One big sacrifice that paid off

Now, it’s a legacy business.

Author

Vulcan Post
February 25, 2025

What would you sacrifice to make a dream work?

When this dad decided to step away from corporate life to pursue his passion for cooking, his family was behind him.

… Even though this meant their family of five squeezing into a single room, just so that the rest of their house could function as a makeshift central kitchen.

For you today, we have:

  • What it took to start Dave’s Deli over 30 years ago

  • A family relocation that kickstarted an entrepreneurial venture

  • A founder who pursued their dream despite family disapprovals

📢 An ambitious dad who dared to dream

🥪 When David Chin wanted to start Dave’s Deli as a home-based business in 1989, his family of five had to squeeze into a single room and use the rest of the home as their kitchen. Thankfully, two years later, they were able to open their own restaurant in a PJ shopping centre, with more to follow. David went on to open other F&B brands too, his grit likely serving as inspiration for one of his sons, Darren Chin, who went on to become a renowned chef.

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

🎂 “Get a proper job.” This was what Jayla heard from her parents and others when she wanted to turn baking, her uni side hustle of 5 years, into her full-time job. For a while, the pressure got to her, and she took on a “proper” sales job. But eventually, she returned to her true passion and today owns an adorable cake shop in Shah Alam.

📖 He dropped RM120K… on a book cafe where families could spend quality time together. As a dad, Ben observed how malls lacked spaces where parents could grab a coffee and chill while their children could read instead of being glued to their phone screens. His solution to this now sits proudly in Atria Shopping Gallery.

💪 Kenny Hills Bakers’ MD has a new venture… and it’s not F&B. He recently fell in love with the sport, so it’s no surprise that he started a pickleball court. To make it stand out, he had it designed with ample landscaping, open-air areas, and with a restaurant and bar next door, all to encourage even more community engagement.

He left a stable job at a 5-star hotel to open a dessert shop

It was a time of many layoffs, and before he was hit, Nicholas took the leap himself to start his own dessert shop.

Running a candle biz for 10 years & she’s far from burnt out

She’s always up to a challenge, as one of Malaysia’s pioneering women in male-dominated aircraft engineering.

A couple’s cross-state move became a new biz opportunity

It started with an online post about their draught coffee, and before they knew it, they had 400 orders in a week.

Not your regular business advice: Do first, then see how

But it worked for the co-founders of BilaBila Mart, and here’s what other values have driven their rapid growth.

Spotlight on Endeavor

🤝 “This is not the typical tech or startup networking event that we usually go to.”

Hearing that, an organiser could either be very worried or very proud. Thankfully, in the case of Scale Up by Endeavor, it’s the latter.

The exclusive nature of the programme makes it a curated experience for founders who want guidance, not just networks and funding.

This time around, Endeavor partnered Grab Malaysia and GXBank to bring the tech giant’s impactful insights to more startups.

Check out content marketing opportunities with us today.

From flop to the top

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!

🦞 He thought F&B would be easy. Just cook, right? Surely it would be easier than braving the terrible jams to and from work every day. Well… 3 years into running Kay’s Steak & Lobster, they were just able to break even. But he persevered, and now the business makes 8 figures in revenue per year.

🥐 His first F&B attempt failed despite his Le Cordon Bleu London qualifications. But it wasn’t for a lack of good food—it was a lack of market research. Armed with new lessons, he and his dad decided to try again, and now they run a popular sourdough bakery.

🧀 Ivan was no stranger to his ventures failing. After he lost his last one, he had to find a way to dig himself out of a dark place. Thankfully, he had one card left up his sleeve: ricotta. So, he turned the fanciest thing he knew how to make into the core of his newest venture. He went all in, and Cotta has since found itself a place in foodies’ hearts.