2022, issue 161 Founder Dato' Eii Ching Siew Legal Advisor Jason Kong & Co; Wong Kang Xian CEO Max Soh Editor-in-chief YG Lai Editorial Advisor Loh Wei Hoong / Neil Foo / Sun Ce / Patrick Lai Chia Chui Hoong Art Director Kevin Lai Editor Leow Kok Wei / Rachel Lim / Terence Law Cathryn Lai / Catherine Lim Creative Designer Ong XiaoHu Business Development Executive Raymond Ng 012-602 2381 / Christine 012-359 0048 Naomi Tan 017-282 3469 / Json Tan 019-3231515 Alice Chin 017-238 1999 Host Amethyst Video Production My Studio Work / Celica Chew Produced & Published Ei Media International Sdn. Bhd. A-18-05, Tower A, Pinnacle Petaling Jaya, Jalan Utara C, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel: + 603-7931 3319 Printed Power Press & Design (M) Sdn. Bhd. Issued Central Paper Agencies Sdn. Bhd. Contributors
contents. focus - 16 WoodTrees The Past, Present and Future of Warehouse Solution “The world is continuously changing, and an accelerated pace of change, driven rapidly by pandemic. Work on your goals and create a vision that genuinely builds a future you can be proud of.” -PG 08 Tan Sri Tony Fernandes - co-founder of AirAsia focus - 32 Lomo Picture Movies and Life are Mutually Interweave, Learn to Produce Films and Create Personalities at the same time - 36 Wei Liang Your Teammate and Mentor - 40 MOVE-ON MOVE-ON to the evolutionary trend - 22 Medicap MediCap sets a great foresight with strong belief Spreading health awareness to help patients - 27 Champ Group of Companies Designer Home, Everyone Owns The Roar of Post-pandemic Economic Growth
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contents. Sport - 44 New Vegetarian New Vegetarian Focuses on Convenient Delicacies, Customers give a Thumbs up to food with a fair price! - 48 Yummy Vegetarian Plant-Based Without Border advert - 50 KS Consulting Building A Resilient Organisation: Upskilling and Reskilling Adapt, Survive and Re-Emerge from Pandemic As a leader, I need to be resilient in managing the expectation from top and adaptation with local team members. There are still lots of uncertainties (business trend / political) hence am working hard with the team to ensure minimal operational changes. Plaza Premium Group -52
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cover. ISSUE 160 7 Online Live Interviews Personal interviews, Corporate and Product Video Production Post to The Entrepreneur Facebook page + website 3 Posts (text/image) Per Week Monthly 1 post to 3rd Party Social Media Platform Monthly Social Media Marketing Strategy Meeting Monthly Report www.qiyejia.my www.facebook.com/EiMediaInternational https://bit.ly/3BAbMI4 +6016-2020 911
cover. 8 ISSUE 161 The world is continuously changing, and an accelerated pace of change, driven rapidly by pandemic. Work on your goals and create a vision that genuinely builds a future you can be proud of. The Roar of Post-pandemic Economic Growth
cover. ISSUE 161 9 The airline industry has been hardest hit and never in my dreams did I think we would ever have to ground our fleet. What we did is that we turned the crisis into an opportunity, transform the business and focus on growing our non-airline, digital platforms.” Tan Sri Tony Fernandes Malaysian, male, born in 1964, is the cofounder of AirAsia. He was appointed as a Non-Independent Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Group Berhad (AAGB) on 30 March 2018. In December 2001, Tan Sri Tony, together with Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, Dato’ Pahamin Ab Rajab and Dato’ Abdul Aziz bin Abu Bakar, acquired struggling domestic airline AirAsia and, with the help of Conor McCarthy, relaunched it as a pioneer of budget travel in Asia, building AirAsia into the world’s best low-cost carrier.
cover. 10 ISSUE 161 Can you tell us what is your biggest challenge and the most rewarding aspect as the CEO of airasia? Undoubtedly the biggest challenge I have ever faced is this pandemic. Never has there been such a disrupted travel environment in the history of commercial aviation. Being forced to let good people go through no fault of their own has also been extremely difficult. Our brand has always focused on putting our people first. The most rewarding aspect of my role is developing our people to be all they can be. We have trained ground employees and cabin crew to become data scientists and UX designers, for example. One of my priorities is to hire back all the employees we let go once we are flying again and can return to normal operations. Can you talk about after the airasia restructuring and the plan after acquiring Gojek? We have used the downtime in flying over the past year and a half, to pivot the business from just an airline into a one stop digital travel and lifestyle super app. Our aim is to become the Asean super app of choice, and the acquisition of Gojek’s Thailand operations is an important strategic partnership to boost the roll out of our airasia super app across Asean. The super app is now in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. Our plan for the near future is to expand the super app in all of our key markets.
cover. The airline industry was greatly affected during the pandemic, can you talk to us about what specific gains and losses airasia have during the pandemic? The airline industry has been hardest hit and never in my dreams did I think we would ever have to ground our fleet. What we did is that we turned the crisis into an opportunity, transformed the business and focused on growing our nonairline, digital platforms. We now have a robust ecosystem of over 15 travel, delivery, fintech and lifestyle services all leveraging off one another from the one app. While the airline will always underpin our brand, we are now not solely reliant on airfares alone and the majority of our digital businesses are already profitable which I believe will match or even succeed our airline revenues in the next five years. What are some of the best practices airasia use in communicating with employees/ passengers in regard to the new normal or airline operation return? When it comes to our employees, I maintain open, honest and transparent communications. Employees need to know what's going on in a timely manner and how any change affects them, which has been incredibly important through this Covid-19 period where changes take place on a regular basis. We have various channels to communicate with employees including regular live online updates as well as digital chat groups and of course, through online departmental meetings. We ensure our guests are always well informed of any changes to their flight details, or updated travel advice based on the ever-changing regulatory situation in each market via SMS, email, Electronic Direct Mail (EDM), our guest support section on the website and via our customer support team. Before the pandemic hit, we introduced our first live AI chatbot called AVA for immediate responses to the majority of all of the most common customer queries which massively expanded our communications capacity. To handle the peak of over 550,000 requests daily, AVA massively expanded our communications capacity. Last year, we witnessed a significant increase in the volume of queries, handling over 44 million guest queries vs 23 million in 2019 and AVA was able to successfully resolve around 80% of these on the spot. A consistent communications campaign was also launched to acknowledge guests’ concerns and highlight the channels where they can find assistance. Airasia also called upon close to 1,800 employees volunteers to assist our contact centre teams during the pandemic peak. The group is proud to report that its Net Promoter Score (measure of customer satisfaction) has continued its upward trajectory, registering a significant boost from 38 to 52 for 2019 and 2020 respectively while 2020 customer satisfaction and first contact resolution surveys were above 90%.
cover. 12 ISSUE 161 How did airasia convince your investor and successfully complete the private share placement during this difficult time? I can’t comment on any investors’ decision, however it’s a strong testament to the positive support we are receiving from a number of key investors for the strategy we have put in place to become more than just an airline and for the airline to return to the skies stronger. We have a robust fundraising strategy in place to ensure liquidity throughout the pandemic. Our plan to raise up to MYR 2.5 billion ringgit through a combination of borrowing and equity raising is on track. We have already raised MYR 336.5 million from two tranches of private placements earlier this year and continue to renegotiate leasing terms with all of our lessors. We have also disposed of 32.67% of our interest in AirAsia India, amounting to USD 37.68 million (approximately RM152.64 million), ceased operations in Japan and sold a number of spare engines amounting to over USD130 million. Our Fintech portfolio company BigPay has received up to US$100 million funding from one of Korea’s biggest conglomerates SK Group, which saw the potential we have in creating an inclusive digital bank going forward. In early August AirAsia Group Berhad (AABG) announced it had received gross proceeds of US $56.83 million (MYR 239.98 million) from the merger between Fly Leasing Limited (Fly Leasing) and Carlyle Aviation Partners which delivered a welcome boost to our financial position. Recently, we received shareholder’s approval for the proposed renounceable rights issue of up to RM1 billion, at the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 11 November 2021. We expect to complete the exercise by the end of this year. Additionally, we have received the approval from Danajamin Nasional Berhad (Danajamin) for an 80% guaranteed loan of up to RM500 million under the Danajamin Prihatin Guarantee Scheme and an approval from a foreigner lender for a US$150 million loan facility of which US$100 million has been drawn down. While we continue to evaluate further funding, potential monetisation and other corporate exercises, as for now we expect to have sufficient liquidity throughout 2022. We remain optimistic about our ability to not only survive the ongoing effects of the pandemic, but to return to the skies stronger than ever in the near future. Domestic air travel is already gradually resuming in our key markets and international travel should start to take flight in 2022. We foresee a major resurgence in air travel on the horizon due to huge pent up demand and the acceleration of vaccines, better testing, education, tracing and the push for digital health passports in all of our key markets.
cover. ISSUE 161 13 Could you share with us more about AirAsia’s digital aspirations and the three key focus businesses: Super App, Logistics and BigPay Fintech? AirAsia Group Berhad (AAGB) is now an investment holding company with a portfolio of synergistic travel and lifestyle businesses that leverage technology to deliver the best value at the lowest cost, supported by strong data and one of Asia's leading brands that remains committed to serving the underserved. Our three core digital businesses comprise of: E-commerce The airasia super app which is our all in one digital platform offering a growing number of travel, lifestyle and rewards offerings for everyday needs as well as access to vast amounts of data to provide customised offerings to customers such as flights (on airasia and other airlines), hotels, Snap (Flights & Hotel packages), Unlimited flight pass, airasia farm, airasia food, airasia fresh, airasia beauty, airasia shop, airasia health, airasia academy (Redbeat Academy), IKHLAS, BIG Rewards, and airasia Media Group (content and ads). Logistics Teleport - is our cross-border logistics venture encompassing freight, delivery and e-commerce. I believe this is one of the jewels in our crown and will soon become the leading delivery company in Asean,
cover. 14 ISSUE 161 combining tech-enabled regional logistics service providers with the capabilities to enable 24-hour cross-border door to door deliveries at the best value prices by leveraging airasia and interline partners’ wide network in the air and our own last mile team on the ground. Fintech BigPay: is Asean’s newest challenger bank and soon to become Malaysia’s first virtual bank. Essentially, it’s a fintech company focusing on payment solutions, remittance and lending. BigPay aims to d-wallet, remittance services and lending. Digital transformation is an important milestone for airasia. What was the key success factor and how did you change the mindset of thousands of employees from an airline mentality to becoming digitally focused? In this digital era, data is king. What we realised back in 2018 is that we have access to significant data and rich customer profiles built up over the past 19 years. What we have created is an end-to-end travel, lifestyle and delivery platform which is committed to providing the best value for customers in all that we do. We also have a strong brand that resonates with virtually everyone in Asean and a customer service excellence ethic which is second to none. I strongly believe we are on the right track and will become a major player in the super app industry in the very near future, because we have strength in our brand, our data and our service excellence in Asean. Changing the mindset of tens of thousands of employees in a short time frame is no mean feat for sure. However, at AirAsia Group we are lucky to have a passionate and malleable workforce, built on our commitment to always putting our people first. We have also upskilled thousands of airline employees to join our digital team in order to maintain as many jobs as possible such as cabin crew becoming data analysts and more. I believe many readers are interested in knowing what the next five-year plan for the aviation industry should look like. We foresee a major resurgence in air travel on the horizon due to huge pent up demand and the acceleration of vaccines, better testing, education, tracing and the push for digital health passports in all of our key markets. Domestic and regional will gradually restart first, in the last quarter of 2021, followed soon after by international in 2022. Governments will be less likely to fund airlines and airports will be more receptive to low-cost airline needs which will make for a much fairer playing field. Low cost, leisure travel will recover first, business travel will recover last. So, we are in the right place in the market, with the right model to recover faster than many of our competitors.
cover. ISSUE 161 15 Besides staying positive and optimistic in the current pandemic situation, what other lesson have you learned to overcome the situation? I’m the eternal optimist but thanks to this pandemic, I’ve also learned to be more of a realist at the same time. Employee’s communication and motivation is crucial throughout any crisis. Not letting a crisis defeat you is also something I learned long ago. The airline industry is always subject to many external turbulences that you cannot control. Just as we survived 911, bird flu, SARS and significant weather events and many more extraneous events outside our control, we have never wasted a crisis. We turned the crisis into an opportunity. I remain positive that our strategy to become more than just an airline will set AirAsia Group up to not only survive but thrive in a post pandemic world.
16 ISSUE 161 In this interview, we spoke to Mr. Gan Soon Kiat (also known as SK), the founder and managing director of WOODTREES SDN BHD that designs, develops, and delivers a professional automation solution for forwardthinking warehouses and distribution centers. Can you give a brief introduction of your company? WOODTREES is a local company that has vast experience in System Integration for Automated & Manual Warehouse Solution, Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Warehouse Control System (WCS). Our range of services includes Consulting, Project & System Implementation, Customer Service with 24- hour support and tailored-made customisation to the specific requirements of your business. What’s the vision and mission of your company? We want to provide the best-of-art solutions, software, and support at an affordable price for our customers. Our company emphasizes a lot on customer service and customer satisfaction. We always put our Address: D-2-6, Plaza Arkadia, Jalan Intisari, Desa Parkcity, 52200 Kuala Lumpur. www.woodtrees.my Tel: +603-76612640 email: [email protected] Digitization, e-commerce, increasing customer demands, and expectations – factors that not only impact retailers but also affect the way warehouses are organized. Warehousing tangible goods is an extremely challenging system and mechanism. The warehousing industry is confronted with rapid changes, escalating costs and continuous demand for new and more advanced services. The Past, Present and Future of Warehouse Solution Gan Soon Kiat - Founder and manging director of WOODTREES
ISSUE 161 17 customers first, and offer them with the lowest price that comes with the best available selection. Additionally, customers today value convenience and support. We are also committed to the highest quality level and aim for 100% success in project implementation and system Go-Live. At the same time, we are proud to cultivate a workplace called “Home” for our employees. An inclusive working environment enables employees to be creative and innovative, and ultimately performing to their fullest capacity and potential. If you look at a warehouse today and one of 20 years ago, how have they evolved and what has changed? If you could step back in time to visit a large warehousing operation in 1990, the adventure would really throw today’s distribution centre advances into focus. While some of the differences may appear subtle to the eyes, they have huge differences in terms of warehouse efficiency and productivity. One of the most obvious differences is just how many people there are. Today’s warehouses have fewer operatives and line managers. This is because most warehouses today have invested in some labourreducing technologies. Today, manpower is a concerning issue in this industry. Industry leaders say it’s only going to get harder to recruit warehouse workers in the next five years. If you have worked in a warehouse before, you would have known. Some warehouses operate in extreme climates due to the items stored. For example, I used to work in a warehouse that stores pharmaceutical products and they need to be stored at negative degree Celsius. We had to wear bulky clothes to protect ourselves from the cold and chemicals which makes our movement slower. The Shift to e-commerce drives automation Warehouses are undergoing a digital transformation. Warehouse looks a lot different today thanks to the increasing popularity of e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce channels. Ecommerce pros are facing the challenge of meeting customer expectations with cheaper and faster delivery and shipping. One of the strategies to address this demand is to automate. “We want to provide the best-of-art solution, software, and support with affordable price for our customers. Our company emphases a lot on customer service and customer satisfaction. We always put our customer first, offer them with the lowest price that comes with the best available selection.”
18 ISSUE 161 The partially automated warehouse Automated systems effectively reduce overstock and shortages and will boost profits in the long run. Sometimes customers mistakenly think that if they have used certain machines and equipment in the warehouse, or that they have reduced paperwork and data entry, that is considered digital transformation. That’s not the case. Most warehouses today are partially automated warehouses. We can see some signs of automation, but people still play a substantial role. The development of advanced robotic systems for warehouses are going rapidly. For example, brewing company Carlsberg has recently implemented automated forklifts to move up to 500 pallets per hour around one of its Swedish distribution centres. Automation is the future of warehousing Automated warehouses need few people to operate, offer high levels of productivity, and most importantly, have a proper quality warehouse management system to help an operation run smoothly. Keeping track of orders and inventory, controlling the real-time activities of automated material handling equipment is engrained in warehouse management systems (WMS) and warehouse control systems (WCS). Is there any difference between warehouse management systems (WMS) and warehouse control systems (WCS)? Although WMS and WCS operations can work together to streamline storage and retrieval tasks, their capabilities have notable differences. A WMS controls the movement, storage and retrieval of materials and products within a warehouse, handling such core duties as inventory management, lot or batch tracking, order fulfilment and product movement/traceability. WCS, on the other hand, directly controls the real-time activities of automated material handling equipment and provides communications to an algorithm that operates conveyors, robotics, cranes, etc. as well as printers, barcode readers and scanners. Think of WCS as the “traffic cop” for the warehouse/ distribution centre. It is responsible for keeping everything running smoothly, maximizing the efficiency of the material handling subsystems and often, the activities of the warehouse associates themselves. It provides a uniform interface to a broad range of material handling equipment. The primary functions of a WCS include: - • Interfacing to an upper-level host system/ Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Gan Soon Kiat - Founder and manging director of WOODTREES Pang Kent Yan - co-Founder of WOODTREES Chuah Tong Sin - co-Founder of WOODTREES
ISSUE 161 19 exchanging information required to manage the daily operations of the distribution center. • Allocating work to the various material handling sub-systems to balance system activity to complete the requested workload. • Providing real-time instructions to operators and material handling equipment controllers to accomplish the order fulfilment and product routing requirements. • Dynamically assign cartons to divert locations based on defined sortation algorithms or based on routing/order information received from the Host (if applicable). • Generate results data files for reporting and/or upload by the Host system. • Operational screen (graphical user interface) and functions to facilitate efficient control and management of the distribution warehouse. • Collect statistical data on the operational performance of the system to enable operations personnel to maintain the equipment in peak performance. We totally understand that change is hard and it’s normal for people to resist change. Hence, we will continue what we did before the pandemic, to organise more awareness talks to business owners and university.
20 ISSUE 161 Each major function is designed to work as part of an integrated process to effectively link the host systems with the lower-level control system, while relieving the Host from the real-time requirements such as operator screens and lower-level equipment. Can you share some tips on selecting the right solution for a warehouse? We suggest you get your vendor to do a research phrase including a detailed analysis of the environment into which the system is to be deployed. These will help to define the basic parameters and functionalities of your new system. You should look into the warehouse layout, primary technological equipment, tools and equipment, the diversity of stored items, inventory turnover forecast, movement in the warehouse, human resources, and mode of operation. The analysis should be able to address the business’s expectation and priorities, such as what prevailing issues should be eliminated, what goals the company seeks to achieve, or what added value should be generated. All these circumstances have a major impact on the scope of functionality of the system. In many cases, getting a basic “plug-and-play” system is not sufficient to achieve your business goals. Consider working with vendors who have experienced professionals who can help with warehouse or logistics analysis. They can help to accurately identify demands for a warehouse and logistics processes to maximise order fulfilment productivity and warehouse efficiency (reducing operations expenses, eliminating waste and downtime). Leverage on their expertise for the best practises tailored for each business’s unique requirements. How has the Covid-19 Pandemic affected this industry? More companies now pay more attention to the importance of automation and digital transformation. Before the pandemic, we have been giving talks and seminars to business owners and universities to raise the awareness of automation. The pandemic helps to highlight this issue even further to the business owners in Malaysia. Companies are showing more interest in automation and some even commented that warehouse technology investment is one of the priorities to their organisation over the next five years. But that doesn’t directly indicate a high likelihood of investment in these technologies now. Most warehouses are still very much concerned with the high upfront cost of investing in a warehouse management system or warehouse control system. Although now they do see the benefits in the long run, some eventually go back to the old way of keeping the warehouse running. We totally understand that change is hard and it’s normal for people to resist change. Hence, we will continue what we did before the pandemic, to organise more awareness talks to business owners and universities. If you educate them from a young age, you open up their perspectives. Young talent has an important impact on driving the business forward in the adoption and use of new software and technology.
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22 ISSUE 161 The healthcare industry plays a significant role while the spread of COVID-19 virus is disrupting on a global scale. As we are transiting into the new normal era and to co-exist with COVID-19, healthcare industry has received growing attention. L im Chin Hau is the founder and manging director of MediCap Sdn Bhd. He graduated from University of Malaya and pursued a degree in sport sciences, major in management and psychology. Lim engaged in marketing and sales job once he graduated. He gained experience, develop some connections and capitals in a short-term period. In 2017, Lim established MediCap, aiming to integrate medical science, traditional medicines and noninvasive surgery as well as offering a comprehensive set of medical service to those in need by intoducing a brand-new concept of healthcare systems. As of 30 September 2021, MediCap has become one of the rapidly emerging healthcare centres in Malaysia. Since its establishment of the first 3-in-1 concept centre which combines a general clinic, a health centre, and a dialysis centre in Sibu, Sarawak, the business has also developed vigorously and in a full swing at major cities in West Malaysia. MediCap has set up the 3-in-1 concept health care centre in Sibu, Sarikei, and Kluang in Johore. The Kluang centre is still undergoing renovation due D-22-02, Menara Mitraland, 13A, Jalan PJU5/1A, PJU 5, Kota Damansara 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia www.medicap.com.my www.facebook.com/medicapsdnbhd [email protected] 1 – 800 – 18 – 9979 WhatsApp: +60125682799 MediCap sets a great foresight with strong belief Spreading health awareness to help patients SDN BHD Lim Chin Hau - Founder and manging director of MediCap Sdn Bhd
to MCO which impacts on its progress among other centre. In early 2021, MediCap has launched a 5-in-1 healthcare centre that includes dental care and aesthetic services. This centre is expected to open in Puchong, Selangor in the near future. In addition, MediCap will also set up a micro-medical centre in Kota Bharu. There are two private medical centres in Kelantan currently. The MediCap’s micromedical centre is the third private medical centre in Kelantan. The entrepreneurship starts because of education In 2007, it was Lim’s first ventured in medical education which also brought an important turning point in his career. He saw the prospects of medical therefore he founded a medical education company namely Global Academy Consultant Sdn Bhd. The company provides medical education consulting and advancement services which let him to assist Malaysian students to study abroad for a medical degree. He said that there were many outstanding students who were unable to obtain a medical degree at a local university. Therefore, the company helped more than 200 outstanding Malaysian students to complete their studies and obtain medical degrees in foreign universities for the past 10 years. In addition, the jobs of medical students have also been tested locally because of some government regulations. Therefore, Lim wanted to establish a medical center for the medical students so they can give a full play of their study. “In 2016, the Ministry of Health of Malaysia decided to implement a contract doctor policy for medical graduates. This means that they cannot guarantee to find a job in a government hospital. I think that helping them to fulfill their dream of a medical degree and to ensure the future of these excellent students is my responsibility. This responsibility is not only help the students, but also benefit the community”, he said. Law of attraction means that the universe conspires to assist at the moment of your commitment. In 2017, Lim was exposed to the non-invasive medical treatment coincidentally and found that it was not getting a strong expansion in local. He knows a lot of medical graduates are waiting for placement and recruitment as well as facing an unemployment issue when they completed their studies overseas and return to Malaysia. With the aim of provide assistance to them, he embarked on the establishment of MediCap. MediCap brings invasive and non-invasive medical technology into the healthcare industry with the integration of traditional and modern medicine as well as benefited the public by scoping the abilities of doctors, nurses and healthcare experts. Corporate responsibility to aid the patients As one of the medical companies, MediCap has continued to enhance the public health awareness by educating people the importance of healthcare. The founder and his team went to Sarikei, Sarawak and figured out there were more than 200 patients with renal failure while most of them did not manage to get kidney dialysis service. The public hospitals are lack of dialysis machines and even worse was not having any proper kidney dialysis service centre in the area. In Malaysia, most companies are not willing to set up medical institutions at remote place while this has made Lim to be more determined in developing second and third tier cities. Lim implements corporate social responsibility (CSR) and hopes to provides the kidney dialysis service to the patients. After the establishment of the medial centre of MediCap, it has managed to help those patients indirectly. According to Lim, most of the renal failure patients will be facing urination difficulties and pulmonary edema while the dialysis service provided by MediCap can help to relieve and ease the pain during the process of treatments. In addition, hemodialysis can ISSUE 160 23
24 ISSUE 161 help to soothe and filter out toxins from the blood of patients. Lim said, “We discover some of the kidney failure patients have benefited from the dialysis service of MediCap as their blood toxins were purified and kidney function has been slightly improved. This is very motivating to us”. Public health awareness increased during the pandemic MediCap has not been impacted throughout the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. MediCap has continued to expand its business blueprint as the pandemic has caused people to pay closer attention to their health and recognise it as an important component to protect themselves against the viruses. There is a saying: prevention is better than cure, yet most people tend not to take actions by doing a long term and regular body check-up. MediCap is using non-invasive technology that can effectively detect and identify patient’s body condition in real time by qualified doctors. With peripheral vascular surgery instruments, high definition of medical observation and finger capillary specimen can be collected without operation. The peripheral vascular instruments set can be used for anytime and does not cause side effects. Therefore, many can take it as an initiative to check their health condition during the pandemic. The first branch of MediCap officially established on 31 January 2020. Within the two months during the opening, it faced the first Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by Malaysia’s government. At that time, MediCap has had three centres in operation while another three centres were still renovating and the MCO had delayed the renovation progress. In 2021, Malaysia once again started to begin the implementation of MCO as the COVID-19 cases were worryingly high. It had caused MediCap to face disruptions in licence application and also the renovation work for new branches. In the beginning of the year 2021, with the aim of promoting the importance of medical and health, MediCap had conducted an equity crowdfunding arranged by crowdfunding platform, MyStratr which has been recognised by Securities Commissions Malaysia. While lots of investors were optimistic about healthcare industry, it made it even more exciting and succeed in getting an overwhelm response as well as to hit a total amount of RM2.7million crowdfunding at the end. Continue to expand after the pandemic Lim believes that many large hospitals have been well-developed and medical care will be the future trend. In post-pandemic era, MediCap will continue to develop and expand to make another more successful
ISSUE 161 25 milestones. Interpersonal contact with people is crucial in the business model of MediCap as everyone can involve and experience during the healthcare process. Hence, MediCap team will be promoting medical care information through online and coordinating with offline physical activities by complying standard operating procedures (SOP) as well as to involve the public throughout the programmes. MediCap and its team have been well-prepared and ready to promote healthcare activities in the short term. The centres will be opened and allowed the public to visit and experience the medical care process provided in this post-pandemic era. MediCap offers four innovative non-invasive medical technologies as follows: - 1) Microvascular Testing. A non-invasive physical health test from Japan. This technology can provide a more convenient physical test for the public compared to the traditional blood test report. The accuracy rate reaches about 80%. The test does not require dieting, syringes, and blood sampling so people can pay more attention to health and take a preventive measure by doing the test more frequently. MediCap introduces this technology mainly because of many people are afraid of drawing blood from the syringe and do not have a habit of regular test. People are suffering from the disease when discover the late stage of disease. 2) Pulse Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF therapy). It is derived from the PEMF therapy which is developed by the MediCap team of doctors. It was originally derived from Russia and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to improve the return of astronauts from outer space. The bone density is caused by gravity on the earth. It was certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 1970s, and it has been used until today. PEMF therapy has even achieved more exciting results with the treatment of MediCap’s team and the use of drugs. 3) Hair Profiling, a non-invasive technology from Germany. It is actually a DNA physical test. Just like the TV series we often watch, the police or the coroner obtain hair from the prisoner or the dead to detect the cause of death or evidence of drug trafficking. To conduct the Hair Profiling, the root of a hair will be put into the instrument for analysis. Around 60 pages of reports will be received from Germany after 7 to 14 working days. In addition to detecting your physical condition, the report can also analyse your genetic – to check if your body were harmed by radiation or heavy metals etc. It can even detect some hidden diseases. 4) Nano Atomized Stem Cell Therapy. The current market’s stem cell therapy is not a non-invasive therapy because a syringe must be used for injection. However, the technology we introduce is a nano atomized stem cell therapy which does not require the syringe in order repair aging or dead body cells. The Internet is a good publicity tool for the healthcare industry but it is not a sales channel. Therefore, MediCap will continue to share the importance of healthcare through the online platforms. Lim also added that MediCap will continue to integrate human resources to maximize the profits. “We will train doctors and let them to work with MediCap’s healthcare centres to ensure the safety of patients. Many dialysis centres do not have doctors on duty due to the shortage of human resource. Nurses do the work of doctors and that creates a risk of emergencies”, he said. The core intention of medical care is to benefit the community. With the belief of helping others and helping its own business mutually, MediCap continues to develop and promote a healthy lifestyle for the community.
26 ISSUE 161 各位中小型厂商和 品牌持有者, 想拿下本地和外国的市场吗? 如果你有优质产品，请与我们一起合作, 做到你想要的市场！ 我们相信只要你的 Online Lead 多了, 你的销量一定增加！ 欲知更多详情，欢迎与我们联系 电话: +6010 378 7223 电邮: [email protected] 网页: www.minebizs.com 询问 估价单 销售量 利润
ISSUE 161 27 During the outbreak of the pandemic, many businesses are struggling to survive, some businesses were even forced to shut down, but award-winning Ryan Lim shows no sign of slowing down. We caught up with him about his marketing company and blooming interior design company. Can you give us a little background on your career to date? When did you started doing Facebook Marketing? When I first started my first Facebook page during my university days, it seemed like the only choice I have. I made a silly mistake. My performance in Taekwondo earned me a scholarship and I went and cut off my PTPTN loan too soon before the scholarship money came in. I needed money to survive for one semester. Initially I was doing a few part-time jobs while coping with my study schedule. It was exhausting mentally and physically as most of the time was spent travelling from one workplace to another. One day, I decided to open a Facebook page and started selling some merchandise. But I never stopped. I continue managing the For more information, contact: FB : Architecture & Interior Design Malaysia Email : [email protected] Tel :+60 16-228 3688 (FELICIA) Having already founded a renowned marketing company – Champ FB Marketing who now has more than 1 million followers, the entrepreneur Ryan Lim is also the recipient of various international awards in business and taekwondo. Designer Home, Everyone Owns Champ FB Marketing Champ ID Sdn Bhd Ryan Lim - Founder of Champ FB Marketing, Champ ID Sdn Bhd
28 ISSUE 161 page at night once I was done with the study. I looked for great suppliers and I sell the products on consignment basis. 5 years later, the page grew to 100k followers. Friends came to notice the popularity of my page and started approaching me to create their business page. It was by the word-of-mouth referral that I landed my first 100 customers. What do you think made your Facebook page that successful so quickly? What differentiates you from all the other marketers? It’s important to study the market and know your audiences. When we took over the Facebook page of our customer, I went into deep research on their business and their industry. Once you do this, you will realise there are reasons why some company can be number one in their industry. You want to know the factors to success, and you can duplicate that success. It sounds easy but many people are not doing it. We went through the tough part of researching the market, understanding the customer’s wants and needs, and connect with industry leaders. I was thrilled with any ideas that can make me the number 1 in the industry and I was willing to go all out. Our thoughts are powerful. Your beliefs and thoughts can impact your trajectory towards success. As legendary basketball player Michael Jordan once put it, “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” As a business leader, you must envision yourself in the place you want to be before you can get there. I had a vision to be the number 1 in the industry and I went all out to do it. Not only has this positive thought drives me to my success, but it also attracts like-minded business owners to my circle. I am blessed to meet and connect with top leaders in their respective industry and become good friends with them. Could you share with us on why social media is so important for businesses today? Two factors: Space and Time It doesn’t matter if you run a small business or a big national company. Social media is an essential piece of your business. Social platforms help you connect with your customers, increase awareness about your brand, and most importantly, help boost your leads and sales. Many companies have particularly felt the importance of social media when pandemic hits and business are brought online. Customers who once relied on exclusively retail outlets are switching to purchasing online. Online stores have versatility and accessibility you just cannot create in stores. If you want to expand your SKU product, you just have to consider upgrading your web server, which can be done in a simple click. Moreover, geographic location is not a problem anymore. With social media advertising, you multiply your chances of reaching other customers. You no longer depend on the number of people who pass in front of your store to sell. New customers can come from anywhere thanks to the Internet. Owning an online store means being able to take orders at any time of the day and week. Indeed, with a high-performance internet connection, the site will be always visible, 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Your customers are therefore not hindered by constraints such as opening hour or public holiday.
ISSUE 161 29 Designer Home, Everyone Owns Your other company, CHAMP ID SDN BHD is also rocking the interior design industry. What makes you want to venture into interior design? There is a perception among Malaysians that hiring an interior design company is only for the super-rich. That’s simply not true. I believe everyone deserve to have a home that they dream of. As our slogan says, everyone can own a designer’s home. How do you manage to scale-up the business quickly? I believe there are 3 key factors here: Good Branding, Lowest Price, and Good Quality. The marketing strategy for CHAMP ID has been set right in the beginning. As the owner of a business, you understand that your brand is one of, if not the most valuable asset. It is the asset that dictates the perception of your customer and your prospects. It’s one of the most important investment that you have to make for the business. Our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ArchitectureAndInteriorDesignMalaysia/) grew quite fast as compared with our competitors. It is important to build a Page following of people who are interested in the products, services and the content we share. We put lots of effort into research and build an audience of people who are likely to care about our business. Pricing is another important aspect of your business. You cannot afford to overlook optimising your pricing. Understanding what each of your customers is willing to pay and able to pay does take some effort and research. We manage to penetrate the market well by offering the lowest price coupled with good quality products. We looked into ways to reduce our costs. Having a good network and connections is really helpful whereby they get the best materials for our company at a reduced Pricing is another important aspect of your business. You cannot afford to overlook optimising your pricing. Understanding what each of your customers is willing to pay and able to pay does take some effort and research.” －Ryan Lim Felicia Tu - Co-Founder of Champ ID Sdn Bhd
30 ISSUE 161 cost. Make use of your connections to help your business to grow. Besides material cost, we keep our operations cost low by training our employees to be multi-skilled expert. They can handle the project from the beginning to the end. These savings are passed down to the customers. In your opinion, why is interior design important? Your home is your palace, and it should be a place you come home to at the end of every day to relax, entertain, unwind, and create wonderful memories. The Greeks believed in beauty so much that they made a word to describe the same- ‘esthetics’. The word went through many different variations and today it came to be known as aesthetics. Aesthetics meaning concerned with beauty and appearance. We try to maintain these aesthetics, in our lives and our surroundings and it also has an impact on our mood and the way we feel. Besides the appearance, it’s also about how to effectively optimise the space in our home making the best use of the available space. Your interior designer understands the different needs of your lifestyle and can create a home that enhances and celebrates your unique life. Their work increases your enjoyment of your home, and you should always place a high value on joy, happiness and functionality. Is the cost of hiring an interior design company in Malaysia expensive? Can you share with us some tips to hire interior designers? That’s the general perception most people have. That’s not necessarily true. Most interior design company can work within your budget. The first tip is, know your budget. It’s advisable that you are being upfront about your budget so the consultants can manage your money based on your ideas for the projects.
ISSUE 161 31 Secondly, know your style. A lot of first-time house buyer struggle with sharing what they want with the designers. The best way to explain what you want to achieve is to browse the internet for photos and examples. If possible, create a mood board to give the designer a feel of themes you like. Then, discuss the ideas with your interior designer to see how it can be achieved for your own space. The third tip, know the function of the space. It also helps to share a little bit on how many people are in the house, are you living here or renting it out? If you are renting it out, you want to consider design that is simple, easy-to-maintain and functional that will attract your potential tenants. Having these information on-hand will help you find the right interior design company that can cater to your needs. Also, a good interior designer will know how to best allocate funds and to create similar look in a range of prices. In CHAMP ID, we use various techniques and methods to help our clients save cost. For example, for creative feature walls, we explore on paints with patterns, texture paints, wainscoting and bamboo strips. We are expert in using materials to save cost as we explore on different materials for substitution. Do you have any tips for first time homeowner? Most first-time house owner are stressed out when it comes to calculating the budget needed while accommodating to the style that they want. After working with several clients, we have a perfect solution for them, which is to refer to our top selling packages – Investment Package, OwnStay Package, and Whole House Max Value Package. As these packages came with the best value, customers get a clear understanding of what they are getting with the price and with a mental picture of how their home can look and feel like. We want to inspire our customers to making their home a more attractive place: comfortable and cozy throughout different stages of life. That’s the general perception most people have. That’s not necessarily true. Most interior design company can work within your budget.” －Ryan Lim Designer Home, Everyone Owns
32 ISSUE 161 L omo Pictures is stepping into its fifth year of establishment while Aron has been working in the film industry for 15 years. Lomo Pictures was established a few years ago by Aron and Ryon. Ryon is a screenwriter and director. Both of them are passionate about filmmaking and have similarity of pursuits therefore they start and manage a production house together. “Ryon and I are like teachers like friends. We first met through a stage play. Then, we were shooting for movies on a part-time basis, then I found that we both have great chemistry and hit it off thenceforth. We felt that since we like movies, it would be better if we could just set up a film production company which allows us to do more and larger scales of jobs in a systematic way,” Aron said. In his point of view, Ryon is not only talented, but also a self-cultivation person. Either work or personal life, Ryon is courteous and cautious in dealing matters with others. Lomo Pictures was founded with a dream. Aron Koh is a Malaysian multi-faceted producer in the film industry. Persistence in producing movies is not only his interest and expertise, but also his dream always. D-9-2 Setiawalk, Persiaran Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong 47160 Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia. www.facebook.com/lomopictures [email protected] [email protected] 03-8605 0169 Movies and Life are Mutually Interweave, Learn to Produce Films and Create Personalities at the same time
Going through a rough patch Aron, who loves movies, was going through a rough patch before he established Lomo Pictures. As shooting a film requires an arm and a leg, and he was still young at that time and had no extra money to spend for a film production. He tried to borrow money from relatives to shoot his very first Malaysian Chinese horror movie titled “Seed of Darkness”. However, the box office flopped and unprofitable, and yet Aron still needed to return the borrowed money. At those tough times, he had nothing gained and even had to consider twice before buying himself the cheapest meal as he was penniless. After that, Aron has met his saviour, Tan Sri Dato' Sri Paduka Dr Lim Kok Wing who invited him to become the general manager of communication, media and broadcasting faculty at Limkokwing University. He taught and cultivated the students on filmmaking and video shooting, as well as to get them to gain experience by involving into a real film, movie series, and video production. After his classes, the students could turn learning into practising in the future. After working with the university for four years, Aron had a stable income and settled the borrowed money. In December 2009, Aron left the university and began to plan for filming again as he has never stop to pursue his dream in filmmaking industry. Since 2012, Aron has made more than 25 movies in 9 years. Challenging times The challenge of setting up a film company is to strike a balance between creativity and box office. Aron said that a filming requires a lot of expenses, and many creative scenes in the movie require a huge amount of money to make it looks real. After running a film company, Aron and his team knew the market needs very well. They produced many good films and continued to motivate the team to grow with Lomo Pictures. ISSUE 160 33 I am always optimistic about the film industry. I think the post-pandemic era will get everyone to find themselves a safe and suitable way to coexist with the virus.” －Aron Koh Aron Koh - Co-Founder of Lomo Pictures, Malaysian film producer
34 ISSUE 161 “Those movies that we shot and produced had obtained box office which was out of our expectation. Some of the movies have bagged some local and international awards, and it has truly provided us a lot of encouragements and motivation in the industry,” said Aron. It is inevitable to avoid emergencies during the process of filmmaking. No matter how, these emergencies have helped Aron to be a more courage person. He gained a lot of experiences and equipped himself a good command skill of film production. It is not about promoting a specific religion or belief in ghost, but Aron had somehow encountered spiritual moment with the team during a shooting for a horror movie. When there is an emergency, he said that the first things to do is to remain calm and then only to make a wise decision - either to continue the filming or to put the shooting on hold, as safety of all staff is the priority. If the actor is not fit to continue the shooting when there is an emergency happens, Aron and his team will consider a replacement or change the script to ensure the shooting and storyline are in good hands. At the beginning of 2020, the outbreak of pandemic caused the Malaysia government to implement movement control orders (MCO) in the year of 2020 and 2021. Many industries were affected and forced to suspend its operations including Lomo Pictures. All cinemas were suspended to operate during MCO period and Lomo Pictures had to dismiss more than 20 employees. “It is very upset to dismiss the employees but the road not taken during this pandemic, we have to keep some cash and manage cash flow to save for rainy days so that we can continue to operate in the future,” Aron said. Looking ahead During the times where all cinemas were suspended, the internet seems to bring a solution and opportunity to most of the business activities as everyone could only stay at home. Other than working from home and daily life routine, the only spare time for entertainment is to watch movie through the online platforms such as Netflix and iQiyi. Therefore, Aron had decided to set his movies for being available to the public through online. Nowadays, Malaysia has stepping into a new normal gradually. He believes the market will rebound and the film industry will be boosted thereafter. There is also a possibility to see that the movies are in short supply.
ISSUE 161 35 "I am always optimistic about the film industry. I think the post-pandemic era will get everyone to find themselves a safe and suitable way to coexist with the virus. After the reopening of cinema, it will take a transition period to recover. It is very likely that we will see full house at the cinema like before,” Aron added. The sound system, pixel quality, and an atmosphere can be only found in a cinema hall. It is very different from the television and computer at home. The public prefer to pay a visit to the cinema as they can enjoy the overall superb experience. The pandemic has made Aron become more capable in human resources management. He said that parttime employees will be hired to do the film production in future. They would accumulate sufficient capital to produce good quality of films when the company could integrate its human resources in a more strategic way. Aron is graduated from a Chinese school in Johore, Malaysia, and yet he is having a western style of mindset. He thinks that everyone is a partner who teaches each other and aims to make a good production of movie when working in a team. Hence, he always puts himself into others’ shoes in any situation as he believes that communication, respect, and empathy are ways to get the perspective from the other side efficiently. He feels that many people tend to be ego driven to achieve what they want and have no regard for other people’s feelings. This could hurt others very easily and it is not a good role model. “Before you learn to make film, you have to learn to be a good person too”, Aron said.
36 ISSUE 161 “Good management skills and knowledgeable managers are important to the success of a company”, cited by Wei Liang, a 37-yearold successful entrepreneur. Throughout our interview with him, we noticed that he frequently emphasized on the ability to learn and be taught. Why is he such an advocate of learning? Home is where the story begin. Wei Liang : Your Teammate and Mentor Wei Liang Published A Book Titled "Game Thinking" 27 July, 2019 - The Malaysia Book of Record Holder on Most Number of Youth Participants In A Cashflow Game Workshop, held by Wei Liang and Junior Chamber International United Penang.
ISSUE 161 37 Wei Liang was born in a happy, loving family. His father is a businessman while his mother is a teacher. Since elementary school, he often visited his father’s company and watched him conducting meetings, giving training, and motivating his employees. Feeling inspired, he wanted to do the same when he grows up. Unfortunately, at the tender age of 13, his father fell terribly ill and was unable to work for a long time. Not only did the business had to close down, but their savings were also wiped out by the hefty medical bills and they had to sell off their house and cars to pay off the debt. Fortunately, his relatives took them in so they have a roof over their head. He spent his secondary school years working part-time while studying to support his family’s living expenses. Upon graduation, he took up three jobs. He was an insurance agent, salesperson, and a Judo coach on the weekends. Although he can finally provide his family with some financial reliefs, it came at a cost of sacrificing his time with the family.
38 ISSUE 161 “If money go before, all ways do lie open.” -William Shakespeare He soon realized that he does not want to be a slave to money, and that he should be mastering it to increase his quality of life. He figured out that he was working blindly because even though he was working very hard but his quality-of-life decreases. “You need to set a goal, do some planning, and that will give you the directions where you can work hard and achieve results.” Having gain this insight, his first move is to be a full-time insurance agent and vowed to focus on doing one thing right. Determined to help others succeed He has been holding up on his own principles so far, and not only has his sales number increase steadily, but he has also attracted like-minded partners. His love for his family became his fuel on his journey to success. He vividly recalled the days when his schoolmates fund raised his school fees and the time when he struggled to spare just RM 120 for his own mother. Now that he is financially well off, he wished to help many others to succeed in their career. Founded Team Unity Advisory In 2012, he has a team of 20 members and by the year 2016, they set up an agency named Team Unity Advisory and the agency has won numerous awards such as Million Dollar Agency Award. “There are a few factors that contributed to the growth of my agency, and that includes hard work, persistent, reading a lot and most importantly, attending classes and learning from mentors,” Wei Liang shared when asked on the success of his agency. The team is made up of a select group of elites who have been trained from the best. If the CEO were to leave the company suddenly, can the company function as usual? Wei Liang believes that the team will continue to thrive even without him. This is because the agency has a systematic management approach that focuses on the management process rather than the outcome. He was delighted to witness the success of establishing a proper training system that teaches every newcomer on the necessary skills and knowledge for the job. His hard work was paid off and he would like to share this practical experience with more SMEs. 8TV Interview and Broadcast on Malaysia's Largest Cashflow Game Workshop Reported in the News
ISSUE 161 39 The birth of Yi Ta International Business Academy When the opportunity came knocking on his door, Wei Liang took the chance to partner with the mentors that groom him and established Yi Ta International Business Academy. Their vision is to cultivate and develop high performance individual, trains business leaders with global visions, and to become a leader in the training community globally. The main goals of Yi Ta Business Academy are to assist companies in achieving their longterm strategic goals and to train up a pool of elites that help companies thrive. The blockchain courses offered by Yi Ta Business Academy is recognized by University of Malaya (UM). During the pandemic, their blockchain course is one of the most popular courses in Malaysia and most of the participants were C-level management and director. How much do you really know about Blockchain? Most people would say Blockchain is Bitcoin. To be more precise, it is the technology of blockchain that make bitcoin possible. Blockchain technology is evolving rapidly and it has tremendous potential that will change how our data and transactions are stored. In recent years, business leaders have begun to actively seek out the knowledge about blockchain technology and on how it will impact people’s lives in the near future. Many business leaders foresee the necessity of using this technology to innovate their company’s offering in order to stay competitive. These were observed during the discussion held in Yi Ta’s Blockchain Course where business leaders and owners have a lively discussion about the future business trend and opportunities leveraging on Blockchain Technology. Opportunities for SMEs to Grow It is to no avail if we try to resist the change brought by technology. By now, most people have witness the positive effect that comes with Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technology. The key to be ahead of the game is to adapt and advance, and lifelong learning is your tool. Wei Liang shared his motto: ‘The journey to success is not difficult, and learning is your best tool to achieve it, so allow me to assist you in that journey!’ @ weiliangteamunity @ Teamunityadvisory @ YiTaInternational The pillar of support behind Wei Liang
40 ISSUE 161 MOVE-ON, an innovative shining star of the health industry which tapped on integration of sports and technology to promote healthy living for the sports lovers. The app acts as personal workout record, statistics and self-improvement monitoring, what is even more enticing is that the specially made medals will be delivered to the users’ doorstep as a reward for maintaining one’s well-being. It is indeed a win-win approach in keeping a healthy lifestyle. Max Soh, the founder of MOVE-ON is a jogger who used to jog the conventional way, until the idea pops into his mind to overcome the geographical challenges that led to the birth of MOVE-ON. He was hoping so much that MOVE-ON to the evolutionary trend Virtual event once was an innovative idea that’s hardly accepted but it is now the trend for one to stay present in the present moment and closely connected to the community of sports.
ISSUE 161 41 e v e r y o n e could just conquer the geographical restriction to enjoy jogging and to participate in any competition afar by just turning on an app in the mobile phone to accomplish the mission on their palms. With the technological advancement, sports such as jogging and cycling can be done on ground or virtually. The brand concept of MOVE-ON is crafted on the vision to keep everyone moving on, syncing with its motive, MOVE-ON organizes minimum 3 campaigns a month with a motivational motive to keep up to the momentum in order to cultivate a healthy habit for the people leading to healthier lifestyle. MOVE-ON is the expert in providing virtual platform for public to perform running and cycling activities and organizer for sport events and marketing advisory services, including e-commerce on merchandise products. For instance, a ground competition collaborating with the Top Malaysian satellite TV and IPTV provider is in the midst of preparation and it is expected to take place in March 2022. MOVE-ON is not just a platform for event, but also to educate and train the public for healthy body, mind and soul as it was believed that spiritually-uplifting is the essence to healthy lifestyle. Therefore, apart from concentrating in its core business activities, its future developments related to health activities to be associated with MOVEON in the coming years will be focusing on educating the youth, besides, MOVE-ON is also tapping into the corporate’s work-lifebalance trend to spur further the awareness of healthy living. Apart from providing the users with a convenient way to enjoy leisure activities,
42 ISSUE 161 to track and to monitor progress, the unique function of MOVE-ON that makes it stand out from other health-monitoring apps is the integration of technological-advanced yet user-friendly features including event-enabled feature, leader board, team challenge that allows to team up for more fun and gaming reward programs etc. Besides, MOVEON also collaborates with the sport giants such as Puma, Under Armour, Asics etc. MOVE-ON’s multi-functional features is an app more than an event registration portal, but also a personal health monitoring-recorder equipped with leader board for challenges and to motivate the users by keeping them up to the trend of the sports worlds. Nevertheless, continuous improvement and development to delight the users while striving to stay healthy is its utmost priority. According to Max, it was tough during the initial stage of the start-up as it was not favoured back then. However, the even tougher was the transformation of the deeply rooted habit of the people. To Max, MOVE-ON was an additional ‘game’ that could cultivate healthy lifestyle for himself and his concentration to grow this ‘game’ wasn’t at its full force, but when technology evolves and changing the overview of the sports world, the spike of MOVE-ON ushers in the dawn when virtual running becoming more acceptable by the people. The doubt on worrying the acceptance level of the concept has been cleared when more people started to run virtually and making use of MOVEON for more fun-filled sports activities and competitions. From zero to one is always tough, but Max is happy to see the changing habit of the users with a new page of healthy living flipped by MOVE-ON. One of the remarkable achievements was the world’s challenge launched in 2018 with 12-events and the puzzle-like medals offered, the unique gimmick successfully creates awareness for Malaysian sports lovers and also attracted users from Indonesia and Philippines. The strong foundation laid before the strikes of pandemic prepared MOVE-ON to sail through the crisis with flying colors. ‘Timing is the key’ - Max concluded the progress with a simple yet meaningful note. With the recognition gained and in the years to come, MOVE-ON anticipated to achieve 1-million users in the next 5-years with more collaboration with universities, schools, government bodies, corporate organizations and media etc. While competition is unavoidable, MOVE-ON is well prepared with its in-house media company which published Running Malaysia Magazine and Cycling Malaysia Magazine with collectively more than 200K subscribers. Its creative design team also plays a vital role for unique merchandizes. MOVE-ON emphasizes differentiation in its concept and particularly highlighting education on healthy lifestyle to the young generation in order to recruit users from young and keeping them on as long-term users.” －Max Soh
ISSUE 161 43 MOVE-ON emphasizes differentiation in its concept and particularly highlighting education on healthy lifestyle to the young generation in order to recruit users from young and keeping them on as long-term users. MOVE-ON never stop providing users with value-adding quality and total satisfaction with continuous upgrading of new features. In the era where mobile phone is the necessity, the use of mobile phone for healthy lifestyles is always the hot topic for debates, however, it is undoubtedly that the integration between sports and technology is the answer to this question. Let’s MOVE-ON ‘Let’s MOVE-ON!’ It was described by Max that life is a forward-going process, one can only down for a while but ultimately will still have to move on, and that’s also the motto of MOVE-ON to encourage people to keep moving on. MOVE-ON marked its remarkable milestone with its first crowdfunding completed through MyStartr with a total sum of RM545,000 raised. In fact, as of February 2021, MOVE-ON has been valued as a company worth MYR 8 million and the value is speculated to expand in folds in the next 5 years in Malaysia and ASEAN countries. With this, MOVE-ON is expected to become a company with a market value of MYR 100 million before end of 2025. Max is confident about healthy lifestyle and work-life-balance as these will be evergreen topics to be emphasized. When more are enjoying the easy and fun of run anywhere and anytime, habit will eventually be developed especially the concept is testified with the pandemic. New trend is seen under the new normal and it is undoubtedly that the combination of health, education and technology has ruled the game of the sports industry, just like the motto of MOVE-ON. For collaboration with MOVE-ON, please email to [email protected] or WhatsApp to +6011-26166839 www.mov3on.com
44 ISSUE 161 He is the strongest backbone of New Vegetarian currently. The government in Malaysia had once again implemented the movement control order (MCO) due to the cases spiked up in 2021. The MCO had affected the operations of many physical retails. Consumers were not allowed to dine-in and grocery shopping habits were decreased during MCO. Therefore, KC and Olivia had decided to place the vegetarian food on the Internet so that consumers could purchase through online. The Challenges The biggest challenge was food management and testing when they started New Vegetarian. Many wholesalers did not operate during MCO and this situation had hindered them to purchase and obtain the food ingredients. KC said that every food ingredient from different wholesaler has its own taste therefore they had spent a lot of time and energy in cooking and developing the vegetarian flavours. In addition, New Vegetarian uses natural ingredients which are mainly included mushrooms and beans. The flour is not added into the food so that the chewiness of flour is voided. Where there is a will, there is a way. Finally, the team had developed a series of vegetarian packs which were highly receiving good comments from the public. Aside from the cooking process, they sterilize the vegetarian packs through high temperature so the food packs can be kept at room temperature for about 9 to 12 months. New Vegetarian Focuses on Convenient Delicacies, Customers give a Thumbs up to food with fair price! New Vegetarian has stepped into its first anniversary in October 2021. It was first founded by KC Su ad Olivia, selling the vegetarian packages, and Jerry joined the troop later with the aim to expand the business. KC’s father is an experienced vegetarian chef who is preparing a variety of vegetarian dishes to satisfy the customers’ taste buds.
ISSUE 160 45 KC stated that the initial idea was to research and create a variety of vegetarian dishes. After that, he felt that the family-style dishes were the demand of the mass market therefore he decided to kick off the business with familiar dishes. In New Vegetarian, KC, Olivia, and Jerry are marketing drivers while KC’s parents are the chefs behind the scene. KC mentioned that the online platform is an indispensable channel for sales during the pandemic. They registered and managed the Facebook official page and a website for New Vegetarian which drew customers’ attention and closed the deals. To master the skill of online sales, KC joined the online classes which taught him on how to operate an online retail during the pandemic. “We started our business from scratch so we must master the skill of business management. It is inevitable to keep learning”, KC said. All things are difficult before they are easy. The cooking, packaging, sales, logistics, and other processes of the New Vegetarian were all done by a few of them in the very beginning. When the sales volume was gradually rising, they looked for improvement by allocating more manpower to make the process a smooth one. Unique Selling Proposition The public has started to concern about health and look for a healthy diet because of the virus. There were many people became vegetarians because they believed that a vegetarian diet could have an alkaline effect in the body that improve physical fitness and promote health. This situation opened a door for New Vegetarian by introducing vegetarian food in response to the trend. Both KC and Olivia are not vegans but they have vegetarian on certain days, same goes to their friends around. “Approximately 70% of customers are not long-term vegetarians but they can have vegetarians, and they are vegetarians from time to time”, KC added.
46 ISSUE 161 The response has been very enthusiastic and food packs has been in short supply since New Vegetarian introduced the vegetarian packs. New Vegetarian’s food packs are included Assam Fish Fillet, Black Vinegar Trotters, Curry Rendang Mutton, Bentong Ginger Mushroom, and other delicacies. Heat the packaging for 8 to 10 minutes and it is ready to eat. These dishes are well-known among families and need time to cook at home. New Vegetarian’s food packs are easy to store and don’t occupy the space of refrigerator. It is very convenient because the food can be served anytime once it is heated. The Post-pandemic Strategy New Vegetarian’s food packs are authentic. The team carefully select the ingredients to cook for vegetarian food with no preservatives. There were many customers turn to regular ones after they bought the food packs. KC said that positive feedbacks from customers are the biggest motivation for New Vegetarian. A customer commented that he never tried such delicious vegetarian food before. This statement made them felt touched, and they were being motivated to continue managing New Vegetarian. KC thinks that the entrepreneurship is not feasible to go alone during the post-pandemic period. He believes that it is necessary to work with like-minded partners together in order to make a success. Currently, New Vegetarian produces 400 packs of vegetarian food a day but it is still not meeting the market demand therefore a production line will be expanded soon. Moreover, New Vegetarian is considering to conduct online sales through broadcast live beside the Facebook advertisement. Aside from human resource management, New Vegetarian team will continue to maintain the quality of food management and expand the market gradually. Personally believes that the Internet is a platform that every business owner shall master in the post-pandemic era. The Internet is the only solution because the pandemic has stopped physical retails to conduct face-face sales.” －KC KC Su - Founder of New Vegetarian
ISSUE 160 47 KC personally believes that the Internet is a platform that every business owner shall master in the post-pandemic era. The Internet is the only solution because the pandemic has stopped physical retails to conduct face-face sales. Everyone shall be prepared to live in the new norm of life therefore both online and offline must be combined to drive the business in the post-pandemic era. Later in the year, New Vegetarian will distribute the food packs to retails and some online sales agents. KC also shared that New Vegetarian will build a good reputation through branding so that consumers can purchase its products happily later. It is dogged that does it. During the interview, both KC and Olivia agreed that nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it. During the pandemic, they strongly believed that they will be able to accomplish their goals as long as they keep it up. www.newvegetarian.online/new-vegetarian 57,jalan seri bintang 2,taman bukit sri bintang 52100 Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. www.facebook.com/NewVegetarian80 [email protected] +6011-5953 8479 Aside from human resource management, New Vegetarian team will continue to maintain the quality of food management and expand the market gradually. Olivia - Co-Founder of New Vegetarian Jerry - Co-Founder of New Vegetarian
Y ummy Vegetarian interviewed famous plant-based cafes from all over Malaysia to discover delicious food and also the story behind the cafes. It was an eyeopening experience for our readers to uncover some exciting facts about the food and most importantly, how businesses persevere in the journey of promoting plant-based food. In December 2019, Yummy Vegetarian collaborated with a local Business Magazine to hold the first "Vegetarian Without Borders" event. It was a great opportunity for business owners to network and convey the concept of plant-based food across borders, community, culture, religion and race. Yummy Vegetarian will continue this effort and collaborate with more entrepreneurs to make vegan food culture more popular and do our part for the environment. Ah Hean, the founder of Yummy Vegetarian and Rich Media (famous media company in Malaysia), also shared in the live broadcast on his journey into vegan, how the platform promotes plant-based lifestyle and how to rejuvenate vegetarianism. He also encourages people to take up plant-based food for one of the three meals every day, especially breakfast. Most Malaysians have this habit of skipping breakfast or eating high-calorie foods that are fried or stir fried. Hence, he is planning to work with more entrepreneurs to guide our fellow Malaysians towards healthy living, environmental protection, and the concept of caring for life. 48 ISSUE 161 Yummy Vegetarian is an online platform established in 2019 to promote plant-based healthy lifestyle. It has introduced about 200 plant-based food from more than 10 countries. The aim of the platform is to encourages more people to eat plant-based food, cultivates inner compassion, share tips on how to live a healthier life and contributes to environmental protection. Plant-Based Without Border Yummy Vegetarian Hean Chua - Founder of Yummy Vegetarians