“Users can book a hairstylist, masseuse or manicurist, anytime, anywhere. We are always looking to create value for our customers, by offering off-peak deals and points collection for item redemptions.
Convenience is what we look for, but at the end of the day, Asians are Asians, we always look for what’s valuable for money. If we go online, we expect to find cheaper and better deals from existing salons.
And I had no idea about grooming, I only knew how to groom myself, but not others.
I wasn’t connected to anyone in the industry except for my co-founder (who was founder of A Cut Above).
I was mostly interested in the tech side.The first 6 months we had no clue how to build a prototype, a website, and my other cofounder used to think MVP (minimum viable product) stands for most valuable player.
What really struck me was this makeup artist who I came to know about. She was from Teluk Intan, and she was being abused by the employer, physically and financially.
For her makeup, she would only make RM15 from charging RM120. She said she wanted a profile but she didn’t know how to go about it.
We listed her in WeStyleAsia, she grew her business, participated in our events, and now she’s a personal makeup artist to the likes of Fazura and Ning Baizura.
I’m really happy to see where she is now. This is the change we are making to ordinary Joes and Janes on the street.
In my entrepreneurship journey, Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre has helped me understand how to run a business on technology, from validation all the way to human psychology. The pinnacle of my startup education was when I went to Silicon Valley under MaGIC’s programme.
Being in San Francisco and meeting all the top guns, that was simply brilliant. MaGIC was the true backbone of where WeStyleAsia is today.
The trick is not to be a unicorn – it’s to be a uniroach. A cockroach that can survive anything that later on becomes a unicorn.
When I’m in my down period and having self doubt, I always remember why I first started.
It was simply to empower people to look great and stay confident. I came from the entertainment industry where people are superficial – there’s a lot of beautiful people out there, but because they can’t exude the confidence out to people, they are disregarded.
And with fashion, people judge you the way you dress, the way you talk. So I wanted Westyleasia to be a portal, that when you go to the portal, you become a much more confident person. To educate people to look good, to take care of yourself.
And constantly reminding yourself that looking good isn’t about vanity – it’s about respecting people”.
(Part 2/2)
___________________________________________________
Humans of Kuala Lumpur is partnering withMalaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre(MaGIC) in featuring inspiring and impact-driven entrepreneurs, problem solvers and startups in their mission to solve Malaysia’s problems!#HumansofMaGIC
Photostory by Amalina Davis
Edited by Mushamir Mustafa
Do you have a story? Let us know here: https://forms.gle/ht4HsvbxgSgcKS5h8
(This post was first published on July 26th 2018)
