Open For Business

Lit Books: "Always 2 Months Away From Shuttering"

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It started as a one-year experiment to cure a career frustration. Eight years later, Lit Books has become a favourite among many readers, particularly...

This Furniture Brand’s Plan to Grow 50X in 5 Years

23 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ladore Signature wants to ride "Rent-to-Own" (RTO) furniture all the way to an ACE Market listing. But with current revenues around RM500k, is their t...

How This AI Whiteboard is Changing How Teams Think

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Andrey Leskov, the Co-Founder of illumi, an AI-native whiteboard, aims to help teams turn scattered AI chats into visual workflows that build context,...

Vanilla Crepe: From Side Project to RM10M+ Biz

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started in 2014 as a lifestyle investment to feed his wife's love for cakes has grown into 43 outlets, with more en route. Vanilla Crepe has expa...

Aonic: From DJI Distributor to Made in Malaysia Drones

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Malaysian drone company Aonic, with top-line revenue near RM300 million, is executing a major strategic push: its own “Made In Malaysia” proprieta...

Medalized: From Big Plastic Trophies to Bespoke Awards

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to modernise upon family legacy in a traditional space? For Emily Chin and Medalized, it meant moving from "big plastic trophies" to...

Mixing Innovation and Growth: How Thermomix is Cooking Up a Smarter Future in Malaysia

16 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we’re looking at a brand that has quietly transformed kitchens across the world. Thermomix, the smart kitchen appliance by Vorwerk, has sold ...

Satu Creative: From Creative Agency to Empowering Entrepreneurs

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Satu Creative operates as a 7-figure social enterprise, but you won't find them on an official accreditation list. After evolving from a creative agen...

Can A Petting Zoo Change How We Feel?

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Can animals help humans heal? Rajagopal Yagambram, Founder of Planet Zoo Malaysia, believes they can. After nearly two decades in agrotourism, he’s ...

How This Tech Startup Is Powering Climate Resilience

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Punita Nook Naidu, Co-Founder of H2O DataTech, shares how the Malaysian climate-tech company is turning complex climate and water data into actionable...

Sol's Vision to Break Stigmas Around Menopause

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Grace Oh, Founder of Sol Menopause, Asia’s medically reviewed menopause app, shares how her platform is changing the way women manage midlife health...

The RM250K ECF Bet on an On-Demand Cleaning App

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The on-demand home services space is notoriously difficult, with high-profile failures like Kaodim. So why is Tim Goi, a founder of a traditional B2B ...

Women’s Wellness Festival 2.0 – Building Malaysia’s Wellness Movement

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Wellness, it’s a word we hear constantly these days. But for many women, particularly in Malaysia, it’s more than a buzzword. It’s a balancing a...

Can 96 Years of Heritage "Make Teh Tarik Great Again"?

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With the bold claim of "Making Teh Tarik Great Again", this new F&B brand is on a mission to elevate Malaysia's unofficial national drink. But thi...

70-Year-Old Wah Chan: From "Half a Shop" to 55 Outlets

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For 70 years, Wah Chan has been a Malaysian household name in jewelry. Now, with the third generation stepping in, the brand is navigating a major "re...

How This Former Pharmacist is Making Side Gigs Lucrative

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s story is about reinvention and what it really takes to build something completely new when the odds aren’t really in your favour.Kristy Ti...

FEV3R: The "Netflix of Healthcare"?

02 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Could a subscription model for outpatient care, like "Netflix for healthcare", be sustainable? FEV3R is betting it can. For a fixed monthly fee, the h...

ASEAN Tech Needs 15 Year VC Cycles, Not 10?

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why is this Silicon Valley VC bullish on Southeast Asian tech companies, despite faltering IPOs, blowups, and a scarcity of exits?Launched in 2024, Ra...

Xendit: From Failed Bitcoin Startup To Raising Over $500M

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a dramatic pivot from a failed Bitcoin startup at Y Combinator, Xendit has since raised over US$500 million since 2015, growing into a payments ...

Coda: From ‘App Tax’ Avoidance to Processing ~$2B Yearly

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started as a way for game publishers to escape the ‘app tax’ has evolved into a global monetisation and distribution platform. Fresh from acq...

So You Think Your Food Product Is Premium?

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The packaged food and beverage space is overflowing with brands claiming to be “natural”, “premium” or “healthy”, but few survive beyond t...

From Copper Cables to Data Centres Powering AI

26 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Data centres are no longer just information warehouses; they are high-density hubs, or ‘airports for internet traffic’, and the demand for power i...

400 Trucks, 1.4M Litres – How To Pay?

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Running a transport company in Malaysia is no small feat, especially with rising fuel costs and the challenge of keeping track of dozens of drivers an...

Why StashAway's Shariah Portfolio Took 7 Years to Build

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With the recent launch of its direct ETF Explorer and a long-awaited Shariah Global Portfolio, is digital wealth manager StashAway signaling a major e...

IGL Coatings: Why a 19% Tariff Is Better Than Uncertainty

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Marking its 10th anniversary, IGL Coatings has grown into an eight-figure business exporting its surface protection solutions to 50 markets. But this ...

Roboshop: The Malaysian Startup Teaching Kids to Build Robots

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We sit down with Shaerfatwa Intannadwah, Founder and Managing Director of Roboshop Technologies, to explore how a small series of robotics workshops h...

Can Quality Still Win in Construction? ALUMASTER Thinks So

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

William Koh, CEO and Managing Director of ALUMASTER, joins us to explore how a Sarawak-based aluminium solutions provider grew from a small local oper...

The NASA Scientist & Wall Street Trader Behind NanoSkunkWorkX

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How does a former NASA scientist team up with a former Wall Street trader to build a deep tech company that manipulates atoms without a multi-million-...

A Glimpse of the Future? Lessons from China for Malaysia

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What can Malaysian entrepreneurs and policymakers learn from one of the world's most advanced digital economies? Two of our own, Michele Chai of Kintr...

How Ambitionz Is Turning Gamers Into Creators?

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cipher is an AI engine built by Ambitionz, a bootstrapped gaming software company led by Pavel Bains, that helps creators and studios design, build, a...

A Founder’s Take on Budget 2026: AI, Costs & The Road Ahead

12 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Malaysia digests the announcements from Budget 2026, how are entrepreneurs and startup founders viewing the road ahead? Beyond the headline numbers...

TROOPERS Are Redefining The Gig Economy

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Can gig work be both flexible and fair? TROOPERS thinks so. With 400,000 verified users and RM50 million in worker earnings, the platform is redefinin...

Bringing Pizza Back to the Table

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From a humble roadside stall to five thriving outlets in just three years, Mokky’s Pizza is rewriting the rules of Malaysia’s billion-ringgit pizz...

GTS: From Local Beginnings to Regional Expansion

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Founded in 2013, Global TechSolutions (GTS) began as a local start-up offering customised equipment solutions for semiconductor manufacturers. Over th...

Seek Sophie: Travel with Purpose, Adventure with Heart

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Let’s go on an adventure… and a journey, with Jacinta Lim, Co-Founder of Seek Sophie, the travel platform curating hidden-gem experiences across A...

The "Temp Project" That Became a 14-Year Pastry Business

05 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started 14 years ago as a temporary home baking project has grown into Xiao by Crustz, a 7-figure patisserie. For founder Xiao-Ly Koh, the journe...

Scooping Up Success with Paolo Paolo Gelato

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From fashion editor to gelato entrepreneur, Miranda Yeoh has built Paolo Paolo Gelato (PPG) into a premium artisanal brand that’s crossed the seven-...

Why MalaysiaKini’s Co-Founder is Now Betting on AI

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Backed by 500 Global, AI startup Awatar Innovations is on a mission to build the next generation of agentic chatbots. But what does it really take to ...

How The “Burnt Banksy” Is Making Web3 Invisible?

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

XION is a Web3 “invisible” trust protocol designed to remove the barriers that keep everyday users from adopting blockchain. Founded by Anthony “...

How Webull Is Aiming To Break Barriers In Retail Investing

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Launched in 2024, Webull Malaysia is a licensed digital broker regulated by the Securities Commission, offering access to Bursa Securities, Bursa Deri...

Bringing AWS-like Flexibility to Inventory Storage?

28 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Self-storage is no longer just for de-cluttering your home. For Singapore-based Work+Store, it has become a flexible operational hub for SMEs and e-co...

Bomb Battle: From Paint Bombs to a Multi-Entertainment Hub

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What began as a single attraction built around paint bombs has since exploded into one of Malaysia’s most dynamic entertainment experiences. Bomb Ba...

Reimagining Intralogistics: XSQUARE’s Playbook for Smart Warehousing

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jens Bohnwagner, CEO at XSQUARE Technologies, leads a Singapore-based startup that simplifies warehouse operations with in-house automation software s...

Risk 1st, Revenue 2nd: microLEAP’s Winning P2P Play?

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since 2019, P2P financing platform microLEAP has dispersed over RM420 million while maintaining a claimed industry-low default rate of 0.36%. We dive ...

The New Taste Of Old Remedies

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When you think of Malaysia’s favourite herbal drinks like mata kucing, lin chee kang, or sea coconut longan, chances are you picture them at a pasar...

Timothy Tiah on SST, Closing Outlets & Creator CEOs

21 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Eighteen months after our last chat, Colony's CEO Timothy Tiah is back with a story of wins, setbacks, and strategic pivots. From navigating new SST a...

Hygr: From a RM1.5k Side Hustle to Bootstrapped 8-Figure Brand

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started as a RM1,500 side hustle during the pandemic has exploded into Hygr, an eight-figure beauty and personal care brand. After a viral TikTok...

AI + Peers: How Tupai Is Tackling Malaysia's Math Problem

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With an alarming 80% math failure rate plaguing some schools, Malaysia faces a critical educational challenge. EdTech startup Tupai is on a mission to...

AWS, But For Manpower? GoGet's 11-Year Gig Economy Journey

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From a simple app for errands in 2014, GoGet has evolved into a digital staffing powerhouse with nearly 400,000 verified workers and an eight-figure a...

26 Years, 32 Restaurants, RM100M+: The Olive Tree Group

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From a single outlet in 2003, The Olive Tree Group has grown into a hospitality empire with 30 restaurants and bars across seven states and two countr...

Tackling 3D Jobs: Qwork's New Manpower Playbook

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Having built a successful gig platform for e-commerce and retail, Qwork is now taking on a bigger challenge: solving the talent mismatch in Malaysia's...

Rotiboy: From Near Failure to 800 Million Buns Sold

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For almost 30 years, the smell of a freshly baked Rotiboy bun has been an iconic part of the Malaysian food experience, but behind this is a story of ...

Why FusionQB Pivoted from PropTech to Building B2B SuperApps

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A shareholder clash sparked a 7-figure Superapp pivot? What started in 2016 as a niche proptech company has evolved into FusionQB, a mid-7-figure busi...

From Food Truck to RM10M+ Social Enterprise: Pepper Labs

07 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started as a single food truck to help one person in need has evolved into Pepper Labs, an eight-figure social enterprise that has impacted over ...

New CEO, New Name: Razorpay Curlec’s Post-Founder Chapter

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fresh off its rebrand, Razorpay Curlec is navigating a critical new phase: the post-founder, post-acquisition era. With a new CEO at the helm, the fas...

Leading with Heart in the City Centre

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From breakfast tables in Germany to boardrooms across Asia, Sebastian Krack’s journey with Hyatt Hotels has been one of passion, innovation, and lea...

Stories, Soil, and the Spirit of Adventure

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started as a passion project in 2022 has since grown into By The Billions (BTB), a platform that blends automotive storytelling, 4x4 expeditions,...

Vibefam: The Answer to Spreadsheet Hell For SMEs?

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For many service-based SMEs in the health and wellness space, managing operations is a chaotic mix of spreadsheets, WhatsApp messages, and manual paym...

Netflix-style Personalisation for Banks. But Why?

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While our favourite apps know what we want to watch next, our banking apps often remain transactional and impersonal. Singapore-based Fintech Moneytho...

Ritestream’s Shift from Television to Web3 Entertainment

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Riaz Mehta, Founder & CEO of Ritestream, an International Emmy-nominated producer turned Web3 entrepreneur shares how his journey from creating gl...

Machino: From RM100K & Family Ties to Budding 8-Figure Biz

24 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Launched in the midst of the 2020 pandemic, Malaysian footwear brand Machino is on a mission to prove you don't have to sacrifice comfort for style. N...

Asian Flavours, Italian Craft, and a Healthier Scoop of Gelato

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From Musang King durian to Vietnamese coffee, XO-ice have blended the best of Asia with the craftsmanship of Italy, creating gelato that’s lower in ...

LIGNO Biotech’s RM60M Goal, Powered by Tiger Milk Mushrooms

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What began as a PhD project inspired by Tun Dr. Mahathir has grown into a profitable biotech firm with over RM13 million in annual revenue. By success...

The 'Crazy' Story of How 2 Flight Attendants Built a Circus

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started as a chance meeting between two flight attendants has grown into an 11-year journey of producing circus shows in Malaysia. This is the st...

Making Tempeh a Truly Gourmet Brand

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tempeh and gourmet — not a pairing you’d expect. Yet Ethan Wong, Founder of Truly Gourmet, has turned a humble Malaysian staple into a thriving pr...

57 Pitches, 3 Years, $14M: Inside Naluri's Series B

17 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a grueling three-year journey involving 57 investor conversations, digital health startup Naluri has closed its $14 million Series B round. Now ...

Diolko’s Vision To Simplify Urban Logistics and Last-Mile Delivery

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last-mile delivery is the invisible backbone of city life. But it’s also a major source of congestion, noise, and carbon emissions. Yoann Gueguen an...

Batik Boutique: From ‘Naive’ Side Hustle to 7-Figure Biz

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How does an American expat become the founder of Malaysia's only B Corp-certified batik brand? For Amy Blair, what started as a project to help one wo...

Leveraging Uncertainty To Build Your Entrepreneurial Act2

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In an age of retrenchment tsunamis and career uncertainty, many midlife professionals are asking: what's next? For our guest, the answer isn't just fi...

Threading the Needle Through the Messy Middle

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Needle, an AI-powered marketing platform from Singapore, starts by helping founders generate ideas and determine business and marketing priorities and...

Coffee Wars: Why Koppiku Stepped into a Crowded Battlefield

10 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Malaysia's crowded grab-and-go coffee scene, a new player has exploded onto the market, opening 50 outlets in under two years. Backed by $2.5 milli...

Malaysia Vegfest - Growing Malaysia’s Plant-Based Movement

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Plant-based living was once seen as a niche trend in Malaysia, a passing fad, or something at odds with our love for sambal and satay. But with VegFes...

Why This US Aerospace Firm Chose Malaysia for Its Asian Hub

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

US-based Aircraft Propeller Service (APS), a leading independent propeller MRO company, has opened its first-ever Asian facility right here in Selango...

The Business of Belonging

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What does a five-star hotel opening say about the direction of a city, or the confidence of a global brand?We speak with Till Martin, General Manager ...

How Confetto Scaled a 7-Figure Social Media Agency Without Funding

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Confetto, a digital marketing agency from Singapore specialising in social media and content creation for brands targeting Gen Zs, has quickly become ...

Beyond PT: Movement Dynamics’ B2B Push & KL Foodie Ambitions

03 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started with just RM1,000 and a stroke of luck during the pandemic has grown into a RM500,000-a-year fitness business. But for Movement Dynamics,...

How Inductiv Is Building GenAI from the Ground Up?

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just six months in, Singapore-based Inductiv is developing an enterprise-grade GenAI platform designed for startups and businesses in complex industri...

NALE: RM10M Selling Nasi Lemak in FY2024; RM20M Next?

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Can a business built around Nasi Lemak become a global brand like Nando's? That's Nale’s ambitious mission, but their biggest challenge is convincin...

How This Sarawak Startup's AI is Saving Elephants & Farmers

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As palm oil plantations expand, the conflict between humans and wildlife escalates, often with tragic results. Sarawak-based AIoT startup Satok Bridge...

How Two Malaysians Built Viral Skincare Brand, Dododots

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started as a shared skincare struggle between two young Malaysians has grown into Dododots, a pimple patch brand that’s caught the attention of...

Strangers at 47: Turning Crepes into RM3.5M a Year

27 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For 11 years, Strangers at 47 has been a beloved neighbourhood cafe, famous for its savory crepes. But behind the cozy vibes is a story of resilience,...

How Pure Mylk Is Changing Plant-Based Beverages?

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Marcus Khoo, founder and CEO of Pure Mylk, shares how they’re helping F&B brands bring clean-label products to life, what it takes to innovate i...

How This 'Vending Machine' Speeds Up & Shrinks Your Warehouse

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Warehouse automation has long been seen as a multi-million dollar game reserved for giants. Backed by Pentamaster, Malaysian deep tech startup Pingspa...

RM500K a Month Selling Cold Plunge Tubs?

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How does a magic producer pivot to the wellness industry and build a business generating nearly half a million ringgit in monthly revenue in just over...

From Clippers to Kings: The Kingsmen Barbershop Story

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Co-owners Sam Fakhoury and Moustafa Elbaadwihi took over a struggling barbershop and transformed it into Kingsmen Barbershop, a premium grooming brand...

From 70 to 300 Machines: Inside Otter Barista's Growth Plan

20 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if your daily coffee was served not by a person, but by a vending machine? Malaysian startup Otter Barista is deploying its "cafe in a box" vendi...

MapleBear Canadian School

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bilingual education demand is surging and MapleBear is tapping into Malaysia’s multicultural market with its globally respected Canadian curriculum....

What’s Behind Aleta Planet's China-Centric Payments Edge?

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Processing over $2 billion in annual transactions, Aleta Planet has carved out a powerful niche in the crowded fintech space. Their secret? A laser fo...

Taming Enterprise 'AI Chaos': Inside Shieldbase's AI OS

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As enterprises rush to adopt AI, many are inadvertently creating "AI chaos", a complex mess of disconnected tools, data silos, and major governance bl...

Building 'Giant Power Banks': A $50M Bet on Malaysia

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Singapore-based SynVista Energy is investing US$50 million to build a large-scale energy storage manufacturing facility. But what makes Malaysia the r...

Beyond Robo: Wahed's Bet on Real Estate & Active ETFs

13 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Having surpassed $1 billion in assets under management and serving nearly 450,000 customers globally, Wahed is a key player in the Islamic wealth tech...

Stretch, Sweat, Scale: The Business of GLOW

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Wellness used to be a yoga mat and a green smoothie. These days, it's a billion-dollar industry, a tourism strategy, and, in the case of one Singapore...

Zoala: Building An Early Warning System for Mental Health?

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a personal family crisis involving his goddaughter's mental health struggles, this founder set out on a new mission. His startup, Zoala, built a...

Is This the End of CVs? LeapIn's Bet on AI Hiring

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Traditional hiring is broken, rewarding polished resumes over actual skills. Singapore-based startup LeapIn aims to fix this by replacing CVs with an ...

Inside Malaysia’s Dutch-Inspired School, Joy Comes First

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Founded in 2004, Summer Academy has grown from a single learning centre into a full education network. And now, it’s launching Malaysia’s first Du...

How a Client Request Sparked a Multi-Million Ringgit Business

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Angeline Mahsuri Cheah left a career in B2B tech sales to start her own venture from scratch, sparked by a single client request. Five years later, he...

Reviving Malaysia’s Vanilla Legacy

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Heirloom vanilla once grew in Malaysia, and Alfred Phua is on a mission to bring it back. Through Vanilla Impact Story, he’s building more than just...

From $400 to $52K a Month: Healthpro's Winning Pivot

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Indonesia's healthcare system faces a critical staffing gap, leaving hospitals under-resourced while many medical professionals seek flexible work. He...

The KOL-OEM Bridge? Alt Synergy's AI & BioTech Play

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a family member fell ill from an unregistered supplement, Nash Mohamad set out to fix a broken industry. His biotech startup, Alt Synergy, is no...

The Rise of Oko Lele

30 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Large-scale productions used to dominate the animation industry, but a new wave of creators is proving otherwise.We speak with Charlie Chan, Managing ...