Open For Business

Episoder

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  Wahine Capital Is Closing. Rejina Rahim Tells Us Why. 04.08.2026 34min

  Wahine Capital was built around a persistent problem within the financial ecosystem. Women in Malaysia outlive men and are disproportionately exposed to financial vulnerability during divorce, illness, and widowhood. At the exact moment they most need access to their family's financial information, they very often cannot get it. To solve this, the fintech company built W Vault, a platform that successfully earned recognition at the UN Women's Empowerment Principles Awards and was shortlisted by the Securities Commission's fintech accelerator.Despite these notable achievements, Wahine Capital is officially closing down. Co-founder Rejina Rahim joins us to unpack exactly what happened and the timeline of when she finally knew the business could not continue. We discuss the tangible impact the closure has on its existing users, what she is proudest of, and the crucial operational lessons she would apply differently. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Building the IKEA of Cyber Security for SMEs 03.08.2026 39min

  According to a 2025 report, ransomware is present in 88 percent of all data breaches affecting small-to-medium enterprises, making them the primary targets rather than just collateral damage. Despite the severe financial and emotional toll these attacks take on small companies and non-profits, the cyber security industry remains largely tailored for massive corporations, creating a severe state of "cyber inequity". Recognising this massive gap, Gaurav Keerthi left a two-decade career at the very top of Singapore's national cyber security and defence infrastructure to protect these highly vulnerable underdogs.Gaurav founded Strongkeep to become the "IKEA of cyber security," abandoning complex, over-engineered bespoke solutions in favour of highly accessible, affordable protection. By bundling four essential pillars - anti-malware, phishing protection, credential management, and secure server configurations - the platform dramatically raises the security baseline for companies without dedicated IT teams. Priced at just $39 a month, the platform utilises intelligent automation to allow non-technical staff to pay, deploy, and be completely protected within just seven minutes.Rather than relying on massive marketing budgets, Strongkeep has built a strategic distribution moat by partnering with telecommunications companies, banks, and managed service providers who bundle the protection into their existing offerings. Gaurav joins us to discuss building a rapidly scaling cyber security startup and how they keep customer acquisition costs lean. We also explore the company's global expansion plans, their ongoing seed extension round, and their ambitious research into developing an artificial intelligence-powered virtual Chief Information Security Officer for small businesses.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How a Malaysian Chocolate Brand Won the World 02.08.2026 33min

  When you eat a croissant from a Malaysian bakery chain or a mousse cake from a hotel buffet, there is a strong chance the chocolate coating was made in Shah Alam. Founded in 2008 by Ng Boon Yeap and Ir. Dr. Ng Yuit Ju, Le Bourne Sdn Bhd is one of Malaysia's leading manufacturers of industrial chocolate. Rather than competing for consumer attention on retail shelves, the company operates as the crucial hidden ingredient behind the scenes, supplying premium couverture and compound chocolates to food manufacturers, bakery chains, pastry schools, and FMCG brands.Operating heavily in the B2B space, Le Bourne prioritises strict quality control in a market often flooded with cheap compound alternatives. This commitment is supported by a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility equipped with an in-house laboratory that monitors every batch. This operational excellence has allowed Le Bourne to successfully export 80 percent of its production to over 20 countries across Asia.Boon Yeap joins us to discuss the technical and commercial divide between couverture and compound chocolate and why it matters so much to food manufacturers. We explore the harsh economics of industrial manufacturing amid volatile global cocoa prices, the strategic thinking behind their recent consumer-facing pivot, and how Le Bourne plans to expand its global footprint over the next five years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Appreneurs, AI Hype & SMEs: 1337’s 20-Year Arc 30.07.2026 44min

  What started in 2005 as a developer training center called iTrain has evolved into 1337 Ventures, one of Malaysia's key players in the startup business and investing ecosystem. Over twenty years, Founder and CEO Bikesh Lakhmichand has backed startups and founders, guiding them through the "Valley of Death."However, with early-stage venture capital tightening across Southeast Asia, 1337 Ventures is shifting its playbook. Bikesh joins BFM’s Open for Business to discuss why the firm is expanding its focus toward traditional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-market companies, helping them professionalise board structures, clean up financial governance, and prepare for institutional capital or public listingsBikesh also shares his pragmatic framework for vetting AI startups, the mechanics of 5x–10x founder buyouts as an alternative exit path, 1337's rollout of boutique private equity and multi-strategy funds, and plans to bridge Indian deep-tech solutions into Southeast Asia.We DiscussThe 20-Year Evolution: Moving from training 2007 "appreneurs" to establishing Malaysia's first structured pre-accelerators and equity crowdfunding platforms.The "AI Litmus Test": Why AI is a horizontal enabler rather than a vertical, and why shallow wrappers are getting crushed by frontier models.The "No-AI" Pitch Rule: If removing every instance of "AI" from a pitch deck collapses the core value proposition, the startup is a feature, not a defensible business.Pivot to Non-Tech SMEs: Why traditional mid-market companies with real earnings are the new priority in investing.The Multi-Strategy Playbook: Building a full-spectrum fund spanning early-stage equity, venture debt, and boutique private equity.Get Paid First: Why a founder’s absolute first priority is securing paying customers before ever calling an investor.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  When Doing Good Has to Pay for Itself: MADCash’s Next Chapter 29.07.2026 33min

  When Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin last appeared on the show in March 2024, MADCash was focused on building an alternative credit score for women marginalised by traditional banking through zero-interest microloans. Since then, the platform has scaled massively, disbursing over RM4 million to more than 1,500 female entrepreneurs across Malaysia, Singapore, and Tajikistan. This tangible impact recently earned them major international acclaim, winning the Catapult Inclusion Southeast Asia 2025 prize and becoming the very first Malaysian company to win the prestigious EFICA award in Dubai by live audience vote.Despite this global recognition and rapid growth, MADCash is undergoing a profound structural evolution. Realising that their foundational principle of purely zero-interest funding is unsustainable beyond project-to-project lending, the team is boldly shifting to Murabahah financing. By implementing this Shariah-compliant, cost-plus model, the platform can generate its own revenue from lending activities, drastically reducing its dependence on corporate social responsibility funds and unpredictable charity grants.With current revenue hitting RM1.2 million and growing at 139 percent year on year, the company is targeting break-even this year and full profitability by 2027. As MADCash seeks to raise RM10 million in Murabahah funds to reach 2,000 more women, Nuraizah returns to the studio to unpack the deep philosophical and operational realities of evolving a model built on giving money away into one that must financially sustain itself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Inside AOne’s RM20M Valuation 28.07.2026 37min

  What began as a tool to help kindergartens, tuition centers, and music academies digitise their paperwork has evolved into an operating platform for 3,000 learning centers across Southeast Asia. Today, AOne manages everything from scheduling and attendance tracking to automated tuition billing.Founder and CEO Dr. Darren Gouk returns to BFM’s Open for Business as AOne attempts to raise up to RM6 million at a pre-money valuation of RM20 million via equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaign on pitchIN.He addresses the company's path to profitability, its RM3.5 million break-even target, and the stickiness of this platform.Darren also details how AOne is deploying fresh capital into predictive agent AI, unlocking direct-to-consumer marketplace monetisation for parents, and positioning the business for an eventual M&A exit with global EdTech conglomerates.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Sweet Legacy: How Malaysia's Iconic Rose Syrup Brand Stayed on Our Tables for 40 years 27.07.2026 29min

  If you have ever made a glass of rose syrup at home in Malaysia, there is a strong chance the bottle featured a slanting yellow label with a rose flower on it. That iconic bottle comes from Teluk Intan, Perak, produced by Ameen Products. Founded in 1982 by Hj Amanulla Khan, the company was born out of a stark realisation that there were no Muslim-owned syrup producers in Malaysia. Starting from his home to serve neighbours, he steadily expanded the operation to supply wholesalers, retailers, and eventually major supermarkets across Peninsular Malaysia.Today, Ameen Products is run by his son Mohammed Irfan Amanulla Khan, and operates at a massive scale, supplying major food and beverage chains like Chatime, Kenny Rogers, The Chicken Rice Shop, and Big Apple. The business has also established a robust international footprint, exporting to markets including Singapore, Fiji, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Irfan joins us to discuss the commercial realities of carrying his father's business across four decades. We break down the complex economics of Malaysian cordial manufacturing, explore the strategic push into the functional beverage market with their new Nutrasip line, and reveal the ambitious plans for a brand new manufacturing facility that will power the next forty years of Ameen Products.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  From UKM Research to RM16M Revenue? Nomatech’s Pitch 26.07.2026 38min

  What began as decades of plant genetics and biotechnology research at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) has evolved into Nomatech, an agricultural spin-off commercialising clinically validated functional rice varieties like Primera Red Rice. Today, the company manages the entire supply chain, from breeding the seeds and working with contract farmers all the way to store shelves. However, moving from academic research grants to industrial scale presents a severe operational bottleneck: transitioning from linear, organic growth (120 metric tons annually) to exponential commercial output (1,000+ metric tons) requires significant growth capital.Managing Director and Founder Emeritus Professor Wickineswari Ratnam joins BFM’s Open for Business to discuss Nomatech’s current equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaign on pitchIN, seeking RM1.5 million to RM2 million at a pre-money valuation of RM7.7 million.She addresses investor concerns around high debt gearing and details her strategy to achieve a 12-fold revenue increase to RM16 million by 2029. She also discusses securing international export permits, licensing functional IP for nutraceuticals and gut-health formulations, and her long-term path toward a public stock exchange listing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Can Metronomik Become Malaysia’s Square Enix? 23.07.2026 36min

  Can a Malaysian indie game studio go head-to-head with the world’s biggest gaming companies? Metronomik founder Wan Hazmer believes Malaysia has the talent but turning that talent into a global business is the real challenge.From building No Straight Roads to creating a studio capable of producing international hits, Hazmer shares the realities of running a game company like the cost of development, finding global audiences, attracting creative talent, and why owning original IP matters in the gaming industry.We discuss:Why building a game studio is harder than making a game.How Metronomik competes in a crowded global gaming market.The challenges of funding and monetising original game IPs in Malaysia.Why Malaysia has the talent and resources to become a gaming hub.What it takes to build a sustainable indie studio.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  They Raised the Dead to Build Malaysia's Biggest Animation IP 22.07.2026 32min

  In 2018, Hendra Wardi won the MDEC IP Creators Challenge with a highly original concept: a comedy about two teenage skeletons working in a zombie grocery store surrounded by classic Southeast Asian ghosts. It took eight years of persistence to bring that idea to life. In March 2026, Kisah Bawah Tanah finally premiered on Astro Prima, making history as Malaysia's first adult animated series. With a feature film in early discussion, the unmistakably Malaysian show is now expanding its reach into Indonesia and Thailand.The IP found its creative home at Hendra's Bawah Tanah Sdn Bhd, but it required the operational muscle of Edmund Chan's Animasia Studio to become a reality. Animasia brings 21 years of industry experience, having evolved from selling children's books to licensing homegrown animation to Disney Channel Asia and producing content for heavyweights like A24 Films and Amazon. Together, the two founders navigated a highly challenging landscape marked by severe funding gaps, a small domestic market, and significant talent scarcity to finally get the show on the air.Hendra and Edmund join us to discuss the financial and creative realities of building a Malaysian animation IP from scratch. They outline the sheer endurance required to survive an eight-year development cycle and unpack the business mechanics behind their regional expansion strategy. They also address the massive disruption of artificial intelligence within the creative sector and how Animasia's new AI hybrid production joint venture, RawrAsia Studio, aims to adapt to the future of the global animation industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Ditching E-Commerce? Pre-IPO CompAsia’s 85-Store Bet 21.07.2026 33min

  What began in 2012 as an enterprise PC broker has evolved into one of Southeast Asia’s largest re-commerce operators, processing over half a million pre-owned devices annually across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.Founder and CEO Julius Lim joins BFM’s Open for Business to unpack how CompAsia built a vertically integrated ecosystem that generated RM180 million in revenue and nearly RM20 million in profit after tax last year.He details the operational shift from pure-play e-commerce to an aggressive 85-store physical retail footprint, explaining how brick-and-mortar touchpoints serve as both a customer acquisition channel and a direct device-sourcing engine.Julius also breaks down the mechanics of their high-margin Renew and Go program, his approach to managing consumer credit risk, and why debt capacity is driving their planned RM400 million to RM500 million Main Market IPO by 2027.We Discuss:The Evolution from Enterprise PCs to Smartphones: Why the initial B2B computer brokerage model shifted in 2017 to capture higher-velocity, higher-value consumer smartphone demand.Overcoming the Trust Deficit: Professionalising secondhand trade-ins through proprietary white-label diagnostic software, automated AI grading, and certified data wiping.The Offline Retail Paradox: Why CompAsia aggressively expanded from 7 to 85 physical stores to solve sourcing bottlenecks and lower customer acquisition costs.The Renew and Go Profit Engine: Structuring a 36-month installment and 12-month upgrade cycle to target underbanked consumers without credit cards.The 2027 Main Market IPO Rationale: Why going public is essential to unlocking the debt and equity capital required to fund inventory and scale the program to 1 million subscribers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  LOL Asia’s 17 Years: From Comedy Promoter to IP Owner 20.07.2026 44min

  What began with a single stand-up comedy show at Zouk KL’s Velvet Underground in 2009 has expanded into a regional live entertainment force, selling over 500,000 tickets, hosting 350 global talents, and touring across 30 cities.Co-Founder and CEO Rizal Kamal joins BFM’s Open for Business to unpack LOL Asia’s 17-year journey, the brutal economics of the live events trade, and why he’s pushing past the transactional promoter trap to build a scalable, asset-owning intellectual property (IP) engine.He breaks down how the company is capitalizing on shifting post-pandemic consumer behaviors, where traditional clubbing and alcohol consumption are in decline, and audiences demand high-value, sober live experiences like their new wellness concept, Thrive Play. Rizal also details his asset-light regional expansion across Australia and Southeast Asia, how AI acts as a "genius partner" for rapid event prototyping, and why he is working with a 60-association coalition to abolish Malaysia's British era entertainment tax.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Fixing Phones Is Dead? Secondlifeasia’s Software Pivot 19.07.2026 44min

  For years, Secondlifeasia was recognized as a hardware-heavy device repair business. But as the company sets out to raise RM5 million at a near-RM38 million valuation, it is undergoing a high-stakes operational shift.Squeezed by a structural hardware margin trap, driven by Apple’s iron grip on parts pricing and surging component costs, the company is facing the decline of repair culture, as consumers choose instant trade-ins over physical part replacements.The answer to this? Software.Secondlifeasia claims it can transform into a scalable ecosystem for financed, pre-loved devices.Co-Founder and CEO Jerome Teh joins Open for Business to defend their new trajectory. We dive into the assumptions underpinning their financial projections and dissect their signature "switch-off deterrent", a proprietary, remote device-locking technology designed to mitigate an $11 billion global fraud problem and turn high-risk pre-loved electronics into safe, high-yield financial assets for risk-averse financiers. Finally, we question the true execution risk of their pivot and regional playbook as they attempt to scale across the highly fragmented consumer markets of Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Infinium Robotics: F&B Failure to RM96M Exit 13.07.2026 37min

  Following a RM96 million acquisition by German-listed DDB, Jon Woon, Founder and CEO of Infinium Robotics, unpacks what’s next for the indoor autonomous drone space.We discuss how the company successfully pivoted from an economically unviable restaurant food-delivery experiment into a logistics play, the development of patent-pending indoor navigation software that flies entirely without GPS signals, and how a single autonomous drone can audit up to 20,000 pallet locations over a single weekend.Jon also shares how Infinium actively de-risked its business from low-cost Chinese hardware competition by transforming into a drone-agnostic system integrator, leveraging a resilient 70% OPEX rental revenue model to seamlessly scale across Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia.Finally, we explore the next frontier of logistics through Physical AI and digital twin technology, explaining why a massive global automation gap, where 90% of warehouses still rely on manual stock-taking, presents a massive runway for their upcoming expansion into Europe and North America.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  The Creator Collaboration Advantage 12.07.2026 37min

  Open your brand's Instagram and honestly ask if you would follow the account if you did not work there. Most corporate social media pages function like boring bulletin boards, treating creators merely as distribution channels with audiences attached. Recognising this flaw after a decade leading Gushcloud Malaysia, Wan Hou Yin left to launch empwr in January 2026 alongside a former colleague and one of Malaysia's most recognisable digital talents.That talent is Mohamad Sofian Abdullah, better known as Sofyank. Famous for his VFX collaborations with Hollywood stars and winning Zach King's Ultimate VFX Challenge, Sofyank is not just a client on the agency roster — he is a co-founder. This distinction drives empwr's entire business thesis. By treating creators as genuine creative partners, the agency leverages their cultural instincts to produce content audiences actually want to watch. This approach rapidly built a bootstrapped, seven-figure business that reached profitability in just three months, highlighted by a massive Dutch Lady livestream with Khairul Aming that generated RM400,000 in sales.Hou Yin and Sofian join us to discuss the fundamental difference between a traditional influencer campaign and a genuine creator collaboration. We examine the commercial realities of running their fast-growing agency, what it actually changes when you bring a top-tier digital creator into the boardroom, and whether the traditional advertising industry is finally ready to let go of outdated marketing strategies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Malaysia's Natural Treasures, Waiting to Be Discovered 09.07.2026 31min

  In 2008, Alann Tan returned from New Zealand with his degree but no business plan, driven home by his father's cancer diagnosis. To survive, he and his brother opened a humble market stall selling pineapple tarts and Chinese New Year kuih. Despite a RM500,000 early loss that nearly wiped them out, that small survival mechanism quietly laid the foundation for what is now a sophisticated, multi-brand wellness and gifting empire.Today, JYY Group is a fully bootstrapped, profitable enterprise generating tens of millions in annual revenue across Malaysia. The portfolio is strategically split across three distinct pillars: Jin Ye Ye for festive hampers, JYNNS for modern daily wellness, and the heritage bird's nest brand Lo Hong Ka. Acquiring Lo Hong Ka and its manufacturing plant in 2022 allowed the group to take full control of its production, fueling an expansion to over 30 retail outlets and preparing the company for significant capital expenditure to build a new industrial park and regional headquarters.The group's ultimate ambition is to elevate Malaysian natural assets onto the global stage, specifically aiming to do for local Trigona honey what New Zealand did for Manuka. This vision recently materialised with the launch of the MY Treasure flagship at KLIA2, positioning curated Malaysian products as premium gifts for international travellers. Alann joins us to discuss the financial mechanics of running a multi-brand retail ecosystem, the strategic value of owning your own manufacturing, and what it truly takes to build a premium positioning for an underdog ingredient.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  30 Hotels in 3 Years with No Hospitality Background 08.07.2026 31min

  Traditional hotels often force guests to pay for luxury features they simply do not use. Recognising this gap, Benny Ong and his co-founders launched KiN Hotel Group in 2023. Coming from diverse backgrounds in technology, marketing, and real estate, they viewed their complete lack of hospitality experience as a massive competitive advantage. By treating operations as a blank canvas and avoiding legacy corporate structures, they implemented a philosophy of "value engineering” - stripping away expensive grand lobbies and converting underutilised rooms into practical, modern spaces like modular mini-gyms.This lean, technology-driven approach quickly proved highly successful. Their first proof of concept in Vietnam saw average room rates jump from $45 USD to over $100 USD per night while maintaining an impressive 90 percent occupancy rate. Rather than buying buildings or relying heavily on traditional management contracts, KiN Hotel Group operates an asset-light model focused on long-term leases and rapid refurbishments. By dealing directly with vendors, they can completely turn over a property in just eight weeks, allowing them to target a return on equity within three to four years.Benny joins us to discuss the operational realities of scaling an independent hotel brand with a target of adding up to 2,000 rooms annually. They explore the strategic thinking behind their recent RM19.8 million, 20-year lease for Kuala Lumpur's Maya Hotel, how they plan to heavily integrate artificial intelligence to offset rising labour costs, and their ambitious roadmap toward a potential public listing by 2030 as they expand aggressively across Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and China.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Replacing SWIFT With Stablecoins for Cross Border Payments 07.07.2026 27min

  Traditional cross-border payments are plagued by a severe lack of predictability. Relying on an outdated correspondent banking network and the SWIFT system, global money transfers are often slow and leave customers waiting without any clarity on when their funds will arrive. Raj Kamal, an executive with two decades of experience in the payments industry, realised the core issue was a lack of universal regulation. In 2022, he founded TransFi, betting that fiat-pegged stablecoins could provide instant settlement without the need for trusted counterparties, effectively bypassing the cumbersome legacy system entirely.Focusing heavily on emerging markets, TransFi allows customers to transact using familiar local payment methods like DuitNow. Behind the scenes, the platform seamlessly converts the local currency into stablecoins to move the value across borders, before instantly paying it out in the recipient's local currency. This ensures a faster, highly predictable experience where the end-user never actually has to handle cryptocurrency. To manage this safely at scale, the company heavily integrates AI for rigorous global compliance checks, real-time transaction reconciliation, and automated customer service capabilities.Serving institutions, large remittance companies, and e-commerce merchants, TransFi operates at a cost up to 50 percent lower than traditional alternatives. This operational efficiency has driven massive growth, leading to a $19.2 million Series A funding round led by Turing Financial Group in March 2026. Having already processed over $1 billion in volume with 16 times revenue growth since their seed round, Raj joins us to discuss his strategy for hitting $5 billion in transaction volume this fiscal year and why he believes stablecoins will completely reshape the global payments industry by 2030.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Same Founder, Different City, Completely Different Business. 06.07.2026 22min

  In April 2019, Muhammad Hamizan Zaidi opened Affogato, a popular coffee and ice cream dessert cafe in Kuching. Capitalising on a loyal community following, the concept soon expanded into a second lot right next door to become Oregano by Affogato, a pasta-forward restaurant blending Sarawakian ingredients with Italian fusion. Together, these ventures built the foundation of a seven-figure multi-brand F&B business.Encouraged by his success in Sarawak, Mizan made the bold decision to expand into Petaling Jaya. However, the operational realities of West Malaysia proved vastly different from his home base. Facing the stark contrasts and intense pressures of running an F&B outlet in Kuala Lumpur compared to Kuching, the Petaling Jaya expansion struggled. To rescue the business, Mizan successfully secured capital from new investors, executing a major strategic pivot that saw the PJ location completely rebrand from Oregano into Warung Jakarta.Mizan joins us to discuss the realities of expanding an independent F&B brand across the South China Sea. We explore the distinct differences in consumer behaviour and operational demands between the Kuching and KL markets. He also shares the heavy emotional responsibility of managing a team through a business rescue, and why his ultimate goal for his portfolio is building deep, sustainable artisan character rather than chasing aggressive scale.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Why Indelible Ventures Bets on B2B, Not Consumer Tech 05.07.2026 45min

  While the rest of Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem was chasing consumer-driven "unicorn" narratives and burning cash on a race for user growth at all costs, Indelible Ventures took a completely different path. Since its launch, this early-stage venture capital firm has avoided consumer hype to bet heavily on B2B enterprise software.Managing Partner Kevin Brockland joins us to explain why he avoids consumer tech and how the B2B landscape is reaching a critical turning point. He also discusses why a growing number of Malaysian founders are choosing to completely bootstrap using AI tools rather than seek dilutive venture funding, why the fundraising environment for VCs is the worst it’s been in a decade, and how early-stage capital is migrating away from overrated markets toward overlooked regions like the Philippines and Japan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.