Open For Business

The pet tech market, according to reports by Research Nester and Global Market Insights, is projected to grow significantly in the coming years. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 16% from 2023. This growth is driven by increasing pet ownership, technological advancements, and a rising focus on pet health and wellness.

Today, we speak with Richard Nilsson, Founder and CEO of MyPetGo. This pet tech platform leverages technology to provide personalised, convenient, and community-driven solutions for pet owners as we find out more about the inception of MyPetGo and the future of pet tech.

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Today on the show, we speak with Seth Casden, CEO & Co-Founder at Hologenix. They’re a material science company that develops products that amplify human potential, including their flagship product CELLIANT.

It’s a bio-responsive infrared textile that transforms body heat into full-spectrum infrared energy. Seth founded the company back in 2002 after previously working as a financial analyst and stints in private equity.

After raising over $10 million and establishing partnerships with global brands like AEON, Decathlon, Under Armour and Duluth Trading Company, Hologenix was named to the Inc. 5000 of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S. for the third year in a row back in 2021.

With that, Seth will be helping us unpack the origin story of Hologenix, the challenges and hurdles faced by the business and how they have evolved since 2002 as well as the ambitions and opportunities ahead for the business going forward.

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In this episode of Open For Business, we sit down with Ian Wong and Kimberly Law, co-founders of Uno Advisers, a financial planning firm with a mission to empower women through personalised financial planning. Founded in 2021 and officially launching in 2023, Uno Advisers says it is taking a fresh, client-focused approach to the traditionally product-pushing financial services industry.

Ian and Kimberly share how their backgrounds led them to start Uno Advisers, the challenges they’ve faced in building the business, and why their focus is on supporting women in their financial journeys. They also discuss how they differentiate themselves in a competitive market and their view on the future of financial planning in Malaysia.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How Uno Advisers is trying to fill a gap in Malaysia’s financial planning industry by focusing on holistic, client-first strategies.

- The importance of tailoring financial services to women and why they are their target demographic

- The challenges of launching a new financial planning firm in a market dominated by larger, more established players.

- Insights into Uno’s business model, growth strategy, and the potential future of financial planning in Malaysia.

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Co-founded by the twin brothers, Andy Gan and Chris Gan, back in 2014, TWINS Education has earned a reputation for excellence over the years, offering personalised learning experiences for student’s needs. With a focus on International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and A-level tuition. Additionally, TWINS Education also offers IELTS preparation courses, and enrichment programmes such as English primary tuition and French classes.

Back in 2021, the business transitioned from Partnership into becoming a Limited Company and since then, the business has passed over 2 million in revenue as of 2023, with ambitions to surpass the 2.5 million mark this year.

In today’s conversation, we’re joined by Andy and Chris who will be giving us a sense behind the inception of TWINS Education, the challenges and hurdles they had to overcome as well as their future ambitions for this business.

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Today on the show, we speak with Melly Ling, CEO and Co-Founder of Mole, a local startup that has built an all-in-one networking platform with their very own business card and networking app.

They are essentially a networking tool that connects people at events and conferences, with the aim of turning every interaction into lasting insights. To tackle the downsides of networking events, Mole has introduced their very own, Mole card, an attendee's information digital card and an event management platform with the Mole App to be a power tool for event organisers.

Mole was founded in June 2022 and having bootstrapped at the start, the platform secured early-stage funding from Antler last year to fund the development of their digital business card and the networking app tailored for SMEs in Malaysia. Since then, the business has grown to new heights and is now looking at expanding their business card platform to other parts of Southeast Asia by next year.

On the show today, Melly will be giving us a sense of her journey in the tech world and how that led to the inception of Mole, the challenges she had to overcome with over a decade of experience in digital marketing, copywriting, design, and journalism as well as her long-term ambitions for the business beyond 2024.

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In this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Kristoffer Jacek Soh and Benjamin Long, co-founders of Beep Technologies, a company that started by enabling cashless transactions for vending machines and has since evolved to address Southeast Asia’s fragmented EV charging ecosystem.

Founded in 2018, Beep now operates Southeast Asia’s largest EV roaming network through its Voltality platform, connecting over 5,000 charging stations. Join us as we explore the journey of Beep, from its early days in vending solutions to its current efforts to unify EV charging infrastructure in the region. We discuss the challenges of navigating a highly fragmented market, the importance of partnerships, and more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How Beep pushed from cashless transactions to the EV charging space.

- The role of Voltality in connecting fragmented EV charging networks.

- Key challenges and strategies for overcoming them in the Southeast Asian market.

- Insights into Beep’s growth strategy, including partnerships with operators like Sime Darby and Grab.

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In this episode of Open For Business, we sit down with Chang Lih Yen and Chan Qi Yang, Co-founders and Managing Directors of FinKnight, a Malaysia-based financial advisory startup. Initially launched as Beetle Knight Advisory, the company rebranded to FinKnight in 2023 to better reflect its mission of simplifying financial management for startups and SMEs. To support this ambition, FinKnight secured funding from First Move and Gobi Partners, which will be used to fuel their expansion across Malaysia and beyond.

Join us as we dive into their journey, from their backgrounds in finance to co-founding FinKnight to help other businesses with their finance workloads and financial planning, including bookkeeping, advisory, fundraising, and more.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

- The problem FinKnight is solving for startups and SMEs.

- How the company’s rebranding reflects its evolution and future plans.

- Key strategies for scaling and acquiring customers in a cost-conscious market.

- Insights into FinKnight’s business model and growth ambitions.

Tune in to hear the story of how FinKnight is working to become a partner for businesses in need of finance expertise, bookkeeping, and advisory.

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Today, we speak with Sharma Lachu, Founder & CEO of Accendo Technologies. They’re a talent intelligence platform that integrates with core HRMS solutions that allow organisations to understand their talent’s potential roles and career paths, identify their risks, conceptualise strategies, assess role fit, and create development plans linked to their career growth.

Formerly known as Arcane Solutions, the company was rebranded to Accendo Technologies back in 2013 with a particular focus on talent development and upskilling using technology and AI-driven innovations.

In 2019, Accendo was included in the Deloitte Fast 500 Asia Pacific Technology list, being one of only 8 companies in SE Asia that made it to Deloitte’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing Asia Pacific companies in the hardware, software, communications, media, life sciences and clean technology industries.

Earlier this year, the business raised funding rounds from OSK Ventures International and The Hive Southeast Asia with global expansion in mind.

Along the course of the conversation, Sharma will be giving us a better sense of the early days at Accendo Technologies and what drove their rapid growth as well as the vision for the company moving forward.

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“What I discovered was that business owners, especially SMEs, are petrified of employing people. It’s a huge problem that we wanted to solve.” Benjamin Thompson, Co-Founder and CEO of Employment Hero.

In this episode of Open For Business, we explore Employment Hero’s journey from a simple HR platform to becoming a “fully-autonomous” HR tech solution for SMEs. We dive into why Employment Hero is striving to build the first employment operating system (OS) to simplify hiring, retention, and firing for SMEs, and why it’s raised US$411 million to achieve this goal.

Joining us is Benjamin Thompson, Co-Founder and CEO of Employment Hero, who shares the company's origins, how it has evolved over the last 10 years, and the conviction behind his bold vision and why he believes Employment Hero is on track to become bigger than Atlassian.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

- The personal motivation behind starting Employment Hero and how it evolved from Ben’s experience as an employment lawyer.

- How Employment Hero turned its HR platform into a comprehensive solution for SMEs.

- Why Employment Hero is confident it will one day surpass Atlassian, and how its total addressable market is driving this vision.

- Insights into the company’s US$411 million fundraising journey and how the funds are being deployed to fuel international growth and AI-driven recruitment solutions.

- The challenges of scaling a SaaS business, why it’s so capital-intensive, and how Employment Hero is navigating a path to profitability.

- How Employment Hero plans to leverage AI to disrupt traditional recruitment practices with their "SmartMatch" tool, creating a real-time talent pool for businesses.

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Today, we are switching it up a notch and taking you on an “exhilarating” journey behind the scenes of Skyline Luge Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s newest adventure attraction. As the 8th Skyline Luge park globally and the 2nd in Southeast Asia, this “thrilling” (depending on your thrill appetite or level) destination offers a unique blend of gravity-fueled excitement and scenic beauty in the heart of the Klang Valley.

We explore the origins of this luge park concept, its latest innovations like Malaysia’s first spiral zipline, and how it is shaping the local tourism landscape with Gavin Barnes, the General Manager of Skyline Luge Kuala Lumpur. Get ready to discover what makes Skyline Luge a memorable experience for adventurers of all ages.

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