When Tan Aik Keong was 14 years old, his father, Tan Ghee Hai, had bought him a computer. It was a gift that not only made Tan (Aik Keong) very happy at the time, but it also made him what he is today --- the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Agmo Holdings Berhad.
Agmo is a homegrown digital solution and application development specialist, and it is principally involved in digitalising its customers' business operations by developing mobile and web applications since 2012. Eventually, the Company has expanded its offering to include the provision of digital platform-based services and the provision of subscription, hosting, technical support and maintenance services.
The Company has developed more than 100 mobile applications since its establishment and its mobile applications are utilised by a wide range of clients with businesses across various industries, including healthcare, logistics, oil and gas, automotive, and financial services, as well as the government sector.
Tan, a former student of Chong Hwa Independent High School Kuala Lumpur , said his father, who operated a driving school then and is now retired, was not tech-savvy at all.
"My father worked very hard to provide for the family. I always wanted to help my father, and that inspired me to be an entrepreneur. He was my role model.
"As soon as I got my driving licence, I started helping my father out by fetching his students to the driving school.
"My father bought me a computer as a gift. At that time a computer that costs RM4,500 was considered very expensive. Some of his friends even teased him, "… you're so rich to buy such an expensive gift for your son?"
But it was a gift that has indeed paid off handsomely, even if Tan's father may not have known it at the time. Agmo's Initial Public Offering (IPO) which was oversubscribed by 120.15 times --- bearing testimony to Agmo's track record and strong growth trajectory --- will be listed on the ACE Market tomorrow (August 18).
Tan, the youngest among three siblings, said he is targeting for the company to be one of the top digital solutions provider, and will also be setting up a training and development academy within 18 months upon their listing.
The reason for having an academy was to groom and recruit new blood, as well as generate revenue for the company.
"The tech space is very competitive today. In the early 2010's there were mobile apps, followed by blockchain in 2015 and now it is the Meta. Going into the market is easy, but making it sustainable is the challenge.
"I have been organising workshops and training for Information Technology (IT) professionals and app start-ups regularly, and since we are in the industry, we are able to design the best training modules for our students, namely, Java script programming, blockchain, chatbot, mobile and web programming, among others," he said.
Tan is looking at expanding into Singapore, which is renowned for being a tech innovation hub and the company already has existing clients in the republic, namely, doc2us.com which is a joint venture with Dr Raymond Choy, a medical practitioner based in Singapore's Changi Airport.
Agmo is also the developer of apps such as DOC2US, NextProperty, WorkGrowth HRMS and EasyLaw, and they also have developed apps for a wide range of clients, such as Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Pos Malaysia Berhad, UMW Toyota Sdn Bhd, CTOS Data Systems Sdn. Bhd. and many more. In fact, Tan and EasyLaw's legal advisor Datuk Low Hann Yong, had known each other since secondary school and had participated in a tech competition together.
Although the tech space is always changing and evolving, challenges only fuel Tan's passion for technology.
A case in point is when scammers created fake websites to steal the data of a real company, Tan used reversed engineering to understand the thought process of the hacker in order to counter attack the clone entity. Tan also made the effort to blog about the scam in a bid to create public awareness on the matter.
Tan said the digital landscape is changing with redefining boundaries and customer expectation. With blockchain wallets emerging there will be sharing of education and health records, transferable data such as the type of cars that one has owned.
Tan graduated from Multimedia University (MMU) with a Bachelor in Engineering (Electronics) with first class honours in 2008, and has remained an active alumni by giving career and motivational talks to MMU undergraduates in spite of his busy schedule.
Bursa will see a shining new star with Agmo appearing on the ACE market tomorrow, and hopefully, it'll be a star that shines brightly in years to come.
