With his 20 years of experience in the rubber industry, Steven founded Geomax Rubber in 2018 with the aim to revolutionise the footwear industry by upcycling rejected nitrile gloves into eco-friendly soles and shoes. The company has developed an effective method of converting rejected nitrile gloves into high-performance eco-friendly rubber compounds, leading to the creation of their unique product line under the brand Solewell. Their offerings include safety shoes, sandals, boots, and soles.



Today, we dive into the past, present, and future of this venture, including their unique value proposition, the challenges faced, and their ambitious plans ahead. We’ll explore what led Steven down this very specific path, the partnership with recycling industry players Andrew Siah and Danny Lee, and their expansion into new market segments like women’s footwear and school shoes.

With his 20 years of experience in the rubber industry, Steven founded Geomax Rubber in 2018 with the aim to revolutionise the footwear industry by upcycling rejected nitrile gloves into eco-friendly soles and shoes. The company has developed an effective method of converting rejected nitrile gloves into high-performance eco-friendly rubber compounds, leading to the creation of their unique product line under the brand Solewell. Their offerings include safety shoes, sandals, boots, and soles.Today, we dive into the past, present, and future of this venture, including their unique value proposition, the challenges faced, and their ambitious plans ahead. We’ll explore what led Steven down this very specific path, the partnership with recycling industry players Andrew Siah and Danny Lee, and their expansion into new market segments like women’s footwear and school shoes.

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.

Geomax’s Rubber Revolution? Turning Rejected Gloves into Footwear

Today on the show, we speak with Melly Ling, CEO and Co-Founder of Mole, a local startup that has built an all-in-one networking platform with their very own business card and networking app.



They are essentially a networking tool that connects people at events and conferences, with the aim of turning every interaction into lasting insights. To tackle the downsides of networking events, Mole has introduced their very own, Mole card, an attendee's information digital card and an event management platform with the Mole App to be a power tool for event organisers.



Mole was founded in June 2022 and having bootstrapped at the start, the platform secured early-stage funding from Antler last year to fund the development of their digital business card and the networking app tailored for SMEs in Malaysia. Since then, the business has grown to new heights and is now looking at expanding their business card platform to other parts of Southeast Asia by next year.



On the show today, Melly will be giving us a sense of her journey in the tech world and how that led to the inception of Mole, the challenges she had to overcome with over a decade of experience in digital marketing, copywriting, design, and journalism as well as her long-term ambitions for the business beyond 2024.

Today on the show, we speak with Melly Ling, CEO and Co-Founder of Mole, a local startup that has built an all-in-one networking platform with their very own business card and networking app.They are essentially a networking tool that connects people at events and conferences, with the aim of turning every interaction into lasting insights. To tackle the downsides of networking events, Mole has introduced their very own, Mole card, an attendee's information digital card and an event management platform with the Mole App to be a power tool for event organisers.Mole was founded in June 2022 and having bootstrapped at the start, the platform secured early-stage funding from Antler last year to fund the development of their digital business card and the networking app tailored for SMEs in Malaysia. Since then, the business has grown to new heights and is now looking at expanding their business card platform to other parts of Southeast Asia by next year.On the show today, Melly will be giving us a sense of her journey in the tech world and how that led to the inception of Mole, the challenges she had to overcome with over a decade of experience in digital marketing, copywriting, design, and journalism as well as her long-term ambitions for the business beyond 2024.

Mole's Magic: Elevating Business Networking

In this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Kristoffer Jacek Soh and Benjamin Long, co-founders of Beep Technologies, a company that started by enabling cashless transactions for vending machines and has since evolved to address Southeast Asia’s fragmented EV charging ecosystem.



Founded in 2018, Beep now operates Southeast Asia’s largest EV roaming network through its Voltality platform, connecting over 5,000 charging stations. Join us as we explore the journey of Beep, from its early days in vending solutions to its current efforts to unify EV charging infrastructure in the region. We discuss the challenges of navigating a highly fragmented market, the importance of partnerships, and more.



In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How Beep pushed from cashless transactions to the EV charging space.

- The role of Voltality in connecting fragmented EV charging networks.

- Key challenges and strategies for overcoming them in the Southeast Asian market.

- Insights into Beep’s growth strategy, including partnerships with operators like Sime Darby and Grab.

In this episode of Open For Business, we speak with Kristoffer Jacek Soh and Benjamin Long, co-founders of Beep Technologies, a company that started by enabling cashless transactions for vending machines and has since evolved to address Southeast Asia’s fragmented EV charging ecosystem.Founded in 2018, Beep now operates Southeast Asia’s largest EV roaming network through its Voltality platform, connecting over 5,000 charging stations. Join us as we explore the journey of Beep, from its early days in vending solutions to its current efforts to unify EV charging infrastructure in the region. We discuss the challenges of navigating a highly fragmented market, the importance of partnerships, and more.In this episode, you’ll learn:- How Beep pushed from cashless transactions to the EV charging space.- The role of Voltality in connecting fragmented EV charging networks.- Key challenges and strategies for overcoming them in the Southeast Asian market.- Insights into Beep’s growth strategy, including partnerships with operators like Sime Darby and Grab.

Beep Technologies: From Vending Machine to Unifying EV Charging in SEA

In this episode of Open For Business, we sit down with Chang Lih Yen and Chan Qi Yang, Co-founders and Managing Directors of FinKnight, a Malaysia-based financial advisory startup. Initially launched as Beetle Knight Advisory, the company rebranded to FinKnight in 2023 to better reflect its mission of simplifying financial management for startups and SMEs. To support this ambition, FinKnight secured funding from First Move and Gobi Partners, which will be used to fuel their expansion across Malaysia and beyond.



Join us as we dive into their journey, from their backgrounds in finance to co-founding FinKnight to help other businesses with their finance workloads and financial planning, including bookkeeping, advisory, fundraising, and more.



In this conversation, you’ll learn:

- The problem FinKnight is solving for startups and SMEs.

- How the company’s rebranding reflects its evolution and future plans.

- Key strategies for scaling and acquiring customers in a cost-conscious market.

- Insights into FinKnight’s business model and growth ambitions.



Tune in to hear the story of how FinKnight is working to become a partner for businesses in need of finance expertise, bookkeeping, and advisory.

In this episode of Open For Business, we sit down with Chang Lih Yen and Chan Qi Yang, Co-founders and Managing Directors of FinKnight, a Malaysia-based financial advisory startup. Initially launched as Beetle Knight Advisory, the company rebranded to FinKnight in 2023 to better reflect its mission of simplifying financial management for startups and SMEs. To support this ambition, FinKnight secured funding from First Move and Gobi Partners, which will be used to fuel their expansion across Malaysia and beyond.Join us as we dive into their journey, from their backgrounds in finance to co-founding FinKnight to help other businesses with their finance workloads and financial planning, including bookkeeping, advisory, fundraising, and more.In this conversation, you’ll learn:- The problem FinKnight is solving for startups and SMEs.- How the company’s rebranding reflects its evolution and future plans.- Key strategies for scaling and acquiring customers in a cost-conscious market.- Insights into FinKnight’s business model and growth ambitions.Tune in to hear the story of how FinKnight is working to become a partner for businesses in need of finance expertise, bookkeeping, and advisory.

Geomax’s Rubber Revolution? Turning Rejected Gloves into Footwear

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