WHEN asked back in primary school "what do you want to be when you grow up?", many of Chin Ren Yi's classmates had said "scientist", "engineer" and "doctor".
For the 8-year-old Chin at the time, he wanted to be a clown, simply because he thought clowns could make people happy.
Yes, Chin, now the co-founder and managing director of the myBurgerLab chain, has wanted to deliver happiness ever since he was a kid.
While he was in university, he had worked as a part-time barista and saw the joy in the people's faces as they came into the café to start their day with a fresh cup of coffee.
"During my three-month summer break, I joined the 'Work and Travel USA' programme that enabled me to work as a server.
"I saw how the taste and presentation of a well-made food products could instantaneously bring joy to customers and it dawned on me that I could deliver happiness through food and beverages.
"While in the US, I also noticed that there was a trend of burgers that were neither in the 'fast food' nor 'gourmet' category. It was defined as 'fast casual dining'."
Chin finally graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in 2010 but he found himself not fancying the idea of working for others or getting into the rat race.
But while he had his heart set on the food and beverage industry after his graduation, his first two business ventures were somewhere else.
"I had started a T-shirt printing company while studying for my degree and then a digital coupon company after coming out of graduation. Those were my two early business ventures and both closed down eventually. But their failures were life lessons that taught me about what to avoid in my next business endeavour."
In July 2012, Chin got together with friends Teoh Wee Kiat and Cheah Chang Ming to launch myBurgerLab — the Malaysian version of Shake Shack and In-N-Out Burger — at SEA Park in Petaling Jaya, followed by the second outlet in OUG in 2013, Sunway (2014), Cyberjaya (2015) Cheras (2018) and Bangsar (2019).
However, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, myBurgerlab was not spared.
Even though Grab riders thronged the outlets, which gave the perception that the demand for myBurgerlab's burgers was overwhelming, Chin said the company recorded only a small profit margin and even suffered losses at times.
This was because the earnings from delivery was much lesser than dine-ins.
Meanwhile, Chin, a self-confessed introvert, said the pandemic realigned the priorities in people's lives.
Patrons more often opted for deliveries than to dine in, even after the Movement Control Order (MCO) restrictions were lifted.
The MCO not only changed the priorities of customers but also his business partners who wanted to exit the venture.
"It was extremely challenging at first because times were so uncertain. But thankfully, new investors have expressed interest and if all goes well, fresh funding is coming in and this will enable us to continue with the original plan to scale up the business."
Chin said with fresh investment, the group planned to pump in RM2.5 million, which would see all existing outlets getting a revamp, the launch of a halal-certified central kitchen in Ara Damansara in the first quarter of next year and the opening of more outlets.
With the halal certification, Chin said he projected a 20 to 30 per cent revenue increase for the company.
"There will be two more new myBurgerlab outlets and two Chick N' Buns express outlets in the next two years," he added.
Chin's advice to young entrepreneurs is to learn all they can about the business before venturing into it.
He said the reason his first two endeavours had failed was because he had not done that.
Chin also said he had seen too many entrepreneurs who went in with just an idea, and many restaurants and cafes having to close down within a year of opening.
"Times are so uncertain now that it would be hard for them to go back to getting a job should their business ventures fail," he added.
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 New Straits Times and Tradeview, the author of 'Once Upon A Time In Bursa'.
