Startup Development in Pahang

• BEYOND4 partners with Yayasan Pahang to host an exclusive 2-day event at Pahang
• BEYOND4 signed a MOU with international ecosystem partner, IAPS
• BlackStorm Consulting was invited to speak at the event and provided key insights on Building a Regional Business from Day 1

May 19, 2022: Paddy Tan, Managing Partner of BlackStorm Consulting, was cordially invited to share his valuable insights on the topic: “Startup 101 – Building a regional business since Day 1”. This event was organised by BEYOND4 and Yayasan Pahang, alongside with partners such as MDEC, Cradle Fund, PahangGo. Startups from Taiwan’s IAPS will be further expanding their footprints in smart agriculture and biotech industry in Malaysia through the Pre-Accelerator Programme by BEYOND4 and Yayasan Pahang.

Figure: Welcoming speech given by Dato’ Nizar Najib

Figure: Introduction of partnership between BEYOND4 and IAPS by Rubaneswaran Thevasenabathy, CEO of BEYOND4

Figure: MOU signing with Dr. Hank Huang, Director of IAPS, Taiwan

Figure: Karl Baldry, sharing his experience in TeleSign as Enterprise Account Director

Figure: Koo Chia Ching , Marketing Manager of Zoho Corporation sharing customer management through marketing campaigns

Figure: Zoho Corporation’s booth at the event

Figure: Paddy Tan, Managing Partner of BlackStorm Consulting  sharing on “Startup 101- Building a regional business since Day 1”

Highlights on the Speech on Startup 101 – Building a Regional Business Since Day 1

Paddy educated the audience on the typical lifecycle of a startup from its pre-incubation phase including its ideation and the development of the minimum viable product (MVP), how to get pre-seed funding. Based on extensive research on Malaysia’s startup ecosystem, Paddy highlighted and advised the audience on which organisation to partner with.

As a startup, the team will need an efficient allocation of resources. Paddy shared with the audience of the pre-accelerator programme the VIRO model which spans across four main points, find valuable resources and the difference between finding rare resources, how startups could find costly-to-imitate resources that prevents competitors from duplicating a resource,  how to organise a startup to efficiently deploy these resources.

With a new idea or product in a market, startup teams will need a clear and accurate representation of their target market. Paddy shared the four pillars of understanding one’s market, which includes the demographic qualities of target market. Paddy also shared his extensive experience in identifying and capitalising on unique selling propositions. His insights span across how to identify crucial stakeholders, pricing positioning and calculating the size of the current market and more.

The Four Elements Behind a Startup’s Success

To summarise his presentation, Paddy shared that for a startup to succeed, there are four crucial elements that a startup should focus on. The first of these elements is the need for a strong positive cash flow, the second element would be hiring the right people for the job, followed by the need to create efficient processes within the startup. The last element would be discovering a good product market fit.

Figure: (From left to right) Dato’ Nizar Najib, En. Affandi Bin Mohd Isa, Arief Mubiin bin Tengku Abdul Aziz, Ahmad Kashfi Alwi (Ash)

From the discussion on startup development in Pahang with Dato’ Nizar Najib, Ahmad Kashfi Alwi (Ash), Senior Vice President of Cradle Fund,  En. Affandi Bin Mohd Isa, CEO of Pahang Go, Tengku Arief Mubiin bin Tengku Abdul Aziz, Lead of Fintech, Accelerator and Venture Building of MDEC, they had expressed their view on development of startup ecosystem in Malaysia. They further discussed on common startups businesses that could be found in Pahang, important factors that lead startups to success and actions should implemented by government or agencies to support startup ecosystem in Pahang, which is rich in natural resources.

A private dinner session was arranged prior to the event on the day to discuss the startup ecosystem development goals. Figure: Group photo on May 18 with distinguished guests 

About BlackStorm Consulting

BlackStorm Consulting (http://blackstormco.asia) is a Singapore-based boutique growth consultancy firm that specialises in corporate strategy, profit management and investment management. We scale businesses in Southeast Asia.

Our clients and connections are internationally present and range from small and medium sized businesses, MNCs, to government agencies.

About Beyond4

The BEYOND4 (https://beyond4.tech/) integrated digital ecosystem strives to make Southeast Asia as a global powerhouse for innovation. From startups to fortune 500s to primary education institutions, established universities, municipal councils and federal governments, there are no problems big enough for BEYOND4. BEYOND4 is invested in identifying, accelerating & incubating talent. With our integrated digital solutions, we empower people to achieve their true potential by inspiring creativity and bringing ideas to life.