WHAT distinguishes them from many other technoreneurs is the willingness<\/p>\n
to move out of their comfort zone, and to out their shoulder to the wheel.<\/p>\n
This issue we feature stories of home-grown technopreneurs who have defied<\/p>\n
the odds to carve a name for themselves in the local IT scene. These seven<\/p>\n
men are founders and the lifeblood of thier companies. They are luminaries<\/p>\n
from Alam Technokrat Sdn Bhd (skali.com), ATM Holdings Inc (Asia<\/p>\n
TravelMart), JobStreet.com, The Media Shoppe Sdn Bhd, Cari Internet Sdn<\/p>\n
Bhd, REDtone Telecommunication Sdn Bhd and Interbase Resources Sdn Bhd<\/p>\n
(Lelong.com.my).<\/p>\n
Each one of these men has an inspiring tale to tell. At the height of<\/p>\n
the Internet-led tech boom, many of them abandoned cushy job in search of<\/p>\n
fortunes in the technology world.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, in their quest to strike gold, they faced countless<\/p>\n
challenges. While most of the obstacles were related to funding and<\/p>\n
keeping a tight lid on expenses, some of them learned that it is better to<\/p>\n
focus on business solutions rather than providing a world-class<\/p>\n
technology.<\/p>\n
Of course, most university lecturers would balk and say they just didn’t<\/p>\n
read the textbooks sufficiently. And these seven men, who rank among the<\/p>\n
local IT trailblazers, would probably be the first to acknowledge it. But,<\/p>\n
they, argue, it is precisely this nature that makes them technopreneurs in<\/p>\n
the first place. The fact that they dare to attempt new things by<\/p>\n
sacrificing their comfort and job security sets them apart from the rest.<\/p>\n
Their travails appear to be bearing fruit, at least for three of them.<\/p>\n
JobStreet.com, Skali.com and REDtone have announced that they are heading<\/p>\n
towards listing on MESDAQ this year. The others cannot be ruled out as IPO<\/p>\n
prospects. Find out inside what makes them tick and how they took the bull<\/p>\n
by the horns to stay afloat, despite stiff challenges to their very<\/p>\n
existence.<\/p>\n
Reaping the Reward<\/p>\n
Company: REDtone Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (formerly known as VMS<\/p>\n
Technology Sdn Bhd).<\/p>\n
Founder: Wei Chuan Beng, 38.<\/p>\n
Core business: Discounted-call provider.<\/p>\n
Survivor since: February 1996.<\/p>\n
Biggest challenge: Cash reserves down to bare minimum in year 2000\/2001<\/p>\n
and had to lay off 30 per cent headcount.<\/p>\n
It took Wei Chuan Beng only six years to build REDTone<\/p>\n
Telecommunications into a well-entrenched player within the local telco<\/p>\n
sector, with over 2,500 corporate clients and a projected revenue of RM30<\/p>\n
million for 2003. He achieved this with a single-minded commitment towards<\/p>\n
R&D activities. But it was not plain sailing all the way – he has had his<\/p>\n
fair share of ups and downs.<\/p>\n
`This emphasis on R&D almost brought us down to our knees,’ he says. Wei<\/p>\n
says that in year 2000\/2001 the company was struggling to make ends meet,<\/p>\n
as revenues did not match cumulative R&D expenditure. `We were established<\/p>\n
in 1997. By year 2000 we had already spent about RM7 million in R&D work,’<\/p>\n
he explains.<\/p>\n
But they did pull through, thanks to a RM20 million cash injection from<\/p>\n
MSC Venture Sdn Bhd. The progress was smoother from then onwards, but not<\/p>\n
because they turned their back on R&D activities. In fact, the bulk of the<\/p>\n
investment went to R&D work. Wei’s confidence in focusing on R&D<\/p>\n
activities has never wavered. `There is no way a company can grow without<\/p>\n
innovative products. R&D activities gave us the solid foundation to launch<\/p>\n
our products,’ he says. According to him, the company has spent about RM12<\/p>\n
million on R&D so far. Wei, who holds a degree in Electrical Engineering<\/p>\n
from the University of Technology Malaysia and a Diploma in Management<\/p>\n
Studies from the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM), says the secret<\/p>\n
of his current success lies in training and experience picked up during<\/p>\n
the early days of his career.<\/p>\n
He worked for Hewlett-Packard for six years, from 1989. He started off<\/p>\n
as a systems engineer, which enabled him to master IT technical and<\/p>\n
customer relation management skills. Next, Wei joined the sales and<\/p>\n
marketing team as HP’s major account manager. Wei left HP to begin his<\/p>\n
entrepreneurial pursuit by establishing a software development and system<\/p>\n
integration company, TQC Consultants (IT Division), in 1995. TQC<\/p>\n
registered cumulative sales in excess of RM4 million in its first two<\/p>\n
years. Wei founded REDtone Telecommunications with two other partners in<\/p>\n
1996 to ensure that the Group would eventually become a telecom services<\/p>\n
company rather than a sales\/products company. What started as a dream is<\/p>\n
now a reality.<\/p>\n
S.Jai Shankar<\/p>\n
Small is Beautiful<\/p>\n
Company: Alam Teknokrat Sdn Bhd.<\/p>\n
Founders: Tengku Farith Rithauddeen, 32 Azmi Ahmad, 38; Aimi Aizal<\/p>\n
Nasharuddin 36; Maznida Mokhtar, 36.<\/p>\n
Core business: E-business solutions, Data centre, Server co- location,<\/p>\n
Local search engine, Web hosting services and Web development.<\/p>\n
Survivor since: 1996.<\/p>\n
Biggest challenge: By 1997, their mountain of debts stood at RM18 million.<\/p>\n
All employees walked out.<\/p>\n
`Small is beautiful. Don’t do what I did. When starting a company, keep<\/p>\n
it lean and simple,’ says Farith when asked what advice he would give to<\/p>\n
technopreneur wannabes.<\/p>\n
He should know. Having got carried away with technology, the former<\/p>\n
merchant banker confesses about having spent too much time on technology<\/p>\n
instead of business solutions. Hence, they spent more than what they were<\/p>\n
making. `We were technology driven rather than business driven. There was<\/p>\n
simply no business (solution) in the plan,’ he recalls. The company<\/p>\n
started out by providing Internet search engine solutions, by partnering<\/p>\n
former Digital Equipment’s Alta Vista.<\/p>\n
At the height of the dotcom frenzy, spending on technology gobbled up<\/p>\n
most of the RM18 million Skali raised. That, says Farith, was their<\/p>\n
biggest mistake. When the dotcom bubble burst, all hell broke loose, says<\/p>\n
Farith.<\/p>\n
But Farith and his founder-friends never gave up. Perhaps motivated by<\/p>\n
the fact that their personal properties were pledged as collateral, they<\/p>\n
persevered to push harder to stay afloat. `Looking back, we never thought<\/p>\n
about quitting. We were all just too busy trying to survive. When you are<\/p>\n
at the bottom, the only way is up,’ he says.<\/p>\n
Thus, they embarked on an arduous, nail-biting journey, planning how to<\/p>\n
survive. They settled for a big pay cut, with all the five founders taking<\/p>\n
home a mere RM200 a month for a year. They had to use their credit cards<\/p>\n
to the maximum to pay their 30 employees, who soon walked out of the<\/p>\n
company as the future appeared bleak. He recalls having to hide his car<\/p>\n
from a finance company, riding a motorbike and even going to his parents’<\/p>\n
home for `free’ dinner.<\/p>\n
With two young children to support, it was Farith’s wife, a teacher, who<\/p>\n
became the main wage earner for the family. Throughout the trying period,<\/p>\n
Farith remained a picture of humility, simplicity and determination.<\/p>\n
Today, he is out of the woods.<\/p>\n
The company turned around when Malaysia Airports Berhad gave them a big<\/p>\n
business break. Malaysia Airports invested RM15million in early 2000 for a<\/p>\n
30 per cent stake in Skali. They also managed to convince their investors<\/p>\n
to trust them and invest more.<\/p>\n
Farith now takes pride in the fact that the company is currently<\/p>\n
chalking up a healthy growth rate of 7-8 per cent on a monthly basis. This<\/p>\n
is mainly attributable to their having reworked the business plan to focus<\/p>\n
more on solutions. Last year their revenue stood at about RM15 million<\/p>\n
with about RM800,000 in profit.<\/p>\n
Prathaban V<\/p>\n
Three strikes but not out<\/p>\n
Company: Asiatravelmart Sdn Bhd.<\/p>\n
Founder: Alex Kong King Ong, 33.<\/p>\n
Core business: Internet Travel Reservation System and a clearinghouse for<\/p>\n
secure e-commerce payment. Provider of technology, distribution and<\/p>\n
content for the global travel industry.<\/p>\n
Survivor since: June 1997.<\/p>\n
Biggest challenge: Unanticipated external shocks to the tourism industry.<\/p>\n
The last 17 months have seen the global travel industry taking three<\/p>\n
major hits – the Sept 11 terrorist attack in the United States, the Bali<\/p>\n
bombing and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak. All<\/p>\n
these events did impact on ATM Holdings Inc. But if anyone thinks this<\/p>\n
would be the end of the Group, he is dead wrong.<\/p>\n
According to Alex Kong, ATM CEO\/founder, the Group as a whole has not<\/p>\n
only weathered the storm but has also done rather well due to the<\/p>\n
diversified range of its offerings. `We have a B2B and B2B2C extension to<\/p>\n
fall back on in times like this,’ he notes. Kong’s ability to beat the<\/p>\n
odds and survive has been the hallmark of his career in the online travel<\/p>\n
industry.<\/p>\n
To do this he always tries to keep one step ahead of competitors and<\/p>\n
naysayers. ATM’s claims to a succession of firsts in the industry,<\/p>\n
including being the first online travel reservation site in Asia to<\/p>\n
introduce e-Ticketing and transactional m-Commerce, probably best<\/p>\n
epitomises this attitude. The ability to survive and prosper is not<\/p>\n
surprising considering Kong, who has a degree in Travel Industry<\/p>\n
Management from the University of Hawaii, is a true-blue industry veteran.<\/p>\n
He ventured into the industry as a tour guide at a relatively tender age<\/p>\n
of 14.<\/p>\n
But as the saying goes, the road to success is usually full of humps and<\/p>\n
potholes. In the case of Asiatravelmart Sdn Bhd, ATM’s flagship company,<\/p>\n
the challenges were in the form of inadequate bandwidth, inadequate<\/p>\n
Internet payment gateway and the lack of working capital. He solved these<\/p>\n
problems quickly before they could fester and trouble the company’s<\/p>\n
fortunes.<\/p>\n
For example, Kong managed to convince internationally known financiers<\/p>\n
such as Merrill Lynch, Citicorp, Asia Java Fund and AsiaTech Ventures to<\/p>\n
invest in ATM during critical periods for the Group.<\/p>\n
Beating the odds and riding out the toughest challenge are fast becoming<\/p>\n
a routine for this Miri-born technopreneur.<\/p>\n
S. Jai Shankar<\/p>\n
Still searching for profits<\/p>\n
Company: Cari Internet Sdn Bhd.<\/p>\n
Founder: Liew Chew Keat, 34.<\/p>\n
Core business: Local search engine, Web hosting services, Web development,<\/p>\n
domain name registration and online flower delivery.<\/p>\n
Survivor since: June 1996.<\/p>\n
Biggest challenge: Ran out of funds by 1999. An investor gave them a new<\/p>\n
lease of life.<\/p>\n
Cari’s bachelor leader, Liew Chew Keat, says they broke even last year,<\/p>\n
but is still far from generating champagne-popping profits.<\/p>\n
Sitting in a cosy corner in a local Starbucks yuppie hangout, Liew’s<\/p>\n
first utterances were about how expensive a bottle of cafe latte and<\/p>\n
orange juice are today. `I suppose I am in the wrong business. I should<\/p>\n
have started a coffee house! Internet never was a good business,’ he<\/p>\n
jests.<\/p>\n
Liew is a simple, amiable man. He jokes and is downright honest when<\/p>\n
answering questions. `We will be seven years old this June. It’s been a<\/p>\n
long time. We have grown from `zero’ to where we are today,’ he<\/p>\n
reminisces.<\/p>\n
Liew created Cari single-handedly in 1996. He was then coding in C++ and<\/p>\n
Java, while working as a programmer for the San Jose’s High Tech<\/p>\n
Forwarders Network in the United States. He was then frustrated that there<\/p>\n
was little information on Malaysia and decided to start his own search<\/p>\n
engine, providing in-depth information on Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The dotcom crash in 2000 hit them hard. Liew confesses that thoughts of<\/p>\n
giving up did cross his mind many times. `Until 2000, I had had many<\/p>\n
second thoughts. There was simply no income at all,’ he says. Fortunately,<\/p>\n
a local tech company threw him a lifeline he would not forget.<\/p>\n
While the whole world was anxiously waiting for the new millennium, AKN<\/p>\n
Technology Sdn Bhd offered to invest RM5 million in Cari for a 30 per cent<\/p>\n
stake on Dec 31, 1999. That offer gave Cari a new lease of life.<\/p>\n
Using the new funds, Liew hired more programmers to strengthen his team.<\/p>\n
By mid-2000, his staff strength had ballooned from six to 16. The funds<\/p>\n
got him excited as he figured that he needed to do a lot of projects to<\/p>\n
create greater visibility in the market. Today, he regrets spending too<\/p>\n
much money on marketing.<\/p>\n
`My biggest mistake was to allocate an advertising budget in 2000. I<\/p>\n
spent RM500,000 advertising on radio, television and newspapers. However,<\/p>\n
it was the wrong timing to do so. At that time many other dotcoms werealso<\/p>\n
advertising and we needed to shout louder than the others,’ says<\/p>\n
Liew. `It was not exactly a mistake. I would say it was a (learning)<\/p>\n
experience. I am much wiser now.’<\/p>\n
Prathaban V<\/p>\n
High tech job matchmaker<\/p>\n
Company: JobStreet.com.<\/p>\n
Founder: Mark Chang Mun Kee, 37.<\/p>\n
Core business: Online recruitment company with a vision to be the premium<\/p>\n
provider of human capital in the region.<\/p>\n
Survivor since: MOL.com July 95. (JobStreet.com was a component of it.<\/p>\n
JobStreet.com spun off in Oct 1997.)<\/p>\n
Biggest challenge: No one single major challenge but many small ones along<\/p>\n
the way, which have been overcome.<\/p>\n
Mark Chang is probably one of the best-known local technopreneurs<\/p>\n
around. Admired for his unassuming manners and highly bold strategic<\/p>\n
initiatives, he has certainly carved his name in the local technopreneur<\/p>\n
folklore.<\/p>\n
A qualified mechanical engineer from the University of Texas, Austin,<\/p>\n
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chang’s first<\/p>\n
entrepreneurial foray was in developing MOL.com portal. He built it into a<\/p>\n
very successful portal even before the word portal was invented. In 2000,<\/p>\n
he then sold MOL.com to Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun of Berjaya Group<\/p>\n
Bhd for RM12 million, but cannily held on to the job recruitment segment<\/p>\n
of the portal – JobStreet.com. This outfit flourished and attracted two<\/p>\n
rounds of venture capital funding from premium investors – US venture<\/p>\n
capital firm Walden International Investment Group and Sumitomo Corp of<\/p>\n
Japan.<\/p>\n
As the CEO and founder, he provides the visionary leadership and infuses<\/p>\n
JobStreet’s 130 employees across nine offices in four countries with a<\/p>\n
sense of shared purpose. `Having the right set of people makes a lot of<\/p>\n
difference,’ he notes. That’s why, he says, though in the beginning<\/p>\n
JobStreet was working with a group of very fresh and junior staff, they<\/p>\n
still persevered. `They had enthusiasm and energy and that helped us to<\/p>\n
pull through, though we still had to learn many lessons the painful way,’<\/p>\n
he says.<\/p>\n
Asked if the current downturn is affecting his business, Chang replies<\/p>\n
tongue in cheek: `Downturn, what downturn? The fact is business was<\/p>\n
affected from Q4 2001 through Q1 2002 where the whole company took a 10<\/p>\n
per cent pay cut as a precautionary measure. `However, 2002 results turned<\/p>\n
out to be a record year for both sales and profits,’ he says. Well, the<\/p>\n
staff not only had their salaries restored to the old levels but they also<\/p>\n
got a bonus.<\/p>\n
Although he understands that things will not remain rosy if the global<\/p>\n
economy continues to struggle, he still harbours optimism. Chang reasons<\/p>\n
that the current downturn may even help business as new clients are more<\/p>\n
receptive to the value it offers relative to traditional means of<\/p>\n
recruitment. Perhaps that is what sets him apart from others – a first-<\/p>\n
rate business acumen coupled with a never-say-die attitude.<\/p>\n
S. Jai Shankar<\/p>\n
Local online auctions guru<\/p>\n
Company: Interbase Resources Sdn Bhd.<\/p>\n
Founder: Richard Tan Ling Geck, 42.<\/p>\n
Core business: e-auction portal, content management software.<\/p>\n
Survivor since: October 1998.<\/p>\n
Biggest challenge: Convincing Malaysians that there is more to Internet<\/p>\n
than e-mails.<\/p>\n
When Richard Tan became the finance director for System Software<\/p>\n
Associates Inc (SSA), an International EPR software company in 1990,<\/p>\n
little did he realise that it was the first step towards a lifelong career<\/p>\n
in the ICT sector.<\/p>\n
Nine years later, the chartered accountant threw caution to the wind and<\/p>\n
decided to become a technopreneur. With the help of two friends, Tan set<\/p>\n
up Interbase Resources. It consisted of two portals – www.lelong.com.my<\/p>\n
(an online auction portal) and www.autoworld. com.my (an automotive<\/p>\n
portal). The former has since undergone a re-branding exercise and is now<\/p>\n
known as www.buysell.com.my. The latter was divested to Heritage Vest Sdn<\/p>\n
Bhd, a subsidiary of Hong Leong Credit Berhad, in 2001.<\/p>\n
As this was during the height of the dotcom euphoria, things moved fast<\/p>\n
for Interbase. In 2000, MSC Venture One Sdn Bhd pumped RM2 million into<\/p>\n
the company. With the funding problem taken care of, Tan turned his<\/p>\n
attention to tackling the other tough challenge – creating a `brand’ new<\/p>\n
Internet platform for buying and selling in Malaysia in an environment<\/p>\n
where the Internet is still used largely for e-mails.<\/p>\n
The Kuching-born says unlike other countries, Malaysia still does not<\/p>\n
have a `traditional’ market for trading of used or secondary items other<\/p>\n
than cars and properties, and this only made the challenge more daunting.<\/p>\n
`The other challenge is to educate the users and public that<\/p>\n
www.buysell.com.my is a matching platform and that common sense and simple<\/p>\n
precaution can prevent fraudulent practices,’ the golf aficionado adds. In<\/p>\n
recent years, Tan has been fine-tuning his operational model. `Given our<\/p>\n
experience in developing and managing portals, we decided to develop a<\/p>\n
Website Content Management software,’ he says. The software (Interbase<\/p>\n
CMS) allows website\/portal owners to create and maintain content cost<\/p>\n
effectively and on a timely basis.<\/p>\n
In February this year, JetFM, an online share-trading site, invested<\/p>\n
RM175,000 in Interbase in return for a five per cent equity stake. Under<\/p>\n
the agreement, JetFM also has an option to increase the shareholding to 51<\/p>\n
per cent for RM3.25 million.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Tan says the founders are still majority owners of the<\/p>\n
company. The doting father of two obviously does not intend to relinquish<\/p>\n
control of his creation.<\/p>\n
S. Jai Shankar<\/p>\n
From cybercafes to content management<\/p>\n
Company: The Media Shoppe Sdn Bhd (TMS).<\/p>\n
Founder: Christopher Chan Hooi Guan, 36.<\/p>\n
Core business: Technology enabler, focusing on Content Management Systems<\/p>\n
and Knowledge Management.<\/p>\n
Survivor since: April 1996.<\/p>\n
Biggest challenge: Making ends meet, especially in year 2000.<\/p>\n
Much of Christopher Chan’s success can be attributed to his knack for<\/p>\n
convincing partners and potential clients to share his vision. In fact,<\/p>\n
according to the chief executive officer of TMS, before year 2000, many of<\/p>\n
the company’s projects were essentially concept proposals that customers<\/p>\n
liked and funded. `To make ends meet, you did all sorts of businesses. We<\/p>\n
had the Java Shoppe, a chain of cybercafes that we eventually sold or<\/p>\n
closed down,’ he explains.<\/p>\n
This was largely because before 2000, TMS did not seek any funds from<\/p>\n
venture capitalists and depended wholly on organic growth. `I called it<\/p>\n
customer-funded R&D,’ he says with a smile. But obviously, the confidence<\/p>\n
in Chan and his ventures has not diminished among the investing parties.<\/p>\n
Last year, TMS received RM2 million from the Multimedia Development<\/p>\n
Corporation’s Multimedia Grant Scheme.<\/p>\n
Besides his ability to source for funds, Chan is also adept at sitting<\/p>\n
tight and hoping for the market to accept the products\/services developed.<\/p>\n
Patience is definitely a virtue here, as Chan acknowledges that one of<\/p>\n
their biggest problems is gaining market acceptance for products that are<\/p>\n
ahead of their time. `This means you have to wait until the market is<\/p>\n
ready for your products and services. Lots of good companies underestimate<\/p>\n
this and over-indulge in marketing activities,’ he reasons.<\/p>\n
And his business savvyness doesn’t end there. Chan is constantly looking<\/p>\n
for ways to handle business challenges head-on. For example, to counter<\/p>\n
the current global economic slowdown, TMS is focusing on other revenue<\/p>\n
streams such as training. The company, which grew about 25 per cent last<\/p>\n
year, plans to grow by about 25 per cent to 30 per cent this year. The<\/p>\n
Penang-born, the president of the Technopreneurs’ Association of Malaysia<\/p>\n
(TeAM), is definitely gearing up TMS for better times.<\/p>\n
S. Jai Shankar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WHAT distinguishes them from many other technoreneurs is the willingness to move out of their comfort zone, and to out their shoulder to the wheel. This issue we feature stories of home-grown technopreneurs who have defied the odds to carve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hedgeco-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}