GEX’S virtual Face2Face with Jonas Kjellberg a hit

14^th August 2020, Kuala Lumpur – The second Face2Face with Innovators by Global Entrepreneur Xchange (GEX), featuring Jonas Kjellberg, Skype co-creator and internationally renowned digital transformation speaker was a massive success with over 3,000 c-suite executives, investors, technocrats and aspiring entrepreneurs tuning in for the virtual session.

Themed “How to Create Innovation and Build a Global Brand”, Kjellberg addressed the success formula for Malaysian entrepreneurs to expand and transform their business to break through to the international market, notwithstanding the compounding challenges of a softening economic landscape amidst a global pandemic.

Kjellberg, who currently runs Gear Up Ventures which focuses on implementing the innovation and entrepreneurship model set out in his book Gear Up, said, “For entrepreneurs and companies that are looking to be industry game changers, there are three main gears to focus on; customer acquisition, delight and innovation of business model.”

“An entrepreneur needs to know how to reinvent to constantly bring in customers to encourage growth, how to set their product apart from others in the market and how to rethink their business model to have a cost advantage like we did in the early days of building Skype with the concept of innovating in zeroes,” he added.

GEX launched Face2Face with Innovators early this year as a platform for local entrepreneurs and CEOs to interact with and learn from global leaders across different areas of expertise. Face2Face with Innovators enables entrepreneurs to have a fresh outlook to raise their standards and take their businesses to the next level.

GEX Chairman, Karthik Siva said, “GEX’s mission has always been to make our Client’s business matter. Through Face2Face with Innovators, we want to inspire entrepreneurs in Malaysia to take the necessary steps to grow their business while minimising the chances of failure by learning from the past experiences of our guest speakers.”

“Malaysians have a high entrepreneurial spirit but often do not have the right tools to ensure their ventures are successful. Through the many initiatives at GEX, we want to nurture and help entrepreneurs navigate their path to have a business that is thriving, both for them commercially as well as for Malaysia’s economic prosperity, given that entrepreneurs contribute over one-third to the gross domestic product annually,” he concluded.

For this round of Face2Face with Innovators, GEX forged partnerships with Standard Chartered Bank, AFFIN HWANG CAPITAL, Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), 10XCEOs and GrandPine Capital. The event was sponsored by Chin Hin Group Berhad, Feruni Ceramiche, Homevest Capital and Gunung Capital Berhad as well as supported by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Malaysian Oil and Gas Services Council (MOGSC) and BoardRoom Malaysia.

The digital conference also featured a live question and answer session between Kjellberg and Karthik, during which participants had the opportunity to interact directly with Kjellberg, seeking his advice on the way forward during the current scenario and how businesses can be better prepared to handle such situations in the future.

One of the Face2Face with Innovators participant, serial entrepreneur, Dato’ James Foo said, “I have attended many digital conferences in the past few months but Face2Face has brought it to another level in terms of content, technology and experience. This was an awesome session and I thank GEX for giving us the platform to learn from an innovative leader.”

Another participant, Hatten Group Executive Director & Deputy Managing Director, Dato’ Edwin Tan added, “Kjellberg’s content was very genuine, relevant, and practical to us as entrepreneurs. His out of the box ideas are the need of the hour as we entrepreneurs try to figure out how to sustain our business and reach out to consumers during the new normal post COVID-19.”

The next edition of Face2Face with Innovators will be held in March 2021. In the meantime, GEX will continue to conduct several other programmes including master classes and advisory sessions, digitally as well as in person. GEX will also be launching digital version of several books authored by GEX Chairman, Karthik Siva in the coming months on their website. For more information on GEX and their upcoming programmes, please visit www.globalentrepreneur.com.