Open For Business BFM Media

BidMyAsset is a Malaysian-based auction platform for second-hand and manufacturing machinery and equipment, and while it may have been founded in 2022, its roots go back to 2005 through its parent company Khoshee Auctioneers.

The platform helps business owners buy and sell industrial equipment as well as dispose of movable assets like machinery, equipment and industrial surplus, with the company saying it has facilitated transactions across Southeast Asia. This includes brands such as Ann Joo Berhad and Panasonic Appliance.

Today we explore BidMyAsset's approach to asset management and disposal, as well as why Jeevan embarked on this journey and what brought him into the auction business. We will also get into the company’s ambitions and growth trajectory.
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Founded in 2023, Seedflex raised seed funding from 500 Global in Q4 last year to launch its shariah-compliant digital financing solution “Pay-As-You-Sell Advance” (PAYS Advance) across Southeast Asia, starting first in Malaysia as announced in April.

Seedflex said that their PAYS Advance solution offers a frictionless line of credit for cashless merchants that can automatically adjust based on future revenue projections. Interestingly, repayments can be done as fractional deductions from future sales. 

The firm had started rolling out this solution to micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) businesses, but aims to expand the service to a wider group of cashless merchants later this year with aims to expand to other Southeast Asian markets next year.
On this episode of Open for Business, we’ll get into Seedflex’s backstory and their expansion into Malaysia, how they built this credit solution as well as how it’s powered, what kind of partners they’re looking to onboard, their growth strategy, and their larger ambitions ahead.
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We speak with Jeremy Dev, Founder at Far Post Academy, a Malaysian based startup that offers futsal lessons for kids aged 4 years and above.
They offer training programs that are designed to hone technical and tactical skills through professional drills, strategic planning, and real-world exposure through representing the academy at games and tournaments. Since the pandemic, the academy has enrolled over 200 kids in the Klang Valley region and are looking at further expansion into other states in Malaysia.
In today’s discussion, Jeremy will give us a sense of how the academy has evolved over the last 3 years, the challenges they had to pull through as well as the ambitions and hurdles ahead in 2024 and beyond.
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We speak with Ann Sze Pang and Tan Jin Xue, Co-Founders of Neo Livin, a tech-driven DTC furniture platform changing the way people shop for furniture. Neo Livin offers high-quality, affordable products through a unique community showroom model, integrating technology and sustainability. 
With over 1,000 homes served and multiple awards, Neo Livin has transformed from a small startup to a leader in the industry. We discuss their journey, the challenges of scaling a homegrown business, and their vision for the future of sustainable furniture shopping.
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"If you can build your company without raising money, do it because then you're in control. There's this idea that you're really cool if you've got some venture money. And I want to say the coolest is if you own the whole thing yourself." Robin Chase, Co-Founder of Zipcar, GoLoco, Buzzcar, Veniam, and NUMO.
In this episode of "Open for Business," we speak to serial entrepreneur and transportation innovator Robin Chase. Robin is co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the largest car sharing company in the world; Buzzcar, a peer-to-peer car sharing service in France (now merged with Drivy); and GoLoco, an online ride sharing community. She is also co-founder of Veniam, a network company connecting vehicles to the cloud.  More recently she established NUMO, a nonprofit aimed at leveraging new urban mobility technologies for sustainable city development.

From starting Zipcar back in 2000, Robin has decades of experience in revolutionizing urban mobility and entrepreneurship, and she shares her unique insights and the key lessons she's learned along the way.

Among other things, Robin discusses:

Her motivation for diving into urban mobility and the challenges she faced along the way.
The importance of timing and being at the right place at the right time in business.
The concept of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and its critical role in launching successful ventures.
Navigating the complex dynamics of fundraising and maintaining control over your company.
Her vision for the future of transportation, including the rise of electric bikes and smaller vehicles.

There’s a lot to learn from Robin's experiences over the last 24 years, including practical advice on how to approach entrepreneurship, the importance of innovation, and how to adapt to ever-changing market conditions.
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“My mum said to me, stop playing with cars or turn it into a business. So I turned it into a business.”

Established in 2004, Automotive Synergy started life as Malaysia’s distributor of satellite navigation systems with Garmin, as satnav became more popular, Automotive Synergy’s business expanded, developing key connections with car manufacturers such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, and BMW, as well as oil and gas companies like Mobil and Shell. However with the rise of the smartphone and apps such as Google Maps and Waze, satnav as a standalone product lost prominence and faced ‘Blackberry Level’ disruption.

Thankfully the business had shifted its focus to providing car care chemicals, before distributing other automotive care products and establishing export markets in various countries for its own in-house products.

With all that in mind, we explore the origins of Automotive Synergy, how the company pivoted as the satellite navigation business changed, and the ambitions ahead for this company.
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