Ep 24: Malek Ali - Founder of BFM 89.9 & Fi Life

Malek Ali is a former lawyer turned serial entrepreneur most known for founding BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel, and Fi Life, Malaysia’s first online life insurance service. Malek shares a ton of fascinating insights on what it’s like being an entrepreneur & trust me when I say he hasn’t had it easy! It seems as though every time he starts a business, a financial crisis hits! Some highlights of our STIMY episode include: 2:52: His childhood & being asked to decide on which parent to stay with during their divorce at the age of 5; 4:55: Accompanying his father (and later, brother) on their many overseas business trips particularly in France; 7:52: The 1985 recession that crushed the slimming center business chain that his father was running; 8:46: Why Malek initially studied law when his first love was in business; 10:22: Working at Allen & Overy in London, including on a deal that involved the bankruptcy of Canary Wharf; 11:48: Studying for his Harvard MBA & the lessons he drew from that (he was classmates with Sheryl Sandberg!); 15:43: Founding KL Classifieds, his first startup, in 1997 & why that landed him RM300,000 in debt; 16:50: How Malek got out of his debt & ended up working at JobStreet; 21:26: What he learned from his time as Head of Mobile at Maxis, then Yahoo; 23:20: What Sue Decker, then CFO of Yahoo, taught him about the importance of creating good products; 25:29: What pushed Malek to start BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s only business radio channel; 30:50: The challenges he faced in getting investors on board; 34:08: How Malek obtained a dormant frequency for broadcasting BFM 89.9; 36:10: The collapse of Lehman Brothers & BFM 89.9’s struggle to cover relevant content with their threadbare staff; 38:18: Getting sponsors for BFM 89.9 including from Malaysia Airlines; 40:51: Sensitive topics that can’t be discussed on air; 42:12: Listening to customer feedback & how to handle complaints; 43:47: The different interviewees that have come through BFM’s doors & how their attitude informs their character; 45:47: Whether radio will ever be obsolete; 48:41: Why Malek started Fi Life; 50:27: Reading up on the investment portfolios of many other people on Fi Life’s “This Is How I Invest” blog series; 50:56: Impact of COVID-19 on the media space; and 53:18: How listeners can help Malek. Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/24