Open For Business

Rebecca and Jared Chuah's Nateskin, born out of grooming challenges, established itself as a trusted provider of simple, sustainable, and inclusive solutions. Nateskin's commitment to design excellence resulted in products that empowered personal grooming with confidence. Their first product, a unique hair trimmer, aimed to destigmatise body grooming discussions. Battling against societal taboos, Nateskin created innovative grooming products and saw impressive sales growth, hitting RM500k per month by June 2023.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that Saharan ants inspired the development of an electricity-free cooling technology?Tapping on scientific research findings of their supervisor, Dr Edwin Tso Chi-yan from the City University of Hong Kong’s School of Energy and Environment (SEE), research assistant Shirley Du and PhD student Martin Zhu, set up “i2Cool” to develop and promote zero-energy, low-cost, highly-efficient passive radiative cooling paint to save energy and reduce carbon emissions in cooling buildings.One of the product’s they developed is a radiative paint, that when applied to the exterior wall of a building, can simultaneously reflect sunlight and dissipate the building's heat into space, resulting in a drop in the building's indoor temperature.On this episode of Open for Business, we speak with Dr Martin Zhu, CEO and Co-founder of i2Cool Limited, about how ants inspired the tech behind this paint, why 2 academics jumped into the startup world, and what lies ahead for i2cool. I2Cool Limited is a start-up technology company, incubated by HK TECH 300 in the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Hong Kong Science and Technology ParkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Electric Vehicle (EV) space has been heating up here in Malaysia. Last year we saw some 2,631 EVs sold in Malaysia through official distribution channels last year, representing a 860% gain from 2021 which saw 274 sold.Now, selling EVs is one thing, but we need to ensure we’re building the infrastructure to support the ability to use these vehicles and that means building a charging network that is wide enough to support this boom. While big players like Tesla and Gentari are trying to address this, there are also other players that are working on this. Powered by RISE is one such player. Founded in 2019, the local tech startup wanted to address a critical issue in the Electric Vehicle scene, the lack of accessible charging infrastructure. Today the company isn’t just installing charging points, it has developed its own chargers and apps so that it doesn’t have to rely on other companies to succeed, but is this enough to defend against well funded competition that’s coming into the space? We speak to Kray Chong, Founder and CEO of Powered by RISE, to get a better understanding of their role in the EV ecosystem, how they built their own technology, and whether they see moves by Gentari and Tesla as threats or opportunities to their long term story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founded in 2020, Creative Factory combines traditional drawing with digital technology, and introduced the first digital oil-painting service in Malaysia. They transform special memories into unique art pieces, sparking interest among celebrities and influencers. Committed to enhancing customer experience and promoting an appreciation for modern-traditional art, they offer a variety of affordable digital oil paintings in multiple sizes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Electric Vehicle space in Malaysia got big news yesterday with Tesla formally announcing its strategic expansion into the Malaysian market, and they’re not just here to sell cars, they’re looking to establish an office, build out Tesla Experience and service centres, and set up a Supercharger network.Now that last part is something to watch, given Tesla’s experience and knowledge in the space and their brand value and recognition, how much of a threat is this foreign player to the local EV infrastructure players?For a perspective on this, we speak with Shah Yang Razalli, Deputy CEO of Gentari - wholly owned clean energy solutions company under PETRONAS. Gentari is involved in EV charging stations here in Malaysia, but outside the EV ecosystem it’s also involved in rooftop solar panels, battery storage, hydrogen production and more. We’ll also get into the company’s mandate and their role in driving the clean energy agenda here in Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DrPrevents is a provider of preventive healthcare services in the Klang Valley area. With 24-hour operating medical clinics and a dedicated team of doctors and clinic assistants, DrPrevents offer healthcare solutions backed by some of the latest technology. Guided by the belief that prevention is better than cure, DrPrevents specialises in personalised and innovative medical services to empower individuals in their proactive pursuit of wellness. We’ll be hearing from the founder, Dr. Vikneswaran Ragupathiraja.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although getting better in recent times, Malaysia still has a property oversupply problem, but could big data and AI be the solution? Or atleast help make sure this doesn’t continue to be a problem going forward?That’s something UrbanMetry is banking on.UrbanMetry is an AI-driven city and property data startup that cleans and analyses large amounts of city data, through its proprietary algorithms. The data and insights can then be used by governments, city planners, developers and financial institutions to create and back – better planned property developments and town planning. This will hopefully help manage the demands-supply mismatch so that developments match actual needs on the ground.We speak to Cha Ly Koh, CEO and founder of UrbanMetry, about how she built this platform, whether data is truly the answer to Malaysia’s property woes, and what lies ahead for the company.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.