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
Wednesday May 06, 2020
Wednesday May 06, 2020
“I’ve always loved fashion, I knew that I wanted to make more money, eat better food and buy nicer things without asking for more money from my dad. I was studying in Melbourne, and I thought to myself that if I waited until graduation to get a job, wouldn’t that be just too late?” - Jenn Low
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Tuesday Apr 21, 2020
Tuesday Apr 21, 2020
“The light was getting dimmer and dimmer and I was getting older. I got rejected each time but I still throw my name in the hat every year.” --- Melissa Tan
In this podcast episode, Melissa shares her transition from corporate companies to the entertainment industry. She shares her story and what it was like competing in Asia’s Next Top Model. Melissa talks about zero-waste living and shares some tips on how you can start reducing and recycling waste.
To check out Melissa’s blog and Instagram (as discussed in the podcast), here are the links:
https://www.instagram.com/melissatanlh/
https://www.instagram.com/thegreenguerrilla.asia/
Melissa Tan (@melissatanlh) is a passionate Eco-Warrior who advocates for Sustainable Living and #zerowaste habits for everyone. She forms part of The Green Guerrilla (@thegreenguerrilla.asia); a green collective in Malaysia that celebrates and shares sustainable ways of living.
She worked with Greenpeace for the Rainbow Warrior Ship’s Southeast Asia tour and is a long-standing volunteer with PAWS Animal Welfare Society. She writes about zero-waste living and other areas of sustainability on her website, heymelissatan.com
She made her debut in the entertainment industry participating on Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 3. Since then, she has been featured in commercials magazines, and catwalks in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. She hosts various programs from sports to tech and was most recently on The Apartment Season 7.
If you enjoy the podcast, do leave us feedback on Apple Podcasts/ iTunes! It will help us understand our listeners better and help convince high profile guests to join us on the show.
Follow our host, Derek Toh:
Instagram: instagram.com/derektohc
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/derektoh
Tuesday Apr 07, 2020
Tuesday Apr 07, 2020
“Our home was our office, production place and the fresh flowers we bought were kept in our own fridge. It was just the two of us handling everything from operations to website building, to customer service and delivery for at least eight months.” - Giden Lim & Penny Choo
In this podcast episode, Giden and Penny share stories on building BloomThis together as a couple and how conflict resolutions look like in their household. They talk about their background and how it shaped and contributed to their successes today. They share advice to young entrepreneurs who want to start up consumer businesses that deal with fast perishable products.
To check out BloomThis and to join their team (as discussed in the podcast), here are the links:
https://my.wobbjobs.com/users/companies/bloomthis-flora-sdn-bhd
Giden is the co-founder and CEO of BloomThis (https://bloomthis.co/), an E-commerce that delivers handcrafted designer flowers on-demand or via subscription. Bringing his experience from the brick and mortar floristry business, Giden is innovating the way for people to create beautiful moments by delivering flowers. In 2015, he and his wife Penny co-founded BloomThis with the emphasis on improving the entire flower delivery experience. By leveraging technology and innovation in every aspect of the business, BloomThis is growing rapidly and leading the way in disrupting the fragmented flower industry.
Penny is a passionate, resourceful and versatile entrepreneur who looks to create meaningful impact with her products. She wants to live in a world where love is brave, dreams are pursued and life is fulfilled. She is the Co-founder and Creative Director of a flower startup known as BloomThis. She wants to create the most unforgettable gifting experience and be the most sought after floral company in town, and everywhere else. She has the vision to touch 10 million lives by delivering unforgettable experiences with flowers.
If you enjoy the podcast, do leave us feedback on Apple Podcasts/ iTunes! It will help us understand our listeners better and help convince high profile guests to join us on the show.
Follow our host, Derek Toh:
Instagram: instagram.com/derektohc
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/derektoh
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
“Arnold, Arthur and I wanted to start a clothing line when we were 16. We had no money and knew nothing about business. We tried it but nothing quite materialised from it.” --- Hugh Koh
In this podcast episode, Hugh shares the journey of building a Malaysian streetwear brand with his best friends since 2009. Hugh talks about mistakes and lessons learnt during this journey, as well as common misconceptions about building a fashion retail business. He shares his views on e-commerce because Pestle & Mortar is both online and offline.
To check out Pestle & Mortar Clothing (as discussed in the podcast), here’s the link: https://pestlemortarclothing.com/
Hugh Koh is the CEO of Pencil Produce, the operating company for Pestle & Mortar Clothing (https://pestlemortarclothing.com/). He loves pushing boundaries in everything that he does. He has a passion for everything design, business and most importantly people. He graduated with an Architecture degree and practised in Malaysia and Australia. He has a great understanding of brand building and developing meaningful business relationships. He is both a visual and strategic thinker who excels at understanding business demands and translating those into creative enterprises.
When he is not grinding at work you can either find him travelling the globe, exploring cultures. He is also an avid cyclist, runner and cross fitter, an aspiring ironman.
If you enjoy the podcast, do leave us feedback on Apple Podcasts/ iTunes! It will help us understand our listeners better and help convince high profile guests to join us on the show.
Follow our host, Derek Toh:
Instagram: instagram.com/derektohc
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/derektoh
Tuesday Mar 10, 2020
Tuesday Mar 10, 2020
“I was the geeky gamer kid who failed subjects in school and nobody wanted to be friends with. I was the kid who got picked last in basketball.” --- Fong Wai Hong
In this podcast episode, Wai Hong shares how he suffered from computer gaming addiction that caused him to fail five subjects in university. Wai Hong then talks about how he became an accidental entrepreneur. He shares some of the challenges faced while scaling Storehub (his latest venture) rapidly, and the importance of culture and values in an organisation.
Fong Wai Hong is Chieftain and co-founder at StoreHub, an omnichannel operating system for over 12,000 retailers and restaurants across South East Asia. Wai Hong grew up in Malaysia, spent 4 years in Singapore as an ASEAN Scholar and lived 10 years in Melbourne. Immediately after completing his BA at the University of Melbourne, Wai Hong co-founded and was managing director for 5 years at OZHut, a multi-niche online retailer. Wai Hong was also named Australia's Best Young Entrepreneur in 2011 by StartupSmart and amongst Melbourne's top 100 most influential people by The Age Newspaper that same year. Wai Hong has since spent 1.5 years living in Shanghai where he studied Mandarin and eventually returned to Malaysia in 2013 where he founded StoreHub.
If you enjoy the podcast, do leave us feedback on Apple Podcasts/ iTunes! It will help us understand our listeners better and help convince high profile guests to join us on the show.
Follow our host, Derek Toh:
Instagram: instagram.com/derektohc
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/derektoh
Thursday Feb 13, 2020
Thursday Feb 13, 2020
“I came to Malaysia on a dependent pass and many friends advised me against moving to Malaysia. They said it will be hard for me to get a job.” --- Anabelle Co-Martinent
In this podcast episode, Anabelle shares her journey on moving to Malaysia and the transition from a corporate environment into entrepreneurship (La Juiceria). She talks about the challenges in starting an F&B business and common misconceptions about the industry. She shares advice on business branding, recruitment, productivity, etc.
Anabelle (@anabelle_co) founded La Juiceria (https://lajuiceria.com.my/) in 2013, Kuala Lumpur. As the Founder and Managing Director for La Juiceria Sdn Bhd, she oversees the expansion, business development strategies, marketing and operations for La Juiceria Cold-Pressed Detox bars, Goodness Greens café, La Juiceria Superfoods cafes and Super Saigon Pho Cafes. In 2019, they introduced a new brand called Hawker Hall, a modern kopitiam. Anabelle also runs a restaurant called The Gardens in the Philippines.
She carved out her marketing experience in the technology sphere during her previous stints with leading global brands like Hewlett Packard, Canon and Nokia in her native Philippines, as well as Microsoft in Kuala Lumpur, where she has spearheaded numerous ambitious product launches.
Happily married with two kids, Anabelle is an expatriate who calls Kuala Lumpur her home and has a double degree in Marketing and Psychology from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines.
If you enjoy the podcast, do leave us feedback on Apple Podcasts/ iTunes! It will help us understand our listeners better and help convince high profile guests to join us on the show.
Follow our host, Derek Toh:
Instagram: instagram.com/derektohc
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/derektoh
Friday Jan 17, 2020
Friday Jan 17, 2020
“I had $15k to $18k worth of student loans and a thousand Canadian dollars in my bank account, I needed a job… I felt like I had no choice but to succeed, to just pay my bills and pay off my credit card.” — Sarah Lian.
<br> In this podcast episode, Sarah shares about how she made the decision to move back to Malaysia after living in Canada and how she started in the entertainment industry at the age of 10. She also talks about the ups and downs of being in the entertainment industry. Sarah gives advice on how to manage negativity on social media. She talks about why she created Supparetreat to bring women together who want to take their lives to the next level.
<br> To check out Supparetreat (as discussed in the podcast), here’s the link: https://www.supparetreat.com/
<br> Sarah Lian (@imsarahlian) is an entrepreneur who creates opportunities for inspiring women to share their gifts and talents to affect positive change. She’s the Founder and Managing Director of Suppagood (https://www.suppagood.com/), a Malaysian talent management agency that aims to nurture talent potential and develop their professional careers. And her latest venture was the launch of Supparetreat (https://www.supparetreat.com/), a community that gives women the tools to succeed in every area of their life. With just a handful of lifestyle coaches, Sarah and her team have created transformational experiences that have touched the lives of hundreds of women since she first started in 2019.
<br> Aside from her entrepreneurial activities, Sarah is a celebrated personality having been in the entertainment industry for more than 10 years with a career that spans across North America and Asia.
<br> She is an award-winning actress and an experienced emcee working with brands such as Hugo Boss, Franck Mueller, Petronas and many others. Her television work has been seen on Channel News Asia, the History Channel, ESPN Star Sports, 8TV, and Astro Hitz to name a few.
<br> Sarah has built an illustrious career wearing many hats and effortlessly shares her insights with those aspiring to learn from her.
If you enjoy the podcast, leave us a short feedback on Apple Podcasts/ iTunes! It will help us understand our listeners better and help convince high profile guests to join us on the show.
<br> Follow Derek:
<br> Instagram: instagram.com/derektohc
<br> Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/derektoh