Menopause Asia: No, It’s Not Just Burnout

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…

Inside the Revival of Mum’s Place

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 l…

The Messy Middle: Bootstrapping Cuura to 7 Figures

The local Malaysian beauty industry is dominated by aggressive marketing, promising consumers "flawless skin in 3 days" and chasing the latest viral TikTok trends. But when Sarah Shah Nor suffered from severe postpartum eczema, she realized those harsh, trend-chasing products were exactly what …

Can AI Save Malaysia’s Overstretched Hospitals?

Healthcare systems globally are buckling under the weight of administrative tasks. In Malaysia, where the doctor-to-patient ratio hovers around 1:450, frontline clinicians are facing severe burnout, spending hours after their shifts typing up medical notes. Enter Heidi: a Melbourne-based HealthTech…

The Ecosystem Play: Why Gelatomania Is Building More Than Just Outlets

Most F&B founders measure success by the number of retail outlets they open. But Christine Tham and Leong Hoo Yin quickly realised that relying solely on retail is a "single-layer" business model that inevitably leads to a plateau. Founded in 2022, Gelatomania started as a retail brand but quickly …

Unstaffed And Profitable: Inside Malaysia’s Pre-Loved Book Empire

Is it possible to run a highly profitable retail business in premium shopping malls by selling products for just RM5 on the honour system? Adrian Ung, a seasoned commercial leader with 30 years of corporate experience, believed it was. In 2022, he co-founded Books For A Better World (BFBW), a so…

The 8-Figure K-BBQ Empire: How Gu On Hacked The F&B Growth Curve

Gu On is not your average Korean BBQ joint. Launched in July 2023, the brand specialises in traditional Korean smoked meats, rich bone broths, and modern interpretations of Korean classics. But what truly sets Gu On apart is its rapid growth model. By leveraging a strategic "intrapreneurial" partne…

The Science Of Waste: How Bina BioX Is Replacing Plastic With Coffee And Mushrooms

Sustainability is often treated as a corporate branding exercise, but in reality, it is a deeply operational, systems-level problem. Replacing plastic sounds great in a boardroom, but making sustainable materials perform, scale, and integrate into real-world supply chains is notoriously difficult. …

The Sticky Business Of Scaling: From Pasar Malam To 7-Figure Corporate Gifting

Malaysia is sitting on a goldmine of natural biodiversity, yet local functional foods often suffer from a massive "trust deficit" due to adulterated products and poor branding. Tengku Ariputra decided to change that. Armed with RM5,000 crowdfunded from friends and family, he started handwriting lab…

The Business Of Play: How Litt Tak Built A 41-Year Toy Empire

Since 1985, Litt Tak has been the silent engine behind Malaysia’s toy industry. As the official distributor for global giants like Bandai, Takara Tomy, and Spin Master, they are responsible for putting everything from Gundam model kits and Tomica diecast cars to Cocomelon and Shopkins on the shelve…