In a 2020 study by Kisi on work-life balance, KL ranked 4th for the most overworked city among 50 cities.
Not too far along are Singapore in 2nd place, and Japan in 5th.
With our culture glorifying overworking without taking breaks, Insporeum Network wants to bring balance and laughter back into our work-centric lives, especially for those in the entrepreneurship scene.
Building From The Ground Up
Now, its founder Hazarizq (Rizq) isn’t saying that Malaysians shouldn’t work hard. He’s trying to say that hustling with your mind, body, and soul shouldn’t have to happen all the time.
Many often work hard over smart due to the aforementioned culture of praising overworking as a measure of success.
He posed a question to entrepreneurs out there: are you hustling with plans and steps towards achieving your goal, or to justify to yourself that you’re actually doing meaningful work?
As Rizq was working on his production company, he spoke to many industry leaders and took notes of advice and insights, but then realised he had no way to share them with other people.
He also listened to relevant podcasts and watched YouTube videos, but many that he found didn’t fit the APAC market.
Hence, his network of fun and educational entrepreneurial podcasts and video series is meant to cater to aspiring professionals in the APAC region.
Some of his guests thus far include influential names like Azran Osman Rani of Naluri and Jazeman Jaafar, a Malaysian racing driver, who talked about their insights on their respective industries and their future career plans.
For now, their interviewees mostly consist of individuals in the creative and sports industries as mentioned above, with 70% being direct contacts from the team’s phonebook.
However, as they grow in audience size, Rizq is confident they’ll have more doors opened for access to influential individuals in diverse industries too.
To me, Insporeum’s podcasts reminded me a lot of The Breakfast Grille by BFM, but Rizq doesn’t exactly see them as competitors.
What he’s looking to compete with however, is the pessimistic Asian mindset of finding stable careers over taking risks.
Of course, it’s definitely fine not taking risks. Some are comfortable being at the foot of a mountain. However, those at the foot of the mountain are always wondering what the view is like from the peak. Not being brave enough to ascend the mountain is what makes most unhappy.
Rizq, founder of Insporeum Network.
This shift in mindset is an effort that needs to be taken up by more than just content creators, but by NGOs and government bodies too.
Quality Over Quantity
Let’s be honest, when you don’t have enough content or influence, it’s not easy to get people following or subscribing to your page.
“It’s pretty embarrassing to say that we don’t really get much engagement since we’re new,” admitted Rizq.
“But when we approach new guests or share the vision with our friends, they would all say the same thing, that what we’re doing is interesting and new for people.”
So, the team’s target now is in rolling out content consistently, instead of harping on the numbers from views on YouTube and Spotify.
“We are going to see success every single day, for as long as 1 out of 7 billion people in the world consumes a piece of our content which leaves an impact on their lives,” he said.
Rizq shared that they’re getting insights through one-on-one conversations with early adopters. He values the feedback, as they tend to be suggestions for how to improve their content. It’s also an effective way for him to gain insights on how to penetrate the market better.
So far, viewers have also expressed gratitude towards the time and money the team has invested in producing such content for a society that’s often overworked, giving Rizq validation that he’s doing something right.
“They aren’t simply numbers, data, or random online comments. They’re actual people that consume our content who became our friends and supporters of the Insporeum vision,” he said.
Hitting The Target
Insporeum’s audience so far mostly consists of men from Malaysia, the US, Singapore, Canada, and Germany ranging from the ages 18-34 years old, hitting their initial targeted age.
Currently, none of their content is monetised. Production equipment for Insporeum doesn’t cost them much thanks to Rizq’s background in production, and he added that all this was done with no funding from angels, stakeholders, or clients.
In the future though, he does have plans to include subscription models for viewers to access their premium content and community. Additionally, the free content will also include selected sponsored content plugs whenever possible.
Featured Image Credit: Hazarizq, founder of Insporeum Network