This ex-PwC consultant quit her job to grow her Persian dessert biz in KL that’s now 3 Y/O
If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I’m a sweet tooth, so I’ve made it my life’s mission to try as many desserts as I can find. Or at least, for now it’s about compiling a long list for a dessert trail someday soon. The Instagram algorithm helps a lot in this. […]
After a career in law, this M’sian quit to fulfil his F&B dreams by baking doughnuts
Even before Jia Sen, a lawyer-turned-food entrepreneur, started Donut Plan, he had always been immersed in the world of F&B. Although born and raised in KL, Jia Sen spent a lot of his childhood in Kampung Koh in Sitiawan, where his grandmother ran a kopitiam. “Dad mentioned that it was the one of the biggest […]
If you’re in social entrepreneurship, here are 4 M’sian organisations that can support you
2019 up until 2021 seemed to be the years for social enterprises in Malaysia. Our team covered quite a number of interesting local social enterprises then. Suddenly, in 2022, silence. A major contributing factor could have been MaGIC-TPM becoming MRANTI in late 2021. You see, MaGIC launched an initiative in 2019 that allowed businesses with […]
BloomThis and Oxwhite founders share their top lessons for fellow ecommerce entrepreneurs
Long gone are the days where we only shopped at retail stores. These days, consumers are growing quite fond of online shopping which has been boosting the local ecommerce market economy. In fact, according to Mordor Intelligence, Malaysia’s ecommerce market size is estimated to be at US$9.38 billion in 2023, and is expected to reach […]
Stand out this CNY with unique festive clothing from these 8 Malaysian brands
A new year also means the arrival of one of Malaysia’s most celebrated holidays—Chinese New Year. There’s a lot to enjoy about the festive season, including the never-ending reunion feasts with friends and family, and of course, the money packets. Aside from those, though, my favourite part of the holiday would have to be dressing […]
Lazada received extra $2.4 billion from Alibaba last year, so why is it axing so many jobs?
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated opinions expressed below belong solely to the author. Not a month has passed since the news broke of another capital injection into Lazada by its Chinese parent, Alibaba, worth US$634 million (S$843 million) and yet the company decided to shock thousands of its employees by laying them off right after they […]
These M’sians started a PJ cocktail cafe that only opens during daytime, here’s why
You’ve heard of cafés with interesting concepts. You’ve likely also seen some pretty unique speakeasies or cocktail bars pop up over the years. But have you encountered a combination of both? LeJiu is a new “café” in Petaling Jaya where “cocktails become your casual”. In short, instead of your usual coffees and teas, this spot […]
AEON greenlit to roll out Malaysia’s 1st Islamic digital bank, here’s what to expect
AEON Bank Berhad, formerly known as ACS Digital Berhad, announced on January 8, 2024 that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Ministry of Finance has approved for it to commence its digital banking operations in Malaysia. This positions AEON Bank as the first Islamic digital bank in the country. According to a press release, BNM’s […]
PolicyStreet secures approval for Takaful operations to better serve Muslims in M’sia
PolicyStreet, a Malaysian insurance technology startup, announced today (January 8, 2024) that it has received approval from the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA), an approved Financial Adviser and Islamic Financial Adviser by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to establish Takaful and Retakaful operations. Established in 2017, PolicyStreet is a regional full-stack insurance technology (insurtech) group of […]
The day of Lazada’s layoffs, M’sian ex-staff made a hiring group for affected SEA employees
Last week, news broke that Alibaba-owned ecommerce company Lazada had a sudden round of layoffs. According to The Edge Singapore, one-fifth of the Malaysian team was laid off, including the CEO and Chief Logistics Officer. The retrenchment exercise left many employees scrambling for new jobs, leading former staff members to reach out a helping […]
10 Muslim-friendly restaurants in Klang Valley serving Chinese New Year feasts for dine-in
As we welcome new beginnings at the start of 2024, there’s also an upcoming festive season that we’re preparing for. In case you didn’t know yet, the 15-day celebration of Chinese New Year will be happening from February 10 to February 25 this year. So you know what that means… reunion dinners! Love it or […]
This M’sian site aims to revamp the property listing market to give agents more control
[This is a sponsored article with CORE Proptech.] At first glance, CORE Proptech appeared to be yet another property listing site in the market, such as the likes of iProperty or PropertyGuru. Scrolling through the site, I found that it only listed new or ongoing developments. Based on personal experience, these listings seemingly showcased more […]
ESG matters: How S’pore SMEs can navigate sustainability through purposeful partnerships
As the impacts of climate change grow more evident, businesses are seeing an increased need and demand to be more sustainable. Many companies are reporting their sustainability efforts and this is where ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting comes into play – a framework used to measure and understand an organisation’s operations regarding sustainability and […]
4 proven methods that M’sian SME bosses use to effectively manage their hybrid/remote teams
[This is a sponsored article with Employment Hero.] During the peak of COVID-19’s lockdowns, companies around the globe had no choice but to figure out remote working. But as we came out on the other side of the pandemic, we’ve either returned to the office full time, decided to permanently remote work, or taken on […]
Tech layoffs hit Lazada, with 100 people retrenched in S’pore sparking fear and uncertainty
According to a news report by The Edge Singapore, junior and senior employees across various departments at Lazada were laid off. At the end of the previous workday on January 2, employees reportedly received last minute calendar invites for individual meetings with the HR department for January 3. Three retrenched employees shared with CNA that […]
Meet the architect documenting the unique livelihoods of people in M’sia for a living
Back in 2021, Shi Han was working full-time as an architectural designer in Singapore. That is, until she quit her job. “As a passionate student, I envisioned that I could apply my passion in the real world and make a change. However, the actual working experience didn’t provide the opportunity for me to explore that […]
5 factors Una Brands considers before acquiring ecommerce businesses in M’sia
For some founders, after building up and establishing their businesses, they prefer to rest or start again with a new venture. In other words, these entrepreneurs will seek exit strategies. This could be done with an initial public offering (IPO), private equity buyouts, and selling your stakes. More commonly, though, entrepreneurs would go the acquisition […]
Cult Creative bags RM500k funding to build a new platform after closing its job portal app
Cult Creative, a Malaysian creator economy company, has secured a RM500,000 seed funding from The Hive Southeast Asia, a January 4 press release announced. Connecting brands with creators, Cult Creative uses technology to aid brands in discovering fitting creators, streamlining workflows, and facilitating creator payments. Shermaine Wong, Cult Creative’s co-founder and CEO, told Vulcan Post […]
Remember that Melaka cafe that bans photography? Here’s why I spent RM60 on a latte there.
First of all, I’m not a coffee snob. That said, I do enjoy a good brew, but the problem is I can also enjoy a “bad” one. Cheap convenience store lattes are as enjoyable as a specialty coffee shop’s one to me. However, when I was presented with the opportunity to purchase an RM60 latte […]
Funding Societies secures Khazanah investment to close RM90mil funding gap for M’sian MSMEs
Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) and CGC Digital Sdn Bhd (CGC Digital) has invested into Singapore-headquartered fintech startup Funding Societies, according to a press release today (January 3, 2024). Dubbed the largest unified small and medium enterprise (SME) digital finance platform in Southeast Asia, Funding Societies will use the funds to broaden financing access to unserved […]
M’sian startups who struggle with funding need to know these 8 things before trying again
As a startup, it’s like a rite of passage to look for funding in order to grow your business. But it’s easier said than done as funding requires a lot of steps. One of them being that you need to approach investors and convince them to give you a large sum of money. So we’ve […]
These 9 M’sian startups bagged over RM1 million funding in 2023, here’s what they do
Before 2023 comes to an end, we decided to take a look back to see which Malaysian startups have earned the confidence of investors. Specifically, here are those that have raised more than RM1 million in the past year. Aside from reading our business predictions for 2024, we hope this list of startups can inspire […]
These M’sian brothers left their jobs in Singapore to start a modern teahouse in KL
What happens when an architect decides to work with his brother who’s an accredited arbourist? They start a modern tea house, apparently. At least, that was the case with Penang-born brothers Jheeson and Jheeherng. Jheeson, the elder of the two, is regarded as the creative force of the brand with his background in architecture and […]
Why company culture matters & 4 practical tips on how M’sian startups can build a good one
It’s become somewhat of a buzzword these days, but company culture isn’t something made up by millennials or older zoomers. And as employers, you shouldn’t disregard the importance of company culture either, because the reality is that the younger generations in the workforce place high importance on this. How a company treats its staff members […]
M’sia is ramping up sports innovation. Here’s what to know about NTIS SportTech Sandbox.
[This is a sponsored article with MRANTI.] Here at Vulcan Post, we’ve reported on plenty of technological developments in sectors like edutech, healthtech, dronetech, and even artificial intelligence (AI). But one industry that we rarely see crop up with new and exciting innovations, is sports. In fact, research in the Journal of International Studies (Issue […]
The Philippines’ top fries brand is now in M’sia, here are its plans for the local market
A few weeks ago, a popular brand from the Philippines, Potato Corner, opened its first Malaysian store in Sunway Pyramid. Sporting the brand’s signature green and yellow colours, the outlet located on LG2 sells what the company dubs as “the world’s best flavoured fries”. Now, flavoured fries aren’t really a new invention as many fast […]
Venon Tian’s playbook: ZUS Coffee’s COO on managing people & core business philosophies
Before Venon Tian became the face of ZUS Coffee, he was in the business of laundromats. And before that, he was actually a law grad. These were some of the interesting facts we got at Venon’s recent Dining With CEO event, which you can read more about here. Aside from those titbits of information, Venon […]
“No room for dead wood”: The reality of managing a large global team, told by Inmagine’s CEO
If you’ve ever had to look for stock images online, chances are you’ve come across 123RF. Founded in 2005 by Andy and Stephanie Sitt, 123RF is a site by Inmagine Group, a Hong Kong-registered but Malaysia-based company. Currently, the group is headed by CEO Warren Leow. During Startup Week Malaysia, Warren gave a talk […]
9 Malaysian business & industry trends we predict will take off in 2024
As we usher in the new year, there’s one familiar ritual awaiting us. It’s that time of the year again to unveil our predictions for the future. Or to be specific, for 2024. So, here are 9 of our business and industry trend forecasts that we anticipate will happen next year. 1. Adoption rates of […]
He found success selling smoothie bowls in LA, now he’s back in KL making healthy popsicles
The year was 2012 when Desmond Ng and his two university friends (Amy Gong and Bryan Leong) started Amazebowls in Los Angeles, California. Initially a food truck, the brand specialising in acai bowls and smoothies later grew into two full-fledged stores and a catering division. 11 years later, it’s still serving the people of California, […]
