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 Ting, Founder of Side Gig Accelerator, realised her savings and EPF weren’t going to be enough for the life she wanted for her family. She took a leap from dispensing prescriptions to designing sales funnels, and eventually launched the Side Gig Accelerator, a programme that helps everyday people who want to earn extra money learn a new, marketable skill through online channels. 



Her students today range from 25-year-olds to retirees in their 70s, with the intention to show how online income isn’t just for the tech-savvy but it’s for anyone willing to take that first step.



In this conversation, we discuss how she built a seven-figure coaching and consulting business from scratch and what she’s learned about breaking limiting beliefs along the way.

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 Ting, Founder of Side Gig Accelerator, realised her savings and EPF weren’t going to be enough for the life she wanted for her family. She took a leap from dispensing prescriptions to designing sales funnels, and eventually launched the Side Gig Accelerator, a programme that helps everyday people who want to earn extra money learn a new, marketable skill through online channels.&nbsp;Her students today range from 25-year-olds to retirees in their 70s, with the intention to show how online income isn’t just for the tech-savvy but it’s for anyone willing to take that first step.In this conversation, we discuss how she built a seven-figure coaching and consulting business from scratch and what she’s learned about breaking limiting beliefs along the way.

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.

How This Former Pharmacist is Making Side Gigs Lucrative

In 2023, after years of utilising seed and VC funding to scale their operations, BloomThis co-founders Penny Choo and Giden Lim executed a rare strategic move: they bought their company back. Today, the fully independent, vertically integrated floral and gifting e-commerce platform is generating 8-figure annual revenues with healthy 7-figure profit margins across Malaysia and Singapore.



Penny joins us to dissect the hard metrics behind their success. We scrutinise the unit economics of a perishable supply chain, how to protect brand equity against the cheap discounting of TikTok social commerce, and the strategy behind driving customer retention in an industry reliant on episodic, once-a-year purchases.

In 2023, after years of utilising seed and VC funding to scale their operations, BloomThis co-founders Penny Choo and Giden Lim executed a rare strategic move: they bought their company back. Today, the fully independent, vertically integrated floral and gifting e-commerce platform is generating 8-figure annual revenues with healthy 7-figure profit margins across Malaysia and Singapore.Penny joins us to dissect the hard metrics behind their success. We scrutinise the unit economics of a perishable supply chain, how to protect brand equity against the cheap discounting of TikTok social commerce, and the strategy behind driving customer retention in an industry reliant on episodic, once-a-year purchases.

Life After VC: How BloomThis Scaled to 8 Figures Solo

Perimenopause is rarely discussed in boardrooms, yet it causes 1 in 4 women to consider leaving the workforce — often at the absolute peak of their careers and earning potential.



Joanne Ho knows this firsthand. After successfully building Malaysia’s first retail cupcake chain - Cupcake Chic, and scaling an online flower delivery business - Happy Bunch, Joanne found herself stepping away from her work. She assumed she was dealing with severe executive burnout. In reality, she was experiencing perimenopause.



Realising that millions of women lack the language, awareness, and access to personalised hormonal care, she launched Menopause Asia in October 2025. The bootstrapped digital health platform connects midlife women directly with licensed doctors for hormone therapy, metabolic health programmes, and lifestyle support.



Joanne shares the emotional and strategic journey of building a health-tech startup, plus the steep learning curve of entering a regulated medical space, and why supporting women through midlife is not just a healthcare issue, but a critical corporate retention strategy.

Perimenopause is rarely discussed in boardrooms, yet it causes 1 in 4 women to consider leaving the workforce — often at the absolute peak of their careers and earning potential.Joanne Ho knows this firsthand. After successfully building Malaysia’s first retail cupcake chain - Cupcake Chic, and scaling an online flower delivery business - Happy Bunch, Joanne found herself stepping away from her work. She assumed she was dealing with severe executive burnout. In reality, she was experiencing perimenopause.Realising that millions of women lack the language, awareness, and access to personalised hormonal care, she launched Menopause Asia in October 2025. The bootstrapped digital health platform connects midlife women directly with licensed doctors for hormone therapy, metabolic health programmes, and lifestyle support.Joanne shares the emotional and strategic journey of building a health-tech startup, plus the steep learning curve of entering a regulated medical space, and why supporting women through midlife is not just a healthcare issue, but a critical corporate retention strategy.

Menopause Asia: No, It’s Not Just Burnout

For decades, Mum’s Place was an institutional dining destination in Petaling Jaya, famous for its comforting, Peranakan-influenced Malaysian dishes. When the original founders, Christopher De Mello and Jennifer Tee, retired and closed the restaurant in December 2021, it left a massive hole in the local culinary scene.



But in January 2026, niece and nephew duo Nureen and Zareef Thajudeen, stepped up to resurrect the beloved brand. But instead of trying to replicate the massive scale of the original restaurant — which spanned 5 shop lots and employed 16 cooks — the new generation has completely scaled down, operating at a quarter of the original capacity and shrinking the menu from 120 dishes down to just 30.



Zareef and Nureen join us in the studio to discuss the immense pressure of cooking for a deeply nostalgic customer base. We also dissect the decision to shrink operations to maintain quality, the unit economics of a bootstrapped family revival, and the operational paradox of trying to scale "home-cooked meals" through a future central kitchen.

For decades, Mum’s Place was an institutional dining destination in Petaling Jaya, famous for its comforting, Peranakan-influenced Malaysian dishes. When the original founders, Christopher De Mello and Jennifer Tee, retired and closed the restaurant in December 2021, it left a massive hole in the local culinary scene.But in January 2026, niece and nephew duo Nureen and Zareef Thajudeen, stepped up to resurrect the beloved brand. But instead of trying to replicate the massive scale of the original restaurant — which spanned 5 shop lots and employed 16 cooks — the new generation has completely scaled down, operating at a quarter of the original capacity and shrinking the menu from 120 dishes down to just 30.Zareef and Nureen join us in the studio to discuss the immense pressure of cooking for a deeply nostalgic customer base. We also dissect the decision to shrink operations to maintain quality, the unit economics of a bootstrapped family revival, and the operational paradox of trying to scale "home-cooked meals" through a future central kitchen.

How This Former Pharmacist is Making Side Gigs Lucrative

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