After a personal family crisis involving his goddaughter's mental health struggles, this founder set out on a new mission. His startup, Zoala, built an AI-powered mental health platform to provide a crucial early warning system for schools and workplaces, backed by $1.5 million in funding.



Founder and CEO Jeff Lee joins us to share his journey and explain how Zoala aims to supplement, not replace, professional care. He discusses their B2B model, how the platform uses AI to help users process challenges while alerting professionals when needed, and their plans to expand into key markets like Malaysia.



We discuss:




The powerful personal story that sparked the company's mission.


How their AI acts as an "early warning system" in schools and workplaces.


Their B2B model and why they chose it over a direct-to-consumer approach.


The importance of co-founders with complementary skills (ops, AI ethics).


Their plan to raise $1M to expand into Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

After a personal family crisis involving his goddaughter's mental health struggles, this founder set out on a new mission. His startup, Zoala, built an AI-powered mental health platform to provide a crucial early warning system for schools and workplaces, backed by $1.5 million in funding.Founder and CEO Jeff Lee joins us to share his journey and explain how Zoala aims to supplement, not replace, professional care. He discusses their B2B model, how the platform uses AI to help users process challenges while alerting professionals when needed, and their plans to expand into key markets like Malaysia.We discuss:<ul><li>The powerful personal story that sparked the company's mission.</li><li>How their AI acts as an "early warning system" in schools and workplaces.</li><li>Their B2B model and why they chose it over a direct-to-consumer approach.</li><li>The importance of co-founders with complementary skills (ops, AI ethics).</li><li>Their plan to raise $1M to expand into Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.</li></ul>

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.

Zoala: Building An Early Warning System for Mental Health?

In 2015, advertising veterans Chantelle Teoh and Kelvin Long grew tired of the generic, "embarrassing" souvenirs found at Central Market. They wanted products that actually spoke the language of Malaysians, literally.



Starting with a single t-shirt design complaining about cigarette prices ("Mahal Bro"), APOM (A Piece of Malaysia) has grown from a bazaar pop-up into a 7-figure retail brand with five stores, including Bangsar Village and The Campus, Ampang.



The husband-and-wife duo joins BFM  to discuss the journey from "Bazaars to Bangunan." We explore how they navigate the "Dreamer vs. Integrator" dynamic as a married couple, the operational PTSD of the 2020 pandemic, and why they believe the future of retail lies in data-driven humor.



We discuss:




The Origin Story: Moving from the "Doof" bean bag business to APOM as a creative release from client work.


Product Market Fit: How they tested witty designs like the "Mahal Bro" and "Jalan Bapak Kau" shirts at bazaars to validate the concept before committing to a lease.


Retail Operations: The reality of scaling from selling single items to managing hundreds of SKUs, warehousing, and the financial "flywheel" of margins and Opex.


The Co-Founder Dynamic: How a husband-and-wife team functions by respecting the split between the "Dreamer" and the "Integrator".


The Cringe Filter: The difficult product development cycle of walking the fine line between witty cultural commentary and "cringey" humor.


The "Blast" Campaign: How they pivoted during the pandemic lockdowns to support 14 local designers when tourism vanished overnight.


Future Vision: The plan to expand beyond KL and build a "Departmental Store" concept to house top-quality Malaysian goods.

In 2015, advertising veterans Chantelle Teoh and Kelvin Long grew tired of the generic, "embarrassing" souvenirs found at Central Market. They wanted products that actually spoke the language of Malaysians, literally.Starting with a single t-shirt design complaining about cigarette prices ("Mahal Bro"), APOM (A Piece of Malaysia) has grown from a bazaar pop-up into a 7-figure retail brand with five stores, including Bangsar Village and The Campus, Ampang.The husband-and-wife duo joins BFM&nbsp; to discuss the journey from "Bazaars to Bangunan." We explore how they navigate the "Dreamer vs. Integrator" dynamic as a married couple, the operational PTSD of the 2020 pandemic, and why they believe the future of retail lies in data-driven humor.We discuss:<ul><li>The Origin Story: Moving from the "Doof" bean bag business to APOM as a creative release from client work.</li><li>Product Market Fit: How they tested witty designs like the "Mahal Bro" and "Jalan Bapak Kau" shirts at bazaars to validate the concept before committing to a lease.</li><li>Retail Operations: The reality of scaling from selling single items to managing hundreds of SKUs, warehousing, and the financial "flywheel" of margins and Opex.</li><li>The Co-Founder Dynamic: How a husband-and-wife team functions by respecting the split between the "Dreamer" and the "Integrator".</li><li>The Cringe Filter: The difficult product development cycle of walking the fine line between witty cultural commentary and "cringey" humor.</li><li>The "Blast" Campaign: How they pivoted during the pandemic lockdowns to support 14 local designers when tourism vanished overnight.</li><li>Future Vision: The plan to expand beyond KL and build a "Departmental Store" concept to house top-quality Malaysian goods.</li></ul>

10 Years of APOM: From Selling Tees to “Rebranding Malaysia”

Founded in 2018, Sagtec Global Limited was a three-person operation in Kuala Lumpur, aiming to digitise Malaysia's F&B sector. Fast forward to March 2025, and Sagtec listed on the NASDAQ at an IPO price of $3.60. But the public markets have been unforgiving, the stock has since lost nearly 50% of its value.



Kevin joins BFM to unpack the realities of a NASDAQ listing. We discuss why he spent $2.1 million (nearly 30% of his raised capital) on listing fees, why he chose the US over a local exchange for "branding and credibility," and how he plans to recover shareholder confidence.



We discuss:




The Origin Story: Why Kevin quit a stable job in 2018 to digitize an industry still relying on handwritten orders, and how the pandemic became his biggest tailwind.


The NASDAQ Reality Check: Why list in the US? Kevin defends the decision as a branding play to open doors in markets like Thailand, despite the stock’s poor performance and lack of US investor understanding.


The $2.1 Million Lesson: The true cost of listing and why Kevin admits he underestimated the need for Investor Relations (IR) post-IPO.


From SaaS to RaaS: The shift to "Robot-as-a-Service." How Sagtec plans to deploy robotic arms for cooking and prep to generate recurring revenue from multi-chain restaurants.


The AI Pivot: Is it just buzzwords? Kevin explains how they are integrating AI not for chat, but for data analytics, helping restaurant owners identify best-selling items and peak hours automatically.


Risk Management: Addressing the concentration risk where 3 customers make up 60% of revenue and 2 vendors account for 60% of costs, and the plan to diversify through direct sales.

Founded in 2018, Sagtec Global Limited was a three-person operation in Kuala Lumpur, aiming to digitise Malaysia's F&amp;B sector. Fast forward to March 2025, and Sagtec listed on the NASDAQ at an IPO price of $3.60. But the public markets have been unforgiving, the stock has since lost nearly 50% of its value.Kevin joins BFM to unpack the realities of a NASDAQ listing. We discuss why he spent $2.1 million (nearly 30% of his raised capital) on listing fees, why he chose the US over a local exchange for "branding and credibility," and how he plans to recover shareholder confidence.We discuss:<ul><li>The Origin Story: Why Kevin quit a stable job in 2018 to digitize an industry still relying on handwritten orders, and how the pandemic became his biggest tailwind.</li><li>The NASDAQ Reality Check: Why list in the US? Kevin defends the decision as a branding play to open doors in markets like Thailand, despite the stock’s poor performance and lack of US investor understanding.</li><li>The $2.1 Million Lesson: The true cost of listing and why Kevin admits he underestimated the need for Investor Relations (IR) post-IPO.</li><li>From SaaS to RaaS: The shift to "Robot-as-a-Service." How Sagtec plans to deploy robotic arms for cooking and prep to generate recurring revenue from multi-chain restaurants.</li><li>The AI Pivot: Is it just buzzwords? Kevin explains how they are integrating AI not for chat, but for data analytics, helping restaurant owners identify best-selling items and peak hours automatically.</li><li>Risk Management: Addressing the concentration risk where 3 customers make up 60% of revenue and 2 vendors account for 60% of costs, and the plan to diversify through direct sales.</li></ul>

Sagtec: From POS Systems to NASDAQ & A 50% Stock Drop

On this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Paul Dass, Managing Director of Green Street Farms, about what it means to grow food with care in the heart of a city.



Green Street Farms uses aquaponics, a natural system where fish and plants support one another, to produce fresh food while working in rhythm with nature. But beyond the method, this is a story about intention: choosing to grow slowly, thoughtfully, and in a way that stays connected to the people who eat the food.



Paul shares the personal journey behind the farm, the lessons learned from working with living systems, and how reconnecting people to where their food comes from can quietly change how we think about nourishment, responsibility, and care.

On this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Paul Dass, Managing Director of Green Street Farms, about what it means to grow food with care in the heart of a city.Green Street Farms uses aquaponics, a natural system where fish and plants support one another, to produce fresh food while working in rhythm with nature. But beyond the method, this is a story about intention: choosing to grow slowly, thoughtfully, and in a way that stays connected to the people who eat the food.Paul shares the personal journey behind the farm, the lessons learned from working with living systems, and how reconnecting people to where their food comes from can quietly change how we think about nourishment, responsibility, and care.

Zoala: Building An Early Warning System for Mental Health?

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