virtually, before spending any money. By partnering with CrownLivin, SofaX intends to change the way new homeowners approach designing their personal space.  

Image Credit : Studio Romantic, Shutterstock

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The importance of STEM education has increased significantly for our children. A lot of schools have been implementing this system into their syllabus, with efforts to break the rigidity of traditional school structure, 5T3M wants to complement school programs and provide supplementary STEM education for all children by making it. Mr EH Lim, CEO of 5T3M joins us to explain why education through technology is so important. 

Image Credit: 5T3M Website

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ley Vin Khoo and Bryan Tan, co-founders of local artisanal soy sauce brand Shoyu Bros, talk about the art of making this delicious elixir from scratch, how they’re innovating an Asian pantry staple, and the lessons they’ve learned about entrepreneurship along the way.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate change is no longer a ‘when’, or an ‘if’. It’s here. We might not be able to roll back the damage that’s been done – but we might be able to mitigate any further damage by adopting renewable energy sources. In line with that, Ong Hang Ping of Fabulous Sunview explains how they’ve been harnessing solar energy to reduce carbon emissions as the premiere solar panel supplier and installation company in Malaysia

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gini and Michelle, the second-generation business operators of Mum Mum Snacks, talk to us about convincing the founders of the traditional snack retailers to take a chance on going online. They discuss the pains of starting everything from scratch, building trust and sales online, as well as lessons learned along the way.

Image Credit: Mum Mum Snacks Facebook Page

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you do a search on Rooftop Farms in Malaysia, you’ll find less than 20. Why has this concept not been more widely adopted, and what does it take to run one?  Emil Jihan from Fresh Growcer shares his thoughts on his pesticide-free self-harvesting aquaponics farm, located on top of 1 Utama.

Image Credit: Freshgrowcer Instagram page

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.