Ditching E-Commerce? Pre-IPO CompAsia’s 85-Store Bet

What began in 2012 as an enterprise PC broker has evolved into one of Southeast Asia’s largest re-commerce operators, processing over half a million pre-owned devices annually across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. Founder and CEO Julius Lim joins BFM’s Open for Business to u…

LOL Asia’s 17 Years: From Comedy Promoter to IP Owner

What began with a single stand-up comedy show at Zouk KL’s Velvet Underground in 2009 has expanded into a regional live entertainment force, selling over 500,000 tickets, hosting 350 global talents, and touring across 30 cities. Co-Founder and CEO Rizal Kamal joins BFM’s Open for Business to unp…

Fixing Phones Is Dead? Secondlifeasia’s Software Pivot

For years, Secondlifeasia was recognized as a hardware-heavy device repair business. But as the company sets out to raise RM5 million at a near-RM38 million valuation, it is undergoing a high-stakes operational shift. Squeezed by a structural hardware margin trap, driven by Apple’s iron grip on …

Infinium Robotics: F&B Failure to RM96M Exit

Following a RM96 million acquisition by German-listed DDB, Jon Woon, Founder and CEO of Infinium Robotics, unpacks what’s next for the indoor autonomous drone space. We discuss how the company successfully pivoted from an economically unviable restaurant food-delivery experiment into a logistics…

The Creator Collaboration Advantage

Open your brand's Instagram and honestly ask if you would follow the account if you did not work there. Most corporate social media pages function like boring bulletin boards, treating creators merely as distribution channels with audiences attached. Recognising this flaw after a decade leading Gus…

Malaysia's Natural Treasures, Waiting to Be Discovered

In 2008, Alann Tan returned from New Zealand with his degree but no business plan, driven home by his father's cancer diagnosis. To survive, he and his brother opened a humble market stall selling pineapple tarts and Chinese New Year kuih. Despite a RM500,000 early loss that nearly wiped them out, …

30 Hotels in 3 Years with No Hospitality Background

Traditional hotels often force guests to pay for luxury features they simply do not use. Recognising this gap, Benny Ong and his co-founders launched KiN Hotel Group in 2023. Coming from diverse backgrounds in technology, marketing, and real estate, they viewed their complete lack of hospitality ex…

Replacing SWIFT With Stablecoins for Cross Border Payments

Traditional cross-border payments are plagued by a severe lack of predictability. Relying on an outdated correspondent banking network and the SWIFT system, global money transfers are often slow and leave customers waiting without any clarity on when their funds will arrive. Raj Kamal, an executive…

Same Founder, Different City, Completely Different Business.

In April 2019, Muhammad Hamizan Zaidi opened Affogato, a popular coffee and ice cream dessert cafe in Kuching. Capitalising on a loyal community following, the concept soon expanded into a second lot right next door to become Oregano by Affogato, a pasta-forward restaurant blending Sarawakian ingre…

Why Indelible Ventures Bets on B2B, Not Consumer Tech

While the rest of Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem was chasing consumer-driven "unicorn" narratives and burning cash on a race for user growth at all costs, Indelible Ventures took a completely different path. Since its launch, this early-stage venture capital firm has avoided consumer hype to be…