Everyone makes mistakes; it is inevitable. However, the best entrepreneurs are not defined by these mistakes, but by how they handle them.
That's why we have asked our esteemed panellists to share us the challenges faced and lessons learnt throughout their entrepreneurial journey.
This ”Ask Me Anything” format will allow more dialogue and Q&A for maximum takeaway! Come ready with questions because you are the moderator of this session
Cult Creative
Co-founder and CEO
VirtualTech Frontier
CEO & Founder
AIRI
CEO & Co-Founder
A champion for creatives, I'm the co-founder and CEO of Cult Creative, a network platform that matches creatives and employers through data technology. I joined the creative industries in 2009 and worked at several boutique public relations firms and a prestigious publishing agency before launching Tish Events, an experiential marketing agency in 2016, and helmed global clients like Walt Disney Studios, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Cartier. Throughout my working years, I struggled to find diverse creative talent and noticed that there was no platform for people in the creative industries to feel seen and valued. At the height of Covid-19 in March 2020, I started building the first iteration of the Cult Creative web app with no coding or design knowledge. Within six months, Cult Creative officially launched with a beta professional networking web app and platform and has since garnered a 23k following. Cult Creative aims to disrupt how the world hires and how creatives find work. My mission is to democratise access to opportunities for creatives, and my goal is to build a regional talent pool to become Asean’s 1st creator led network. In 2021, Cult Creative was the winner of Alpha Startups Digital Accelerator by 1337 Ventures, Top 10 Malaysia Finalist of She Loves Tech Global Competition and 1st runner up of MDEC Draper Startup House Pitch Competition revised; Shermain Wong started her career in the creative industries back in 2009, right after completing her Bachelor's degree studies in Communication and Media Studies at RMIT University. Her previous working experiences include her working at several boutique public relations firms and a prestigious publishing agency before venturing into an experiential marketing agency following the launching of Tish Events in 2016. She has had multiple experiences working with global clients like Walt Disney Studios, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Cartier. To this present, she is known as a co-founder and CEO for a Cult Creative, a network platform that matches creatives and employers through data technology. It aims to reconstruct the conventional ways of hiring and finding works for creatives. The reason for her involvement in the industry would be how she struggled to find diverse creative talent and noticed that there was no platform for people like her, who yearn for a genuine and inclusive creative industry. In March 2020, amidst the pandemic, she finally took a leap of faith through her attempt to build the first iteration of the Cult creative web app, even without coding or design knowledge. It took her only 6 months to officially launch Cult Creative with a beta professional networking web app and platform, which has garnered a 23k following. Her sole mission is definitely on making the opportunities for creatives much more accessible alongside the goal of building a regional talent pool which leads to a golden branding of Asean's 1st creator led network.
Jason Low is the CEO and Virtualization Director of Virtualtech Frontier Sdn Bhd (VTF), the 1st virtual platform provider in the region with multiplayer modules in 3D and gamification methodologies. Jason has over 6 years of experience serving various Fortune 500 Companies and big brand SMEs. He is also an expert in providing consultation services in the field of digital transformation and virtualization, as well as a certified HRD Corp Trainer. A tech visionary with boundless imagination, Jason is leading VTF towards progressing the future of digitalization with active involvement in Web 3.0 and the Metaverse. Jason also runs his digital podcast channel: "Go Meta with Jason Low". revised; Jason Low is the CEO and Virtualization Director of Virtualtech Frontier Sdn Bhd (VTF), the 1st virtual platform provider in the region with multiplayer modules in 3D and gamification methodologies. Jason has over 6 years of experience serving various Fortune 500 companies and big-brand SMEs. He is also an expert in providing consultation services in the fields of digital transformation and virtualization, as well as a certified HRD Corp Trainer. Portraying himself as an AR and VR enthusiast, his engagements led up to volunteering work in which he was once responsible as a mentor in the Melaka Startup Community known as "Startup Weekend Malaysia", giving mentorship towards upcoming founders. His ventures are also represented in papers and inks, with a conference paper written by him and other authors being released in 2016 at the International Conference on Electrified Interfaces (ICEI) in Singapore. The paper, "Mobile Phone Augmented Reality Postcard," highlights the production process of creating a mobile app using AR technology that is to reinforce the tourism sector. A tech visionary with boundless imagination, Jason is leading VTF towards progressing the future of digitalization with active involvement in Web 3.0 and the Metaverse. Jason also runs his own digital podcast channel, "Go Meta with Jason Low".
Allen Ho has had a fascinating 25-year career history of working with a global MNC across the USA, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, and China. He committed 13 years of his working life to a global IR4.0's AI-RFID & AI-Facial Recognition Industry since 2010, in which the journey progressed him into navigating the establishment of an IR4.0 AI RFID Factory and R&D Center overseas. Five awards from Global IR4.0's AI RFID are among his significant accomplishments, and he has also been granted a foreign talent working visa. He was also actively involved in Malaysian projects which were related to MINDEF, PDRM, SPRM HQ, PETRONAS Pengarang, TNB, MPS Safe City, KTM, UiTM, and UTAR Hospitals, besides global projects. A list of his work fields also includes involvement in R&D, Manufacturing, Project Development, M&A, IPO Listing, and China National Standards. Initially pioneering a start-up company named ICT/ELV, including IR4.0 startups across China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, he then decided to sell the companies to investors. Following this, the second company, AIRI GLOBAL Malaysia, was established, focusing on the ASEAN market, known as AIRI GLOBAL Malaysia, in which the company is operating as the IR4.0 BOT developer and solution start-up. Pursuing his success in developing and launching 3 IR4.0 Automation BOTs, he has since received recognition from MIDEC, SIDEC, Sunway iLAB, as well as Allibaba Cloud. His remarkable contribution in his area of expertise also went fairly further as he was appointed as a MDEC AI Big Data IoT judge in 2022, apart from being a panellist on IR4, legacy systems & global mobility at TAR University and TAM (Technological Association Malaysia).
Startup Grind KL
Director
Richard Ong is deeply passionate about the future of technology related to data analytics and machine learning. As a technology leader, he is looking to change the way organisations operate and serve their customers. He is also a leadership coach and author, with multiple IBM Bravo awards. He was met by Prince Charles to discuss his entrepreneurial efforts in Malaysia, and was featured on national radio.In 2011, Richard earned his Masters in Business Administration from Victoria University, Melbourne. He was the president of the VUMBA Community from 2010 to 2011 and was recognised as a WORQ super-member in 2018 for his community-building efforts. He also teaches part-time at Sunway University and Jeffrey Sachs Center.
Director
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Co-director
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