Experiences, moments, or stuff I feel pretty good looking back on, arranged in chronological order.

1. January. A company I co-founded was acquired by Groupon

Pictured above is my team, building a group buying site (then creatively named Groupsmore) in between ramping up our social advertising business, and moving offices.

One day, we got an email from Groupon. From our customer support contact form.

Yes, you were told customer support was an important part of any business. It’s true.

Next thing you know, we were on our way with what we know now as Groupon Malaysia.

3 weeks to launch Groupsmore, 3 months to race ahead of the other more well-backed group-buying sites, 3 weeks to close the deal w Groupon in January. A great way to start the year.

And thanks to Joel and his team, they have since grown into something a little bit larger than anything we’ve ever imagined!

After transitioning everything, a few of the original pioneer team and I proceeded with our booming social advertising business, determined to push our limits with what we can achieve. We picked a new name, and a new space…

2. March. The new SAYS… and ‘The Secret Hideout’

We rebranded the social-advertising company to a punchier name: SAYS. http://says.com

I designed a new work space, for the new journey ahead.

I love designing workspaces. And I’m really proud of the outcome. It’s humble, but just right for the kind of culture have at the team. I look forward to going to my workspace every day, even on some weekends. It makes me feel alive.

A space can really change how you feel about work.

The entire backstory and email correspondence, layouts etc of how it was built is detailed on this blog.

3. June. I finally changed my hairstyle after, like, 5 years.

Ok those who have known me for a while may have accepted the unreasonably impractical lion’s mane on my head. I now maintain half of it. I have even learned what my ears look like.

4. June – July. The IVLP: A monthlong trip to DC, Seattle, Boston,Ohio, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley

I traveled alone for a month. With the help of the US State Government. I had been selected to be part of the IVLP (International Visitor Leadership Program). According to Wikipedia, former world leaders such as Tony Blair and Dr.Mahatir have been on this thing. And then they send Khailee Ng. I hope this is not a sign that Obama is screwing things up.

I’m not complaining, though, it was an all expenses paid affair, where they arranged about 3 meetings a day for me, all geared to help me connect with individuals in the US who would help me in my journey. The whole idea is that they would hope the individuals they send on the IVLP will be doing lots of friendly stuff with the US in the near future.

I met with all sorts of cool startup founders, investors, university deans, new friends, and then more. I also extended my stay in the Silicon Valley.

This is me soaking up the vibe at the BlackBox Mansion.

Overlooking San Francisco on a walk with an old friend.

Chewbacca demo-ing SAYS at the Venture Shift conference. Heck I didn’t need to demo to anyone, but I wanted Chewbacca to shake up the otherwise serious conference. And he sure did…

5. July – August. Got hooked on ‘Imperial’, the board game.

Thanks to my friend, Aslak, the boys at SAYS and I got so hooked on this game… We were playing it almost religiously every week at one point. It’s like Risk and Monopoly, without the dice and luck. Pure strategy. The game was fabled to have taken 20 years to develop and perfect. Read about it here.

Playing games like this really exercises the mind in a different way, and gives me another avenue to share good times with people I love.

6. August. I introduced Bootcamp into my life

At first, all I did was buy a Groupon on impulse to ‘try it’.

Next thing I know, I am waking up before dawn 3 times a week, and aching like hell for the rest of the week.

This Australian franchise  is a essentially a group crossfit class conducted at unholy hours in the morning, in the dirt and grass. I have been at it for close to half a year now, and if I had not gotten addicted to it, I would be far fatter, and less able to run away from predators.

7. September. Closing the financial year at 5X growth vs 2010

When we first invented the product behind SAYS , we believed it was ground breaking approach to engaging social media audiences.

And the market agreed. 370+ campaigns have been run with us by 70+ of the largest advertisers in the country. Many campaigns have won marketing effectiveness awards.

Working with my team towards the revenue growth was an adventure in and of itself. I am so grateful to have such a killer team to work with.

Most of all, with the money we saved up, we’re funding some very bold ventures and new ideas for 2012!

8. October. Geeks On a Plane – Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, HongKong

Either someone up there loves me, or Dave McLure does, as he invited me to one of his legendary trips:

Organized by 500 Startups, Geeks on a Plane (#GOAP) is an invite-only tour for startups, investors, and executives to learn about burgeoning technology markets worldwide. We travel by planes, trains, and automobiles to the most exciting international startup scenes with the sole mission of uniting geeks and exploring cross-border opportunities. The result: a lifelong bond with fellow travelers, a wealth of new friends and business contacts in exploding technology markets, and a stronger appreciation for the cultural and economic ties that bind us globally. ~ GeeksOnaPlane.com

These were the people I traveled with. We visited startup hubs, incubators, pitch nights, had private tours of some fo the world’s largest internet companies, wined, dines, partied, and had found time to stop by the Tokyo cat cafe.

More of my personal pictures of the trip, here.

Needless to say, it changed my life, and supercharged me even more to change the lives of others through technology and business.

9. October. Life Lessons from Delhi, India

I failed to become a yoga teacher and backpack through the slums levitating in meditation. Instead, I flew in for  meeting and left the same day. But what the person I met had said to me, and the advice he gave, came at a really good time in my life. It’s kinda personal, but it had a lot to do with the power of clarity, and bold conviction.

10. October. Dressing up as Cesar (Planet of the Apes) for Halloween

Halloween is my favorite day of the year. Every year I hand-make my costumes and try to outdo my previous costumes.

This year, this was my pride and joy:

I even had stuffed apples in my mouth to disfigure my face for this role.

The only thing that beats creating costumes is probably being in character all night. CESAR IS HOME.

11. November. Back at building new things with my team

This is a picture of me with my team, at a recent Hackweekend we sponsored.

I can be in any country, with anyone, learning and doing anything, but my mind will always be on working with my team on building something new, something better, something that can change everything.

2011 has since been a good step forward in this quest. And now, onto the next…

PS – Big shoutout to all of you who made my 2011 so epic. Let’s rock 2012!

Today, as Malaysia celebrates its 54th year of independence, I have a secret wish for all Malaysians. Or rather, a not-so-secret wish, considering the friggin’ blog post title. Well, you guessed it.

My wish, this independence day… is for Malaysia to celebrate (and encourage) independent thought.

And I even have 3 ideas to encourage more independent thought.

But first, why independent thought?

1. We can no longer rely on a ‘follow-me’ strategy in our careers or as a country. The world is changing too fast. Merely adapting will only leave us a step behind. It’s about time deviate from mediocrity. And it takes independent thought.
2. Besides, the more Malaysians exercise independent thought in our lives, the more likely we can differentiate and innovate on our contribution in the job market, and potentially create more value and make more money.
3. Collectively, a country who thinks independently as a whole can better answer the challenges of global competition with a differentiated value proposition. Basically, ”How am I different”?

So, how do we inject more independent thought into our country and its people?

Gawd, I don’t know. Sounds like a big task. But I have 3 ideas to share.

#1. Turn the ’kemahiran hidup’ class into ‘kelas hidup’.

Basically the existing curriculum of soldering and sewing? Um, let’s CHUCK IT for a moment. Instead, imagine every weekly session as SHOW AND TELL.

• Each student must choose what they personally want to TEACH the rest of the class.
• Teachers act as coaches to encourage students to explore and acquire new knowledge beyond the classroom.
• The catch: No two students are allowed to ‘teach’ the same thing…

Now imagine students easing into it… watch them develop pride in their special knowledge, build confidence and identity, and gain experience in public speaking. And best of all, watch them struggle to and think differently from other students. Is that a happy meal or what.

Multiply that by a weekly class for the entire year, a few million students a year,  5 years of secondary education per generation, and we will have ourselves a few new thinkers

What the rakyat can do:

Okay while we wait for the above dream to come true, parents can immediately start their kids on some weird shit. And no, I’m not talking about ballet, or that memory bead whacking thing. Although that’s all good. I’m talking about encouraging kids to go for one less tuition class, and one more exploration of their own unique interests…

The independent pursuit of a kid’s passion = Crazy growth hormones for independent thinking.

#2 – Develop ‘hacking’ as part of Malaysian identity

Disclaimer: I’m not referring to evil credit card scamming type of hacking, it’s like so already part of Malaysian life. I’m talking about summoning an army of very productive Malaysian geeks onto the world to solve the challenges ahead of us.

Hacking, by nature, is an exercise in thinking of a different way to approach a problem.

Imagine if IT’S IN OUR BLOOD.

If only, 80% of iPad apps were created by Malaysians developers. Or Malaysia having the highest concentration of web application developers in the world. I’m not saying it because this kinda thing is my life, but because software is a very immediate and reliable way to product growth and innovation. Look at the US, while their economy tanks, 90% of their job growth comes from tech.

Some might say ‘oh, biotech / clean energy is the future’ I am not an expert in that stuff, but I can tell you now that software will continue to EAT THE WORLD in the next 10 years and there will continue to be a GLOBAL SHORTAGE of software developers who can build USABLE APPS. Read “Why Software is EATING THE WORLD” on WSJ to understand why this is such a good opportunity. So much of modern innovation is brought about by better software. SO if Malaysians become #1 at this shit… we will code faster, better, and cheaper than the rest of the world, the world will pay for our super brain juice n then our geeks can reuse what they learn to in turn EAT THE WORLD.

What the rakyat can do:

It’s now easier than ever in history to teach yourself programming. Try Codecademy, for example. And for the rest of you who don’t want to code, think of something to hack, or an app to build, and find a geek to realize your ideas. Go to work tomorrow and think of HOW TO HACK YOUR WORKPLACE. Hack your job. Hack your finances. Hack your industry. Hack your life. EVERYTHING CAN BE HACKED. And when hack something your shake something up and create space for THE FUTURE.

And perhaps one day, the world will refer to Malaysia as the country where everyone hacks everything – a country who cannot be taken down.

#3 – Get more Malaysians plugged into the internet

Access to information can set our minds free. Free to question, ask, consider different perspectives, and SEE WHAT IS OUT THERE. While people in high places do what they can to get more broadband to more people…

What the rakyat can do:

Give your kids devices and access. Will they spend it all playing games? Sure. Porn? You bet. But ask em a question, they’ll Google it. Don’t know how to fix something, give them a second while the page loads. Whatever the challenges which come with freedom to access information, we’ll deal with it by being smarter than people who don’t have access to information

[ Baby picture source ]

Final Plea

Once upon a time, a few Malayan crazies, fueled by independent thought, wondered what life would be, if broken free from the British rule…

And now, we’ve been ‘independent’ for 54 good years.

Yet, the country is filled with parents who want their children to fit in the mold. Filled with teachers who want students to fit in. And some who do not want citizens to think for themselves. They discourage independent thought, and wonder why the country is not ‘innovative’. NOT COOL.

Give them the 1malaysia finger. We don’t need them to hold us back.

The country can do much better without their stifling, fear-driven recommendations.

New solutions don’t come from conformity. They come from independent thought.

And this is what our country can celebrate more of, this independence day.

[ Is this Merdeka message worth sharing? Do retweet repost and share. ]

It was fun. I used cutouts of people on a background motif I designed. Content was inspired by people in my then workplace, but do not intend to reflect any actual people or conversations. Or at least I tried ;p

I’ve got other comics somewhere on my slideshare.

Death of the Excel Spreadsheet, 2005

Taken from an old MySpace blog post I made in 2006…

The Story Behind the Song:

Death of the Excel Spreadsheet was written around July 2005, when I was in Bethesda (near Washington D.C). It never had a title till I uploaded it on Myspace.

But the story behind it is pretty straightforward.

I used to live by my Excel Spreadsheets, where my schedule, budget, notes, decision making models, private journals etc were stored on. I woke up to a spreadsheet. I went through them before I slept.

Shortly after completing my studies at San Francisco State, I spent 3 weeks with my good friend Jeff at his place in Bethesda, Maryland.

I never looked at the spreadsheets. I woke up with no plan, and did nothing everyday, but eat, watch MTV2, play guitar, talk nonsense, and maybe go for walks in the neighbourhood, factory outlet shopping.

I didn’t set any goals, and didn’t care about being “organized” or “productive”… and it was quite liberating. I wrote this song on one of those lazy afternoons, while reflecting on what was going on at that point in my life, about the quiet satisfaction of having no plans, and just existing in each moment for what it’s worth…
Lyrics here.

Morning Divide, 2006

Pic of me back when I used to perform, once upon a time.