24 year old cafe's owner turned into software developer
Sigma School
15th April 2024
Watch the full interview here:
In this episode of Stories of Hackers, we talked with Maddy, she's been an entrepreneur for 8 years, open her own cafe, did small side business interior designs, fashions and last but not least Software development. Let's hear from her what's she been doing and what she doing currently. We hope you learned something from Maddy's stories, enjoy!
I've been entrepreneur for the past 8 years, I started when I was 24, my first business was a food truck, we did a lot of corporate events and then I opened a cafe in One Utama and after that I did a lot of small time businesses like interior design, fashion and last but not least software development and that's where we are right now. It's different, some people like staying in a comfort zone where there's no risk you feel stable you feel secure in terms of being here if you're in a particular corporate company you know that there's a career plan and career growth. For me I like the challenge, I like the fact the risk doing something different that you completely don't know and then every year or month it's always something new so it's not very routine kind of thing I think that's why I do it and that's why I jump from industry to industry right after three four years you know the market trend dies and you work on something that is new.
You dress how you want to be treated or something like how you dress makes you feel good it plays a big role in your confidence level and how you bring yourself and I think that's why I like dressing up.
I don't think it's more like if you look good and people are going to support you more, NO, it's more of your confidence so when you dress well you feel confident you project confidence that's what will make people believe in your ideas.
I think that people take it for granted that when you go into business you start your own business that you don't need financial background or you don't need some sort of education I mean you have the passion you have a great idea and they just jump into it, you got into a lot of risk and that's where you get a lot of trouble getting demotivated these kind of things because you don't have that kind of knowledge to back up your business plan or think of new ideas or think of different strategies so I think for me that's why I did my MBA, I went back to do my MBA while I was doing the food truck. So while I was doing that food truck business and the cafe business, I went back to school to learned how to do that financial production, how to do marketing because I think that's every important, that's how you really create a sustainable business, but as a woman honestly it's tough I mean it's a man's world. There are different opportunities that are given to women so I think you have you prove yourself more which is why I feel that it's important for a woman to be confident because that actually makes you more credible hence why I like to dress up.
I think it's also that when people think of women entrepreneurs they're like "Oh are you doing beauty or are you doing fashion?" you wouldn't think of women in tech, women in tech is completely different that people will be like "Are you sure you know what you're doing, let me see how far you've gotten, let me see your track record" you know women really have to prove themselves but this skeptical perception that people keep on saying that "Oh okay you're doing fashion, are you doing some kind of product, you're doing makeup skin care" that's the bigger challenge but then again it's an easier a lower barrier of entry for women and that's why they do it and it's also something that they passionate about so it's not wrong it's just that there's a difference in terms of industries, the industries that get well known are the ones in tech, oil and gas and that's where you see a lot of these male entrepreneurs it's very different. People don't think that female-led businesses are very important or significant.
Yeah, I know that's the most difficult part I actually went to the women's pavilion in Dubai so this is a specifically talking about how women have actually contributed a lot to society and women-led businesses actually thrive because they're more focused on social impacts, empathy. I think the direction for women businesses are very different but then again when investors look at them what are investors looking at, social value or is it profitability strategy so male-led businesses are more preferred in that sense, it's a different in needs and requirements like whether you're looking for profitability, an exit strategy or are you looking for a long-term kind of thing where you contribute to society you build businesses that help humanity, not to say that it's not profitable but if there's more social impact and less profitability or maybe it's a longer run.
I think if there are two businesses that are exactly the same, both with same profitability or social value, investors or anyone which is the male and I honestly I'm not sure why, I think perhaps because they might find it easier to work with male rather than women they might think long-term women will suddenly give up or have families or drop with the business or something like this but if there were two opportunities on the table, one led by male another one led by female, I think mostly in Malaysia would choose the male one, to be honest I'm not sure why. I'm competing in mental health and they are the other I would say competitors, some are male some are female but the thing is people lean towards male even when you're given opportunities. People always be like "let me see who are the other competitors, what are people doing in this area" and then they'll lean towards male perhaps and that's why you need to be confident and that's why I think that women entrepreneurs you need to be confident and that's something you can sell.
I mean it's different in how we were brought up, male are okay go to the playground play with this play rough sports take that risk take that challenge, but women are more soft on that side so generally are upbringing as well. So how we grew up, the personalities that we develop are very different so women are not trained or not brought up to take risks, they're more of the comfort providing that safe space that's the kind of personality that we have developed but some of us me especially the one the rebels who like the race who like the challenge, I will feel that hey I want to do what men are doing too where the ones who actually take the risk and the thing is how to get more women entrepreneurs, to give them that kind of education, that background, that support to encourage them to inspire them to take that place and that they can actually do it too if they want to.
I think you know when you go into business, it's mainly because you have passion right, so last year I was still doing construction interior design those kind of things, I was in my last semester of my PHD but then I suffered a nerve damage and that nerve damage really shifted everything in my life I had to stop almost everything, I deferred my PHD, I stopped all my businesses and I took a break for a few months because I was on painkillers and medication, it was a life that I never felt before. Going to depression, having anxiety, panic attacks and trust me it's not good having panic attacks and going to emergency rooms and then having the doctors look at you and be like calm down calm down, you can't keep going into panic attacks because you're gonna keep cramping up your body or you're gonna just make it even worse. I'm like it's not something I can control okay so that's when I realized that when you have those kind of breakdowns, no one really have sex and being in front of other people just makes you even worse, it doesn't really comfort you it makes you feel even worse because you have that kind of thing where people judge you so then I stayed at home took medication and I was so depressed no one was there to help me.
That's when I was thinking like okay I need to talk to someone without them knowing me without going out the house, I need some motivation videos, I need some relaxation activities all of my fingertips and where can you get that. You can see internet, youtube basically Google. We've got a few friends who are passionate about mental health, I think everyone whether close to them or around them has had their loved ones affected by mental health and there's nothing you can really do. So then that's why we wanted to do this app where you could talk with someone in two minutes, just chat with anyone, just share whatever you're going through anonymously so they don't know you. You've got motivational articles and videos if you just want to browse something just to lift up your mood and we've got those relaxation activities listening to peaceful soundtracks ocean waves, calming meditation, anxiety relief techniques, breathing techniques, all of that in just one app. You can just browse everything you don't have to open different types of platform to get that kind of relief and that's what got me started so it's basically what I really needed at that point.
I think what I want to share with you is take the risk. Take the risk now, I see a lot of people when they're 40 or 50 only taking the risk but it's about doing something while you're still young, trying out something different and trying to make it work, it's that kind of challenge in the life that makes it so meaningful.
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