TRAPO, a local car mat brand, passed the recent Endeavor Local Selection Panel 2021 that was jointly organised with Endeavor Philippines.
Endeavor, founded in 1997, is at the forefront of the global high-impact entrepreneurship movement, which aims to accelerate economic growth and job creation by identifying, mentoring and advancing the world's finest high-impact entrepreneurs.
The Endeavor Local Selection Panel is part of the Endeavor process in which entrepreneurs are grilled by eminent business executives and given critical advice on how to scale their enterprises.
The panellists in this session included:
Gaurav Bhasin (CEO Malaysia and Chief Strategy Officer of Carousell Group)
Rodney Wong (CEO of Munchy's)
See Wai Hun (CEO and Co-Founder of JurisTech)
Billy Valtos (Managing Director of Tao Corporation)
Roshini Bakshi (Managing Director of Everstone Capital Advisors)
Bobbit Panlilio (Chairman of JP Morgans Philippines)
TRASH TO TREASURE
Turning trash into treasure, the Lee brothers, Tzong and Zare solved a real market problem by innovatively transforming over 250 tonnes of foam waste to create 99.9% antibacterial* and easy-to-clean car mats.
Starting out as a team of two, TRAPO now boasts a headcount of 160 and has made a name for itself as a leading car mat brand in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
TRAPO has moved beyond vehicle mats, launching a line of products under the Oxtra brand name in 2020, including a motion-sensing automobile air filter, antibacterial car spray, and other items.
The present inflection point for TRAPO is to extend the leadership team in order to aggressively scale TRAPO regionally, which is on course to double its revenue since its launch in 2016.
HURDLES & GROWTH
The primary problem when they first started was convincing the market to move from coil mats to TRAPO mats, which are constructed of virgin polymer, EVA foam manufacture and recycled polymer.
"As a huge advocate of responsible consumption and production, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we spent two years perfecting TRAPO's mats, educating the market and ensuring the customers were fully satisfied with the product before we started to scale the business," said Tzong and Zare Lee, co-founders of TRAPO.
"Throughout our scaling journey, we have navigated through multiple scaling challenges by participating in the ScaleUp Program. We are excited to continue scaling TRAPO together with Endeavor Malaysia's support."
See Wai Hun, an Endeavor Entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of JurisTech commented that Tzong and Zare have achieved an amazing feat by utilising foam wastages from manufacturing companies and transforming waste into a profitable business.
"Despite a few challenges, I think with the right guidance from Endeavor, focusing on their mission and making the right decisions, TRAPO has the potential to scale even bigger," he continued.
See also added that high-impact entrepreneurship is essential for sustainable economies.
Stating his two cents, he said, "Malaysia will continue to develop excellent companies that benefit the economy if more entrepreneurs dream big, scale-up and pay it forward."
For more information about TRAPO, please visit their website here.
*Results may differ subject to the duration in contact with water
