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Open For Business

BFM Media
Malaysia
Southeast Asia
E-Commerce
Sustainability
Entrepreneurship
Singapore
Covid-19
Hospitality
Artificial Intelligence
Gelato
Seek Sophie
Education
Gig Economy
Hock Kee Kopitiam
Tiktok
Hygr
Commerce Media
Community Engagement
Social Media
AI Technology

The flagship entrepreneurship show on BFM, featuring personal business stories from early stage start-ups, all the way to billionaire octogenarians in Malaysia and abroad. Notable guests include Martin Cooper (father of the mobile phone), Julian Assange (founder of WikiLeaks), Ralph Henry Baer (father of video games), Tony Buzan (Mindmap Guru), Isaac Tigrett (Hard Rock Cafe founder), Robert Kiyosa... more

PublishesDailyEpisodes2010Founded16 years ago
Number of ListenersCategory
Business

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Artwork for Open For Business

Latest Episodes

Most fashion businesses begin with a gap in the market. Kayla Batik Design began with a mother who couldn't find colourful batik clothing for her one-year-old daughter. So she decided to make it herself.

What started as designing a single dress for ... more

Matcha took a decade to go from Japanese tea ceremony to global café staple. Shivaani Suppiah believes pandan, that fragrant green leaf that flavours everything from kaya to nasi lemak across Southeast Asia, is ready for the same journey. Her target ... more

When Mathew Howe was last on Open For Business in July 2024, Grobrix had just announced its partnership with Green City Growers in Boston and was projecting 500% quarterly revenue growth from its Farming-as-a-Service subscription model. The question ... more

Most professional networking events fail because they focus on collecting business cards rather than building genuine connections. Jude Ashvin realised this after experiencing a highly curated after-work social event in Belgium. Drawing on his backgr... more

Hagen Chen originally built a fully bootstrapped, seven-figure F&B group starting with Toast Maker, a healthy sandwich and coffee concept for busy professionals. However, his latest venture marks a significant pivot. Stepping away from health-focused... more

Most cafes do not survive ten years, and those that do typically rely on relentless expansion to stay afloat. Naj & Belle reached this rare milestone by doing the exact opposite. Founded in 2015 by Annabelle Liau and Datuk Najib Hamid of The Serai Gr... more

Across Malaysia and Southeast Asia, thousands of profitable businesses are quietly approaching a major crisis. Their founders are entering their sixties and seventies, and the next generation either does not want to take over or is simply not ready t... more

MicFront is not a traditional public speaking class; it is a psychology-first education model. Co-founded in 2017 by Mas Mahathir and licensed counsellor Dr Jolynn Ch'ng, the academy operates on the thesis that speaking anxiety is a psychological bar... more

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Recent Guests

Jude Ashvin
Co-founder of Just After Work
Just After Work
Episode: Why Networking Is Broken, and What Happens When You Fix the Room
Hagen Chen
Founder of Toast Maker and multi-brand F&B group
Toast Maker / Jiran-jiran
Episode: Why A ‘Big Health’ Entrepreneur Built A Nasi Lemak Brand
Bryan Chen
Director at Naj & Belle, oversees operations and business development
Naj & Belle
Episode: The Cafe That Grew By Shrinking
Leora Chen
Director at Naj & Belle, handles marketing and creative direction
Naj & Belle
Episode: The Cafe That Grew By Shrinking
Zad Ngor
Co-founder of GenCap Partners, operator and investor
GenCap Partners
Episode: Acquiring Your Way to the Top: GenCap's Blueprint for SME Succession
Zachary Lee
Co-founder of GenCap Partners, experienced investor
GenCap Partners
Episode: Acquiring Your Way to the Top: GenCap's Blueprint for SME Succession
Mas Mahathir
Co-founder of MicFront Public Speaking
MicFront
Episode: MicFront's Formula for Turning Fear Into Confidence
Dr Jolynn Ch'ng
Co-founder of MicFront Public Speaking
MicFront
Episode: MicFront's Formula for Turning Fear Into Confidence
KC Purusotman
Founder and MD of Continuum Hospitality Group
Continuum Hospitality Group
Episode: He Bet Everything On The Experience Economy. He Was Right.

Host

Audrey Raj
Host of Open For Business

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

From Bugs to Bursa? Pet World's Ambitious Next Chapter
Q: How does Pet World balance being a local champion with ambitions to scale internationally, especially with the new manufacturing capabilities?
By controlling upstream meat supplies and using enzyme digestion processes to create higher-margin, locally sourced ingredients, we can maintain quality, traceability, and flexibility to meet larger regional demand while keeping a strong focus on pet health and safety.
The Restaurant Model Is Broken. Is Freshpod the Fix?
Q: Why did you choose a 24-hour hospital and campus focus, and how does pricing stay sustainable?
The need for healthy, convenient options at all hours in hospitals and workplaces creates steady demand; by drastically cutting labor and rent through a tiny footprint and AI-driven stock, Freshpod can offer competitive prices while maintaining quality, with plans to introduce smaller bowls at lower price points to broaden accessibility.
The Restaurant Model Is Broken. Is Freshpod the Fix?
Q: What was the hardest food safety problem you had to solve?
Dispensing accuracy and consistent portioning across a wide variety of ingredients proved most challenging, requiring precise weighing, controlled temperature, airflow, and validated food safety standards in collaboration with authorities, which now enables reliable, repeatable bowls with exact grams per ingredient.
Mapping Hidden Corporate Connections Across Asia
Q: What type of organizations do you see adopting the unlimited enterprise package, and who typically makes the decision to buy Handshakes?
Regulators and large financial institutions are primary buyers, especially where continuous, large‑scale checks are needed. Over time, a broader set of decision makers—often from compliance or procurement—become involved as the tool is used for ongoing monitoring and to support enterprise workflows.
Mapping Hidden Corporate Connections Across Asia
Q: So maybe, Daryl, you can explain the Handshakes platform to someone who has never seen it. What does a user actually see when they open it up and how does it work?
The platform has a data layer that connects records from public sources and a graph visualization layer that lets users see how individuals and entities connect. It joins slightly different identifiers, links multiple entities, and then visualizes the network to reveal ownership and control chains.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Open For Business

What is Open For Business about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Across episodes, the show spotlights diverse entrepreneurs and leaders navigating growth, transformation, and industry disruption in Malaysia and beyond. Conversations range from legacy manufacturing and family business leadership to frontier tech, urban innovation, and purpose-driven startups building globally while rooted locally. Notable throughlines include pragmatic growth strategies (bootstrapping to outside capital, scaling operations, and go-to-market), navigating regulatory and funding landscapes, and balancing mission with profitability. A distinctive trait is how guests come from hands-on industries—manufacturing, elder care, food halls, hospitality tech, and hardware startups—often sharing tangible lessons on hiring, partnership... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Open For Business?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Open For Business:

1. The Breakfast Grille
2. Morning Brief
3. Ringgit and Sense
4. 百靈果 News
5. Enterprise Explores

How many episodes of Open For Business are there?

Open For Business launched 16 years ago and published 2010 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Open For Business?

Recent guests on Open For Business include:

1. Jude Ashvin
2. Hagen Chen
3. Bryan Chen
4. Leora Chen
5. Zad Ngor
6. Zachary Lee
7. Mas Mahathir
8. Dr Jolynn Ch'ng

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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