Five Malaysian entrepreneurs on the Gen.T List 2021 on what it takes to run a successful startup
It's said that entrepreneurs form the backbone of any economy. The figures from SME Corp Malaysia prove that Malaysia is no different—97.2 percent of all businesses in the country in 2020 were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
But the country faced a challenging year in 2020, with 30,000 businesses folding over the course of the year due to prolonged lockdowns, according to Malaysia’s Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives. In addition, the Department of Statistics Malaysia found that the GDP of SMEs in the country contracted by 7.3 percent during the same period.
Given the challenging landscape entrepreneurs face today, we asked five Malaysian honourees from the Gen.T List 2021 to share their secret to running a successful business.
Plan precisely
Sharian Raj
Co-founder and CEO, Senang
For Sharian Raj, a successful entrepreneur needs to be passionate, resourceful, determined and sometimes stubborn. But above all else, they need to stay humble and true to themselves. When facing virtual insurer Senang's most challenging hurdles, Raj says he takes a step back from the situation to think. “I normally create a list of things I can or cannot change, before brainstorming ideas with my team and creating a plan of action,” he says.
Though it faced project postponements in 2020, Senang fought back stronger than ever—launching products in new verticals and surpassing its sales targets.