Womenpreneur Asia

Today's episode is with a visionary Malaysian entrepreneur in Hong Kong., Janice Chew who is the principal of JC Legal.

In the ever-evolving realm of corporate law, Janice Chew has emerged as a trailblazer.

As the principal and founder of JC Legal, a bespoke corporate law firm, Janice has not only defied traditional norms but has also brought a fresh and fabulous perspective to the legal industry.

In a field where the norm dictates that legal firms typically hire paralegals as their first staff members, Janice opted for an unconventional route - she hired a business development person!

Her unique approach to growing her business showcases her creative thinking from the outset.

Despite being a relatively young law firm, JC Legal has rapidly gained recognition. In 2021, the firm was honoured with the prestigious Lawyer Monthly Legal Award for Venture Capital Law Firm of the Year.

Janice, too, earned accolades as a finalist in two categories at the ALB Hong Kong Awards—Young Lawyer of the Year and Rising Law Firm of the Year. Additionally, the firm secured a spot in the ALB Fast 30 as one of Asia's fastest-growing firms in 2021.

What truly sets JC Legal apart is its commitment to innovation, demonstrated through innovative legal initiatives.

Their Startup Steward Programme, launched in 2018, has nurtured over 100 high-growth companies, including notable names in fintech and crypto.

The programme earned the firm the Bronze Award for Startup of the Year – Business Services at the CEO and Executive World Awards 2021.

In this episode, Janice speaks about the origins of JC Legal's Virtual Legal Clinic which was designed during the pandemic to offer legal services while helping a local charity.

Janice Chew and her firm, JC Legal, prove that you can inculcate creativity in your industry and spark the imagination of your community and clients.

As Janice says, “Success is a matter of choice.” What choices are you making today? 

Get the full show notes at WomenpreneurAsia.com

This episode is sponsored by Redbox Studio.

Helen Tan of Double Woot Fashion Talks About Influencer Marketing

🌟 Join us on an inspiring journey with Helen Tan, the creative force behind Double Woot fashion!

Hailing from Penang, Malaysia, Helen and her sister have built a cult-like following for their quality fashion at affordable prices.

From the early days as a pre-loved clothing shop on Blogspot to a global sensation, Helen shares her 18-year entrepreneurial voyage.

Dive into the challenges faced during the COVID pandemic, innovative marketing strategies, and the pivotal role of influencer marketing. Helen's insights on family support, passion, and finding purpose resonate deeply, making this episode a must-listen for aspiring women entrepreneurs.

Discover the unique naming conventions, emphasis on authenticity, and the multifaceted marketing approach that defines Double Woot's success.

Tune in now for a dose of empowerment and entrepreneurial wisdom!

For the full show notes, visit WomenpreneurAsia.com

This episode is sponsored by RedboxStudio.com

Jenny Tay is an entrepreneur from Singapore taking on the world of funeral services with a zestful and innovative spirit, no pun intended.

She is not afraid of challenging norms and stereotypes about the deceased, death and dying.

As the Managing Director of Direct Funeral Services Pte Ltd, she is transforming the funeral services industry - usually dominated by rough-talking men and surrounded by superstitions - one taboo at a time.

To Jenny, the funeral services business is a hospitality business.

When she married in 2015, she made the front page news as she and her husband decided to take unusually daring wedding photos - she was photographed in her wedding finery lying in a coffin and sitting on the coffin!

Jenny and her husband worked to revamp society's shoddy perception of funeral services and raise the bar for funeral directors. 

Jenny approaches this business with deep respect for the deceased.

She recognizes the equalizing nature of death, emphasizing our shared humanity beneath societal roles and gender differences.

In her determined way, Jenny revolutionized the industry, pushing forth innovative ideas as she was dissatisfied with outdated practices in the industry.

Despite facing resistance, she believes families deserve a compassionate and personalized approach during times of grief.

She introduced uniforms and name tags for her team, redesigned funeral settings and backdrops to reflect calm and elegant spaces and even humanized the departed by creating biographies for guests at the wake and funeral to know them even in death.

Her ideas didn't stop there.

Concerned after overhearing how an adult explained death inappropriately to a child, she and her husband decided to author a children's book that approached the topic in a non-morbid yet respectful manner. 

This episode is sponsored by Redbox Studio.

For more information, show notes and links, visit WomenpreneurAsia.com

Welcome to Season 7 of the Womenpreneur Asia podcast!

I'm your host, Krista Goon, and I'm thrilled to be back, uncovering the amazing stories and strategies of Asian women entrepreneurs in Asia to inspire and support you on your own business journey.

I'm excited to introduce you to our guest, a remarkable Malaysian entrepreneur, Amutha Subramaniam, the founder and director of HERS Manufacturing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Amutha's journey is nothing short of inspiring. At 47 years old, she embarked on her business with absolutely no knowledge of e-commerce, and for the first two years, she struggled to make any sales.

However, her unwavering eagerness to learn about online selling and her persistence ultimately paid off in a big way.

Today, she runs a highly successful 7-figure business, exporting food and beverages to the Pacific Islands.

It wasn't an easy path for Amutha, though. After her divorce, she found herself as a single mother with no capital, but she refused to be defined by her circumstances.

Moving from Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur, she faced her challenges with courage and stepped out of her comfort zone to chase her ambitions.

The essence of this podcast lies in the belief that each of us carries a powerful story within ourselves.

These stories have the potential to inspire other women to embark on their own ventures, be it a business or a movement.

Amutha's journey from ground zero is a testament to the fact that with an unstoppable attitude and determination, one can overcome any obstacle and learn everything one needs along the way.

For the full show notes, visit WomenpreneurAsia.com

Today's episode is sponsored by Redbox Studio.

Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast so that we can reach out to more women entrepreneurs in Asia.

Today’s episode is with Jolly Nguyen who is based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 

She is the founder of EVOL Vietnam, a social enterprise that is raising awareness of urban citizens about the importance of reducing single use plastic and preventing these plastic from polluting the ocean via community projects. 

This is the second time we are recording this conversation because the first time, we had some audio interruptions and I wanted to showcase her work better and so this round, we re-recorded the episode and I must say I am excited for you to hear about Jolly’s strategies and tips.

In this episode, we spoke about strategy, fundraising, stakeholder management, networking and partnership-building for a greater good. 

She talks about asking for support for her projects, engaging her stakeholders beyond financials and expanding her network every time she goes out to speak or participate in conferences and programmes. 

Jolly is a well-networked individual and has seen the power of networking pay its dues directly and indirectly. 

For the full show notes, visit WomenpreneurAsia.com

This episode is sponsored by Redbox Studio.

A big shout out to ForGood Vietnam, our partner who introduced Jolly Nguyen to Womenpreneur Asia.

Coco Wong was the first wedding planner in Hong Kong who grew to become the top wedding planner in Hong Kong for the rich and famous.

She spun off a publishing business, florist business and more. At one point, she was the wedding consultant for Hong Kong Disneyland! 

Despite being at the top of her game, she was never afraid to stop when it was time to stop. 

And stop she did. 

But that wasn't the last of her entrepreneurial ventures.

Today’s story is as fascinating as it is inspiring. It is the story of a remarkable and agile entrepreneur who is now focused on growing future leaders. 

Today’s episode is with a Hong Kong entrepreneur, Coco Wong. She is the co-founder of CEO Kids International and currently makes her home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Coco is truly a serial entrepreneur with a strong conviction and a creative mind.

She started many businesses and she was never afraid to walk away or sell them. In all her ventures, she admits that money was never the motivation. In fact, she’s always been one to focus on giving and doing good. Coco shares her mistakes, her highs and lows and what she has learned over the past 3 decades of being an entrepreneur and what she is most excited about now. 

For the full show notes, visit WomenpreneurAsia.com

This episode is brought to you by Redbox Studio.

Failures are lessons in themselves. They’re expensive mistakes and painful too but you can always find a way to use your mistakes and failure to get stronger. 

Today my guest and I talked about her first failed company and partnership and the lessons she learned from that time in her life.

While depressed and angry, she recounted that the failed business helped her understand what went wrong and taught her much about starting partnerships in foreign countries.

Many years later, she decided to use her skills and experiences to start her own company to help foreign companies get started in her home country of Morocco.

Hello and welcome to Season 7 of the Womenpreneur Asia podcast and I am your host, Krista Goon. 

My mission is to uncover the stories and strategies of Asian women entrepreneurs in Asia to help you as you navigate your own business journey.

This episode is brought to you by Redbox Studio. 

Today’s episode is with a Moroccan entrepreneur, Safaa Nasseh in Casablanca, Morocco. 

She is the Managing Director and founder of ARKAD Plus, a business that provides professional advice and expert knowledge about starting businesses in Morocco and working with Moroccan businesses. 

In this episode, we spoke about her first business - the business that failed and taught her priceless lessons about partnerships and trust.

Using the lessons learned from that harrowing episode in her life, she went back to work and in the process, realized she was excellent at building relationships and connecting people and businesses.

During the pandemic, she realized that she wanted to start her business again but this time, much wiser and much more intent on leveraging the strengths and experiences that she has honed while under employment. 

For more information about Safaa, visit WomenpreneurAsia.com

Someone asked me recently, who are some of your favourite guests on the podcast and why?

What have you learned from your guests and from creating and producing this seasonal podcast since 2020? 

It got me thinking so today you are in for a treat with this bonus episode. 

This is the final episode of Season 6 of the Womenpreneur Asia podcast. After this, I take a quick break before Season 7 starts in October. 

Most of the time, I end my season with a guest interview but this time, I decided that I'll be your guest. I'm amazed that I've produced 86 episodes so far and that yes, I am celebrating myself today.

But it's never about me. I love that you're here too. Without listeners and supporters such as you, my podcast wouldn't have gone very far at all.

Today, I am sharing with you my favourite episodes of all my six seasons.

And I shall also share with you what I’ve personally learned and taken to heart after speaking to so many Asian women entrepreneurs in Asia.

It has been an empowering journey for me as I learned to become more self-aware of my own thoughts and perspectives about entrepreneurship. 

So which were my favourite episodes throughout these 6 seasons? Here are my top 15 selections.

Listen to the episode to find out why these are my favourite episodes.

Maresa Ng of Spark Group Asia, Malaysia

Dr Vimi Ramasamy of Stravik Business Consulting, Malaysia

Anja Juliah of Athena Holdings, Malaysia

See Wai Hun of Juristech, Malaysia

Zhafira Loebis of Babyloania, Indonesia

Maaike Doyer of Epic Angels, Singapore

Nancy Tran of Medifood, Vietnam 

Michelle Hon of MomBoss Academy, Singapore 

Titaporn Tuchinda of The Growth & Change Company, Thailand

Soline Lin of Vietnam Dental Tourism, Vietnam

Debbie Edirisinghe of Child Action Lanka, Sri Lanka

Kanyachat Lerttanapaiboon or Elle of Her Hyness, Thailand  

Cha-Ly Koh of Urbanmetry, Malaysia

Deepa Jivan of J Gordhan & Co Ltd., Hong Kong 

Jocelyn Pantastico of Olivia Technology Group, The Philippines

Which is YOUR favourite among all the 86 episodes of Womenpreneur Asia?

Which entrepreneur’s story made you a better entrepreneur or inspired you to think differently or work and live differently?

I’d love to hear from you. Just DM me on Instagram or send me a message. 

Today's episode is brought to you by Redbox Studio.

Today’s episode is with a Singapore-based author, Winne Wong.

Winnie is an educator and researcher and has had more than 10 years of corporate experience working with start-ups and tech companies. 

Her ebook launches today on Amazon, 9 June 2023. If you love books, Winnie is offering her ebook as a gift to you at US$0.99 for the first 200 readers. 

In this episode, we talk about her book, her book writing process, and her findings and key learnings from her book titled “You Don’t Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs”. 

In her book, she writes about Melanie Perkins of Canva who took 3 years to fundraise and who wrote a note to keep herself going despite the initial rejections. She also recounts the story of Vicky Tsai, the founder of Tatcha who was told she didn’t look like a CEO and was asked to step down from the business she started.  

We spoke about being the role models that we aspire to follow, we also spoke about doing something despite the fears and the humiliation of failing.

Winnie took a year to write her book and even raised money through pre-orders. She has had to market the book too leveraging LinkedIn (she said Twitter and Instagram just weren’t her thing) and has found supporters for her book from people she knew and people she didn’t.

Here’s a fun fact about Winnie: her parents are Malaysian. 

For the full show notes and links, go to: WomenpreneurAsia.com

This episode is brought to you by Redbox Studio.

Today's episode offers a unique and enjoyable twist. It was recorded on-site at the residence of our esteemed guest, Dato Judy Cheng Hopkins.

She is a remarkable Malaysian woman with an illustrious 36-year career at the United Nations. She is also a Penangite who splits her time between Penang (Malaysia) and the US.

She culminated her tenure as Assistant Secretary-General in charge of peace-building after conflict, working under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Prior to this role, she served as Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, Director of the Asia Bureau and the Balkans at the World Food Programme, and dedicated ten years to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Africa.

During our conversation, Dato Judy and I delved into a lively and incredible discussion about stepping outside one's comfort zone, shattering the glass ceiling, strategic decision-making, and how to become someone worthy of sponsorship.

We also touched on her recommended book for smart women leaders while exploring how she reached the pinnacle of her career as a highly respected woman leader on the international stage.

Although Dato Judy clarifies that her advice primarily caters to women aspiring to rise within large organizations and corporations, I discovered that the leadership insights she shared are invaluable for everyone, including women entrepreneurs.

For the full show notes, visit WomenpreneurAsia.com

This episode is brought to you by Redbox Studio.