So This Is My Why

What happens when you trade a stable corporate job in Singapore for a gap year for a tropical island? That’s what Shi Han Pang did at 25. Since then, she’s best known for being the co-founder of Human Edition, a storytelling platform that has captured the hearts of over 138k followers by documenting the hidden, un-Googleable stories of Malaysia and beyond. Shi Han takes us through her journey - from growing up in the quiet "tuition culture" of Alor Setar to working as an architectural designer in Shanghai, KL & Singapore. Disillusioned by the industry, she decided to f*ck it and quit her job at 25 to pursue her masters as a way of buying more time to ‘figure life out.’ That eventually led to a permanent move to Langkawi island to document extraordinary local stories that can’t be found in any tour guide book or Google search with her partner, Jie Xin. To learn more about how Shi Han followed her passion and made it work: 04:12: Growing up in Alor Setar 09:45: The Architecture Trap 14:20: Feeling "successful" but unhappy 19:10: The "F*ck It" leap & m to an island. 25:35: The Bon Ton Residency: How six weeks in Langkawi changed everything 31:05: "Un-Googleable" Malaysia: Why Human Edition focuses on the stories you can't find online 36:50" The ‘magic’ of the island 42:15: RM1500/month. 48:40: The Transformation: From corporate attire to finding a "glow" through boho freedom. 🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/157 🎥 Subscribe to YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ?sub_confirmation=1 🙊 Support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day! - https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/ 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/profile

Rachel How is one of Malaysia’s top UX/UI designer - entirely self-taught - with a huge 330k following she’s built over the last 4+ years! But finding her path wasn’t easy. She quit law school after 2 months because it wasn’t for her. Worked 10 different odd jobs - including as a body lotion rep & real estate agent - to figure out her interests. Her realisation: She enjoyed designing property posters over selling the houses themselves. That led to her joining a hackathon organised by Hong Leong Bank as a designer. They ranked 10 top. That led to a role as a Senior Product Designer Fave. While working full-time, she launched her UX/UI YouTube channel and started building different income streams. By 2022, she was generating $106,241/year from her freelance work itself, which gave her the confidence to take the leap. Quit. And become a solopreneur. But career journeys are never linear. To learn more about how Rachel built her 8 income streams, her advice for building a YouTube channel & what keeps her going, tune in! Highlights: 1:24 The $106,241 year 3:15 Growing up wanting to be "somebody" 8:02 The RM50,000 Law School 10:45 Quitting Law after 2 months: 13:10 Working 10 odd jobs 15:45 The turning point 19:12 Entering the Hong Leong Bank hackathon 22:30 Self-teaching UX/UI: YouTube vs. Reality 26:40 Landing the role at Fave 29:15 Launching her YouTube channel: 10k subs in 3 months 32:50 Burnout & health struggles 35:20 Being the sole provider for her family 38:44 Why her revenue dropped to $70k in 2023 47:12 Don't follow passion, follow curiosity 50:05 Advice for aspiring solopreneurs 🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/156 🎥 Subscribe to YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ?sub_confirmation=1 🙊 Support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day! - https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/ 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/profile

Meet Lim Pinn Yang, co-founder of Foodie Media Berhad - IPOing today at a RM70 million valuation! He once sold woks at the morning market with his dad, scored 1A in SPM exam and earned $0.20/day from his 1st blog But he’d always dreamt of being a “business entrepreneur”. And today, his dream comes true. That little blog he started in 2016 has turned into a 46M+ follower digital media empire. And just in 2024 alone, it hit: 20+ lifestyle brands, including Penang Foodie, KL Foodie, Halal Foodie, Malaysia Homie, Car Buddie and Techie 2.8B views 70 people RM24 million in revenue But… who IS Pinn Yang? What drove him to do what he does? How did he end up with an investor like Bryan Loo of Loob Holdings? And… what does success mean for him? Listen to find out. Thanks Foodie for sponsoring this episode! 🙊 Want to support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day? https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/ 🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/lhIUOf7jSKs 📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/155 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/profile

When Vietnamese refugee Senh Duong fled after the fall of Saigon, he could never have imagined he’d one day co-found one of the most influential movie sites in the world - Rotten Tomatoes. A kid who grew up on Hong Kong kung fu flicks, Senh was obsessed with Jackie Chan. So when Jackie tried to break into Hollywood again, Senh went looking for honest reviews... But couldn’t find any. Every critic said the movies were great (even when they weren’t). So Senh decided to build a site that told the truth. What began as a side project coded through sleepless nights turned into a cultural phenomenon - one that raised $1 million (2 months before the dot com bubble burst!!), sold for $10 million, and changed how audiences everywhere judge movies. In this episode, Senh opens up about: 🔸 Fleeing Vietnam and growing up in a refugee camp in Hong Kong 🔸 How Jackie Chan inspired the birth of Rotten Tomatoes 🔸 Almost quitting Rotten Tomatoes due to burnout 🔸 Being treated as “second-class citizens” by film publicists at screenings (and when that changed!) 🔸 Raising $1M, surviving the dot-com crash & selling too early?! 🔸 Why he says he’s proud to be a “one-hit wonder” This is the story of how a movie-obsessed refugee created one of the most iconic brands in film history - all because he wanted Jackie Chan to get the credit he deserved. Highlights: 2:08 The Fall of Saigon 4:48 Arriving in the US 6:01 Falling in love with Hong Kong movies & TV series 8:55 The mafia controls the film industry?! 10:14 Studying computer science at Berkeley 13:14 Dreaming of becoming a PIXAR animator? 14:00 Founding a startup design studio with friends, Patrick Lee & Stephen Wang 15:52 Landing Disney as a 7-figure client due to pizza party?! 20:52 Launching Rotten Tomatoes as a side project 23:58 What kept you going? 26:22 Leaving Design Reactor & feeling lost 28:52 Rotten Tomatoes’ traffic explodes 31:34 Turning a side project → company (+ raising $1 million) 35:30 Building a relationship with film critics 36:52 Tomatometer 38:42 Investors saying, ‘Are you crazy?!’ 43:46 Internet bubble bursts, layoffs & living in the office 47:02 What kept everyone going? 48:49 Major turning point 53:18 Selling for $10 million 54:47 What’s next? 56:03 IGN buys Rotten Tomatoes for $650 million (1 year later?!) 🙊 Want to support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day? https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/ 🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/pWO2IVYZvlI&list=UULFSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ 📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/154 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/profile

Hui Jing’s life reads like a TVB drama. Her mum was forced to be the sole provider for the family after her dad landed them in bad debt. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hui Jing understood the importance of money & joined the work force young - at the below-legal age of 15 - for a mediocre RM4/hour. It wasn’t easy. But it kickstarted a series of jobs that saw her go from working as at McDonald’s to The Body Shop to becoming a finalist for the Red Bull Female Driver Search in 2009 (they were offering a cash prize) to becoming an insurance agent (where she learned the joys of passive income) to joining a radio station as a road runner and finally… Co-founding one of Malaysia’s fastest growing local convenience store chains, Bila-Bila Mart. Which is on track to hit a whooping RM150+ million in revenue & 100 stores by the end of 2025, with an IPO on the horizon! Not bad for a Brickfields girl who was once kidnapped & held ransom due to bad family debts. If there’s one thing that clearly stands out about Hui Jing’s story, it’s this: Taking risk During the interview, she spoke of how: “Throwing everything outta the window (i.e. leaving corporate) sounded like an adventure. I wanted that adventure.  Because I was just thinking, okay, now I have no commitments. I don't have a family… If I don't do it, if I don't risk it, I don't really see how is the world outside, when am I gonna do it?” That said, life hasn’t been without its challenges. Once at a bar, she was told, “Jing,  you talk too much as a female. Can you shut up?” And also advised to stop working and to “ask your husband to feed you.” Needless to say, that lit a fire in Hui Jing that led to the founding of Bila-Bila Mart, where she also spoke about: ✨ How Dettol saved Bila-Bila Mart (they opened their first physical store during MCO) ✨ Their first breakthrough (pivoting from the idea of selling hot food → kedai runcit model) ✨ The process for local SMEs getting their items into Bila-Bila Mart ✨ Dealing with chauvinistic men who question Jing’s very young team ✨ Why you are the decision maker of your own fate Don't forget to subscribe for future STIMY episodes! Special thanks to Bila-Bila Mart for sponsoring this episode. 🙊 Want to support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day? https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/ 🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/MyM_uFevyJI&list=UULFSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/profile ✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442