Angie Chin is not an unfamiliar name to the Malaysian startup ecosystem. Hailing from the “land below the wind”, she has previously founded organisations like Hanawomen Hub and HanaFundMe.
“My love for creating started early; my first venture was selling handmade Valentine’s cards with a delivery service when I was just 15,” Angie told Vulcan Post. “I made sure each card was unique—no two designs were alike.”
She “shamelessly promoted” her service from class to class—an early sign of a great entrepreneur.
Her card-making venture was actually successful, earning her enough to share profits with her business buddy and bake muffins to sell on Valentine’s Day.
“That’s when I discovered that baking wasn’t my forte, but it was a valuable lesson in learning from failure,” she reminisced.
There would be many more successes (and failures) to come.
After 20 years in the corporate world, Angie took a break and began organising coffee meetups for small business womenpreneurs.
This grew into weekend bazaars, mini women’s conferences, and culminated in the launch of Malaysia’s first women-only coworking space at KL Sentral, which would become Hanawomen Hub.
When COVID-19 hit, they had to pivot quickly. This led to HanaFundMe, a women-focused online crowdfunding platform.
“It was a do-or-die decision, and we chose to move forward. Despite the challenges, the platform managed to raise over RM200k for various causes during the lockdown,” Angie shared.
However, due to misaligned roles and differing priorities among partners, she eventually decided to phase out both ventures. Angie admitted this decision brought relief, as running the show solo had become overwhelming.
But of course, Angie is not one to stay idle. During a visit back home, inspiration struck, leading her to start a unique community-driven travel and experience marketplace.
This startup would go by the name of Helolokal.
Hello, locals
As mentioned, Helolokal is a community-driven travel and experience marketplace that collaborates directly with small business owners, including tour and activities operators and community-based tourism providers.
The emphasis is to promote slow, sustainable travel experiences, catering primarily to free independent travelers (FITs).
“The idea sparked when I returned to Sabah and stumbled upon a breathtaking location I had never heard of or visited before—it felt like stepping into a scene from the Avatar movie,” Angie raved.
She noticed that the rural community there had chosen to manage the area themselves, favouring small groups of visitors over large crowds.
“That made me think: how can I help them sustain their efforts by promoting their work digitally?” she wondered.
For years, the travel industry has focused on mass tourism and bundled services, resulting in offerings that look the same.
Post-pandemic, though, travellers have begun seeking more meaningful and impactful experiences. That’s exactly what Helolokal strives to offer.
Inspired by platforms like Airbnb and Grab, which both empower communities to monetise their space and time, Angie decided to apply the same concept for tourism.
A win-win scenario
Helolokal was relaunched in April 2024 after a revamp that began in December 2023.
To clarify, Helolokal is not a travel agency or tour guide, but a travel marketplace. Think of it as an ecommerce platform that connects travellers with local operators, service providers, and guides.
Not only does this appeal to travellers, it also works in the favour of the local operators and guides.
“Unlike other platforms that take a substantial cut, leaving small local operators with minimal earnings, we ensure that they receive the majority of the profits,” Angie said.
They also don’t charge subscriptions, and also actively support the business owners with content creation and marketing.
“In short, their success is our success too.”
But what about for Helolokal’s side? How do they monetise?
“It’s a simple business model. We don’t intend to overcomplicate it,” Angie said. “Our end users are the travellers, who pay the listed price for the experiences. We earn a percentage from each successful booking, with the majority of the revenue going to our partners.”
Currently, Helolokal’s main focus is to expand their ecosystem of partners. Starting from scratch, they’ve curated nearly 20 partners.
Partners are selected through recommendations, and sometimes, Helolokal even meets them in person. While time-consuming, it helps build strong, lasting relationships, especially because many of these partners are based in rural areas with limited connectivity or lack tech skills.
To date, through organic growth, they’ve received inquiries and bookings from travellers in South Africa, Australia, the US, and the UK.
A seasoned entrepreneur
Angie’s experience as a solo entrepreneur has profoundly shaped her both mentally and emotionally, she said. And this has equipped her for her current chapter in life.
“When starting out, especially as a solopreneur, it’s crucial to be fully prepared for the challenges ahead,” she said. “Mental readiness is key.”
Pinpointing the importance of staying agile, she said flexibility and willingness to pivot are essential. If your initial plan isn’t working, don’t hesitate to change direction.
This also means regularly reviewing your business plan and performance, and be open to making necessary adjustments.
“Validate your idea and keep refining it,” she added. “Before investing time and resources, communicate with industry players to understand their pain points. This will help you fine-tune your concept to meet real needs.”
This process is also an ongoing one, so expect to make changes as your business grows.
And of course, the right people are key.
“In my experience, people are the most valuable resource—more so than funds,” she said. “Seek out those who share your vision and mission, and who have the right mindset and energy to make a strong commitment.”
Hello, world
At the moment, Helolokal is entirely bootstrapped. A self-funded startup, the team has not drawn any salaries yet, focusing on the startup’s growth and development.
“While we have considered fundraising, we plan to pursue it only when the time is right or when we find an investor who understands the impact investing journey and can help us access the market,” Angie said.
The goal now is to concentrate on growing and succeeding within Malaysia. In the long term, she envisions expanding into selected countries within Southeast Asia.
“Ultimately, our aim is to make Helolokal both sustainable and impactful,” she concluded. “Who knows? We might even attract acquisition offers from larger companies down the line.”
Featured Image Credit: Helolokal
