When Simon Loh started his first company, he did it because he wanted to chart his own future. Starting as a mobile phone distributor for Ericsson, Loh bided his time until the prepaid mobile subscription boom in 1999. That was when he launched e-pay Malaysia and pioneered electronic prepaid payment solutions for DiGi Telecommunications. e-pay Malaysia is a joint venture with e-pay UK Ltd.

"After the launch of the e-payment solution, we gave up distribution of mobile phones in 2001. We focused on providing e-payment solutions for various prepaid products and approached the Australian and Indonesian markets with our offerings. Since then, we have moved into three Asian markets — Indonesia , Thailand and Pakistan . Today, we process roughly 10 million transactions a month in these three countries and Malaysia ," says Loh.

Seeing that the telecommunications industry is dynamic, he says innovation is a must to keep ahead of the game. He defines innovation as new ways of doing old things so product owners are able to create more efficient and cost-effective products. To drive innovation within e-pay Malaysia , the company invests A$1.5 million per annum in its two in-house R&D centres located in Belgrade and Cyberjaya.

"The A$1.5 million is spent on extracting ideas or talent. We have a flat structure and we provide our employees with the freedom to work, especially in R&D. I personally don't believe much in piles of reports but rather in deliverables and outcomes," Loh elaborates.

In the heat of globalisation, he believes that venturing out of Malaysia is no longer an option or choice — it is a must. e-pay Malaysia started expanding outside the country five years ago. "For our expansion strategy, we have a different sort of matrix. Our vision is to be the leading player in Asia for electronic prepaid solutions. Hence, we don't have any intention of moving into the US or UK markets. We will remain in Asia ," Loh explains.

Meanwhile, retention of human talent has been a dark cloud hanging over many small and medium-sized enterprises. Loh believes in an environment that is conducive to attracting and retaining talent. "I believe e-pay Malaysia has achieved three elements — tapping into the human capital market, profiling our company and attracting talent. We often work on a particular person's strength and within our pool of resources. However, we do face challenges in retaining our people."

As an entrepreneur, Loh focuses on the core values of hard work and "homework". He puts in an average of 12 hours per day at work. "Entrepreneurs don't sleep; they think all the time," he jokes. Loh also feels that to succeed, entrepreneurs must be good listeners and have the ability to make decisions and be responsible for their actions. It goes without saying that they have to be risk takers, he adds.

"Any business has competition. That's why a company must have its uniqueness and continuously innovate to stay ahead. We have to keep looking for different ways to do different things. Therefore, there is a need to reinvent ourselves according to times," he says.

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