Hello Mentor is a show where we have raw conversations with successful individuals from various industries as they share their stories with all their ups and downs, along with practical advice, to help you succeed in your career.
Episodes
Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Tuesday Dec 16, 2025
Kim May Chee’s journey with COCOdry began long before the brand existed, in her father’s small hair salon in Penang. As a child, she swept floors, helped customers, and quietly observed the beauty industry from the inside out. She saw how meaningful a simple service could be, but also how intimidating, inconsistent, and underserved the experience felt for many Malaysians. Years later, after hearing a podcast about Drybar in the U.S., everything clicked. Kim realised she could bring a localized, inclusive version of that experience to Malaysia, one designed for Asian hair textures, local culture, and the everyday woman who just wants to feel confident again.
But building COCOdry wasn’t glamorous. Her first location fell through on signing day, industry veterans told her “a salon with no cuts and color will fail,” and even her dad doubted whether a blow dry bar could survive. Kim moved to KL alone, educated the market one customer at a time, and kept going even when COVID nearly wiped the business out. She delivered products herself, hosted scalp-education livestreams, and built trust the hard way. When lockdowns lifted, COCOdry bounced back stronger, fully booked for months, proving there was space for a modern, joyful, accessible beauty experience.
Today, COCOdry has expanded into KL’s busiest neighbourhoods, serving women for everything from job interviews to birthdays to quiet personal resets. Kim designed the brand to feel safe, warm, and empowering, transparent pricing, laptop-friendly spaces, private rooms for Muslim women, and a team culture built on kindness. And in a full-circle moment, she even revived her father’s salon in Penang under the COCOdry name. From salon kid to beauty entrepreneur, Kim’s story is a reminder that innovation doesn’t always mean inventing something new, sometimes it means reimagining something familiar with more heart, more intention, and more courage.
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Tuesday Dec 02, 2025
Tuesday Dec 02, 2025
Before she became known across LinkedIn as “Aunty HR,” Sim Ling Ku never planned a career in Human Resources. She didn’t study HR, she learned people. Growing up as the middle child in a humble family, she naturally stepped into the mediator role, the listener, the one everyone turned to. When she entered the working world in admin and support roles, the same thing happened: colleagues came to her with problems they didn’t dare voice elsewhere. Long before she held the title, she was already doing HR without knowing it. When she finally stepped into HR officially, she brought something most don’t learn from textbooks, a people-first instinct. HR wasn’t policies or paperwork to her; it was the emotional labour of caring for humans at their most vulnerable. She handled everything from workplace conflict to employees battling depression, often being the only safe person they could turn to. That empathy, mixed with her courage to say the unpopular but right thing, shaped her into the leader people trusted. That’s how “Aunty HR” was born, not from age, but from warmth, protection, and the belief that HR should be human. Today, Aunty HR is one of Malaysia’s most relatable and authentic HR voices. She speaks openly about burnout, toxic leadership, and the unseen weight HR professionals carry, topics many shy away from. Her story reminds us that you don’t need the “perfect” background to lead; you just need heart, resilience, and the willingness to stand up for people even when it’s hard. And in this Hello Mentor episode, she opens up about that journey, the truth behind the title, the battles no one sees, and why HR, to her, isn’t just a job but a calling.
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Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
Before becoming the founder of Sabai Health, Rohit Nambiar spent more than 21 years in the insurance industry, rising through the ranks across six countries and eventually becoming one of the youngest CEOs in Malaysia. He built his reputation at AXA, where he led regional strategy, M&A, digital transformation, and later helmed AXA Affin Life Insurance before taking on leadership roles with Tune Protect. Despite a decorated corporate career, something in him began to shift: after decades of certainty, structure, and scale, he wanted to build something new.
Rohit’s pivot to entrepreneurship wasn’t planned. After leaving the corporate world, he took a career break, travelling with his kids, spending time with his mother in the U.S., and rediscovering life without back-to-back meetings. But very quickly, opportunities came knocking. Startups began approaching him for advisory work, especially in the fast-growing world of AI-driven health solutions. His deep experience in insurance, healthcare systems, and consumer protection made him the rare leader who understood both innovation and regulation. That eventually sparked the birth of Sabai Health, an AI-powered wellness companion built directly into platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
What makes Sabai Health unique is its philosophy. Rohit isn’t building a doctor-replacement tool. Instead, the platform functions as a horizontal health AI, something that guides users in preventive health, mindset, fitness, nutrition, sexual health, and lifestyle habits, while knowing when to redirect them to real clinicians. His belief is simple: AI is as big as the discovery of fire and the wheel, and the future of health will be shaped by tools that meet people where they already are , in simple messaging apps they use every day.
Beyond the product, Rohit’s journey is shaped by lessons only decades in corporate trenches can teach. His leadership philosophy from building “argumentative but healthy” teams to practicing empowerment within boundaries was forged through global roles, mistakes he openly discusses, and the pressure of managing multinational portfolios. He believes innovation requires vulnerability, risk, and the courage to be fired, a mindset that most large organisations struggle to adopt. His transition from corporate to startup life stripped away titles, drivers, and assistants, but replaced it with something better: speed, zero ego, and the joy of building from scratch.
Today, Rohit is standing at the intersection of insurance, AI, and preventive health at a time when Malaysia’s healthcare system faces rising costs, outdated structures, and growing mental-health challenges. His mission with Sabai Health is clear, make reliable health guidance accessible, stigma-free, and culturally relevant, and build technology that evolves with people instead of intimidating them. His story is ultimately about reinvention: how a seasoned CEO stepped out of the safest path to rebuild himself as a founder in one of the fastest-moving spaces in the world
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Tuesday Nov 18, 2025
Tuesday Nov 18, 2025
Before she became the founder of The Flow Studio, Malaysia’s leading yoga and Pilates brand, Tiffany Yow was crunching numbers in Melbourne’s banking world.
After seven years in finance, she decided to take a leap few would, leaving a stable career in Australia to move home and open a Pilates studio. “It wasn’t burnout,” she says. “I just wanted to do something meaningful.” What began as a personal search for movement and mental clarity soon grew into a full-blown business vision. Tiffany wasn’t always a fitness enthusiast.
In fact, she used to hate exercise until she discovered reformer Pilates. “It was the first workout that made me feel better, not worse,” she recalls. When she returned to Malaysia, she noticed that reformer Pilates was nearly non-existent, often seen as rehab for injuries rather than a powerful form of strength training. Determined to change that perception, she took an instructor course, quit her job, and signed her first lease, all within months. Starting The Flow Studio in 2018 wasn’t easy.
Tiffany had no investors, relying solely on her savings. But she held on to one principle: if Pilates could make someone like her fall in love with movement, it could do the same for others. Her first studio in Bangsar quickly took off, and despite the pandemic, she found creative ways to stay afloat including renting reformer machines to clients’ homes and livestreaming daily classes. The demand didn’t stop; even lockdowns couldn’t slow her growing community.
Today, The Flow Studio has expanded to eight locations across Malaysia and four in Singapore, offering group classes, teacher training programs, and corporate wellness courses. Tiffany still plays a hands-on role, ensuring every studio maintains the same quality, warmth, and signature “sweat, burn, and shake” experience. Behind the elegant branding lies her belief that movement should be accessible, safe, and joyful, not intimidating. For Tiffany, The Flow Studio isn’t just about fitness; it’s about redefining what success looks like. “Resigning was the easy part,” she says. “The real work came after.” From banker to entrepreneur, mother, and mentor, Tiffany’s story proves that purpose-led work can grow from the most unexpected pivots, one reformer at a time.
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Tuesday Nov 11, 2025
Tuesday Nov 11, 2025
Joshua and Joel Lim didn’t plan to become startup founders straight out of university but the pandemic had other ideas. What began as a simple university project to reduce plastic waste soon evolved into a full-fledged tech startup. The twins’ first idea, BeeBag, encouraged people to bring reusable bags by rewarding them with points. It was a clever concept that landed early partnerships with Sunway and local agencies but scaling a sustainability app in Malaysia proved difficult. The duo soon learned their first big founder lesson: a good idea isn’t always a viable business.
Determined not to give up, they pivoted. “We realised people loved the rewards, not just the sustainability,” Joshua recalls. That insight became the seed for Buzz, a fintech and adtech platform helping banks and e-wallets run in-app engagement programs, personalised rewards, and ad campaigns. Today, Buzz powers cashback experiences in apps like Touch ’n Go eWallet, turning financial platforms into advertising and engagement ecosystems.
But the journey wasn’t glamorous. Early on, the brothers faced rejections from investors, a failed first pitch with Touch ’n Go, and even layoffs when funds ran low. “There was a point we thought we might have to shut down,” Joel admits. Yet they persisted, reworking their demo, asking for a second chance, and eventually landing their biggest client partnership. “That moment changed everything,” Joshua says. “It reminded us that resilience matters more than speed.”
The twins’ dynamic also shapes Buzz’s DNA. Joshua, the front-facing connector, drives relationships and sales, while Joel manages operations and finance behind the scenes. Their differences occasionally clash but ultimately balance the company. “We argue a lot,” Joel laughs, “but that honesty helps us move faster.” Raised by a father who taught them to “always think about others,” they credit their upbringing for grounding their entrepreneurial values, humility, persistence, and empathy.
Now in their mid-20s, Joshua and Joel see Buzz as more than a business. They’ve built something that connects people, data, and opportunity, proof that Malaysian founders can compete on global terms. “We started as students with no experience, just curiosity,” Joshua says. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that you don’t need to be the smartest, you just need to care enough to keep going.”
🎙️ Watch the full episode on Hello Mentor to hear the full story (Link in Bio)
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Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
Tho Leng-Lei took the “safe” road, LSE accounting, a Big Four desk, then private equity. It looked like success: stability, prestige, predictability. But behind spreadsheets and 2 a.m. audits, she felt herself slipping. The camaraderie was real, the exhaustion even more so, and the unspoken rule was simple: if you were still in the office at dawn, you were doing something right. When the pressure followed her into PE, dread became a daily alarm. Burnout and anxiety finally pushed her to pause for therapy, where she unpacked a lifetime of worth tied to achievement and learned that rest isn’t indulgence, it’s necessary.
From that turning point came Aloe Mind, her answer to making help easy. With RM5,000 and a simple website built in an afternoon, she set out to remove barriers: clear prices, easy booking, licensed therapists, Bahasa/English options, and the freedom to choose who you speak to. She then built the workplace she wished she had, flexible, humane, outcomes-focused because well-being should power performance, not the other way around. Today, Aloe Mind connects thousands of Malaysians to care with a few clicks, and Leng-Lei’s lesson lands softly but firmly: success isn’t climbing faster; it’s knowing when to stop, heal and build better.
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Tuesday Oct 21, 2025
Tuesday Oct 21, 2025
Walking away from a stable, six-figure banking job wasn’t easy. After ten years in the industry, Veronica Chew didn’t leave because she had a perfect plan, she left because she chose happiness and purpose over a high paycheck. At 33, between lockdowns and long days of remote work, she began to question what really mattered. “I remember jogging at the park when it hit me,” she shared. “Happiness is more important.”
That thought changed everything. Being a banker, Veronica calculated her cash flow, it would last six months. And so, she took the leap. No grand business plan, just a side hustle she started back in 2016: Dainty Co, her online personalised leather gift brand. It was, as she puts it, “the scariest decision of my life,” but one that became the foundation of something far bigger than she imagined.
Dainty Co began as a small passion project serving individual customers online. But after a potential investor visit led her to rent a 400-square-foot studio and hire her first staff, an unexpected door opened, corporate gifting. During the pandemic, when human connection felt distant, companies began searching for meaningful ways to show appreciation. Veronica jumped in without hesitation, helping brands express gratitude through thoughtfully designed, personalised gifts.
From that point, Dainty Co’s story took flight. What began as solo fulfilment from home grew into a 1,800-square-foot shop office with a full team serving clients across Malaysia and Singapore. Today, Dainty Co is known for transforming simple gifts into messages of appreciation, joy, and connection, blending design, storytelling, and emotion in every box.
For Veronica, success isn’t just measured in revenue or recognition. It’s in the freedom to create, to lead with kindness, and to build something meaningful from the ground up. “This journey hasn’t been easy,” she reflects, “but it made me stronger, more grounded, and most importantly, happier.”
Catch her full story on the Hello Mentor Podcast, where Veronica shares how she rebuilt her life from burnout to business, turned a side hustle into a thriving brand, and found purpose through giving.
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Tuesday Oct 14, 2025
Tuesday Oct 14, 2025
Azran Osman-Rani is best known for taking AirAsia X from a bold idea to a household name. But after years at cruising altitude, he noticed a different turbulence across workplaces, stress, burnout, and lifestyle risks quietly chipping away at performance. That insight pulled him into a new cockpit: Naluri, the digital health company he co-founded to make mental well-being practical, measurable, and accessible for Malaysians and regional employers.
At AirAsia X, Azran learned to balance cost, scale, and customer experience with rigorous data. He brought the same operator’s discipline to health: if we can track on-time departures, why not track habits that improve sleep, stress, and nutrition? His mantra, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” became Naluri’s north star, turning vague wellness efforts into programs with clear goals and visible outcomes.
Naluri blends behavioural science with a licensed care team, psychologists, coaches, dietitians delivered through an app that fits real life (Bahasa or English, after-hours, on the go). Individuals set goals, get nudges, and see progress; organisations see aggregated dashboards that link participation to risk-score improvements and productivity markers. In short: support that people actually use, and evidence leaders can stand behind.
Azran’s founder playbook is human, local, and repeatable: start small, build daily habits, measure what matters, remove stigma by design, and lead by example. For students, grads, and teams, his message is simple, proof beats promises. Want more? Tune in to our Hello Mentor Podcast episode with Azran Osman-Rani for the full story on how he turned aviation lessons into a blueprint for healthier, higher-performing workplaces.
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Tuesday Oct 07, 2025
Tuesday Oct 07, 2025
Jin Tan didn’t set out to “fix” education in one swing. He kept seeing the same problem, smart Malaysians finishing courses with certificates but nothing convincing to show a hiring manager. That gap pushed him to found ReSkills not as another content library, but as a founder’s answer: learn the way work actually happens, small steps, clear proof, tight feedback.
Jin’s edge is operator discipline. He talks to employers first, then designs backward. Years of observing real hiring taught him a few hard truths: recruiters have minutes, not hours, portfolios beat promises, clarity beats hype. As a founder, he turned those into rules, ship fast, listen harder, measure what matters.
Day to day, Jin is hands-on. He sits in learner check-ins, rewrites project briefs, and stress-tests interview tasks until they feel like real work. If something doesn’t help a candidate tell a sharper story in an interview, he cuts it. If a short Loom demo lands better than a long report, he flips the template for everyone. Progress must be visible.
Jin also builds for Malaysia’s realities. He pushes for BM and English options, evening/weekend cohorts, and projects that mirror local roles from ops dashboards to social content you could actually publish. He calls it “proof over promises,” but really it’s respect for how people live and learn here.
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Tuesday Sep 30, 2025
Tuesday Sep 30, 2025
Walk into Fifty Tales in Sea Park, PJ, and you’ll taste a very Malaysian story told through noodles. The restaurant was founded and is helmed by three friends, Aaron Phua, Bimmy Soh, and Aaron Khor who each bring a distinct craft to the same bowl. Phua, a former National Barista Champion turned chef-restaurateur, leads the front-of-house energy and drinks program while bouncing in and out of the kitchen. Soh, a self-described dim sum zai, anchors fundamentals and operations. Khor, the chef-owner at the stoves, drives the kitchen’s pace and precision. Together, they’re the reason this “modern Malaysian noodle bar” has the heart of a kopitiam and the technique of a contemporary kitchen.
Fifty Tales started as a small noodle bar in 2019 and grew into a full Malaysian Chinese restaurant in Sea Park. Noodles are still the star, but the menu now includes produce-led small plates, seasonal specials and comfort dishes inspired by local favourites. Flavours draw from Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien, and Peranakan cooking, so each bowl feels nostalgic yet fresh, with cleaner, more focused execution. As Time Out KL says, it’s a modern noodle bar that honours its Chinese roots while speaking to today’s diners.
Fifty Tales’ rise has been fuelled not only by loyal neighbourhood regulars but also by smart collaborations, guest shifts and pop-ups with regional names from Bali to Singapore keeping the kitchen curious and the menu moving. That experimentation helps the team sharpen ideas before they land on your table. The founders’ lane discipline is part of the restaurant’s rhythm. Phua steers concept, noodles and drinks, Soh keeps the backbone steady across service and systems, Khor leads the line and culinary execution. It’s an arrangement that reads in the dining room as calm, confident service and in the bowl as focus.
In a city where comfort food is fiercely loved, Fifty Tales stands out for how it respects the past while cooking for the present. Three founders, many dialects, one through-line: thoughtful Malaysian food that eats like memory and finishes like craft.
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