In his typical casual smart outfit, Kho Han Jia or more affectionately known as Jia, greeted me at The Coffee Bean in KL Sentral. It is always inspiring to speak to entrepreneurs. To speak to the owner of a start-up is even more so. Their eyes are fuelled with passion and drive. They care for their business just as how we care for our loved ones. Though they might be driven by different motives, backed by different experiences, equipped with different skill sets, the flame in their eyes is always the same.
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| Kho Han Jia in Worthy Book T-shirt posing with a Worthy Book in Worthy Book-sponsored Youth Nation Summit (co-organized by AIESEC & myHarapan |
Kho Han Jia, the co-founder of the Worthy Book, is just like any other entrepreneur. Otherwise soft-spoken, Jia can never hide his love for Worthy Book when he speaks. Just like a father of a newborn, Jia can never get Worthy Book off his mind and tongue. I first got acquainted with him and Worthy Book through the Youth Nation Summit of which he is one of the corporate sponsor. With his permission and blessings, I shall now share with you what we discussed the other day at a coffee table.
Before that, though, I shall briefly introduce to you the Worthy Book. In short, Worthy Book is a coupon book or voucher booklet for dining, entertainment, retail and services, currently serving subscribers in Klang Valley area. Making its first debut in September 2010, Worthy Book is well positioned as the market leader in Malaysian coupon booklet industry.
Jia, an enterprising Oxford graduate had the foresight to identify the market gap in Malaysia. With tenacity, Jia has collected as many as over 100 established brands with the covers of Worthy Book. Such brands include the like of Krispy Kreme Doughnut, Papa John’s Pizza, The Manhattan Fish Market, Tony Roma’s, Video Ezy, Border’s, The Body Shop, Watson's, Baleno, Purple Cane, Aster Spring, Slimming Sanctuary, Mary Chia, Jojoba Spa, Wendy's, Kenny Rogers, Boost Juice Bar, the Library, Gloria Jean's Cafe, Shins and so on. You can know more about the business through this podcast of BFM radio interview with Worthy Book.
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| Kho Han Jia (Worthy Book), Ken Kho (Worthy Book) and Freda Liu (BFM89.9) |
Worthy Book is also actively involved in various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities alongside companies such as Starbucks Coffee, Accenture, P&G and Grad Malaysia. This is a laudable trait to be found in young startups with insanely high growth rate. Indeed, Worthy Book is not only worthy in the sense that it brings you RM 18,000 worthy of discounts, offers and freebies with your RM 35 investment but also for the effort in charity projects. In their debut edition, RM 2 for every book sold has been donated to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).
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| Kho Han Jia passing over the donation to NKF on behalf of Worthy Book readers who support the Worthy Cause |
Now that we have known Jia and Worthy Book better, I shall move the spotlight on our pleasant chat the other day. The interview can be divided into two focus areas: entrepreneurship and learning. For the record, the questions and answers transcribed were not verbatim.
Area 1: Kho Han Jia from Worthy Book on Entrepreneurship
Zew: What is your advice for entrepreneurs-to-be on sourcing for starting capital?
Jia: My advice would be “thinking creatively”. Certain assumptions people make could be invalid.
Zew: How would you plot the growth curve of Worthy Book up to this point?
Jia: The growth of Worthy Book has been fantastic. We basically started with zero experience and background knowledge in this rather new industry. However, within months of Worthy Book’s debut, it has been featured on BFM 89.9, the Sun, the Malay Mail, Bernama TV, Red Tomato Weekly and so on. This is not to mention the uplifting support from the blogosphere and our Facebook fans. We are honored to sponsor some events, talks, competitions and career fairs alongside other established brands. A number of corporations and angel investors who also believe in our passion have approached us to explore collaboration and investment opportunities. Discussions are still ongoing as we are speaking. Being a young startup, we are always open and appreciate any opportunity of expansion.
Zew: As what I understand from the BFM’s radio interview with you and Ken Kho earlier last year, the business model is similar to traditional print media where revenue source is twofold, one from ad sales and another from book sales. What do you think about the current business model? Do you have any plan to innovate the business model on this basis?
Jia: Yes, we do. Stay tuned.
Zew: Co-founding has become very common among young businesses now. How have your co-founding experience been? How has the co-founding benefit you? What were some of the challenges in co-founding? Was there any disagreement and how did that turn out? How would you advise other entrepreneurs out there in selecting and managing co-founders?
Jia: It has been great. Ken and I have different strengths. There’s no doubt that sometimes there are issues which we disagree on but I think that is healthy because it helps keep us both in check and allows us to see the bigger picture. I would advise entrepreneurs to select your co-founders with complementary skill sets and personality. This is because, rarely is there someone who can be a striker, a midfielder and at the same time, a defender.
Zew: Looking back at the past 1 year or so, what are the things that you wish you have done differently?
Jia: I think there was no way we could have known how to do it differently and I think mistakes are inevitable and important in the journey.
Zew: What have you done that your competitors haven’t or couldn’t? What differentiates you from the competitors?
Jia: I think having the skill sets and personalities of co-founders would be the most important element differentiating us from our competitors. Also I think the quote in one of the AirAsia advertisements says it all – “we innovate, others imitate”.
Zew: What were some of the past experiences that have helped you in the process? What is your take on the advice “immerse yourself in career world before starting your own business?
Jia: I think it is a good idea. There are some valuable skillsets, exposure and experience you can learn from employment. However, the right balance must be struck because I have seen some who are unable to leave their comfort zone.
Zew: How would you advice entrepreneurs-to-be in one or two lines?
Jia: “Think creatively” and “Just do it” (Most people never do it)
Zew: Worthy Book has been very active in sponsorship and CSR projects. What is your take on the current CSR scene in Malaysia? What have you done differently?
Jia: Most corporations perform CSR for the end recipients. As for us, we do that too, but we have also given to the staff and volunteers, rewarding them for their hard work and dedication because we feel they too play a very important role which is often less highlighted.
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| One of CSR events of Worthy Book |
Area 2: Kho Han Jia from Worthy Book on Learning
Zew: How did you find your college experience at Oxford? How has the experience helped you?
Jia: I think the Oxford experience has been great. I loved the historical city, architecture, traditions, people and so on. It also allowed me to learn from some of the brightest minds around though I am not a fan of the 1 to 1 tutorial system.
Zew: I noticed that you switched your course from engineering path to business/investment path at Oxford, why did you do that? What were the challenges you faced back then?
Jia: To be exact, my course was Masters of Engineering, Economics & Management. It is notorious for being the toughest at Oxford. Imagine the weekly workload of having to write two to three essays (with a reading list of 25 books/journals) and 20 engineering problems to solve. Sometimes the classes for economics even clashed with those of engineering!
I think each discipline is important – engineering helps with logical thinking, problem solving and numerical skills; whereas economics and management allows you to present your arguments efficiently, coherently and persuasively. To me, it was quite a natural transition as I had interests in all 3 subjects. Interest makes difficult things easy.
Zew: What is your advice on how to maximize college experience? Jia: First, I would say you have to join as many extra-curricular activities as you can. The same goes to internships and competitions. Students should also make as many friends as they can.
Zew: You have also done several internships before. How would you evaluate the experience? What is your advice on how to maximize internship experience?
Jia: The internships (i.e. at Deloitte, Buro Happold and Oxfordshire County Council) were great in the sense that they allow you to put what you have learnt at school or college into (or out of) perspective. I would advice youths to treat internship as if it is your own business which means to hold full responsibility over the success and failure of your efforts. Also, be a sponge and absorb as much as you can.
Zew: What are your favorite sources of knowledge or information? What do you usually do after knowing something?
Jia: Knowledge and information are everywhere. For me, one of the most entertaining way to learn is through movies and TV shows. It depends.
Zew: As seen from your profile, you have won numerous awards in calligraphy, Chinese painting, drawing, essay writing, math, physics and so on at school. You were also active in scout, art society, Asia Pacific Society, Malaysia Club and Hong Kong Society in your college years, How do you discover your passion/talent?
Jia: It was by chance in most cases. Zew: What would you say about the youths nowadays?
Jia: Youths today are more vocal and confident and that is good. However, they must always ensure that they deliver what they promised.
Zew; In terms of thinking and learning, who (whom you know personally or not) do you look up to? Why? Jia: Contrarians are always interesting.
Zew: I believe you have seen many intelligent people. How/What have you learnt/observed about their thinking process? Are they very different? Or is there a striking similarity?
Jia: They are very different due to their different experiences and disciplines. It is always interesting to learn from people from all sorts of background, there is always something to learn from someone.
Zew: How do you maintain your work-life balance as a startup founder?
Jia: Some people enjoy working all the time and treat that as “life”. Some people will never play games or sing karaoke as they feel that is “work”. I think it depends on one’s priorities and personality.
Zew: You have been an active goer for seminars, summits and talks. What were some of the most memorable/inspiring speeches/ideas that you have heard/learnt?
Jia: I enjoyed the talks by Tony Fernandes of Tune Group, Ahmad Izham Omar of Media Prima, Rejina Rahim from Nomura Asset Management Group and Jumaatun Azmi from KasehDia. Jason Lo from Tune Talk and Azran Osman Rani of AirAsiaX also gave some very insightful ideas during one of the summits. Coincidentally, quite a few mentioned here are from Tune Group!
Jia and Worthy Book with Azran Osman Rani of AirAsiaX
I found this interview video on YouTube. In the interview by Bernama TV, co-founder Ken Kho introduced further about Worthy Book. Enjoy the video.
Do you support Jia as a young entrepreneur? Do you think that Worthy Book will make it to the table of every family? Do share your thoughts with me and other readers out there in the comment section.
To find out more about Worthy Book, you may like them on Facebook below.
Do you support Jia as a young entrepreneur? Do you think that Worthy Book will make it to the table of every family? Do share your thoughts with me and other readers out there in the comment section.
To find out more about Worthy Book, you may like them on Facebook below.
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