STIMY Ep 24: Malek Ali (Founder, BFM 89 9, Fi Life & KL Classifieds)

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Malek Ali is a former lawyer turned serial entrepreneur who has:

Founded KL Classifieds, which sought to bring classified ads online;
Worked with JobStreet.com to disrupt the newspaper recruitment classifieds market in South-East Asia by launching an online job portal and related recruitment tools;
Worked in Maxis then Yahoo as head of mobile;
Founded BFM 89.9: Malaysia's only business radio station - which disproved conventional thinking then that Malaysian radio listeners only wanted entertainment content. BFM is now one of the most influential business radio stations in Malaysia!
Founded Fi Life, Malaysia’s first online life insurance service that aims disprove the adage "insurance is sold and not bought"; and

Highlights of this STIMY episode include:
4:55: Accompanying his father (and later, brother) on their many overseas business trips particularly in France;
7:52: The 1985 recession that crushed the slimming center business chain that his father was running;
10:22: Working at Allen & Overy in London, including on a deal that involved the bankruptcy of Canary Wharf;
11:48: Studying for his Harvard MBA & the lessons he drew from that (he was classmates with Sheryl Sandberg!);
15:43: Founding KL Classifieds, his first startup, in 1997 & why that landed him RM300,000 in debt;
16:50: How Malek got out of his debt & ended up working at JobStreet;
21:26: What he learned from his time as Head of Mobile at Maxis, then Yahoo;
23:20: What Sue Decker, then CFO of Yahoo, taught him about the importance of creating good products;
25:29: What pushed Malek to start BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel;
30:50: The challenges he faced in getting investors on board;
34:08: How Malek obtained a dormant frequency for broadcasting BFM 89.9;
36:10: The collapse of Lehman Brothers & BFM 89.9’s struggle to cover relevant content with their threadbare staff;
38:18: Getting sponsors for BFM 89.9 including from Malaysia Airlines;
40:51: Sensitive topics that can’t be discussed on air;
42:12: Listening to customer feedback & how to handle complaints;
43:47: The different interviewees that have come through BFM’s doors & how their attitude informs their character;
45:47: Whether radio will ever be obsolete;
48:41: Why Malek started Fi Life;
50:27: Reading up on the investment portfolios of many other people on Fi Life’s “This Is How I Invest” blog series;
50:56: Impact of COVID-19 on the media space; and
53:18: How listeners can help Malek.

🎙️Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/24

New episodes drop every Sunday!


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WHO AM I:
I'm Ling Yah, a Malaysian lawyer & host/producer of the So This Is My Why, where I interview inspiring people about how they found their why, and their blueprint for turning that why into a reality. I’ve interviewed Olympians, Michelin-starred chefs, top entrepreneurs, VC founders, Hollywood actresses, and more.

P/S
⌨️ I’d love to hear from you! Just leave a comment below or for a long message, drop me an email at sothisismywhy(at)gmail.com

Тэги:

#BFM_89.9 #Radio_Station #Allen_&_overy #lawyer #Canary_Wharf_bankruptcy #Harvard_business_school #harvard #mba #Sheryl_Sandberg #Fi_Life #Online_insurance #Serial_Entrepreneur #Business #Business_owner #entrepreneur #Harvard_MBA #Financial_crisis

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