58 min
Ep 24: Malek Ali - Founder of BFM 89.9 & Fi Life So This Is My Why
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- Careers
Malek Ali is a former lawyer turned serial entrepreneur most known for founding BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel, and Fi Life, Malaysia’s first online life insurance service. Malek shares a ton of fascinating insights on what it’s like being an entrepreneur & trust me when I say he hasn’t had it easy! It seems as though every time he starts a business, a financial crisis hits!
Some highlights of our STIMY episode include:
2:52: His childhood & being asked to decide on which parent to stay with during their divorce at the age of 5;
4:55: Accompanying his father (and later, brother) on their many overseas business trips particularly in France;
7:52: The 1985 recession that crushed the slimming center business chain that his father was running;
8:46: Why Malek initially studied law when his first love was in business;
10:22: Working at Allen & Overy in London, including on a deal that involved the bankruptcy of Canary Wharf;
11:48: Studying for his Harvard MBA & the lessons he drew from that (he was classmates with Sheryl Sandberg!);
15:43: Founding KL Classifieds, his first startup, in 1997 & why that landed him RM300,000 in debt;
16:50: How Malek got out of his debt & ended up working at JobStreet;
21:26: What he learned from his time as Head of Mobile at Maxis, then Yahoo;
23:20: What Sue Decker, then CFO of Yahoo, taught him about the importance of creating good products;
25:29: What pushed Malek to start BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel;
30:50: The challenges he faced in getting investors on board;
34:08: How Malek obtained a dormant frequency for broadcasting BFM 89.9;
36:10: The collapse of Lehman Brothers & BFM 89.9’s struggle to cover relevant content with their threadbare staff;
38:18: Getting sponsors for BFM 89.9 including from Malaysia Airlines;
40:51: Sensitive topics that can’t be discussed on air;
42:12: Listening to customer feedback & how to handle complaints;
43:47: The different interviewees that have come through BFM’s doors & how their attitude informs their character;
45:47: Whether radio will ever be obsolete;
48:41: Why Malek started Fi Life;
50:27: Reading up on the investment portfolios of many other people on Fi Life’s “This Is How I Invest” blog series;
50:56: Impact of COVID-19 on the media space; and
53:18: How listeners can help Malek.
Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/24
Malek Ali is a former lawyer turned serial entrepreneur most known for founding BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel, and Fi Life, Malaysia’s first online life insurance service. Malek shares a ton of fascinating insights on what it’s like being an entrepreneur & trust me when I say he hasn’t had it easy! It seems as though every time he starts a business, a financial crisis hits!
Some highlights of our STIMY episode include:
2:52: His childhood & being asked to decide on which parent to stay with during their divorce at the age of 5;
4:55: Accompanying his father (and later, brother) on their many overseas business trips particularly in France;
7:52: The 1985 recession that crushed the slimming center business chain that his father was running;
8:46: Why Malek initially studied law when his first love was in business;
10:22: Working at Allen & Overy in London, including on a deal that involved the bankruptcy of Canary Wharf;
11:48: Studying for his Harvard MBA & the lessons he drew from that (he was classmates with Sheryl Sandberg!);
15:43: Founding KL Classifieds, his first startup, in 1997 & why that landed him RM300,000 in debt;
16:50: How Malek got out of his debt & ended up working at JobStreet;
21:26: What he learned from his time as Head of Mobile at Maxis, then Yahoo;
23:20: What Sue Decker, then CFO of Yahoo, taught him about the importance of creating good products;
25:29: What pushed Malek to start BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel;
30:50: The challenges he faced in getting investors on board;
34:08: How Malek obtained a dormant frequency for broadcasting BFM 89.9;
36:10: The collapse of Lehman Brothers & BFM 89.9’s struggle to cover relevant content with their threadbare staff;
38:18: Getting sponsors for BFM 89.9 including from Malaysia Airlines;
40:51: Sensitive topics that can’t be discussed on air;
42:12: Listening to customer feedback & how to handle complaints;
43:47: The different interviewees that have come through BFM’s doors & how their attitude informs their character;
45:47: Whether radio will ever be obsolete;
48:41: Why Malek started Fi Life;
50:27: Reading up on the investment portfolios of many other people on Fi Life’s “This Is How I Invest” blog series;
50:56: Impact of COVID-19 on the media space; and
53:18: How listeners can help Malek.
Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/24
58 min