An Obligatory Bio…

Me in 30 seconds:

I am Entrepreneurship Enabler. I am on a mission to inspire more people to think and act entrepreneurially.

I have built organizations that deliver on this mission.

Self-awareness nerd—I believe self-understanding is a superpower.
Health nut, avid reader, and outdoor enthusiast.
Devoted family man.

A bit more about me if you are interested:

Born in Kuala Lumpur. Attended government schools. Tried becoming an accountant—turns out, not my thing. As a kid, I was always hustling: selling matchbox cars, fighting fish, tutoring math and science. The thrill of making money and seeing the impact stuck with me.

Fast forward: Got a business degree. Tried the 9-to-5 route. Realized it wasn’t for me. Since 1994, launched five ventures, two made it to multi-million ringgit revenues. Still curious about business, went off to Cambridge (UK) for a Post-Grad in Entrepreneurship. That’s where I truly understood about the power of entrepreneurship to unlock human ingenuity to transform lives and societies.

My life since 2008 :

Entrepreneurship Evangelist - (2008-Present)

Ecosystem Builder

  • One of the earliest fire-starters in the startup ecosystem in the early 2000s.

  • 2008: Brought the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) to Malaysia, an initiative by the Kauffman Foundation, making Malaysia a top country in GEW.

  • Built a robust ecosystem by uniting stakeholders from government, private sector, educational institutions, and funding agencies.

Global Connector

  • 2010: Invited by President Obama to his Inaugural Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, which later became the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES).

  • Awarded the IVLP Fellowship in Entrepreneurship, gaining exposure to the U.S. entrepreneurship ecosystems on both side of the coast.

  • 2011: Launched StartupMalaysia, further strengthening the local startup scene.

Event Pioneer

  • Organized Silicon Valley Comes to Malaysia, bringing 17 Valley founders, including legends like Jawed Karim (YouTube) and Naval Ravikant (AngelList), to Malaysia for the first time.

    • Impact: Exposed over 1,000 young entrepreneurs to these founders, expanding their minds to think big and build an entrepreneurial culture.

  • Brought the first Startup Weekend to Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Youth Empowerer

  • Global Startup Youth (GSY): Organized a hackathon with 500 youth from 100 countries, the largest ever in Malaysia.

    • Impact: Connected Malaysian youth to the global entrepreneur community, showing them how to build ventures with minimal resources. The community remains active.

  • GSY was mentioned by Secretary of State John Kerry in his opening remarks at the GEC in KL in 2013.

  • Conceptualized and organized D-Code, a 500-participant coding hackathon in 2013.

Educator and Mentor

  • Was a judge and mentor to many global startup/entrepreneurship competitions and accelerators;

  • Brought a Silicon Valley accelerator to Western Australia and was its first Director;

  • Worked with the private sector and government to train 5,000 youth across Malaysia in entrepreneurship and business creation with small capital.

  • Helped train over 10,000 primary and secondary school kids in coding.

  • Contributed ideas and insights to government initiatives in entrepreneurship.

    Looking Ahead

    My journey is far from over. I’m committed to continuing my mission of shaping entrepreneurial minds and changing society. I’ve since launched act2.life another venture to help midlifers transition into entrepreneurship.

    I am continuing to influence leaders, government organizations and private sector to come together towards building the next generation of founders through developing new programs, or contributing to global discussions on entrepreneurship, I’m driven by the belief that entrepreneurship can—and should—change lives and societies for the better.

    If you want to know more : please contact me.