Brothers in business

Three brothers who hit it big in the mobile technology world aren’t resting on their laurels just yet, writes Sumitra Valliappan

ALL it took was a march straight into the office of a local daily armed with nothing but sheer determination and the will to succeed. And that brought Kenny Goh and his brothers, Henry and Chee Seng (or CS), to where they are today.

Their company, Macro Kiosk, is today Asia's largest mobile messaging technology company, operating across 18 industries in 14 territories including Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

The young entrepreneurs from Subang Jaya walked into the editorial floor of the newspaper and asked politely if they could speak to the tech editor. As luck would have it, they did meet the editor and, after speaking to him and voicing their grievances, they were granted a small article in the tech section of the newspaper.

Blaring headlines the next week shouted the lack of support from local firms. It caught the attention of Goldis CEO Tan Lei Cheng. The property development company was in the midst of setting up a company in efforts to diversify and was looking at online technology. The rest, as the brothers say, is history.

Founded in 1998 in the garage of their family home, the three brothers used to tinker around and help friends and family with their computers for a small sum. Their first customer was their secondary school where they taught the teachers to use software programs to tabulate students’ results and more.

Soon, they moved on to helping their parents' friends and neighbours. Little did they know that their business would someday go global. After school, all three went off to further their studies, in fields totally unrelated to the IT industry but as Kenny puts it: "I guess it was our passion for technology that brought us back to the field and our degrees were an ‘insurance certificate’ in case we needed to fall back on something."

HELP FROM DAD

What started out as small ideas and talks in each other’s bedrooms eventually morphed into something big. "We realised it was getting bigger than just helping people out with websites and such, so we went out and put ourselves out there to get funding for our business plans and ideas," shares Kenny.

Crediting their initial success to the funding they received from their father, the brothers recalled how daddy paid for a few computers, the Internet bills (back in the days where modems made sounds when connected to the Internet) and drove them to the Registrar of Companies to register their company.

"It was definitely one of the most memorable moments we’ve had. I still remember how emotional that drive was, our hearts racing with excitement as we stood in line to put our names down as owners of the company," says Kenny, adding cheekily that it was daddy who eventually paid the registration fees.

"Having your name on the registration papers was a great thing but nothing compared to the feeling of having your own name card," adds a very excited Henry in the background. All three were grateful for the opportunity and pledged to buy their parents dinner if the business venture went well. "My father told us not to worry about repaying him for helping to register the company but instead asked us to make sure we made enough money to renew the company registration the next year," quips Kenny.

TEAM EFFORT

From there, the brothers fine-tuned their business plan and went knocking on doors to push their mobile technology ideas. It was unheard of back then, when even SMS was a big deal but the Goh brothers were convinced that someday, mobile technology would become a necessity more than just a trend or a fad.

"It was an uphill journey," says Kenny.

"At that time, we didn’t even know what Goldis was, or Tan & Tan for that matter," adds Henry.

Today, Macro Kiosk boasts a clientele list with names such as AirAsia, CIMB, Maybank and Maxis.

Growing up together and now, working together, can sometimes spell disaster for partners but at Macro Kiosk, the Goh brothers leverage on each other’s strengths.

"We are constantly challenging each other and when there are minor disagreements, these are brought to the table and discussed amicably," says CS.

Having grown this small backyard business into a successful global brand, the brothers are understandably very proud of their Made-In-Malaysia brand and vow to continue building the business, offering mobile solutions that make life easier for both clients and consumers.