How To Run A Tech Startup In Malaysia

Originally presented at JomWeb Sembang Bisnes - April 2016.
Audience: tech and non-tech startup founders.

1. Sembang Bisnes bersama
Lilyana Abdul Latiff, Aleph One
& Shaza Hakim, Stampede Designs
organised by JomWeb and NEF
@ The Foundation Damansara Perdana
16 April 2016
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2. AGENDA FORMAT
9:00 Part I: (Lily)
10.30Break
10.45 Part 2: (Lily)
12.15Lunch
14.00 Part 3: (Shaza)
15.30Break
15.45 Part 4: (Shaza)
17.00END
•STORY MODE
•INTERACTIVE
•YOU CAN INTERRUPT
•ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS
•LOTS of TIPS
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3. What About Lily?
Entrepreneur
Systems Designer
Courseware Designer
Web Developer
Design & User Experience
Event Manager
Trainer
IT Evangelist
CTO
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4. in the 90’s
•Graduated from Univ of Iowa with BSc in
Computer Science and minor in Business
•Worked with MIMOS and helped launched
Multimedia Super Corridor
•Worked for several “startups” which included
•IT Consulting
•Smart School systems development
•Telemedicine systems design
•Office Automation for LHDN (which is still
being used today).
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5. in the early 2000s
Web Development Era
•First foray into own business: Aleph One
•Web Development
•Petronas.com (almost 5 years - 3 iterations)
•PetronasTwinTowers.com
•GaleriPetronas.com
•PetronasDagangan.com
•ECER Dev Council
•Khazanah
•etc etc
•Training & Instructional Design
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6. in the Mid 2000s
Event Management Era
Ran multi-million dollar events for
• Ministry of Tourism
• Khazanah Nasional Berhad
• Maybank and CIMB
• Petronas
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7. But my heart had always been
in product and technology
development
Then came Joota.com (launched Sept 15, 2013)
Social Media around content
Business Valuation at USD10 million
Product Development & RnD worth RM5 million
Global Traffic
Social Media site with
Adserving and Social Media Campaign
Analytics
Mobile APp
Special project: school.joota.com
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8. AND THEN …
We razed it to the ground
Raised RM 7 million ringgit
Burned RM 7 million ringgit
Some HUGE LESSONS learnt !
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9. 2014 - 2016
• Revitalised Aleph One
• Introduced “CTO-As-A-Service”
• Kickstarting a new startup
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10. Intuglo
TheBTribe
The Startups I Am Helping Now …
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11. Intuglo
TheBTribe
The PARALLEL ENTREPRENEUR
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12. So WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED in Joota?
Too much money
Management by Committee
Obsession with “perfect product”
No idea who our target market were
Did NOT go out to meet potential clients
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13. How In The World You Raised RM 7.6 million?
Company was valued at USD 20 million
even before it launched anything
CEO (and largest shareholder) = RM 1.0M
Angel Investor “The Datin” = RM 3.5 M
A Ben Laden = RM 900k
A Pakistani “Tony Stark” = RM 1.75M
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14. How In The World You Raised RM 7.6 million?
Company was valued at USD 20 million
even before it launched anything
CEO (and largest shareholder) = RM 1.0M
Angel Investor “The Datin” = RM 3.5 M
Ben Laden = RM 900k
A Pakistani “Tony Stark” = RM 1.75M
8% of the company
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15. Lessons Learnt
•We had an awesome team - but without a
strong leader
•Over-thinking
•Product obsessed rather than customer
obsessed
•It IS possible to raise THAT amount of money -
but you need connections and “street cred”
•Built an awesome technology
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16. What did I Learn as CTO of
Joota?
•App Development on the cloud
•Versioning using GIT
•Managing remote teams - Bandung,
Langkawi, Guang Zhou, San Francisco
•Developed some best practices for Product
Development
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17. For the Techies:
What Was Joota Made Of??
Systems Development
Infra Monitoring
Social Monitoring & Engagement
Email Blasting
Office Automation & Collaboration
Office File Back Up and Syncing
Accounting
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18. Let’s Take Break
After that
“How To Run a Tech Product Company”
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19. 19

20. 20

21. So What Does It Take To Run
a Tech Product Company ??
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22. The Technopreneur Body of Knowledge
Marketing
Finance
Product
&
Development
Identification+ of+Market
Pricing+Strategy
Market+Access
Marketing+Channels
Sales+Channels
Fullfilment
Customer+Support
Product(Definition
Product(Development
Technology(Mgmt
Matching(features(to(customer(needs
Reliability(of(delivery/product
Constant(enhancement
Business'Valuation
Business'Projections
Financing'Strategy
Exit'Strategy
Investor'Mgmt
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23. Marketing &
Commercialisation
•At the end of it, the aim of a
business is to make a profit -
even for social
entrepreneurship
•So how do you sustain sales?
•How do you sustain customer
loyalty
•How do you GET customers?
copyright BrandGeeks Inc
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24. copyright BrandGeeks Inc
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25. Any questions so far? Any stories to share?
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26. Marketing
Finance
Product
&
Development
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27. NUMBERS! NUMBERS!
•Why most good “pitching” fail
- especially among bumi
startups
•We don't APPEAR to have a
grasp of numbers
•We are EMBARRASSED by
the talk of money
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28. WHAT IS BUSINESS VALUATION ?
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29. Aleph one vs Joota
a business with revenue & profits
have generated a minimum RM 5
million in sales (2007 - 2010)
strong portfolio and clientele
business valuation: RM 40,000
a business with NO revenue
NO Clients, No Profits
business valuation: USD 20 million
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30. Aleph one vs Joota
Valuation Method: FIRM Value
(Tangible + Intangible Assets) -
Liabilities
Valuation Method:
FUTURE Value
Has got to do with
NET Present Value
Internal Rate of Return
Discounted Cash Flow
Risk comfort
Valuation Method:
PRICE EARNING (PE)
Has got to do with
Market value of
“similarish” companies
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31. FOUND THIS ON
SLIDESHARE
Basic Startup Valuation “How Much Are You
Worth” by Eric Tachibana
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32. IS IT A MUST TO FUND RAISE??
only Cradle Grants: CIP 150, CIP 500
after that self-funded
through good ole SALES
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33. Any questions so far? Any stories to share?
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34. Marketing
Finance
Product
&
Development
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35. 35

36. What is THEIR Formula?
Products or Services that delivers their brand promise and
provides value CONSISTENTLY will get REPEAT BUYERS
Happy Customers will bring NEW Customers through Word-
of-Mouth
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37. So HOW TO BUILD GREAT Products or Service by
US MERE MORTALS?
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38. What VALUE are you bringing to your customers??
Cheaper option
Easy * Saves time * Efficiency
Sense of Security * Healthier Option
Vanity/Luxury
Charity/Social
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39. DEFINING a TECH PRODUCT
Starts with Business Model Canvas
Product Definition
Product Architecture
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40. Business Model Canvas
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41. The Typical Systems for SMEs
in the 21st Century
•Cloud-based systems. No longer need to
purchase outright, own, maintain or upgrade
hardwares
•Systems and office automation that you can
rent monthly and control monthly opex aka
“Software-As-A-Service (SAAS)”
•Build a custom system ONLY if you really
need to.
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42. 2 types of tools:
Product Development &
Infra
Office Automation
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43. Product Development & Infra
Office Automation
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44. DNS Management
devstaginglive
My current
“hot template”
for tech startups
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45. Monthly Costs?
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46. Final Q&A
Any questions so far? Any stories to share?
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