+11

Not enough exposure for some of the great stuffs that some of us are doing.

Thomas Yip 10 років тому оновлено BigVee 10 років тому 19
Most Malaysians tend to believe that all local stuffs are not that great (Proton Mentality), and that we are not capable of anything good and all great things can only be done by foreigners. Compounded by the fact that some media exposure, tv shows and events go on to expose half baked ideas, while companies with traction hardly get any exposure.
+2
Sometimes we are the ones compounding this - not giving a chance for local products to bubble out well
+1
Also- can t seem to fathom why there is a need for reality show for ideas - it should be a show to showcase great local products
-1
Hmm... to answer that, we need some assumptions.

A) There might not be something to showcase, things are not disruptive enough yet;

B) There is no exposure or a central point to begin with exposure;

I prefer A more than B. At least that means we can start building something. B is much harder to solve. Shyness is hard to solve.
What are some of the great products Malaysians have built? If we create a database of startups and entrepreneurs (aka crunchbase for Malaysia), will you guys all list your companies and participate? 
PIktochart? That is the only one that comes to my mind now. Actually, we are quite notorious in running get rich quick scam too ;P 

By the way, glove industry is another success story. AirAsia is another inspiring tale. Beyond that, I'm still thinking. There are less World Class company run by Malaysian, yet many are Malaysian Companies goes global.
+1
Vitrox build machines that is competitive the world over. Flexiroam is pretty innovative, and they are just starting. Juris is doing well and will represent Malaysia to Endeavor NY. IMoney is doing great, and so is Easyuni. Gizwiz got featured on Wall Street Journal. Last but not least, Radica Software (full disclosure: that's us) ain't too shabby either.

The fact that we're not exactly firing off the names of these companies is a testament that not enough exposure is given to them. But I am not one to answer this question well. If you really wanted to know what great stuffs has Malaysians been doing, Doc Siva & Renuka are practically walking local Wikipedia.
SMECorp, MDeC and even PIKOM routinely either publish or collate such a database. what would the efficacy of this model be though, i'd wonder.
+1
Maybe we're not reaching the right people with these publications? I don't know. I do think that a startup database that's updated and current/relevant is needed... sort of a legit collection of profile pages for all startups that one can easily send to a potential investor, media, friend, parent, etc... for different purposes. We have over a hundred companies on Angelist but the visibility there is terrible, since it's not built for countries other than the US. 
@Cheryl, while a DB is good, getting the local media from various channels to highlight high quality work being done by locals that can compete on a global level, will bring multiple benefits: inspire startups to to be creative and go global, instill confidence in local ability and quality, convince locals to prefer high quality local products with strong value proposition, etc.
+1
Yep, we're working on that too. But without a DB of all the good startups, it's tough for me to pick out which ones to feature. So we need to build a foundation that's a bit more sustainable in the long run. Once we have that platform, it would be easier to showcase our successes. 
Back to the same old question again: What define a startup? Then we start thinking about exposing the right thing instead of company that shouldn't be there.
Cheryl, i'll ask again. there are databases of startups published by MDeC, SMECorp, PIKOM available. what would be the difference in what's being proposed ? different publishers perhaps where new sources of revenue are created.
+2
I think Cheryl's point is that a database of startups would be a good start. However, I agree with Thomas on this. Having a database/directory that no one really knows about isn't a big deal. However, having that database, good companies can be identified and then promoted/highlighted by our local media. What about having a 30-day Amazing Malaysian Companies where one company is highlighted/promoted/covered each day. An idea to pitch to the local media, Cheryl?
+1
Dinesh please post the databases here for transparency. Are they similar to crunchbase.com? I agree a DB alone is useless but the DB is a first step toward surfacing the good stuff, tracking progress/growth and making connections happen. There are always many similar products out there but it doesn't mean we all have the same objectives and end results.
+1
HI Cheryl,

Transparency ? not sure I follow.

the databases I referred to were/are published by MDeC (of MSC Companies), SMECorp (admittedly large of 100s thousands SMEs) and PIKOM (of their members). think both MSC companies and PIKOM's list is available off a link off their respective websites. in MDeC's case, the MSC companies are tracked qualitatively (SCORE+) and quantitatively (revenue, headcount et al) as well.

point I was trying to make was a directory of listings alone isn't enough. yet another directory of startups may seem like the solution, but I don't think so. also think the OP should realise that part of any founder's task is to promote his own company, to get his product well known. it's part and parcel of running a startup. in the age of mobile and internet advertising, multiple options avail themselves. if product take up doesn't materialise, then perhaps different questions should be asked. I do agree with the OP though that the Malaysian mindset has a huge inertia against accepting locally made solutions. it's been a bane of the IT industry for a long, long time.
http://www.worldstartupwiki.org/page/Malaysia%20St...

Heislyc Loh
is doing so. Instead of starting another yellow phone book of "Silicon Valley Malaysia", should try to think in terms of impact to Malaysia or Global Startup. Back to the basic, get out of building.The most interesting startup cluster, where are them? Have you talked to them?

Right now, I can observe there are two interesting cluster: Money Comparisons & Taxi Hailing. I don't think any of the startup is in your so called Panel, Refer List, or even contact list.

*SIGH*. No impact to me either.
Lets start with a monthly newsletter to help with storytelling. :-)
A list by MDec, SME Corp and etc will show a large list of companies with boring data, It doesn't give you a snapshot of who are the ones to take note. Further more it is not easily accessible.

On the other hand, if the list of companies was more meaningful, i.e. with detailed filters such as 'Target Market'  'type of products' , 'growth rates', 'Market potential' , even things like 'Is it a disruptive model?' , 'Founder Skill sets' and etc. It will create a platform whereby

a) People who have certain skill sets can partner up with startups better
b) Local media can do better research and locate them easily.
c) For government agencies to keep track and analyse these companies 

I think this list / database will be very interesting and I would spend lots of time checking them out.

Just me 2 cents.
To add on that, the list should only contain companies that meet certain criteria, like if their main operations involve ecommerce, mobile apps and etc. For example checkout http://www.worldstartupwiki.org/page/Malaysia%20Op...  

At the bottom, they list out in each industry, who the global and local market leaders are. I never knew about Delima HOme, and that they were one of the main local players in the Home furnishing industry. Now I know and I may buy from them.