THE Covid-19 outbreak has disrupted countless lives and businesses across the globe.
Malaysia's economy saw a high unemployment rate, owing to the Movement Control Order (MCO) where non-essential businesses were temporarily shut down.
For some, their businesses never saw the light of day again after the MCO was lifted.
But not all is gloom and doom.
The story of Yap Vin Li, 35, and her brother, Yap Zer Ken, 32, who launched a start-up during the pandemic, has proven that adversity can sometimes fuel a breakthrough.
Kapas Living, set up in Oct 2020, is a company born out of a crisis. It was founded to offer consumers a chance to savour the 5-star hotel experience in their homes.
The company sells linen bedsheet sets, duvet covers, among others, and plans to add towels and other home living items soon.
Zer Ken says their first startup was Plush Services - an Airbnb management company - which manages over 200 apartments across Klang Valley, Ipoh and Penang. When Covid-19 hit Malaysia, the business was not spared due to the travel ban.
"As we braced for a prolonged downturn, we explored other ways to sustain our business."
On this note, Vin Li, a former investment banker for nine years pooled resources and focused on the stock market.
With her experience in the capital markets coupled with Zer Ken who was formerly with an international pharmaceutical giant, they captured the pandemic-themed opportunities in the stock market.
Vin Li explains: "There are a few key principles that we abide when investing in shares. Be clear on what and why you are investing in a share. Are you investing in a certain growth angle? Is it credible or is it a "goreng stock?
"Always do your own research. Never rely solely on other's recommendation. Diversify selectively and not put all eggs in one basket. "Be decisive with reason. If an investment does not go well, know when to cut loss and move on. Remember to take profit when you are in the money. Research when exiting a stock, just as you do when entering a stock. During the start of the pandemic, we invested most of our liquid savings in hammered down growth stocks. Now, we've switched to dividend stocks."
She elaborates that many of these principles were applied to their experience with starting and managing Kapas and Plush.
"Diversification saved us. The decision to start Kapas has reduced our business risk and helped us survive."
Due to the MCO, with many people were staying home, Kapas' business was thriving with the revenue growing multiple folds within a span of 12 months since its inception.
"It dawned on us that it was difficult to find genuine quality bedsheets in Malaysia. Most were overpriced and full of gimmicks like misleading high treadcount. With our strong supplier relationships when procuring large quantities of bedding for Plush, we learned a lot about bedsheets." says Vin Li.
"Kapas is the combination of our passion for product development and customer experience. We rigorously test our products for months and continuously ask ourselves how we can make the experience better for customers. For example, we know putting on bedsheets can be a struggle, so we designed intelligent labels on our sheets to make it user friendly. Only when we are fully satisfied, then will we launch the products."
As for Plush, things are looking up as enquiries have been pouring in since the MCO was lifted, with occupancy rates registering at 80 per cent.
"It will not be as good as pre-Covid days as international borders are still closed, but we're optimistic things will return to normalcy," she says.
Vin Li and Zer Ken, from Kuala Lumpur, are the youngest among three siblings.
They shared a common goal, which was to stop working for others and instead chose to build something for themselves.
"Our dad passed away several years ago, and our mom is our huge supporter. She's always telling her friends about us and giving us free rent of her shop. Our elder sister is a doctor in Australia, who is not part of the business, but she is our biggest cheerleader," says Vin Li.
"Being an entrepreneur has been challenging to say the least. There were many moments of stress and firefighting. Having a business partner that you can trust through such periods made it all possible for us," she adds.
The writer was a journalist with the New Straits Times before joining a Fortune Global 500 real estate company. This article is a collaboration between the NST and Tradeview, the author of "Once Upon A Time In Bursa".