azione capital - utm skudai aiesec - entrepreneurship in malaysia talk
DESCRIPTION
Talk given to AISEC Skudai on 10 October 2009 in UTM Skudai, Johor, MalaysiaTRANSCRIPT
Entrepreneurship
Cheap buzzword, innocent victim of misrepresentation or just plain
misunderstood?
Presented by Nicholas Chan of
What is entrepreneurship to Malaysians?
MLM? Unit Trust Sales?
Tyre shop? Reload shop?
Typical backstabbing partnership?
Reading tons of books, blogs & forums on business
does not make you an entrepreneur.
What do Malaysians want of entrepreneurship?
Easy money – “Cut corners”
Easy fame – “No work” success
Easy power – “Be THE boss”
If you don’t have integrity, you have
absolutely nothing built to last.
So where do they look for it?
Buying into franchises
Systems – “Whatever that means”
MLM – “The future of business”
If you don’t believe in putting your money where your mouth is,
don’t expect anyone else to do so.
And why do they do it?
Mitigate their “employee” pain
Feel they are “somebody”
Get money at any cost
Stop looking for free handouts, start looking for a market,
build on revenue and the rest will follow
How do Malaysian budding entrepreneurs go about it?
“Idea-only” approach
Talk, research, repeat
Run low-value businesses
The best way to get started is to
quit talking/reading/thinking/blogging and start doing.
EVENTUALLY, does it work?
A flood of empty vessels
Little innovation & value creation
No sustainable results
Where would you go when you have no way back?
There is There is alwaysalways a better way a better way
The typical Malaysian startup stumbling blocks
• Inward-looking, “frog-in-the-well” isolated approach. – Unworldly-wise and inexperienced; Fix-my-own-problem approach.– Refusal to listen to facts and reason. Easily believes in get-rich-quick schemes.
• Lack of funds– No savings; personal network too “kiasee” to risk private investment.– Banks too risk adverse to fresh startups; personal financing options insufficient.
Obsession on getting grants from the government.
• Lack of expert talent– Staff with specialized skillsets hard/expensive to acquire.– Assembling a trustworthy team is an uphill task.
• Lack of professional connections– “young” in their professional network.– Many Malaysian startups begin as employees or students & hate their work.
• Lack of facilities– No equipment or premises to work from.– No idea on what they really need.
What REALLY is entrepreneurship?
Selfless, frugal lifestyle
Value creation, job creation
Service to society
Many great ideas goes unexecuted,
and many great executioners are without ideas.
One without the other is worthless.
Foresight
Anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple…
But only an entrepreneur can count the number of apples in a seed
A business is successful to the extent that it produces a product or service
that improves the lives of the people it serves,
both clients and community.
Who would walk this path?
Know their vision in life
Thrives on challenges
Less think/talk, more do-ers
The greatest assets a startup has
is in its spirit and its people.
Dreams
Too many of us are not living our dreams
Because we are still living our fears
Be uneducated, finding your way around
makes the journey all the more worthwhile.
What are entrepreneurial traits?
Trustworthiness; Responsibility
Eternally curious; Innovation
Win-win negotiator; Deal-making
If you see a problem, fix it immediately.Don’t assemble a committee to decide
what to do with it 3 months later
What if?
If there is no possibility of failure
Then victory is meaningless
What would you fight for when you have nothing to lose?
Why should you bother?
Know you can make a difference
Able to create tangible value
You enjoy uncertainty & negativity
If you don’t have integrity, you have
absolutely nothing built to last.
How should you start?
Get a mentor
Know there are no shortcuts
Be with real entrepreneurs
You can afford to break even, but you cannot afford to lose.
And so?
Winning starts with beginning
Motivation is overrated,
Just do it
There is no certainty, only opportunity
In conclusion…In conclusion…
• Action may not always bring success,but there is no success without action.
• Most people get ahead during the time that others waste time (ie. Blogging, Facebook-ing, talking on Lowyat.net).
Skype/MSN/Twitter: [email protected]
Find me on the Asian Entrepreneur Community
www.projectsenso.com