Less you think they’re all talk, co-founder Fuad has represented Malaysia in the Asian X Games and is a sponsored rider with several companies. We talk with co-founder Munir to find out why they decided to turn trees into decks for a living.

What made you start Sibling Skateboards?
Fuad and I have always had a passion for skateboarding. We wanted to help the local skateboard scene grow. Thus we believe that by starting the company and getting the support from the local community, we may achieve that someday.

What sets your Sibling apart from the competition?
We are 100% skateboarders. We aren’t outsiders or people who are coming in and trying to exploit our industry. We know what skateboarders want and need; thats our best strength.

With all the skateboards available out there, why buy Sibling?
We offer high quality decks at affordable prices for the kids. Being real skateboarders, we chose the best materials for our product.

Where are your skateboards made?
After testing many samples of skateboard decks, we chose to design our boards locally. The decks are produced with a company from China using Canadian Maple wood.

How many models do you currently make?
We are currently on our 7th model. All our previous models have sold out within a few weeks of their respective launches.

Which riders are you currently sponsoring?
We have highly influential riders in the industry who are also being sponsored by top companies such as Billabong, DC Shoes, Converse & Quiksilver. The riders are Joe Ipoh, Fuad Saifullah, Wan Irman, Arina Rahman, Alif Suhaimi, Akyb Afandi and Adam Faisal, who is just 14 years old.

How do you choose your riders?
They have got to have a positive attitude and of course, raw skateboarding skills.

Where can we get our hands on your product?
We currently have 10 authorized dealer skateshops throughout Malaysia. If you are in KL, you can get our boards from Krookz at Berjaya Times Square or Cool Element at BB Plaza. You can also get our boards through our online store which is on our Facebook Page.

How long did it take you to start up Sibling Skateboards?
After talking about it throughout our teenage days, we took the plunge, geared up and it took us about 7 months from planning to production.

How long have you been around and how has it grown so far?
Officially we have been established for 5 months now and we believe it has grown very well. We are really pumped that almost all the skateboarders here in Malaysia know about Sibling Skateboards.

What are your strategies for Sibling Skateboards?
Being a marketing graduate, I created our business strategies to fulfill the four “P”‘s; price, promotion, product and place. In addition to that, we have our own special fifth “P” – PLAY HARD.

How do you think Sibling will fit into the minds of KL/Malaysia?
Skateboarding has not always been viewed positively as a sport in KL/Malaysia as compared to other nations. We want to transform this view by showing them that skateboarding is awesome; it’s a sport where u can wear jeans and it’s kickass!

Who do you consider a role model in business?
Successful international skateboard companies such as PLAN B and ELEMENT.

What are the perks of your job?
Without a doubt, getting to do something that I am passionate about.

What is it like in a day of work for you?
Filming and Editing skate videos, doing some graphics for the boards and of course, going skateboarding.

What goals do you have for Sibling Skateboards?
To grow the local skateboarding scene.

What can we expect from Sibling for the rest of 2012?
More tours, more videos, more competitions, more talented riders and we’re going international!

Photos courtesy of Sibling Skateboards

Meet CultureRun, a service that hopes to make continuous learning easily accessible to the citizens of the Klang Valley. CultureRun is the brainchild of two sisters, Suwen Low and Su-Zen Low. With backgrounds in Fine Arts and Film Studies respectively, they’ve brought their collective heads together to try and bring their love of learning and self-improvement to the masses.

Is the Klang Valley ready for small learning workshops or are we too used to huge, fill-the-convention-hall type of learning? We talk to the entrepreneurial sisters about their yearning for learning, CultureRun.

Try something new, you never know what the adventure is going to be.

Firstly, can you explain what CultureRun is all about?
CultureRun is a way to learn new things and meet new people. CultureRun works by bringing people (teachers) and places together to create a temporary learning space. People can sign up to teach courses and venues can sign up to offer their location as places to hold the workshops.

What made you start CultureRun?
We’re huge fans of seminars and workshops but there’s not really a platform or scene for that here in KL. There’s not much to do here in KL aside from the usual mamak sessions, clubbing and movies. Besides learning something new, seminars and workshops are a great way to meet new people and get to know them. We also love communities and we wanted to create a community that had some sort of meaning to it. To us that meaning is learning. We want to make learning as accessible to as many people as possible. CultureRun is a way to help people learn something new and is an alternative way to meet people (aside from clubbing and parties).

How did you come up up with the concept of CultureRun?
The idea started out as a venue, a sort of cafe where we could have food, art and workshops all come together. We were toying with the idea when a friend who had returned from the US introduced us to a similar idea that was already running in the US. It was an online-based model with popup class rooms and many people involved in it. We took a look at it and decided that it was the better model to follow. CultureRun isn’t just for us, it’s for the community and we want to get people involved. Our current model works with venues, teachers and the community; we built the business model around that.

How are you funding your business?
Being an online business, overheads are lower so we’re self-funded right now. We’re looking to get some outside funding to help us grow.

How long has it been around and how has it grown so far?
The idea came around in May 2011 but we didn’t act on it till Suwen came back in Sept (2011). That’s when we started tester workshops and in November 2011 we had the Big Idea project (http://culturerunbigidea.blogspot.com/) and that’s when it really took off. We launched the website mid January (2012). We have been seeing a mix of people coming for the workshops; there are returners and new people. Growth has been steady now that the website has been launched.

How do you think the concept of CultureRun will fit into the minds of KL/Malaysia?
It’s quite hit and miss really. We were quite skeptical when we first started but since then we’ve noticed that there’s a real hunger for knowledge here and we think that can be turned into people ready to share. We need to push and guide it a bit but I think people here are ready. The situation here in Malaysia is not what it was 5 – 10 years ago, people are more open now. We really believe that Malaysians want to do more and learn more.

What are your business strategies for CultureRun?
Well we’re arts people, so we have had friends help us develop our business model and strategy. From the start we sort of did everything wrong. It was learning through trial and error. We knew what we wanted but we didn’t know how to execute. We learned a lot along they way, we’re still learning now.

The concept of CultureRun is fascinating but as a business model can it turn a profit?
It’s definitely possible, but we’re looking to expand it and make learning a lifestyle. How CultureRun works is that we take a commission on each workshop ticket sold. We run mainly on volume so we’re looking to grow the business.

Who do you consider a role model in your business?
When we first started out Su-Zen was really into Richard Branson. We also look up to Vishen from Mindvalley for believing in Malaysia and basing Mindvalley here in KL. I mean he could have easily started Mindvalley elsewhere but he believed in the potential of Malaysia.

What courses have you got lined up?
At the moment, we’ve got a ring-making class, “How to buy your first guitar” and a workshop on “Building Social Confidence” up on our website. We’ve also been speaking to people doing personal development, mixed martial arts, language, dance, etc… We’ve been meeting lots of amazing people lately.  What we’re really looking for is for the community to do it by themselves. We want people to come and share their skills so that other people can learn from them.

Do people really have skills to share?
We believe everyone has something that they’re good at. When we meet people who say “I have no skills to share,” we find that really sad and we think that’s something that we want to change. We find that really sad and we think that’s something that we want to change. Sometimes people don’t realize that they have something that they can share. For example, we have a friend who’s really good at Excel. He can do so many amazing things with it and we’re like “That’s amazing, we can’t do that! You should teach people how to do those things!” He didn’t realize that he had a really good skill that he could share.

But can they teach?
That’s why we’re here. We’re here to help people to share their passion. We also have a support section on the website that gives some guidelines on how to teach. It’s all about doing what you love.  Once you talk about what you love it’s effortless. Passion is infectious.

What are the perks of your job?
Meeting people. Meeting lots of new people. It’s being able to make friends with the people we meet. We meet so many interesting people, from different fields. There are also so many quirky people with interesting points of view.

What is it like in a day of work for you?
It’s very varied. We meet a lot of people. We go out everyday, we get in touch with teachers, venues, we work on the website. We meet a lot of people in a day. We kinda start the day late but we’re working on that!

What goals do you have for CultureRun?
Our eventual goal is to make learning a lifestyle. We want to have at least a class every day. We also want to reach out to the community and provide some CultureRun “scholarships” to go for CultureRun classes. We’re going to focus it mainly on the youth. We want them to explore all these CultureRun programs and hopefully they can find their passion. We hope for them to carry that passion through to university – to fill places of higher learning with passionate people chasing their dreams.

What can we expect from CultureRun for the rest of 2012?
Lots more classes and more variety in the classes. We’re trying to get as many individuals as possible teaching. Our focus in 2012 is mainly to make people aware of CultureRun and what we do; it’s a community project. For 2012, we hope to host at least 10 classes a month. At the moment we’re focusing on KL / PJ but we’re hoping to spread to the rest of Malaysia in the coming years.

It all sounds very empowering. Do you have any parting words for people who may be reading?
Don’t be afraid to share your ideas and don’t be afraid to speak out. Be open and don’t be too suspicious of people. Try something new, you never know what the adventure is going to be.

Deciding that enough was enough, he decided to go back to his passion for skating and try to make living out of it. We sat down with Sukeats to talk to him on Wheel Love, his skate shop and how he grew his store into what could arguably be the most well-known skate shop in Kuala Lumpur.

Listen to your customers. It’s so simple. Some of our best tips came from our customers.

What made you start Wheel Love?

It started off because we wanted to do it. It was always something we wanted to do but never really said it out loud. We started off by producing our own caps and tees. Later we got a little more serious and started producing our own wheels. In 2009 I was getting tired of my advertising job and wanted to try something new. We then decided, it was now or never and took the plunge and started the shop.

How did you fund Wheel Love?
We used our savings and got a little bit of support from our parents. We started off very lean. We didn’t have all these products that you see on the wall now. We started out with just four skates on the wall with just a few sizes in stock! Our motto when starting out was beg, borrow and steal, haha! The display counter was from my cousin who used to deal in handphones, the pallets come from my partners day job and the couch was from home.

Can you give us an idea of what we can find in your store?
We have aggressive inline skates, slalom skates, quad-skates for roller derbies, fixed gear bikes, BMXes, longboards, skateboards, clothing, footwear, helmets, yo-yos, kendamas, fingerboards, wheels, bags, inline skate frames. Lots of stuff.

What sets Wheel Love apart from the rest of the skate shops in KL?
Well, we’d like to say that we’re skater owned and skater run but here in Malaysia that’s most of the skate shops anyway. We’re here in the shop everyday. I guess we know that we don’t know everything; the key is that we listen to our customers. We ask them what they want and what they like, then we get it for them. It’s that simple. Some of our best tips come from our customers.

We also come from a different background from other skate shops. With my background in marketing, we really emphasize on listening and responding to the customers. We answer all the emails and SMS queries we get. I also feel that we’re quite the community shop. We want to be a place where people can just hang around.

How long did it take you to start up Wheel Love?
The Wheel Love brand started earlier, we started it in 2005 but we didn’t do much with it. We hand-screened some tees and later on we tried manufacturing our own wheels. When we started the shop in 2009, it took us about three to four months to get the funds and design all worked out. The rest we learned along the way.

How long has it been around and how has it grown so far?
We started in 2005 and incorporated in 2009. I’m happy with our progress, there are no regrets at the moment. There were lessons learned along the way but no regrets. Sales are still growing month-on-month. We aren’t planning on another outlet right now. KL isn’t that big, so our customers know where to find us. One thing that we want to really concentrate on is distribution. Currently we’re the distributor for Bern helmets. We’re sort of the unofficial distributors for many other products since nobody else actually brings them in.

What are your strategies for Wheel Love?
I don’t really have a strategy but I have a philosophy: it’s knowing that we don’t know everything and making up for that by listening to our customers. Some products I really don’t like myself but the customers want them so we bring them in. We also support scenes that don’t have support. You’ve just got to support them and they’ll eventually find their place. We even sell yo-yos! What I always say is there are things you like, things your friends like and things your customers want. These three things rarely overlap. So yeah, listen to your customers.

How do you think Wheel Love will fit into the minds of KL/Malaysia?
I’m in it too deep, so I can’t really see. I hope they think of us well. I hope that when they think of non-motorized wheel sports they think of us first.

How does social media impact your business?
If I didn’t have anything but Facebook, I’d still be fine. Facebook is IT. We’ve been running our blog for years so we’ve gotten used to the habit of creating content. So that’s what we’ve brought to our Facebook wall. We dig up the most interesting news and videos and post them up to our wall. We get people telling us that our wall is the first thing they check when they get on Facebook because they know it’ll have new cool stuff on it. Hopefully, when they’re there they’ll also see our product announcements a few posts down and take note.

How does the news of a possible economic slowdown affect you?
We started in 2009 so… yeah. When we started we got warnings from everybody! You just gotta keep yourself lean. If it doesn’t work, get rid of it. You just learn.

Who do you consider a role model in your business?
Well, there was this skate shop called Ignition in Germany. They were in a village house, it was a skate shop cum bar. I saw that and thought to myself, “that’s what I want”. They’re not around anymore. They’re sort of role models to us because they gave us hints about what we really wanted to do but their situation also taught us to be realistic about money.

How does Wheel Love give back to the community?
A lot of things that we do, we do internally. We don’t broadcast them to the world. For example, one of our friends was going to teach in a school in Peru. They had a skateboard ramp but no skateboards. So we ran a campaign for them, got together old skateboards that people didn’t want anymore and similar items from other people. We packed it all in a big box and sent it over to them. There was a problem though, we didn’t plan on the customs and shipping. The costs of the customs and shipping nearly tore us apart! But we’re big believers in karma, so we went ahead and did it anyway.

We also help out by supporting local brands by carrying their goods. We remember how it was for us when we had to go knocking on doors to get our products in stores, so when folks come to us and ask if they can put their goods in Wheel Love, we say “sure!”

Wheel Love sponsors riders, we notice. What’s the criteria when you select a rider to represent Wheel Love?
Of course they have to skate well! It’s also about attitude, we want people who are good role models. We’re looking for the attitude to be right, for them to be cool guys. We also look out for people who deserve the sponsorship and people who can click with us.

How do sponsored riders benefit Wheel Love?
They’re brand ambassadors for Wheel Love and when a Wheel Love rider wins a competition (which is more often than not), it looks good on us too.

What are the perks of your job?
I get any skates that I want! I can change wheels and gear whenever I want. I do get a lot more friends now; I make lot of friends. Owning a shop and being in the shop all day opens up new windows for meeting people. Some of the best friends I have, I’ve met right here at the shop. It’s been 3 years and I’m still exited to go to work everyday!

What is it like in a day of work for you?
Get up. Go for a run. Open the shop. Get lunch; my wife is just upstairs, so that’s convenient. Do shop stuff; that may sound stressful but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Then it’s dinner and sometimes I skate. I’m usually done for the day by 10pm!

What goals do you have for Wheel Love
One of them is to take myself out of it. Not that I’m pulling out but I want the shop to be self-automated and run by itself.

Another thing we’d like to concentrate on is our distributorships. We’re currently the distributor for Bern helmets here and it’s been good. We’d like to try expanding that and maybe seeing if there are other opportunities for distributorship.

What can we expect from Wheel Love for the rest of 2012?
We’ll stay the course. Nothing has changed. Sometimes I revisit our business plan and I see that we’ve tried all that we wanted to try, so we’re still on track. There’s lots more to explore so we want to try our hands on many things; a skate school, talent management, product distribution, sports marketing, etc…

As a small company it would be suicidal to just be stubborn and stick to idealistic

ideas of what a business could be.

What triggered you to start Grafa Design?
It was basically the desire to start something on my own, to work under my own rules and terms, and the fact that if I didn’t start anything back then, then I wouldn’t have started anything at all.

What sets Grafa Design different from the rest?
In a way we’re 3 businesses in one. Initially started as a design studio, but I didn’t want my office space to be a boring workspace, so I toyed with the idea of integrating a fixed gear bicycle shop and a bicycle-themed café, which eventually became what Grafa is all about.

How long did it take you to start up Grafa Design?
Started with the domain registration in April 2010, and we had a shop up and running by September 2010. Looking for funding took around 3 months, and construction and renovation plus first inventory intake took around 2 months.

What were your strategies for Grafa Design?
At this point the strategy is just to remain relevant. As a small company it would be suicidal to just be stubborn and stick to idealistic ideas of what a business could be. I guess we’re just adapting through consumer trends and its changes, but of course implementing our own ideas in aesthetics and standard of quality. I guess this applies to all three aspects of the business, whether it’s branding design, bicycles or café food.

How do you think the business will fit into the minds of Malaysians?
We are currently still the only ones with this business concept, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. That’s our niche, and that’s how we’ve generally been perceived as, initiators and market leaders.

How has the response for Grafa Design been since its opening?
Response has been great, both from the public and the media. We basically lost count of the interviews we made promoting the business and cycling in general.

What are your roles in Grafa Design?
There’s 3 partners in Grafa, myself, Fadli Hj Rosli and Halyza Halim. I’m basically in charge of the design aspect and the bicycle shop part, Fadli is in charge of the bicycle shop and Halyza runs the café. She also signs our cheques so we’re really really nice to her.

Who do you consider a role model for your business?
As a brand I guess we really look up to Kinfolk, a bicycle company with a café /lounge in Tokyo and a design studio in NYC. They really took design and aesthetics within the cycling lifestyle sense to a new level. Another inspiration would be Cadence based in San Francisco, which basically produces cycling-related apparels. Their positioning and branding strength is what inspired us. Look Mum No Hands, a bicycle-concept café and bar in London is also a huge inspiration.

What are the perks of your job?
I am my boss, so whatever action I take, I’ll be answerable to myself. I guess there’s no better perks than that.

What is it like in a day of work for you?
Me and my other two partners take turns opening the shop/office, and we’ve been doing that since day one. We give a lot of advice to customers who wants to purchase their own bikes, and we do a lot of bike maintenance, setups and so on. On a busy day I’d run from between the laptop while designing a t-shirt to building a bicycle wheel to brainstorming with clients on their branding objectives.

What are your ultimate goals for Grafa Design?
As a brand I want Grafa to go global. Regardless of the product that we create and produce, if our customers equate the brand with quality, tastefulness and relevance I’d be more than happy.

What else can we expect from Grafa Design for the rest of 2012?
We’re working on a few international product collaborations, so expect Grafa to go places where we’ve never been before. International competition is stiff, but I guess that is what separates the men from the boys. Also we’ll be doing quite a few events nationwide to promote fixed-gear cycling, and we’re currently filling up our plans for 2012 with a lot of events and parties.

Find out more about about Grafa Design at www.grafa-design.com.

It’s like driving a car everyday for me. I am always steering the car to the

direction that we set.

Who are the brains behind Stickhouse?
The Stickhouse brand originated from an Italian company so, I think it is safe to say that the Italians are the brains behind this brand.

What triggered you to start Stickhouse?
Just the combination of healthy and dessert! This is a very unique combination as people think that most desserts are unhealthy. There is a growing trend of people here wanting to eat healthy unfortunately, tasty healthy food is hard to find. It is the way Stickhouse Gelatos are made using natural ingredients without adding any artificial flavouring emphasizes the healthiness of these snacks. I can safely say that creating an opportunity for people to eat healthy and enjoy it without feeling guilty was a huge motivation for me to want to start Stickhouse Gelatos. Furthermore the idea of having children eat healthy gelatos instead of ice cream which are less healthy in comparison, was an added motivational factor.

What sets your company different from the rest?
I would certainly say that the way the gelatos are made makes a big difference. Firstly, the gelatos are made fresh in our shops. Secondly, they way Stickhouse gelato’s are made is different from ice-cream producers. Many ice-cream producers churn their ice cream by whipping their ingredients by and adding air to increase the volume. By doing this, the natural and original flavours are lost. To compensate, artificial flavours are used. Gelatos, on the other hand, have a slower churning method that allows less air, a denser and creamier texture than ice cream, which retains the original flavours and ingredients. Having said this, Stickhouse Gelatos do not contain any air at all, Zero air is added, retaining all the flavour and ingredients, thus, making it 100% genuine and natural.

How long did it take you to start up Stickhouse?
We did a lot of checking, testing and tasting to make sure that the product was of good quality. This was the fun part. We also had to deal with the applications, the paperwork and of course, looking for staff, training and so on. We wanted to be sure that we sold quality gelatos on a stick to the public. I would say that it took me about 7-8 months to get everything organized.

What are your strategies for Stickhouse?
We are looking at various mediums to promote our brand. Firstly, we want people to associate Stickhouse with healthiness and that is why most of our promotional materials focus on the fact that our gelatos are healthy. We are currently active on Facebook and have been also mentioned in one or two blogs. Our target markets are youth and young parents and we designed our promotional initiatives to attract these groups. We will also focus on special deals during school holidays and other occasions. We also want people to differentiate between Stickhouse Gelato and other gelatos.

How do you think the business will fit into the minds of Malaysians?
I think Malaysians like something fresh and new in the market. Not to mention healthy as well. I believe they will come to enjoy our gelato sticks as a fun and healthy alternative to mass-produced conventional ice creams currently available in the market. Most Malaysians love their desserts and we are offering a tasty one that is guilt free.

How has the response for Stickhouse been since its opening?
The response has been quite interesting. People were skeptical at first, but once they tasted our gelatos, they were hooked. I do see a lot of regulars and there have been many comments about the rich taste of the gelato and the genuine fruity tastes of the sorbet sticks.

What are your roles at Stickhouse?
I ensure that everything runs smoothly by overseeing and supervising the staff. I also try to motivate the staff to help gear Stickhouse towards the desired direction.

Who do you consider a role model for your business?
I consider my father as my role model as he always imparted useful knowledge and good work ethics. He had drummed into me that working hard alone isn’t enough; you had to work smart too. He encouraged me to take risks and grab opportunities that came my way. This is exactly what I did with Stickhouse. If I did not grab the chance to bring Stickhouse into Malaysia, someone else would have done it.

What are the perks of your job?
I just like being involved in something that is associated with happiness. Customers come and their faces light up when they see all these beautiful colours and gasp when the chocolate topping is put on the ice cream. Even the grumpiest looking person lights up when they come and buy the gelato. This alone is a perk.

What is it like in a day of work for you?
It’s like driving a car everyday for me. I am always steering the car to the direction that we set. And of course, not all roads are straight and smooth, especially not out roads. There will be pot holes and bumpy rides each day, so each day I have to guide the car, overcome obstacles and try to reach our destination in one piece. But it will be one enjoyable ride.

What are your ultimate goals for Stickhouse?
To be the number 1 brand that comes to your mind whenever you feel like getting a gelato.

What can we expect from Stickhouse for the rest of 2012?
Stickhouse will be opening more outlets this year and introducing more tasty flavours to our beloved customers. We love to create new flavours that are special to Malaysians. For instance, we are working on a jackfruit flavour and in the future we will be working on a durian flavour. Unfortunately, it will take some time, because it will be very difficult to clear the smell of the durian from our machines, so I would need a separate machine for the durian gelato alone. We have other fun and interesting ideas on the way, so stay tuned!

Hit up facebook.com/stickhousemalaysia to find out more.

Now, he’s given up all that for his urban bag business, Greenroom136. Greenroom136 is Kuala Lumpur’s first messenger-type bag company. We sit down with Patrick to find about more about Greenroom136 and if Kuala Lumpur is the right place to birth an urban bag brand.

My bigger vision is not a blogshop or a retail shop, it’s to get my products into the world, to get Greenroom to be a recognized international brand. I want to take on the world.

What made you start Greenroom136?
I’ve always wanted to be in business, always known that I’ve wanted to produce something to sell. Actually, I wasn’t out looking for bags, the bags found me. One day a friend of mine came up to me and said “I have a manufacturing plant in China and we produce bags. If you can design something, bring it to me and I can build it for you.” And so I did just that. I came up with 2 drawings and gave it to him. And when they came back, I could see all the mistakes I made. Things that appear well on paper sometimes don’t translate well into 3d. By the time I figured out how to design a bag properly, my friend had already closed down his plant in China. But that was how Greenroom136 got started.

Why the name Greenroom?
It was supposed to be Junk Monkey because we’re all Junk Monkeys, we carry around loads of stuff with us. But the name Junk Monkey just didn’t resonate too well as a commercial brand. Back then I had a blog called “Greenroom at the back of 136″; 136 was my house number. Now, I didn’t want to call my workshop, a workshop or bengkel so, I thought Greenroom would be a good name. A green room is a place you go to conceive and prototype ideas and once it’s done, you green-light the product. So I thought if I removed all the extraneous words from the blog name, I’d get “Greenroom136″. It had a ring to it and so that’s how I got the name. The name Junk Monkey lives on as the name of the bag series.

How long did it take you to start up this company?
I’ve been working for Greenroom136 for the last four years; I was working on this for at least 3 years before I left full-time employment. It was all about tweaking, learning how to design, learning how to sew. So last May (2011), I decided that it was time for me to bring these 3 years of work to life. The very first bag I produced was the Junk Monkey Heretic and since then it’s been great!

How long has Greenroom136 been around and how has it grown so far?
8 months since last May (2011). It’s the first year, everyday is 100% growth! As long as you’re moving, as long you’re doing something, as long as every move you’re making is calculated, you’re mobile. You’re growing incrementally. The moment you stop, the moment you feel like you want to hold back or pullback, that’s when things will start to degrade.

What are the strategies for your business?
Build great products. Social Media also plays a very big role. Business is all about a tribe. You need a fan base. If you don’t have them, you don’t have a product. We live in a time where we have Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We have to really take hold of these tools and make it part of our business. Doing business online, you don’t have a physical object. Social media is the closest thing they can get their hands on. By putting your products on all these platforms, you have the world in your lap and at very small fraction of the cost. You just have to use your brain power to figure out how to get get fans.

How do you think your business will fit into the minds of KL/Malaysia?
It’s an urban city bag. It’s not a messenger bag. I mean we don’t have any messengers in Malaysia, we only have office boys! They’re the closest equivalent. Messenger bags don’t do well in Malaysia and Asia in terms of function. We are a purely an urban city bag, bags built for urban dwellers. Folks who need to carry their laptops, chargers, mobile phones, cables; people who aren’t bound to a desk. Individuals that need to carry a mini-office around with them, road warriors. That’s who the bags are built for.

Who do you consider a role model in your business?
Leo Laporte because he started from zero. He started literally from zero. He was able to grow from zero to someone big in the industry. He was able to grow a relevant tech tv for our generation from what he had. Kevin Rose is another big influence because of his entrepreneural ventures. Steve Jobs because of his product. I have loads of others.

What are the perks of your job?
No more con calls, no more meetings. I don’t miss the 300 e-mails I used to get everyday either. The real perk is the control of your own time.

How did you fund your business?
Bootstrapped it all the way. Scour every possible penny that you have. Whatever good job that you do in the day, funds what you do at night. You’re literally Batman. Bootstrapping is a very big component of Greenroom136.

What sets your company apart from the rest?
The thing about bag companies is that they’re all quite city centric. I’m talking about the underground brands like Tibuk2, Chrome, Mission Workshop and all that. Mainstream brands like Samsonite don’t apply. Timbuk2 and Chrome are very San Francisco centric and Mission Workshop is even more focused, being based in the San Francisco Mission District.  I would say that Greenroom is truly Malaysian, truly Kuala Lumpur.

What is it like in a day of work for you?
The great thing about doing your own business is that you can dictate what you want to do. And especially with a family, you can spend a lot more time with them. I can send my kids to school, pick them up and in between I can get a video interview recorded, prepare for production, talk to partners. Oh and a lot of Facebook and twitter too.

What goals do you have for the company?
To take on the world. Greenroom136 is not a bag company. It’s a portage company, it’s a company that talks about how we carry things. Today it’s bags but it could be a whole different ball game tomorrow. My bigger vision is not a blogshop or a retail shop, it’s to get my products into the world, to get Greenroom136 to be a recognized international brand. I want to take on the world.

What’s your best seller?
The Bootstrap series; the Rainmaker and Origin. Right now people are warming up to the product. So they’re being conservative and trying out the product first. The Bootstrap series is a very good platform for people to get accustomed to the brand at a reasonable price point.

How long is the prototyping process for your bags?
Well it could take weeks, it could take months… it can take a long time. When the product is out in the real world, it’s out there. So you want to take the time to get it right. The Junk Monkey Heretic took a long time, around 6 months. There were many, many revisions. The production version is actually the second prototype, the first prototype failed. The Bootstrap took about a month but that’s when I was already comfortable with bag design.

Where are your bags made?
All Greenroom136 bags are made in Malaysia.

Where can we get our hands on your bags?
They’re available online on our website (http://www.greenroom136.com). We’re also currently available at four retail locations: [i]-Store at Digital Mall and Publika, Mac City in 1Utama and Switch at Gurney Plaza in Penang. Custom bags are also available but from the online store only. You can customize the colors and the designs on the outer shell. Custom orders take around 2-3 weeks from order to delivery.

Was it hard to make your way into retail malls?
I would say I was privileged, I had struck a good relationship with my partners when I was working. They know my style, they know my products and they know who I am. So when I went back to them with my products, they had confidence in them. I won’t say that someone that’s completely new in this industry won’t be able to make it but I think it would be tougher to make in-roads.

What can we expect from your company for the rest of 2012?
Securing more retail and getting more products out in the market. Getting a few more products prototyped and launched. We’re looking at releasing around 2 new models this year. It’s not a matter of quantity, it’s about quality. I want every single bag to be perfect.

Being ever on the move he’s currently working on 2.5 startups, including Paperlounger, the unique seating solution for outdoor events. Having seated our fine behinds on his products twice over the past 6 months, we catch up with Joon to find out more about Paperlounger.

Create a simple, creative product that delights and entertains the customer. Sell a metric ton of them at any event in any country.

What made you start Paperlounger?
I love simple, creative, solutions to problems. I also love a good outdoor event, whether it’s a concert, festival or marathon. Paperlounger lets people enjoy the event better because it’s super comfy, mobile and it looks awesome. The company that makes Paperlounger is Space-Kraft LLP.

What sets your company different from the rest?
Paperlounger is a unique seating solution that no other company produces. And we launched at Urbanscapes 2011!

Thanks to Adrian Yap, Joshua Chay and the rest of the crew for giving us the opportunity!

How long did it take you to start up Paperlounger?
I don’t know exactly, but it can’t have been more than a few weeks. Maybe days. I am a  believer of the Lean Startup philosophy, which says getting a minimal viable product to market is much more important than building a perfect product without market feedback. Fail fast and fail often!

How long has it been around and how has it grown so far?
We started around the time Urbanscapes happened last year, so it was in June 2011. We have sold hundreds of Paperloungers at events around the Klang Valley so far, while working on it part-time. We have plans to start focusing on the business more intensely because market feedback has been excellent. People love their Paperloungers. More than 80% of our customers take their Paperloungers home with them after the event.

What are the strategies for Paperlounger?
Create a simple, creative product that delights and entertains the customer. Sell a metric ton of them at any event in any country.

How do you think Paperlounger will fit into the minds of KL/Malaysia?
So far, hundreds of Malaysians have voted with their wallets already. They love their Paperloungers and we thank them for giving it a chance.

Who do you consider a role model in business?
The lovechild of Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett.

What are the perks of your job?
I get to see happy customers at cool events.

What is it like in a day of work for you?
Extremely diverse. It ranges from negotiating with suppliers in a Shah Alam industrial park to brainstorming product ideas with a fine craft beer to shouting down the iPhone to a lost lorry driver carrying a cargo of 2,000 Paperloungers!

What goals do you have for the Paperlounger?
We’re hope to scale it so that anyone at any outdoor event can enjoy the comfort of a Paperlounger anywhere in the world.

What can we expect from Paperlounger for the rest of 2012?
You’ll see Paperlounger at all the major outdoor events! If you’re an event organiser, contact me at wong.joonian AT space-kraft.com so we can be a vendor at your event. Your customers will love you for it!

Also check out Facebook.com/Paperlounger for pictures of our past events.

I think the key thing is to always be open to learning. When I was a student I was never shy to ask questions and I’m still very much the same.

What triggered you to start The Luxe Nomad?
A good friend of mine gave me the idea. We’re both passionate about dotcoms and he dropped me an e-mail one day saying “check out this site in America, you should do this for Asia”. I had a look at it, loved the concept and ended up doing it!

What sets your company different from the rest? 
The main draw card with The Luxe Nomad are our weekly flash sales where members will get exclusive deals that you can’t get anywhere else. And best of all, they’ll be deals of luxury stays that most of us dream about.

How long did it take you to start up The Luxe Nomad?
Research on the travel industry started end of June 2011, then by mid-August we have registered the company name and got things going. It is a regional website that involves bookings with hotels from around the world, so it wasn’t a business that you can launch in one month. Also, I was an entrepreneur with no hotel or travel background, so there was a lot for me to learn and to find the right team. We started approaching hotels by the end of September 2011 and is scheduled to launch by March 2012. I have never worked harder, but I am grateful for the response we’ve had from the hoteliers. We simply rang them up, pitched our company story and are lucky that we’ve had a lot of them come on board. From Capella in Singapore to the Como group of hotels to Sri Panwa in Phuket – there’s a long list of places I’d love to stay at!

Sri Panwa

What are your strategies for The Luxe Nomad? 
As a new hotel-booking portal, it is important to have good partners. We’re very excited that one of our partners includes the leading travel magazine, DestinAsian. They will be featuring our flash sales on their website and as a return, our blog will publish selected articles from the magazine. It’s a good way to reach out to a larger market and at the same time, I think who you choose to work with says something about your company’s stance and strategy.

How do you think the business will fit into the minds of Malaysians? 
Malaysians are traveling like never before so I think it’s a terrific fit! When I was a kid in the 80s, traveling was considered a past time for the very rich. Now, with the advent of budget airlines like Airasia; everyone really can fly and the beauty of it is that travel has evolved to be a ‘hobby’ for some. It’s not unheard of for people to visit a nearby destination a few times a year nowadays and why not? Who doesn’t love to travel!

What are your roles in The Luxe Nomad? 
I’m the founder and CEO. It’s a role that comprises of many things but thus far I’ve been entrenched in every part of the business from technical development to sales with hotels to orchestrating partnerships. I think it’s important for any business owner to get a feel of what each area encompasses – that way you know what to expect from staff and how to guide them.

Who do you consider a role model for your business? 
I’m a big fan of Natalie Messenent who founded Net-A-Porter and started it out of her home. There aren’t many female dotcom entrepreneurs around, though there should be – we are living in the internet age and if you’re smart about it – there are tremendous opportunities. Closer to home, I think Patrick Grove (Catcha), Joel Neoh (GroupOn) and Vishen Lakhiani (MindValley) are friends who have done really well in the online space.

Sri Panwa

What are the perks of your job? 
Lots of invitations to stay at some of the world’s most beautiful resorts!

What is it like in a day of work for you? 
If I’m not traveling then I’m usually stuck behind a laptop. I still run my other site WeddingGuideAsia.com and will meet up with the managing director, Rachel Ng, once a week to touch base on how the team and strategy is faring. I think the key thing is to always be open to learning. When I was a student I was never shy to ask questions and I’m still very much the same. Before starting WGA, I met up with a number of dot com entrepreneurs to seek their advice and tips – the key to being the best you can be – is to learn from the best.

What are your ultimate goals for The Luxe Nomad?
For it to be the leading luxury hotel portal for the Asian region. We have a lot of online travel agencies such as Agoda and Expedia – but no one is catering to that niche market which is high end. I believe in the future it’s all about ‘specialization online’. The internet has spoiled us with the immediacy and efficiency it delivers, and as time goes by, consumers will only expect things to get better and better. For the luxury consumer, that means a one-stop portal that caters to their lifestyle.

What can we expect from The Luxe Nomad for the rest of 2012? 
Great hotels, great deals and great holidays!

Check out The Luxe Nomad at facebook.com/theluxenomad.

Having raced in Malaysia, Macau, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia, he recently just left for Europe to face an even tougher field of competition. But before that, he managed to squeeze in one last interview with KLue.

I put a Hello Kitty sticker behind my helmet. so when drivers see it, they get soft. It’s to distract them. I also sleep early and eat good food in the morning.