Rising Star Award
In 2004, when Shane Mun Phang Choong was still a fresh graduate, he dreamed of creating a technology that will change the world. Together with his best friend Philip Chong, they set up a company named ADEV Ventures Sdn Bhd.
The company was named after Adam and Eve in the Bible, who forever changed human history after they had taken the forbidden fruit.
The two best friends came up with a business plan to sell condoms online in Malaysia.
“We noticed that Malaysians are conservative and often feel shy to buy condoms in a physical store. That is why we decided to start a subscription model, whereby each member pays a monthly fee of RM20 and they will receive a variation of condoms each month,” Mun said.
The pair went on to design the website with much enthusiasm and even sought cooperation with leading condom maker Durex.
Unfortunately, the bank rejected their gateway payment application and that was the end of chapter one for ADEV Ventures.
Mun proceeded to focus on his family business and grow his new company, Big Bath.
When he discovered the many operational problems that Big Bath was facing, he immediately went back to Chong and seek for cooperation once again.
The two of them revived ADEV Ventures and worked together to design a software called Vimigo that is suitable for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.
As a second-generation entrepreneur, Mun successfully turned a traditional hardware retail shop into a modern bathroom and kitchen product specialist.
His insights into the company’s operational problems gave him the idea to develop Vimigo just as how he has constantly turned crises into opportunities to grow his business.
“Managing talent in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is a big hurdle that the human resources department in most companies are facing; it involves issues in different areas, including recruitment, performance appraisals, training and development, and retention.
“Vimigo is designed to improve performances and align employees’ goals with the company’s objectives. It helps each employee understand the company’s expectations better and allow employers to keep track of employees’ accomplishments,” Mun said.
ADEV Ventures offers a solution that encourages employers, managers, and employees work together to plan, monitor and review employees’ overall performances and contributions to the company.
Mun said in most traditional companies, employees have absolutely no idea how bonuses or increment are counted. It is all at the discretion of their superiors in determining the opportunities for promotion or becoming business partners in the company.
With Vimigo, all employees will have their own key performance indicator to achieve. It is used to evaluate their performance and help them accumulate points for bonus, commission and increment. They also get to move up the career ladder based on their performance.
“Every day, our employees can check the app and get motivated to work towards their goals. The app makes sure all activities in an organisation are run smoothly while maintaining its sustainability in a competitive market,” Mun said.
The app also provides insights into the shortcomings of all employees and helps company plan the necessary training for them.
“Regular training allows the company or managers to evaluate employees more accurately, which in turn helps them improve in areas where employees could benefit the most,” Mun said.
Vimigo app is open for sale to SMEs in other industries to manage their business and employees.
By paying a subscription fee of RM1,000 per month, companies can use Vimigo to grow their business and help their employees achieve their goals.
In just 6 months, ADEV Ventures is already servicing 100 SMEs with 10,000 users, with a profit margin of more than RM1mil.
“We have also started planning and getting ready to expand our product and market it across Asia and internationally,” Mun said.
It is also the company’s goal to increase its value to USD1bil by 2020. The business began with only three staff and the figure has now grown to 20.
Through its research, ADEV Ventures has also developed a system to stock check with QR Code.
“Customers can scan the QR Code in a company’s catalogue and find out the available quantities of a certain product in terms of colours and designs,” Mun said.
As a move to ensure sustainability, ADEV Ventures is constantly improving and innovating our products and services to offer better customer services.
“Our vision is to help good employees find good employers, and vice versa. To achieve sustainable success, our organisation has to repeatedly examine our company’s sense of purpose and make sure we serve it well,” Mun said. -24 Oct 2018
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