The Indelible VC
SEA of Startups
Joe Khoo - iStore iSend
0:00
-48:33

Joe Khoo - iStore iSend

Warehousing-as-a-Service (WaaS) solutions

This week we are joined by Joe Khoo of iStore iSend, which is a holistic end-to-end e-fulfilment company providing Warehousing-as-a-Service (WaaS) solutions, serving more than 1,000 businesses across 6 different countries, as of this recording.

This was a great conversation as we touched on some great milestones in the Founder journey, including a pivot which meant turning away 90% of revenue.  The Company has evolved and grown across the region with a constant focus on optimizing processes and driving efficiencies for themselves and their clients.  A truly impressive story of a Malaysian company going global.

I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Joe Khoo. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone that you’d like to hear me speak to, drop me a message.

Listen now on AppleSpotifyGoogleOvercastPocket Casts, and YouTube.

Where to find Joe Khoo:

• LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-khoo-49a41293/

• iStore iSend:  https://www.istoreisend.com/

Where to hear more from The Indelible VC:

• Newsletter: https://insights.indelible.vc

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndelibleVc

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbrockland/

In this episode, we cover:

[01:38] Origins of the entrepreneurial journey among childhood friends.  Recognizing the boom in e-commerce was coming to Southeast Asia which led to targeting logistics.

[3:40] Breaking the taboo of logistics among family who had an outdated view of the industry.

[5:03] Shifting the business from what it became towards what they originally intended.  They dropped 90% of their revenue to make this shift.

[10:42] Technology focus in building the business and to optimize the human labor component and the space component.  

[13:35] Expanding their business model to Warehousing as a Service, leading them towards an expansion to 29 warehouses across 6 countries.

[18:11] Two founders, without background in logistics, focused on optimizing the process by dissecting each part into components and modules.  This enabled them to design a process that optimized efficiency of labor and space.

[22:47] Overcoming the hurdles of commercializing internally developed software.

[30:54] Growth of an organization’s headcount, the “Founder’s Playground”, and from multiple hats to specialized

[38:14] Defining success for the organization

[41:52] What are the metrics that guide if they are on track

[44:47] Closing questions

The Indelible VC
SEA of Startups
At Indelible Ventures, we strive to promote the startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia and bring attention to the stories of entrepreneurs and the businesses they have founded. By promoting the ecosystem, we aim to draw more attention and, with it, more VC Funding to Founders.
RELATABLE - We uncover stories from Founders in our local market that will be relatable to an audience of Founders and Funders in the local market.
USABLE - Our intent in surfacing these stories is to build the local knowledgebase derived from relatable and relevant experiences of a true peer set.
SOUTHEAST ASIA - Limited audio content focuses on Founders in Southeast Asia. Further, as a Malaysia-based company, we are biased towards showcasing the underrepresented ecosystems in Southeast Asia.
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Kevin Brockland CFA