PART 2 of STIMY’s interview with Ning-Geng Ong - Artisan chocolate maker, farmer, and founder of Chocolate Concierge & Culture Cacao.

For Part 1, please refer to the earlier episode. 

Highlights:

• 2:48: How the signature flavours of chocolate are brought out
• 4:34: What Ning means by saying he is “fiercely unbending”
• 12:10: Why Ning runs fermentation anywhere between 6 to 71 days!
• 18:23: The sheltered, sun-drying process
• 21:54: Creating some of Chocolate Concierge’s signature flavours, including Assam laksa and nasi kerabu bon bon
• 34:10: Impact of the global pandemic
• 37:24: Advice for those seeking to be chocolate makers too

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/50-2 

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Part 1 of STIMY's episode with Ning-Geng Ong - a farmer, chocolate marker, flavour fanatic and founder of Chocolate Concierge & Culture Cacao, where he makes incredible single-origin Malaysian chocolate. 

In this episode, Ning shares his journey from majoring in physics and computer science, to founding a business in chocolate making. In particular, what it is like working with the indigenous community (including stories involving tigers, a durian thief and a murder!).

Highlights:

• 2:31: Loving the outdoors (the dangers of being a boy scout!)
• 5:52: Backpacking in Europe
• 6:59: Doing programming work
• 11:53: Diving into the world of fermentation
• 17:37: Why chocolate making stood out
• 21:39: Cocoa seeds taste like.. Unicorn milk?!
• 24:26: Obsessing over creating Malaysian single origin flavour
• 25:08: Chocolate-making process
• 26:33: Creating the universe
• 27:08: Why Ning struggled to find reliable cocoa beans
• 30:13: Starting Culture Cacao
• 32:11: Living with the Semai community
• 38:38: Tigers
• 40:15: Durian thief!
• 44:17: Not having a contractual arrangement with the indigenous community
• 49:08: Struggling to get cocoa beans from the indigenous community
• 50:52: Giving up?

Stay tuned for PART 2 of Ning's episode, coming out this Wednesday!

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/50-1 

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Dato’ Thomas Mun Lung Lee is a Senior Partner & founding member of Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill - one of the largest law firms in Malaysia. He was also previously Chairman of AIA Public Takaful Bhd and AIA Malaysia Berhad, had directorships at AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, was a member of the Appeals Committee of Bursa Malaysia Berhad and Chairman and Non-Executive Director Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd & Alliance Merchant Bank Berhad. He also served on the Board of UMW Holdings Berhad, Saujana Resort (M) Berhad and Bank of America Malaysia Berhad.

In addition, Dato’ Thomas was an arbitrator with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland and a member of the Ad Hoc Panel of Arbitrators at the 1988 Commonwealth games at KL, the Commonwealth Games 2006 at Melbourne, the Olympic Games 2000 at Sydney, Olympic Games 2008 at Beijing & Olympic Games 2012 at London.

Last but not least, he is also the son of Tun HS Lee - Malaysia’s first Finance Minister!

In this episode, we cover Dato’ Thomas’ life story, beginning with his earliest memories (of air raid sirens & bombs dropping over Kuala Lumpur!) to then fleeing to India after the Japanese placed a bounty on his father’s head, and how he eventually made his way to the UK with his brother for his studies at the age of 13. 

And his fascinating legal career, which included being in the same pupil batch as Tun Hussein Onn (who eventually became Malaysia’s 3rd Prime Minister) & Chan Sek Keong (who became the 3rd Chief Justice of Singapore).

Highlights:

• 1:57: Earliest memories of air raid sirens & bombs
• 2:40: Fleeing to India
• 7:52: Living under the British imposed emergency rule during the height of the communist insurgency
• 9:42: Travelling to the UK from Malaysia via a 3-week boat through the Suez Canal
• 10:42: Studying at Leys School, Cambridge
• 14:14: Being guided to study law at St John’s, Cambridge University
• 16:29: Working as a tourist guide at Costa Brava, Spain
• 18:36: Completing a pupillage at 2 Crown Office in the 1950/60s
• 27:20: What KL & the Malaysian legal scene was like in the 1960s
• 28:54: Beginning his career in debt collection
• 30:34: Seeing Bannon & Bailey dissolve in 1963 & joining Skrine & Co
• 31:15: Why Dato’ Thomas wanted to be like John Skrine
• 32:19: “Don’t harbour a grudge. Life is too short for that.” - John Skrine
• 34:24: Working in the same pupil batch as Hussein Onn
• 36:12: Impact of 13 May 1969
• 37:57: Royal Selangor Golf Club
• 39:30: What Tunku Abdul Rahman was like in person
• 40:29: What Tun Dr Ismail was like in person
• 41:06: Setting up of Lee Hishammuddin in 1993
• 44:06: Turning down 2 offers to join the judiciary (including the Court of Appeal!)
• 45:03: Whether he ever felt pressured by his father’s legacy

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/49 

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Oz Pearlman is an Emmy award-winning mentalist & magician who recently emerged as the runner up & finalist in America’s Got Talent Season 10 in 2015. 

In this STIMY, Oz shares what he was like as a child, discovering magic on a cruise ship to Bermuda and how that transformed his life as he obsessed over mastering magic. 

Oz got so good, he paid his own way through college and even continued it as a side hustle while working at Merrill Lynch before deciding to take the leap & become a full-time mentalist. 

He hasn’t looked back since. 

Oz Pearlman has performed for an impressive list of A-list celebrities, Fortune 500 companies, politicians and professional athletes, and also appeared on numerous networks including NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The TODAY Show & ABC World News. He is also an avid marathon & ultra-marathon runner, having competed in events like the Badwater 135 Miler, Hawaii Ironman World Championships, Western States 100 and Spartathlon.

Highlights:

• 3:47: Being a child math prodigy (scored a perfect 800 for his SATs at age 12)
• 4:36: Discovering a love of magic
• 6:19: Meeting Ryan Hertz & Bruce Kessler
• 9:41: Getting his first magic gig at age 14
• 12:13: Knowing how to break the ice with strangers
• 16:34: Deciding to stay behind in USA & pay for himself through college
• 19:00: Finding his own magic community
• 20:49: The balance between sharing magic tricks & keeping your secrets to yourself
• 26:54: Simple magic tricks for anyone to learn
• 31:30: The Off Broadway Show, Watch Magic, that attracted Ethan Hawke & the New York Times
• 35:44: “Making it” as a full-time, freelance magician
• 37:46: Why Oz thinks he didn’t make it the first time he applied for America’s Got Talent in 2012
• 38:46: Coming up with new magic tricks on AGT within days
• 39:56: Competing on America’s Got Talent while training for 3 marathons!
• 43:17: Impact of COVID-19 on Oz’s business

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/48 

Lincoln Lee Ming is a Malaysian social entrepreneur, biomedical science graduate from University College London, UK & founder of a social enterprise called Rice Inc., which seeks to combat the 26 million tons of rice wasted during production every year & help smallholder rice farmers break through the convoluted supply chain 

In this STIMY episode, we cover how Lincoln’s entrepreneurial streak first came up in his childhood in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (beginning at the age of 13!) and how he tried to organise a Pokemon Walkathon just before leaving for his university studies.

Having arrived at UCL, Lincoln quickly realised in his second year that he wanted to pivot to business / entrepreneurship. He also learned about the most prestigious startup competition for university students: the $1 million HULT Prize - which is said to be harder to win than the lottery!

The HULT Prize took an entire year & came with lots of ups and down. Lincoln shares the experience of being at the finals (judges included Arianna Huffington!), how they have used the $1 million investment they won from the HULT Prize, the impact of Brexit & COVID-19 on Rice Inc's operations, and what drives him to do what he is now doing.

Highlights:

• 4:43: Losing his parents’ money at age 13 when dabbling in entrepreneurship
• 8:10: Running a past year paper printing startup (by pretending to still be students!)
• 12:17: Organising a Pokemon Walkathon
• 19:04: Learning about the $1 million HULT Prize
• 21:52: Finding a problem to solve
• 33:29: Introducing big changes after UCL & regional HULT Prize rounds
• 34:54: Raising $20,000 in funds to visit Myanmar & run a pilot program
• 45:58: Adventures in Myanmar 
• 51:29: Girls following Kisum
• 53:38: Attending the HULT Prize accelerator at Henry VII’s former residence 
• 55:46: Working & playing (too) hard
• 59:59: Building connections with high-ranking people
• 1:03:16: How a UN security guard helped Sunrice / Rice Inc win the HULT Prize competition in New York
• 1:13:21: Getting stuck inside the UN building at midnight
• 1:17:33: Balancing winning the HULT Prize with getting a 1st class at UCL
• 1:20:33: What to do with an investment of $1 million at age 19
• 1:22:34: Impact of Brexit on Rice Inc’s operation
• 1:24:02: Getting into the top 5 caterer distribution services & meeting with the Board
• 1:28:47: What keeps Lincoln going
• 1:30:07: When Lincoln knew that there was nothing else he would rather be doing than this (Rice Inc)

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/47 

Azran Osman-Rani is one of Malaysia's most well-known CEOs & entrepreneur and in this STIMY episode, we cover his colourful & highly impressive career that has included being:

• CEO and Co-Founder, Naluri Hidup (now)
• CEO of iflix Malaysia. Dragon-Keeper of the Tao
• CEO, AirAsia X Berhad
• Senior Director, Business Development, Astro All Asia Networks plc
• Senior Vice President, Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange
• Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company
• Associate, Booz Allen & Hamilton 

But how did it all begin?

Childhood

Growing up with two professors for parents, Azran was always encouraged to speak up and speak out. This began when he was just 4 years old, where he would participate in adult conversations with his parents’ visiting guests that other professors.

Stanford University

Azran eventually went to Stanford University to pursue a degree in electrical engineering although he did end up doing the barest minimum amount of engineering classes required. Instead, he ended up taking lessons in history, culture, psychology, economics, ballroom dancing and even sailing! 

After completing his masters, Azran ended up becoming a management consultant first at Booz Allen Hamilton, then McKinsey. He eventually left for Bursa Malaysia, which set him on his incredible path as an entrepreneur.

Highlights:

• 6:37: Studying at Stanford University before the dot com boom
• 8:01: Ultimate frisbee
• 13:45: Working at Booz Allen Hamilton
• 14:25: Bombing his client presentation & being warned he would be kicked out if he repeated his performance
• 14:25: Moving to Korea for work
• 16:18: Earning the trust of his Korean clients
• 20:28: Working to turn the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange from a nonprofit government linked organisation to a for-profit company (Bursa Malaysia)
• 25:14: Phone call 1 that led him to Astro All Asia Networks
• 27:06: His big failure at Astro, where he had to shut down their Indonesian business & letting go of 450 staff
• 28:42: Phone call 2 from Tony Fernandes that led to him becoming CEO of AirAsia X
• 30:16: AirAsia X’s value proposition
• 31:27: Building a sustainable airline business model
• 36:47: Making the pitch of a lifetime to the European export credit agency to save AirAsia X
• 39:34: Securing an upward flow of information
• 47:06: AirAsia X’s $15 million in-flight entertainment mistake
• 50:47: Staying ahead of the competition
• 51:47: Becoming CEO of iFlix
• 54:13: Starting iFlix with a few people & laptops, but no product!
• 56:14: How iFlix gained 1 million subscribers, 6 months after its launch
• 1:00:03: Learning about Omada Health
• 1:01:41: Launching Naluri Hidup
• 1:02:59: Why Azran bet his kids’ education, life savings etc. on Naluri Hidup
• 1:07:00: The importance of localisation
• 1:10:25: Educating the public about digital health
• 1:11:10: Why Azran is a YouTuber & active content creator
• 1:11:58: A life-changing car accident in May 2018
• 1:12:32: How Azran kept going & completed his Ironman 6 months after his brutal car accident!
• 1:15:31: Fundraising before & during COVID-19
• 1:17:05: Azran’s mirrors to deal with his confirmation bias

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/46    

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Lim Pui Wan is a Malaysian miniature artist who discovered her love of miniatures at the age of 14 and has, since 2014 under “Picoworm”, become a full-time professional miniature artist. In 2020, she was even part of Ryan Reynold’s “Ryan Doesn’t Know” Snapchat series!

In this STIMY episode, Pui Wan shares what it takes to forge a path to becoming a professional miniature artist. 

Highlights:

• 4:10: Figuring out how to make miniature art
• 8:02: Making her first miniature art
• 9:08: Joining her first competition by remaking a Studio Ghibli dollhouse!
• 11:25: Behind-the-scenes of najubg nubuatyre art
• 14:17: Why she loves capturing dirt
• 16:52: Why Pui Wan loves Chinatown
• 22:42: Why she ended up studying mechanical engineering
• 24:08: Being tempted to drop out of university early
• 27:31: Turning a hobby into a business
• 28:15: Doing market testing
• 31:23: Pricing her works
• 33:33: Her first commercial sell
• 34:43: Giving up?
• 36:45: Filming with Ryan Reynolds
• 40:06: Advice for those who want to become miniature artists 
• 43:33: Making personal miniature art every week for the year 2021

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/45 

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Best Known as director of the George Town Festival, Joe Sidek has established himself as one of Malaysia’s strong advocates for the arts.

Prior to becoming a festival director, Joe Sidek played major roles in various forms of art expression – from event management, art curator-ship, restaurant ownership and even costume design. He also still runs his family–owned textile chemical factory, Chemdyes Sdn Bhd.

Since 2010 when he began GTF, in 2018, Joe also directed the 3-year-old Rainforest Fringe Festival in Kuching, having founded the festival in 2017. He also helmed the Butterworth Fringe Festival for 3 years (2015–2017) and earlier in 2014, he brought Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival to Southeast Asia and showcased the inaugural Tropfest South East Asia in Penang.

He is 2020-2022 chairman of Federation of Asian Cultural Promotion, an industry expert on the industry panel of Malaysian federal agency for the arts and culture, Cultural Economy Development Agency (CENDANA), and chairman of Penang Arts Council.

In this STIMY episode, Joe shares his fascinating life story: from wanting to do art in Central Saint Martins to returning to Malaysia, recovering from his first “failed’ festival to eventually be one of Malaysia’s biggest, and most well-known advocate for the arts & culture!

Highlights:

• 1:52: Joe has noble blood!
• 3:18: Moving to Penang
• 3:42: Why Joe thinks Penangites are “arrogant, confident, and proud of who they are”
• 4:36: Wanting to do art in London & John Galliano
• 5:45: Not wanting to return home
• 6:50: His relationship with his dad
• 10:37: Taking over the family business
• 11:35: Why Joe’s first festival in 2001 failed
• 14:33: Becoming the festival director of the George Town Festival 
• 17:02: Getting help from the Penang Chief Minister
• 19:15: Why Joe brings in not just local, but also international artists
• 21:48: How Ernest Zacharevic got involved in the George Town Festival (resulting in the subsequent street art boom!)
• 24:01: Gentrification & over-commercialisation
• 24:54: GTF’s student and community tickets project
• 31:49: Finding historical, old & meaningful places to stage GTF
• 32:41: The biggest challenges of a festival director
• 35:50: Artists that have adapted well to COVID/virtual world
• 37:50: How artists can build their personal brand & stand out 
• 42:21: How to become a festival director
• 49:45: Where artists can find their community

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/44  

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Nicky Gumbel is an English Anglican priest, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, London and pioneer of the Alpha Course - a course that has reached over 25 million people who are looking to discover the meaning to life!

This episode is so special to me not least because I used to attend HTB myself! 

In this STIMY episode, we explore Nicky’s incredible faith journey - how he went from being an argumentative atheist to someone completely on fire for God! - and what HTB and the Alpha course was like back in the 1970s, including the pivotal moments that led to what it is today. As well as his thoughts on online church and online Alpha!

Highlights:

• 3:48: Growing up in London in the 1950s
• 5:13: Having an eventful conversation with his mum at the age of 14
• 11:44: Why Nicky labelled himself a “logical determinist” while at Eton
• 12:50: Why Nicky entered Cambridge University to do economics (before switching to law!)
• 13:56: The Nicky lunches
• 15:02: Coming to faith in February 1974
• 19:46: How Nicky ended up in Kitchen with Phil Lawson Johnston
• 22:13: How Sandy Miller came into Nicky’s life
• 24:01: The change in HTB culture from robed choirs to contemporary worship
• 26:25: Why Nicky went from working as a barrister in a tax chamber to criminal then a mix set
• 27:34: Meeting John Wimber in 1981
• 28:10: “Come, Holy Spirit”
• 29:23: Why Nicky studied theology at Oxford
• 30:46: Learning that he had tied his self-esteem to his job
• 32:12: Being rejected from 9 parishes!
• 32:55: How Nicky went from Agnostics Anonymous to the Alpha course
• 35:36: How the first Alpha training conference in May 1993 came about
• 37:58: The 1994 Toronto blessing that spread to HTB
• 39:35: Alpha Asia Pacific
• 40:42: Doing online church & online Alpha
• 42:34: Where Nicky gets his drive from

Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/43 

Wai Ken Wong is the Country Manager of StashAway (Malaysia). He first worked in investments in Khazanah Nasional Berhad, then became the Vice President of the Equity Capital Markets at Affin Hwang Capital, before entering the startup world. 

Want to learn what it's like working in the fintech startup world, all things investments & the intricacies of how StashAway is set up?

This is the episode for you!

Highlights:

• 2:38: Using ang pow money to invest in unit trusts
• 6:10: Why he moved to Australia at the age of 16
• 7:54: Enjoying business
• 9:24: Whether Wai Ken was ever tempted to drop out of college to launch a startup
• 10:41: What drove Wai Ken to start working while still studying
• 17:56: Working in Khazanah
• 21:33: Working with Dato Hisham
• 22:35: Working at Affin Hwang
• 26:07: Why Wai Ken decided to join StashAway - then a 2-year-old startup that began in Singapore
• 32:13: Whether he had any doubts about joining StashAway
• 33:34: His role as Country Manager from Day 1
• 35:36: How Wai Ken built a 5000 person waiting list before StashAway launched in Malaysia
• 41:42: The role of content creation in StashAway
• 44:27: What does “robo advisory” mean?
• 47:38: Robo Advisory v ETFs
• 49:51: StashAway’s investment framework - known as the Economic Regime Base Asset Allocation (ERAA)
• 52:40: How StashAway came up with its risk index
• 54:56: Guaranteeing a 1% chance of your portfolio dropping?
• 57:17: How StashAway categorises risk
• 1:01:58: Will customers get to determine their own assets with StashAway in the future?
• 1:04:44: StashAway Simple
• 1:06:51: Why StashAway Simple doesn’t have PIDM protection
• 1:09:01: What guarantees StashAway has for its customers
• 1:11:51: How StashAway came up with its projected rate of 2.4% for StashAway Simple
• 1:14:05: How StashAway compares to Wahed & MyTheo
• 1:15:47: Whether StashAway will ever invest in crypto
• 1:17:53: StashAway’s Series B & Series C fundraising rounds
• 1:22: What do the rich know, that the poor should know?

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/42

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