Education

Sunday May 18, 2008

The making of biz wizards

By TAN EE LOO

Working with worms and recycled paper gives two teams the business edge.

IT was Dominic Teoh Kok Kwang‘s grandfather who inspired himto try his hands at developing a potential business.

Dominic said being an entrepreneur was not just about growing a business. It also involved learning to overcome challenges – the way his grandfather did when he migrated from China to Malaysia more than 50 years ago.

“My grandfather started a small business that later became a public-listed company. I hope to replicate his success,” said Dominic of team Dapez after beating four other teams and bagging the Gold Award at the national grand finals of the HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA) 2007/2008.

Dapez’s business plan, entitled Vermilizer, focussed on the business of converting organic waste into fertiliser through the process of vermiculture, as a solution to landfills and incineration.

Chong Lit Shiuan of Extreme Bros explaining its business concept to the judges. Looking on is team member Loo Jun Guan.

Dominic and his team members, Choong Zhen Han and Elizabeth Beh Li En, walked away with a RM10,000 self-development fund, trophies, certificates and the opportunity to compete in the regional competition in Hong Kong next month, where they stand the chance to win a business development fund of HK$100,000 (about RM50,000).

The students even brought in their “special business partner” – the worms – to show the judges during the presentation.

The business plan competition saw a tough fight involving 106 teams from all over the country in the first round.

Twenty teams were then selected for Round Two, and five made it to the national grand finals.

First launched in Malaysia in 2001 after its debut in Hong Kong in 2000, the HSBC YEA competition now runs concurrently in six other countries – Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Brunei.

Open to all full-time students from public and private institutions of higher learning, HSBC YEA requires participants to form teams of no more than three, of which one member can be an international student.

Eddie Norton, chief judge at the grand finals held in Kuala Lumpur recently, said it was tough picking the winner.

“We looked at the strength of the teams’ business plans, their commercial viability, and how well the students handled themselves.

The Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards winners posing with HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd deputy chairman and chief executive officer, Irene M Dorner.

“Dapez’s business plan was well-written. The whole package was well put together,” added Norton, who is the managing director for commercial banking of HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd.

Dapez also took home the new Eco-Business Innovation Award, which came with a cash prize of RM3, 000. Entries that demonstrated a positive impact on the environment were automatically eligible to compete for this green award.

Elizabeth said the experience she had gained from the competition was invaluable and would “look good on her CV”.

“We would like to thank those who have helped us during the competition,” said the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus student.

HSBC deputy chairman and chief executive officer, Irene M Dorner, said the whole process of the competition helped prepare the participants to compete not only in the finals, but also the real business world.

“All of you present here tonight are already winners,” she said at the dinner reception.

Team Spirit, comprising Eric Lee and Lin Meiyi, won the Silver Award, while the Bronze Award went to Capital Youths Enterprise, which comprised P. Pratiban, Ronnie Chow and Boey Winson.

The second- and third-place winners took home a self-development fund of RM7, 000 and RM5, 000, respectively, plus trophies, certificates and a trip to Hong Kong.

Team Spirit also made a strong impression impact on the judges.

“It was a very powerful presentation. We could feel a lot of passion and enthusiasm,” Norton said.

Eric and Meiyi explored the business of producing a multi-functional food box made from recycled paper that also sells advertisements.

Finalists Epsilon and Extreme Bros were awarded a certificate of excellence and RM2, 000 cash per team.

Those who made it to Round Two were also given a certificate of merit and RM1,000 cash per team.

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