Open For Business

Mowgli Venture brings to life adventures straight out of a story book. They seek to provide once-in-a-lifetime trips through raw adventures while challenging travellers out of their comfort zones.

Their team is dedicated to delivering exceptional, bespoke travel services that promise an unforgettable experience. They champion the rise of adventure tourism, guiding their clients towards undiscovered gems far from the usual tourist trails, through their expert travel consulting and customised journey packages.

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Despite being a major food exporter, Malaysia relies on imports for certain items like rice, dairy, wheat, barley, and selected fruits and vegetables. This is due to a production-consumption gap, making the country vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and climate change.

We speak with Greg O'Shea, the Head of Country for Malaysia and Singapore for TMX Global, and discuss the importance of developing the entire food supply chain, not just increasing farming output. We talk about the need for simultaneous development of midstream and downstream sectors, such as food manufacturing and processing -- and how TMX are helping SMEs and MSMEs with their distribution woes.

Despite being a major food exporter, Malaysia relies on imports for certain items like rice, dairy, wheat, barley, and selected fruits and vegetables. This is due to a production-consumption gap, making the country vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and climate change.

We speak with Greg O'Shea, the Head of Country for Malaysia and Singapore for TMX Global, and discuss the importance of developing the entire food supply chain, not just increasing farming output. We talk about the need for simultaneous development of midstream and downstream sectors, such as food manufacturing and processing -- and how TMX are helping SMEs and MSMEs with their distribution woes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do consumer brands such as Thousand Miles, Bottoms Lab, Montigo, and Cosmic Cookware have in common? They were all built by the same Malaysian startup – RPG Commerce.

RPG Commerce is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce startup that develops consumer brands and products targeted foreign markets. Some of their in-house brands are apparel and homeware brands Thousand Miles, Bottoms Lab, Montigo, and Cosmic Cookware.

Since its launch in 2017, RPG Commerce has raised a total of US$34.5 million from Temasek-backed Vertex Ventures, East Ventures, UOB Venture Management, and RHL Ventures, but money doesn’t always buy success, especially in the consumer market, so how has one company been able to launch and operate multiple consumer brands in such a short time?

To find out, we speak to Melvin Chee, the co-founder and CEO of RPG Commerce. We’ll also get into why he started by targeting foreign markets instead of building up at home first, how they’ve managed to successfully launch these consumer brands, and what’s next for RPG.

What do consumer brands such as Thousand Miles, Bottoms Lab, Montigo, and Cosmic Cookware have in common? They were all built by the same Malaysian startup – RPG Commerce.

RPG Commerce is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce startup that develops consumer brands and products targeted foreign markets. Some of their in-house brands are apparel and homeware brands Thousand Miles, Bottoms Lab, Montigo, and Cosmic Cookware.

Since its launch in 2017, RPG Commerce has raised a total of US$34.5 million from Temasek-backed Vertex Ventures, East Ventures, UOB Venture Management, and RHL Ventures, but money doesn’t always buy success, especially in the consumer market, so how has one company been able to launch and operate multiple consumer brands in such a short time?

To find out, we speak to Melvin Chee, the co-founder and CEO of RPG Commerce. We’ll also get into why he started by targeting foreign markets instead of building up at home first, how they’ve managed to successfully launch these consumer brands, and what’s next for RPG.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Media and entertainment is all about capturing and retaining your attention, and digital content and technology has been incredibly successful in capturing your eyes, ears, and time. That said, the entrepreneurs behind the BREAKOUT Escape Room, HAUNTU and Spy Game, know that immersive experiences aren’t the monopoly of tech companies and the digital world.

The immersive gaming company is bringing excitement, challenge and social interactions back to the physical world. They started with The Breakout Escape Rooms in 2014, then launched a fully immersive haunted attraction called Hauntu in 2018. During the pandemic, the company adapted and took the product online and last year Superdough launched Spy Game, a game concept that wants to deliver an adrenaline-fueled adventure.

Today, Superdough has 70 escape rooms across four countries – Malaysia, Korea, Canada, and the United States, and says its games have been played by over 1 million people globally.

We speak with Superdough’s founders, Kelly Low and Johnny Ong about how and why they built this business, the business viability and what lies ahead.

Media and entertainment is all about capturing and retaining your attention, and digital content and technology has been incredibly successful in capturing your eyes, ears, and time. That said, the entrepreneurs behind the BREAKOUT Escape Room, HAUNTU and Spy Game, know that immersive experiences aren’t the monopoly of tech companies and the digital world.

The immersive gaming company is bringing excitement, challenge and social interactions back to the physical world. They started with The Breakout Escape Rooms in 2014, then launched a fully immersive haunted attraction called Hauntu in 2018. During the pandemic, the company adapted and took the product online and last year Superdough launched Spy Game, a game concept that wants to deliver an adrenaline-fueled adventure.

Today, Superdough has 70 escape rooms across four countries – Malaysia, Korea, Canada, and the United States, and says its games have been played by over 1 million people globally.

We speak with Superdough’s founders, Kelly Low and Johnny Ong about how and why they built this business, the business viability and what lies ahead.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tin Men Capital is on a mission to unlock the potential of B2B tech startups within Southeast Asia, focusing on markets where industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, and sustainability are flourishing, particularly Malaysia.

Tin Men Capital is on a mission to unlock the potential of B2B tech startups within Southeast Asia, focusing on markets where industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, and sustainability are flourishing, particularly Malaysia.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founded by mother-son pairing Gwen and David, King Living had its humble start at Paddy’s Markets in Sydney over 40 years ago.

Today, with its steel construction and modular sofa designs, King Living is a leading Australian furniture manufacturer-retailer with 18 branches across Australia, with another 10 overseas spread across Singapore, Malaysia, the UK, New Zealand, Canada, and China.

King Living’s journey entered a new chapter around 8 years ago when David King stepped away from the day-to-day and Anna Carrabs took up the role as CEO. After 7 years in charge of the company, Anna stepped down in November and today’s guest on the show took up the baton.

Photo Credits: LinkedIn | David Woollcott