Before Venon Tian became the face of ZUS Coffee, he was in the business of laundromats. And before that, he was actually a law grad.

These were some of the interesting facts we got at Venon’s recent Dining With CEO event, which you can read more about here.

Aside from those titbits of information, Venon also dived into some of his core philosophies on how he runs ZUS Coffee. Here are some of the advice from his playbook.

Execution eats strategy for lunch

There’s no doubt that ZUS Coffee has had plenty of strong strategies and campaigns that have brought them to where they are today.

But the thing about innovative strategies and cool campaigns is that technically, anyone can execute them.

For example, ZUS Coffee has released a Buttercrème latte, even though a competitor has been well-known for their signature buttercream drink.

But the way Venon sees it, “To us, it’s less of the idea, more of the execution.”

He pointed out that every café does Americanos, lattes, and cappuccinos—it’s not like they’re copying from each other. And some do it better than others, despite it being the same drink.

“We have this very famous internal saying that we use,” Venon said. “Execution eats strategy for lunch.”

You may have heard some variation of this, but it basically means that the actual execution of an idea or a plan beats just having that strategy.

Company culture is most certainly not bullshit

When asked about what some of the biggest challenges Venon has faced at ZUS was, he said: the people.

While day-to-day things such as supply chain issues, procurement, and logistics do crop up, it doesn’t seem to come close to things such as structuring the company and hiring the right people, Venon said.

“Managing business is objective. It’s SOPs, it’s theoretical, it’s execution. For people, you have to handle emotions, which is the hardest thing,” Venon said.

He went on to say, “Some of you may have heard my talks. I used to say culture is bullshit. But I’m wrong. Totally wrong.”

He shared a tale of how hiring a wrong key leader resulted in toxic behaviours all the way down in the HR department, which ended up having domino effects such as issues with late salary payouts and an inability to hire the right people.

Toxic hires can often go undetected, so building a culture that actively weeds these people out is key. Leaders must also be observant and not overlook how one bad apple can topple many business processes, especially when the culture is weak.

Don’t limit yourself with the industry boundaries

At one point of the session, Venon was asked to give some advice to aspiring F&B entrepreneurs.

He jokingly responded, “Don’t run F&B.”

However, as he elaborated, we learnt that there’s some truth to what he said.

Instead of seeing ZUS Coffee as an F&B business, Venon revealed that he sees it as an ecommerce business, and therefore runs it as one.

“Coffee is just one of the products,” he pointed out.

Unlike the more traditional business models in F&B, ZUS looks into things such as UI/UX, customer lifetimes, retention rates, and more metrics that ecommerce businesses look at.

Invest in capex to save on opex

“The question we always ask ourselves is, as we scale, how do I not need to hire more people,” Venon shared. “Not because we don’t want to not hire people, but because of the jobs are very much mundane and boring.”

An example of such jobs he provided was QA—quality assurance. Currently, the ZUS team has 13 auditors conducting QA for 336 stores. That means that if the chain expands to, say, 600 stores, they’d need a department of 26 doing that.

“And these are all young, new team members. You have to train them, then there’s retention rates [to think about],” Venon elaborated. “So, how can I utilise technology instead? Maybe it’s going to cost me more, but over the next five years, it’s going to save on operating expenses.”

As such, he said that the ZUS team are believers in terms of investing in capex and saving in terms of opex down the road. Plus, solutions like these also serve as a workaround to the challenge of managing more people.

Innovating the future

One way ZUS Coffee sets itself apart from other brands is its tech lean, such as through its own app. One cool thing we learnt is that the app actually uses weather information to determine whether an area is raining. If so, the app actually pushes out discounts so more people may consider getting drinks.

In any case, being a tech-savvy company, a key thing for ZUS is innovation. With that in mind, Venon shared that the company is actually establishing a ZUS Innovation Centre. Here, R&D will be conducted, not just for products but also for tech.

On staying abreast on trends with the latest innovations in the industry, Venon shared that he likes to read articles. But not just any articles—Chinese articles.

“My Chinese is bad, but I try very hard,” Venon admitted. The reason for his effortfulness is because he believes Chinese business reports tend to give the latest business and technology insights in a very detailed manner.

Meanwhile, he finds articles from the West to be more “fluffy”. That said, he thinks reading a blend of both Western and Asian media is definitely recommended.

At the end of the day, though, Venon said that a lot of the philosophies he lives by is “not rocket science”. A lot of it is just learning as they go, one step at a time.

“There’s no secret formula,” he shared. “It’s just how much you believe in it.”

Learn more about ZUS Coffee here. Read other articles we’ve written about ZUS Coffee here.

Also ReadSick of mistakenly buying fake products online? TikTok Shop has a solution for M’sians.

Featured Image Credit: Venon Tian

If you’ve ever had to look for stock images online, chances are you’ve come across 123RF.

Founded in 2005 by Andy and Stephanie Sitt, 123RF is a site by Inmagine Group, a Hong Kong-registered but Malaysia-based company. Currently, the group is headed by CEO Warren Leow.

During Startup Week Malaysia, Warren gave a talk on how to manage and scale teams. As the group CEO of a company with over 250 staff members worldwide, he certainly knows a thing or two about that.

Here were some of the insights he shared during the session.

“Ensure there’s more governance and more discipline, but it will be at the cost of speed.”

When a company is smaller, its vision and culture are much more stable.

But as an organisation scales up, the same can’t be said. There needs to be alignment between the leader and the board, as well as with the people who execute things.

“Sometimes they tend to be a little bit more bureaucratic,” he said about bigger companies. “It’s designed in such a way that the processes and people involved are there to ensure there’s more governance and more discipline, but it will be at the cost of speed.”

While leaders might feel wary about implementing bureaucratic processes because it means the team moves slower, it’s imperative that bigger organisations take time to communicate, make sure things are documented, and ensure proper processes are in place, especially for “BAU” (business as usual) activities.

“Team dynamics is not purely about employee happiness. It’s what makes it easier to achieve business growth.”

After ensuring there is consistency in terms of value, mission, and objectives, Warren said leaders should also know how to use the carrot and a stick approach to get the whole organisation to move in the desired direction.

Carrot refers to incentives, while the stick is how you hold people accountable.

On accountability, in a smaller team, it’s easy to just pull someone aside and talk to them, but as a team grows bigger, there will be HR processes in place to be cognisant of.

These sorts of processes are necessary in upkeeping team dynamics.

He clarified that team dynamics isn’t just about keeping employees happy, but rather, it should be seen as a factor in business growth.

During his talk, an attendee had asked about his stance on remote work. To that, he said that he doesn’t believe in a fully remote work force, as face-to-face interactions are necessary for growth and team dynamics.

“Compromise as a solution is okay, but it should always be to the interest of the company rather than because some employees just want to work from home,” he said. “You as the leader must choose what is good for the organisation, and what is good for team dynamics.”

“Perfect the skill of firing fast.”

Leading such a big team, Warren admitted that he’s made the mistake of taking too long to onboard important people.

Although, he added a counterargument that when you hire expensive people, they should be able to hit the ground running regardless.

He advised balancing between giving these individuals enough context while not swamping them with too much information so that they can form their own perspectives and give fresh takes.

“But instead of focusing too much on onboarding, the key point I want to highlight is perfect the skill of firing fast,” Warren said.

“Everybody thinks that the CEO’s job is fine and dandy, but the reality is it’s quite confrontational,” he continued. “You can inspire people, you can motivate people, you can give them career development paths, but a big part of the job that is understated is school or courses is how to confront people.”

Leaders need to be able to tell people to get their act together—in nicer words but in very clear and firm terms.

“Do not compromise in diversity of values.”

With Inmagine Group having a global workforce, that means there is a diversity of culture and ideas, which can be a great thing in bringing about fresh perspectives.

But how does Warren ensure that these diversity in cultures don’t affect the team dynamics?

To him, the diversity of culture isn’t an issue—but diversity in values is not acceptable.

Leaders being the “custodian of values” must thus identify bad apples in the group and practise the last point of firing fast, so that a negative culture loop doesn’t root itself into the company.

“Sometimes, yes, things can be negotiated, but there are times you need to be firm and it’s not actually a negotiation. It’s a policy that you set. It’s a direction you set,” Warren said. “The reality is, if you’re the senior leader, people will just have to follow suit.”

After all, leaders are held accountable to the business growth of the organisation.

“Growth is not about creating a comfortable environment where you can have work-life balance, work from home—you’re tolerating dead wood. There’s no room for dead wood in any successful organisation.”

“You must know how to behave like a boss when there’s a need to behave like a boss.”

Especially in smaller teams, bosses or leaders often build very strong bonds with their team members.

However, when push comes to shove and the leader must get rid of bad apples or hold people accountable, these actions may negatively affect morale across the team.

In this situations, Warren said leaders need to compartmentalise. “It’s very important to be clear who’s the boss, who’s not the boss.”

In essence, it’s necessary for leaders to maintain a level of distance and keep things professional.

Tough conversations should be objectives-based to minimise the influence of emotions. Desensitising yourself may be a skill to practise.

“If you’re the CEO, you are forced by necessity to see a way through by hook or by crook.”

It’s not always easy for people to see the road ahead clearly. Warren recognises this, but he shared it’s a leader’s duty to see a way through by hook or by crook—otherwise, things won’t go anywhere.

“Your role as a leader, founder, or CEO is to get the company to push the boundaries so things have a sense of momentum,” he said.

Momentum refers to the sense of moving in a positive direction, rather than being stagnant. Generating this momentum is easier with a small team, but as an organisation scales, expect there to be some inertia.

“Reality is, it’s up to you to define your direction,” he concluded. “There are times to hold back on an action rather than disappear down a rabbit hole. But if you play it safe, the organisation won’t go anywhere.”

So, leaders must take stock of the cards they have in their hands, set the right direction, determine whether it’s the right moment to act, and make that call accordingly and decisively.

Learn more about Inmagine Group here.Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.

Also ReadWant to work in companies like Bursa Malaysia? This programme could be your entry ticket.

Organised by MYStartup as part of Startup Week Malaysia 2023, The Failing Forward session at Colony Star Boulevard KLCC was graced with curse words, comedic moments, and somewhat cutting advice for entrepreneurs.

The lineup of panellists was:

Adlin Yusman, Managing Director of EndeavorDamon Grow of Arkade VenturesNadira Yusoff, founder and CEO of KiddocareWai Hong Fong, co-founder and Chieftain of StoreHub

And man, were they dishing out brutal truth after brutal truth that night. Here’s some of what we took away from the casual sharing session, so listen up, entrepreneurs.

1. It doesn’t get easier, you just get more options and alternatives

From the panel of seasoned entrepreneurs, the bad news is that the journey doesn’t get easier. But the good news is that you have many more options and alternatives these days to achieve what you want.

This nugget of wisdom can be applied to many parts of the entrepreneurial journey, but that night, the context was regarding funding opportunities.

Back then, entrepreneurs of early-stage startups were largely limited to seeking funding from venture capitalists (VCs), angel investors, or government grants.

Today, options have widened to include peer-to-peer (P2P) financing, equity crowdfunding (ECF), and more.

Despite more accessible avenues, it’s important to remember that the funds won’t just fall into your lap on demand. From the entrepreneurs’ experience, persistence and tenacity is still key.

This leads into the next point.

2. Stop making excuses in the face of failure

In a probably deserved callout, Wai Hong lightheartedly pointed out that Malaysians somehow have an ability to keep coming up with excuses for why something didn’t work out.

It’s easier to place the blame on external factors and take on a victim mindset than to reframe your thinking to become: This didn’t work out, so what can I do next?

After a certain point, you can’t keep pointing the finger at “systemic bias” and “corruption”, etc., and expect things to change. You have to get out there and do what it takes to get what you need.

In a much earlier venture, Nadira recalled an instance whereby she had hit rock bottom after a large project fell through at the last minute, leaving her company with few funds to continue. She still had a team to pay, and her own family to feed as a single mother.

Instead of feeling pitiful for herself, she made hard decisions. She sold her home and her car, and learnt how to do makeup for people in order to keep her family and business going.

With persistence, she made it out of that ditch and continued on to start better companies.

3. Don’t be too desperate, you can say no to VCs

That fear of becoming tight on money probably never leaves any business owner’s mind. Business is unpredictable, after all.

But something that all the entrepreneurs present that night agreed upon was that raising funds from VCs is a death wish, to put it bluntly.

It’s a sentiment that has echoed through the startup ecosystem for years—VC funds can destroy your company. That’s why many companies that can self-sustain opt to continue reinvesting in themselves.

Kiddocare was one such company, and they only decided to get VC funding recently, for their Pre-Series A round.

The round took over 1.5 years to close, and Nadira shared that a year and three months into the journey, they actually declined the investors.

By that point, they no longer needed the funds, but the moment they declined, Nadira said many investors suddenly showed an interest in them.

This leads to the next example of the panel’s advice to…

4. Raise when you don’t need the money

Raising funds when you don’t need the money means that you get to set the terms with investors. The ball will be in your court, and you can decline an investors’ offer much easier.

Nadira told her investors this round if they couldn’t raise the money in two months, they’re out. This resulted in them managing to raise from three VCs.

5. To build a world-class company, you need to be willing to pay the price

If you want to be the best, there’s a price to pay. As Wai Hong put it, Lebron James didn’t become Lebron James by eating Maggi, Pizza Hut, and KFC three times a day.

As an entrepreneur, you’ll often need to make sacrifices to see results. You have to put your foot down and make difficult decisions for the benefit of your company.

Sometimes this may end up with you being perceived as “the bad guy”, but Wai Hong believes that that’s the price to pay for your business to move forward.

There are nuances to these situations, of course, such as when the management team may sometimes be outright abusive, or the staff may be over-sensitive, but in general, many successful entrepreneurs appear to agree with the sentiment.

You can’t please everyone, no matter how hard you try.

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Of course, these entrepreneurs’ experiences shouldn’t be taken as gospel, and you may disagree with some of their points.

That said, these are perspectives to keep in mind when making a decision on how you want to run your startup. Every startup has its different needs, and as a leader, you should adapt your approach accordingly.

Read more about what happened at Startup Week Malaysia 2023 here.Read Malaysian startup stories here.

Also ReadSick of mistakenly buying fake products online? TikTok Shop has a solution for M’sians.

Featured Image Credit: Vulcan Post