Open For Business

BananaBro is a chain of banana leaf restaurants founded in 2018 by Tony Lim, who isn’t a stranger to the F&B space. He previously started Boat Noodle back in 2013 and before that set up a Chatime franchise in Cambodia in 2011.In 5 years, BananaBro has grown to over 30 outlets nationwide and made RM70 million in revenue in 2023, with EBIDTA margins around the 15%-20% range. The business is still actively expanding and is looking to take their store count to 60 by 2026. At present, Tony sees potential revenue for the Malaysian market hitting between RM150 million to RM200 million in time. From bubble tea to thai boat noodles and now Indian banana leaf, in this edition of Open For Business we explore the business rationale and promise for building a banana leaf restaurant chain, how Tony's past experiences have helped with the starting and scaling of this venture, and much more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Open for Business, you will learn about Inside Scoop’s inception 11 years ago and the journey this venture has taken, what Farm Fresh brings to the table, and the Inside Scoop on this business’s potential quantum leap ahead with Edmund Tan, Co-Founder of Inside Scoop.Founded in 2013, Inside Scoop has evolved into a household name with over 40 outlets across the country. Last year, the company hit a significant milestone after Malaysia's largest homegrown dairy company Farm Fresh acquired a 65% stake in Inside Scoop for around RM84 million. Farm Fresh taking a bit into Inside Scoop marks a new chapter in this homegrown ice cream maker's journey.The discussion delves into the early days of starting Inside Scoop and why the founders left lucrative careers in finance, the creation and development of the brand, and the aim to expand into the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) market with Farm Fresh now in their corner. Edmund also gets into their strategy to maintain brand authenticity, the challenges of venturing into a highly competitive market, the importance of customer experience, and the future plans for location expansion and product innovation.01:39 The Founders' Motivation and Initial Challenges02:10 The Birth of Inside Scoop02:41 The Transition from Corporate to Entrepreneurship03:19 The Importance of Financial Planning10:00 The Role of Personal and Professional Growth13:40 The Art of Ice Cream Making16:06 Understanding Customer Preferences17:02 Brand Development and Strategy17:35 The Importance of Customer Experience in Building a Brand18:07 Recognizing Malaysia's Manufacturing Industry18:54 The Journey of Building and Growing a Brand20:10 Key Marketing Strategies and Customer Acquisition20:21 The Impact of Free Ice Cream20:55 The Success of the Ramadan Ice Cream Buffet21:50 Building a Relationship with a Niche Audience23:02 Growth Expectations and Future Plans23:55 The Acquisition by Farm Fresh and Revenue Growth25:35 The Profitability of the Venture29:34 The Relationship with Farm Fresh and Future Growth31:57 The Next Stage: Consumer Packaged Goods33:00 The Long-Term Involvement of the FoundersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Open For Business, we spoke with NEFIN, a renewable energy investor, developer, and asset manager. Established almost a decade ago, the company’s journey began with a clear vision, that is to harness renewable resources to power a cleaner, and more sustainable future.NEFIN has a diverse portfolio of renewable energy projects that span various scales and geographical locations, to address the urgent needs of climate change and environmental conservation. The company leverages technologies, including solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources, to deliver efficient and effective energy solutions.We were joined by Chong Bor Hung, the Managing Director of NEFIN SEA, and Head of Business Development of NEFIN Group who shared his thoughts on how NEFIN navigates the challenges and opportunities of the renewable energy market. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Open For Business today, we are talking to a company that’s involved in an industry that’s very much talked about in recent years – the electric vehicle (EV) industry.Established in 2016, EV Connection is a provider of sustainable energy infrastructure solutions in Malaysia, with a focus on EV charging infrastructure and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Its vision is to revolutionise the transportation sector by being innovative with EV solutions. As the world increasingly shifts towards sustainable and eco-friendly transport options, companies like EV Connection are leading the charge in making electric vehicles accessible and practical for everyday use.Today, we speak with Lee Yuen How, the Managing Director of EV Connection, delving into the journey of the company, exploring their contributions to the EV landscape, their technologies, and strategies for navigating the challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving EV market.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heading into 2024, it’s important for parents to know where they can get care products for their babies in a timely, convenient manner with reasonable prices. However, in practice that isn’t always easy. Parents Jesmine and Sean Tan were looking for Safe, Natural and Organic products for their own daughter back in 2011 when they realized that having to resort to importing such brands cost heavy postage fees. This led them to create Applecrumby in 2012. Applecrumby then went on to be part of the second batch of startups that made it to 500 Global’s Distro Dojo program in 2016, where they secured seed funding worth US$300,000 from the VC. Now, Applecrumby has an e-commerce platform that has their own homegrown in-house brand of baby products. They have baby products such as diapers, wipes, skincare, cleaning products, and toothgel that are catered to parents who wish to have the option of Safe, Natural and Organic (S.N.O) baby products for their children. More recently, Applecrumby had also opened its first store-in-store in Shah Alam in a partnership with Daggeebaby. So today on Open For Business, we spoke to Sean Tan, CEO & Co-Founder and Jesmine Tan, COO & Co-Founder of Applecrumby on their business journey since 2012 and what the future holds for their business. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Post-pandemic, Malaysia has experienced a gradual decline in unemployment, however the paradigm shift in work dynamics during the pandemic continues, and now sees many of the younger generations placing different priorities on what they seek in a job.Hiredly, a leading hybrid recruitment platform in the realm of talent acquisition, specifically targets Gen Y and Z, recognizing their evolving working preferences. It comprises both a job portal and a headhunting recruitment solution, focusing on junior to mid-management talents.Today on Open for Business, we speak with Derek Toh, the Founder and CEO of Hiredly, on why he started down this path, the business model and promise of this venture, how AI has changed the game, and the future of Hiredly. We will also explore employment trends in Malaysia and the evolving demands of workplaces.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Co-living spaces are often characterised by communal living arrangements and a strong sense of community and have become increasingly popular, particularly among working professionals who are seeking flexible and vibrant living solutions. At the forefront of this is Bespoke Habitat, a company that has been shaping the landscape of shared spaces since its establishment in 2019. Bespoke Habitat has been creating flexible and affordable housing solutions in Singapore and now, the company has expanded its footprint to Malaysia, specifically Johor Bahru, unveiling an exclusive co-living space designed to cater to the needs of the ever-mobile working professionals. To explore this evolving trend, the state of co-living spaces in Malaysia and what the future holds for Bespoke Habitat, I’m joined today by Ernee Ong, Co-founder of Bespoke Habitat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s discussion, we examine the impact of data quality on large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, pivotal in industries for trend prediction and content personalisation. Despite their potential, reliance on these AI models, used in various sectors, poses concerns about data accuracy and security, particularly as 62% of Malaysians fear AI job replacement yet 84% are willing to delegate tasks to AI. Our interview with Genie Yuan from Couchbase, a leader in cloud-based database solutions, will delve into the importance of high-quality data for LLM accuracy, strategies to mitigate data discrepancies, and the broader implications of AI adoption in workplaces, including future AI-driven advancements. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this edition of Open for Business, Theodoric Chew, Co-Founder and CEO of Singapore based digital mental healthcare company Intellect speaks to BFM about how and why he built Intellect, the promise and potential of this venture, and what the path ahead looks like for this digital mental healthcare company.Among other things, we explore Theo’s past experience building and selling content platform Existgreat at just 20 years old, how that may have helped in his Intellect journey, the role that Intellect plays in the health and wellness space, how they utilised the collective $20 million raised in their Series A round - the largest amount of funding raised by a mental health startup in Asia.We also get into how their recent strategic partnership with IHH Healthcare will support growth ahead, exit possibilities, and more.Founded in 2019, Intellect is a digital mental healthcare company based in Singapore, aiming to make mental healthcare and wellbeing support accessible for everyone, and now serves over 3 million members on its platform and has signed. They are backed by some famed investors such as Tiger Global, Insignia Ventures Partners, Y Combinator, and more. And last year signed a strategic partnership with IHH Healthcare, one of Asia’s largest private healthcare groupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this edition of Open for Business, Colony’s Co-Founder and CEO Timothy Tiah takes us through lessons learnt, challenges faced, and journey ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of coworking. Among other things, we explore how Timothy was “duped” into this business, his concern with the financial engineering that goes on with the EBITDA profitability of some businesses, the strategy of building a premium co-working offering through Colony and a low-cost, no-frills option through Jerry Coworking Space, his preferred exit strategy, and much more.Co-founded by husband & wife duo, Timothy Tiah & Audrey Ooi, Colony is a more luxurious take on the co-working space concept and was launched late July 2017. The idea was to transform the work experience with beautiful serviced office spaces and world-class amenities, taking inspiration from Silicon Valley offices.They started with a team of 15 people and had 2 branches initially, and within a year raised US$5 million with Cornerstone Partners (acquiring a stake at US$15m-US$20m valuation). Today they have 6 main co-working spaces, multiple event spaces, and in 2021, introduced Jerry Coworking Space - a cheaper, fully-automated, no frills option.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.