Open For Business

We speak with Fadz Subari about how childhood memories led him to establish a homegrown aromacare brand celebrated for its artisanal scents, crafted from Malaysian herbs and plants. We will also look into their initiatives to expand globally while championing Malaysian ingredients and sustainable practices, hear about their innovative AI-driven approach to creating personalised scents, and discuss their upcoming plans for the “Scents For Every Soul” app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After leaving a lucrative career selling insurance policies, Peter took a leap into the world of new media in late 2018 and started Mr. Money TV. The mission: to demystify the complex world of finance for the average Malaysian through accessible and engaging content. However this move was not without its risks.

From the early days of balancing multiple jobs to keep the venture alive to their 177,000 subscribers on the main YouTube, on this edition of Open For Business we explore the inception and growth of Mr. Money TV along with Peter's ambitions for the future, and appetite to build a new media network.

On top of this, we will also dive into how he's managing the ever evolving new media landscape while trying to create a sustainable business model.

Mr. Money TV is a financial literacy media brand owned by Finlit Media Tech Group.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Isaac Kon, the CEO and Founder, as well as Wong Weng Khing, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Co-founder of Heytech Sdn Bhd. They are a Malaysian-based talent and casting business founded in 2022, who came up with a casting/hiring platform known as Heycast.me.

Built in the early days of 2023, Heycast was designed to digitally connect talents with brands and agencies in the entertainment industry. The brand’s focus is to eliminate excessive commission cuts by skipping third-party avenues to ensure fairness and transparency in job compensation.

Over the course of the conversation, Isaac and Khing will help us get a better understanding on how Heycast was formed and built, the role of this platform in hiring acting talents, as well as the ongoing challenges within the casting industry that Heytech is planning to resolve with their platform.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founded back in November 2023, VIDANEX is the first spin-off company of IMU (also formerly known as International Medical University), with a mission to help digitalise the healthcare space and integrate AI with medical imaging solutions.

From pancreatic to breast cancer and more, this homegrown university spinoff says that its AI-driven insights will empower clinicians to make informed decisions, ultimately improving patient outcomes and ushering in a new era of precision in medicine and patient-centric care.

On top of that, their solution is supposed to help digitalise healthcare by enabling clinicians to transition seamlessly from traditional to modern processes, optimizing efficiency and improving patient care.

All of that sounds inevitably great, but what does it actually mean, look, and feel like in the real world? Well, that is something we will get into, along with the exploration of Dr. Elaine and Daniel's backgrounds, including how they came together to do this.

We also discuss the genesis of their venture and its commercialisation journey, where they are currently on their engagements with the government, and the future aspirations that drive Vidanex.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Open For Business, we speak with Keith Lester Tang, the Founder of Streetpaw, a Malaysian based company that sells pet meals, bone broths and merchandise to earn a sustainable income in their journey to support stray animals.

Over the course of the conversation, Keith will help us get a better picture on Streetpaw’s unique business model, the challenges they had to pull through from the pandemic, foreseeable expansion plans into other SEA markets, and what the future has in store for Streetpaw in 2024.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ex-Zalora CEO, Michele Ferrario did not want to become an entrepreneur but had a need that nobody could provide for here in the region. Despite 124 pre-launch rejections from early-stage investors, he went about trying to build it himself and Stashaway was then born.

Commonly known as robo-advisors, digital wealth managers or digital investment managers as they are known here in Malaysia, were an exciting development in the financial industry with pioneers such as Wealthfront and Betterment leading the charge 15-16 years ago, pushing the idea of making investing cheaper, easier, and more accessible. That said, the industry has struggled to find a profitable footing, with some players in the US having to adjust or pivot their models in order to make it work.

In this episode of Open For Business, we dive into how Stashaway is navigating this challenge, whether their business model actually works, and if so, what is going to get them in the black. Before that, we take a look back in 2016 and find out why the now-former CEO of Zalora switched industries and jumped into the world of wealth management, how Michele and his co-founders built Stashaway, and the key lessons he has learned from the 8 year journey with the company.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Natureloop is a KL-based company that specialises in designing and manufacturing products made from plastic waste. Instead of being discarded, Natureloop transforms plastic waste into new products such as coasters, customisable plant pots, as well as medals and trophies.

Today on Open For Business, we speak with Brandon Chong Chee Wing, the Founder of Natureloop to breakdown their mission of turning plastic waste into a sustainable resource and signifying the company’s dedication to its quality and responsibility in the pursuit of not just creating products, but also making a positive impact on the planet.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rainmakers wants to make property investing more accessible to retail investors, helping them get a fractional slice of property ownership without the typical financial strains that come with property investing.

Having raised RM620,000 in pre-seed capital, The Rainmakers are trying to raise a seed round of RM1.2 million at a pre-money valuation of RM 6 million through equity crowdfunding platform Leet Capital. They’re offering 16.67% of the company and the post-money valuation is expected to be RM7.2 million.

In this episode of Open For Business, we will delve into why The Rainmakers is raising these new funds, the motivations behind Kelv’s ambitions to make property investing more accessible, and how they’re going to make this business model work.

Note: At the top of the fundraising page is a disclaimer that reads:

G Gen Labs Sdn Bhd engages in securities-related activities and is required to obtain a license from the Securities Commission (SC). Failure to secure this license may adversely affect their business operations. Please note that Leet Capital and its affiliated companies cannot assure or guarantee that G Gen Labs Sdn Bhd will ultimately obtain the required license from the Securities Commission of Malaysia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founded in 2017, Parcel Daily is a courier aggregator platform that helps optimise courier shipping cost and improve the shipping experience by connecting e-commerce businesses, big and small, with their network of service providers, such as DHL, PosLaju, and Ninjavan, among many others.

To date, they have processed more than 5 million parcels and have provided shipping solutions to more than 5000 customers, and on this edition of Open For Business we journey back to their origins 7 years ago and how they built this asset light platform, the value-add this provides to the e-commerce industry, and what lies ahead for this.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since their establishment in 2017, TTRacing is a gaming chair company that provides high-quality ergonomic gaming chairs and has been rapidly expanding across SouthEast Asia with stores in Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines. They are now looking at further expansion into other SEA countries including Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

In this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Henry Ting, Founder and CEO at TTRacing, to breakdown what motivated him to start a gaming chair company, how have they grown and become widely renowned in SEA over the last 7 years, and what can be expected for the company’s growth in 2024 and beyond.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.