In this episode, we chat with Troy Ananthothai, the founder and CEO of the English Language EdTech company Globish. Troy was a film student at university but quickly realized that his true calling was to inspire and help others through education. That realization led to a drastic course correction that would ultimately lead to Troy founding Globish, going bankrupt and saving the company from the brink of collapse before finding success. 

In this episode, we chat with Troy Ananthothai, the founder and CEO of the English Language EdTech company Globish. Troy was a film student at university but quickly realized that his true calling was to inspire and help others through education. That realization led to a drastic course correction that would ultimately lead to Troy founding Globish, going bankrupt and saving the company from the brink of collapse before finding success.&nbsp;

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 Performance Ep4 - Troy Ananthothai

Founded in 2017 as a simple telemedicine app, Doctor Anywhere (DA) became a pandemic darling, raising nearly $176 million from heavyweights like IHH Healthcare and Temasek-linked Pavilion Capital. But in a surprising twist, the digital disruptor spent ~$80 million USD in late 2022 to acquire Asian Healthcare Specialists, shifting from an asset-light tech model to owning traditional brick-and-mortar clinics.



Lim Wai Mun, the "accidental founder" turned CEO, joins BFM to discuss:




The "Accidental Founder": How a private equity financier with zero medical background ended up building a regional healthcare giant across 6 countries.


The $80M Pivot: Why DA acquired a traditional specialist group (Orthopedics, Urology, etc.) to bridge the trust gap that pure tech couldn't solve.


The "Decentralised Hospital": Wai Mun explains his vision of deconstructing the hospital, moving care out of expensive central hubs into smaller, accessible modules to lower costs for everyone.


The "Connector of Care": How DA manages the conflicting agendas of the three key healthcare stakeholders: the Payer (wants to save money), the Provider (wants to earn money), and the Patient (wants to get well).


Financial Discipline: Why DA has never operated at a negative gross margin, and Wai Mun’s take on why the "growth at all costs" era is dead.


The Future: The launch of "Soda by DA" and the 5-year ambition to become Southeast Asia’s leading "Insure-Health-Tech" company.

Founded in 2017 as a simple telemedicine app, Doctor Anywhere (DA) became a pandemic darling, raising nearly $176 million from heavyweights like IHH Healthcare and Temasek-linked Pavilion Capital. But in a surprising twist, the digital disruptor spent ~$80 million USD in late 2022 to acquire Asian Healthcare Specialists, shifting from an asset-light tech model to owning traditional brick-and-mortar clinics.Lim Wai Mun, the "accidental founder" turned CEO, joins BFM to discuss:<ul><li>The "Accidental Founder": How a private equity financier with zero medical background ended up building a regional healthcare giant across 6 countries.</li><li>The $80M Pivot: Why DA acquired a traditional specialist group (Orthopedics, Urology, etc.) to bridge the trust gap that pure tech couldn't solve.</li><li>The "Decentralised Hospital": Wai Mun explains his vision of deconstructing the hospital, moving care out of expensive central hubs into smaller, accessible modules to lower costs for everyone.</li><li>The "Connector of Care": How DA manages the conflicting agendas of the three key healthcare stakeholders: the Payer (wants to save money), the Provider (wants to earn money), and the Patient (wants to get well).</li><li>Financial Discipline: Why DA has never operated at a negative gross margin, and Wai Mun’s take on why the "growth at all costs" era is dead.</li><li>The Future: The launch of "Soda by DA" and the 5-year ambition to become Southeast Asia’s leading "Insure-Health-Tech" company.</li></ul>

$176M: How an “Accidental Founder” Built Doctor Anywhere

How do you turn nostalgia into a scalable business in one of Malaysia’s most crowded food and beverage markets?



On this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Nick Ng, Founder and CEO of Hock Kee Kopitiam, about building a modern kopitiam brand rooted in heritage, community, and made-to-order tradition.



From opening a single outlet in Johor Bahru with no prior restaurant experience to growing a multi-outlet chain across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Johor, Nick shares what it takes to stay relevant while scaling. We explore how Hock Kee maintains consistency across outlets, how its revenue mix has evolved, the impact of Halal certification and tourism-linked collaborations, and the operational pressures of running a fast-growing F&B business.

How do you turn nostalgia into a scalable business in one of Malaysia’s most crowded food and beverage markets?On this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Nick Ng, Founder and CEO of Hock Kee Kopitiam, about building a modern kopitiam brand rooted in heritage, community, and made-to-order tradition.From opening a single outlet in Johor Bahru with no prior restaurant experience to growing a multi-outlet chain across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Johor, Nick shares what it takes to stay relevant while scaling. We explore how Hock Kee maintains consistency across outlets, how its revenue mix has evolved, the impact of Halal certification and tourism-linked collaborations, and the operational pressures of running a fast-growing F&amp;B business.

Old Recipes, New Ambitions: How Hock Kee Kopitiam Is Expanding

In this episode of Open For Business, we look at why coworking seems to have lost its way and whether a quieter, more stripped-back model is the answer.


We speak with Timothy Tiah, founder of Jerry Coworking Space, about building a business that deliberately rejects community theatre, lifestyle branding, and forced interaction. With automated, private offices across the Klang Valley and beyond, Jerry positions itself as infrastructure rather than experience.



We explore coworking fatigue, automation, revenue realities, and what it says about modern work when the most attractive promise might simply be a quiet room and no one asking questions.

In this episode of Open For Business, we look at why coworking seems to have lost its way and whether a quieter, more stripped-back model is the answer. We speak with Timothy Tiah, founder of Jerry Coworking Space, about building a business that deliberately rejects community theatre, lifestyle branding, and forced interaction. With automated, private offices across the Klang Valley and beyond, Jerry positions itself as infrastructure rather than experience.We explore coworking fatigue, automation, revenue realities, and what it says about modern work when the most attractive promise might simply be a quiet room and no one asking questions.

Beyond Performance Ep4 - Troy Ananthothai

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