Are you a "real" entrepreneur?

Or are you just a glorified businessperson?

Author

Vulcan Post
April 09, 2025

Real entrepreneurs don’t go to business school. If they do, it’s by accident, and they will never rely on what they learnt in business school.

That’s because entrepreneurs, by nature, are anti-conformity. If you conform, you remain stuck in the system, and you’ll never be greater than your mentors or your peers.

How does this end then?

Malaysian entrepreneurs remain at the bottom of the food chain.

At least, this is all according to one Dato’ Sim, who may just be the most controversial entrepreneur we’ve ever interviewed.

For you today, we have:

  • What makes a “real entrepreneur” and why they should hate conformity

  • The female founder behind a halal F&B empire with over 40 outlets

  • How he went from borrowing money for a food truck to making over RM11 mil revenue

📢 You might hate hearing what this founder has to say

🧠 Prior to meeting Dato’ Sim of Sim Leisure, which owns ESCAPE theme parks and operates KidZania Malaysia and Singapore, we were warned that he is a very opinionated man. Minutes into our interview, we could see why. He did not hold back from sharing his thoughts on Malaysian entrepreneurs versus businessmen, why the root of failed entrepreneurship is school, and other polarising arguments.

Grab a coffee, here’s your to-read list:

🍔 They borrowed money from a partner’s mum to start a food truck business when the entrepreneurial calling for young Avertino got too strong to ignore. Almost a decade later, this business has grown into a food group making RM11 million in yearly revenue, expanding from food trucks to retail stores and even multiple brands.

☕ It’s white and blue, has an app, and sells coffee. What brand is it? Malaysians might be inclined to say ZUS Coffee, but those in China would say Luckin Coffee with its 18,000+ outlets. Well, we tried one of their local stores to see how it fares against our homegrown brands, and let’s just say, you’d want to read this.

🍚 You wouldn’t think “halal” when Vietnamese food or Japanese food like Shabu-Shabu and Yakiniku are mentioned. That’s why Siti went on to start her own halal F&B empire that covers those grounds, allowing more Malaysians to enjoy such cuisines. And to think it all started from a mother’s desire to fulfil her children's food cravings.

This brand is filling Malaysia’s vegan F&B gap

First they built The Hungry Tapir to become a popular spot for vegans and non-vegans alike, then they expanded.

She started a poké bowl biz straight out of uni

And her brand has since grown to multiple outlets in Johor Bahru, serving up fresh delish bowls of poké.

They pioneered the cafe scene in Petaling Street

Way back then, traditional kopitiams were the norm along the street. Until Merchant’s Lane came along in 2015.

Friends who pickleball together, stay together

This group of 8 high school friends started their own pickleball centre so they could hang out and play together.

Spotlight on Successive JK Ventures

💼 This Sabahan entrepreneur has always had a passion for finding out what makes businesses tick—why do some succeed, while others fail?

All that has culminated in him leading six brands today, each with a different story and purpose.

Of course, it’s not easy juggling all of them, so how does he do it?

Check out content marketing opportunities with us today.

Don’t be chicken in business

Yes, we do have a TikTok too, where our articles can be watched in bite-sized videos! Click on the thumbnails to watch the videos!

🍗 Spicy fried chicken was their pandemic plan, when they realised they could no longer handle the stress and anxiety of potential layoffs. To take back control of their finances, they turned to something many of us loved: fried chicken, made spicy since they both have high spice tolerances. Hot Bird has since grown to 2 stores with plans to franchise.

🍗 Move aside, Korean fried chicken. Introducing a new player: tongdak-gui, or woodfired rotisserie chicken. Ray, a Korean expat who’s called Malaysia home for 2 decades, noticed the popularity of K-fried chicken and thought there was too much of the same thing in the market. That’s why he launched 360 Chicken in Mont Kiara, to introduce South Korea’s OG chicken dish to us.

🍗 Patriotism led to this Sabahan fried chicken brand, Borenos. Many brands that dominate our fried chicken market are foreign ones, so these co-founders wanted to create something that we can proudly call our own. Today, Borenos is growing steadily with multiple outlets in Sabah, and a recent expansion to West Malaysia.