A decade after pioneering equity crowdfunding (ECF) in Malaysia, why and how is pitchIN expanding beyond startup fundraising toward a complete private-to-public capital ecosystem? Kashminder Singh, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of pitchIN, joins Open For Business to discuss the platform’s evolution and ambitions as a digital funding hub serving mature, profitable enterprises alongside tech startups.

Kashminder shares how pitchIN navigated the post-pandemic "funding winter" by diversifying into corporate advisory services, initial exchange offerings (IEOs), and secondary market liquidity via PSTX 2.0. He also breaks down their upcoming peer-to-peer (P2P) debt financing rollout, strategic alignment with regulatory updates for LEAP and ACE market listings, and plans for executive succession and fresh capital raising.

A decade after pioneering equity crowdfunding (ECF) in Malaysia, why and how is pitchIN expanding beyond startup fundraising toward a complete private-to-public capital ecosystem? Kashminder Singh, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of pitchIN, joins Open For Business to discuss the platform’s evolution and ambitions as a digital funding hub serving mature, profitable enterprises alongside tech startups.Kashminder shares how pitchIN navigated the post-pandemic "funding winter" by diversifying into corporate advisory services, initial exchange offerings (IEOs), and secondary market liquidity via PSTX 2.0. He also breaks down their upcoming peer-to-peer (P2P) debt financing rollout, strategic alignment with regulatory updates for LEAP and ACE market listings, and plans for executive succession and fresh capital raising.

The flagship entrepreneurship show on BFM, featuring personal business stories from early stage start-ups, all the way to billionaire octogenarians in Malaysia and abroad. Notable guests include Martin Cooper (father of the mobile phone), Julian Assange (founder of WikiLeaks), Ralph Henry Baer (father of video games), Tony Buzan (Mindmap Guru), Isaac Tigrett (Hard Rock Cafe founder), Robert Kiyosaki (Financial Guru), Nick Vujicic (motivational speaker) and more. Tap into this valuable resource of shared experiences for the SME industry, which also touches on news, issues and trends affecting the business community and beyond.

Open For Business

Discover fresh concepts, tackle obstacles, and unleash growth - Open For Business is the dynamic show where BFM engages with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and industry trailblazers, igniting inspiration, sparking success, and exploring new business models.

Beyond ECF: pitchIN Bets On LEAP, SMEs, & P2P Finance

Supergulp is a bootstrapped functional beverage brand built on delivering scientifically recognised prebiotic fibres (specifically inulin and acacia gum) in a traditional soda format. Designed to address the high-carbohydrate, low-fibre diets prevalent across Southeast Asia, a single can delivers approximately half of an adult's recommended daily fibre intake. The strategic premise is straightforward: rather than forcing consumers to drastically overhaul their dietary habits, the company improves the nutritional profile of a product they are already drinking.

When founder Julian Koh last appeared on the show in October 2024, the brand was just months old and stocked in roughly 80 local outlets. Two years later, the business has aggressively scaled to over 1,000 retail locations across Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, with Thailand slated as the next target. Operating entirely without institutional funding, the seven-figure business has roughly tripled its revenue year-on-year and successfully achieved profitability by its second year of operations.

Julian returns to unpack the intense operational realities of this rapid two-year expansion. We discuss the distinct go-to-market strategies required to penetrate three completely different Southeast Asian markets, and the constant financial tension between reinvesting capital for aggressive growth versus maintaining profitability. Finally, we examine the increasingly crowded functional beverage space, and what it takes to defend market share as an early mover.

Supergulp is a bootstrapped functional beverage brand built on delivering scientifically recognised prebiotic fibres (specifically inulin and acacia gum) in a traditional soda format. Designed to address the high-carbohydrate, low-fibre diets prevalent across Southeast Asia, a single can delivers approximately half of an adult's recommended daily fibre intake. The strategic premise is straightforward: rather than forcing consumers to drastically overhaul their dietary habits, the company improves the nutritional profile of a product they are already drinking.When founder Julian Koh last appeared on the show in October 2024, the brand was just months old and stocked in roughly 80 local outlets. Two years later, the business has aggressively scaled to over 1,000 retail locations across Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, with Thailand slated as the next target. Operating entirely without institutional funding, the seven-figure business has roughly tripled its revenue year-on-year and successfully achieved profitability by its second year of operations.Julian returns to unpack the intense operational realities of this rapid two-year expansion. We discuss the distinct go-to-market strategies required to penetrate three completely different Southeast Asian markets, and the constant financial tension between reinvesting capital for aggressive growth versus maintaining profitability. Finally, we examine the increasingly crowded functional beverage space, and what it takes to defend market share as an early mover.

Still Sparkling: Supergulp Two Years On

Let's Coopi Roasters is a fully bootstrapped micro-roastery that recently expanded into its own commercial shoplot, the Coffee Lounge. Generating between half a million and a million ringgit annually, the business model relies heavily on B2B operations, with 70 percent of revenue driven by wholesale contracts. The company successfully supplies custom espresso blends and single-origin beans to cafes spanning from Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya to Terengganu and Brunei, while retail sales and specialized coffee education make up the remaining 30 percent of the business.

Operating with a collaborative mindset, founder Hamizah Hamzah is navigating the operational reality of scaling a wholesale business without yet owning her own roasting machine. Beyond the immediate economics of coffee, she is leveraging her previous seven-year career as a behavioural therapist through a strategic partnership with EmployAble. Together, they are developing targeted vocational and job-readiness training for neurodivergent teenagers and adults, aiming to solve the industry's manpower challenges while building a genuinely inclusive enterprise.

Hamizah joins us to unpack the complex margins of micro-roasting and how a bootstrapped F&B business sustains itself across wholesale, retail, and training divisions. We also discuss the untapped commercial potential of Malaysian Liberica beans - a crop that makes up 87 percent of local production but has long been dismissed as mere filler.

Let's Coopi Roasters is a fully bootstrapped micro-roastery that recently expanded into its own commercial shoplot, the Coffee Lounge. Generating between half a million and a million ringgit annually, the business model relies heavily on B2B operations, with 70 percent of revenue driven by wholesale contracts. The company successfully supplies custom espresso blends and single-origin beans to cafes spanning from Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya to Terengganu and Brunei, while retail sales and specialized coffee education make up the remaining 30 percent of the business.Operating with a collaborative mindset, founder Hamizah Hamzah is navigating the operational reality of scaling a wholesale business without yet owning her own roasting machine. Beyond the immediate economics of coffee, she is leveraging her previous seven-year career as a behavioural therapist through a strategic partnership with EmployAble. Together, they are developing targeted vocational and job-readiness training for neurodivergent teenagers and adults, aiming to solve the industry's manpower challenges while building a genuinely inclusive enterprise.Hamizah joins us to unpack the complex margins of micro-roasting and how a bootstrapped F&amp;B business sustains itself across wholesale, retail, and training divisions. We also discuss the untapped commercial potential of Malaysian Liberica beans - a crop that makes up 87 percent of local production but has long been dismissed as mere filler.

She Delivered Coffee as a GoGet Rider. Now Cafés Buy Her Beans.

RujukRent is a tenant screening platform built to verify a prospective renter's identity, employment, and rental history within three days, entirely with their consent.

Currently operating as a fully bootstrapped, solo venture, the platform operates on a pay-per-use model for landlords while remaining free for property agents. Despite its early stage, the business has already secured a strategic memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) and is actively developing a commercial leasing version of its product.

Founder Dinesh Venkitesan, a lawyer by training, joins us to discuss the harsh realities of building a data business in a market that severely lacks data. We unpack the strict legal parameters of what can and cannot be checked, the financial mechanics of a pay-per-use model without subscriptions, and the path to scaling a solo bootstrapped startup. We also discuss the competitive landscape, and the difficult question of whether tenant screening actually eliminates discrimination, or simply gives bias a spreadsheet to hide behind.

RujukRent is a tenant screening platform built to verify a prospective renter's identity, employment, and rental history within three days, entirely with their consent.Currently operating as a fully bootstrapped, solo venture, the platform operates on a pay-per-use model for landlords while remaining free for property agents. Despite its early stage, the business has already secured a strategic memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) and is actively developing a commercial leasing version of its product.Founder Dinesh Venkitesan, a lawyer by training, joins us to discuss the harsh realities of building a data business in a market that severely lacks data. We unpack the strict legal parameters of what can and cannot be checked, the financial mechanics of a pay-per-use model without subscriptions, and the path to scaling a solo bootstrapped startup. We also discuss the competitive landscape, and the difficult question of whether tenant screening actually eliminates discrimination, or simply gives bias a spreadsheet to hide behind.

Beyond ECF: pitchIN Bets On LEAP, SMEs, & P2P Finance

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