scammeralert.info

Surprisingly, now only I realize Lamp Berger (LB) has been shut down 3 years ago. And according to source, these clubs that were raided were founded by former active members of LB. After the closure of LB, these money suckers hadn’t had enough wealth to fulfill their greeds, so they reborn a 2nd generation of LB. 10 years ago, MLM were targeted mostly on Chinese, and slowly, years by years, the Chinese has learn their lessons and are not easily tempted. Hence, the new generation 8282 club has divert their attention to target the Malay groups. For local malays to start a franchising business, they had a privilege to apply soft loan from the government. So, friendsclub, brilliantly, they utilized this as an advantage to theirs, and has market it for subsequent 3-4 years.

According to source, the company that runs these clubs hadn’t had a license or approval from Bank Negara to operate such activities in the country. Their style of  I wonder how much is the membership fees to join the club. However, upon joining, you get an business opportunity. Is there a product ? No~! service? NO! No product, No service, all you get is a business opportunity!? What kind opportunity you will get???? if someone from this club were to approach me… there will b lots of unanswered questionable doubts. Cause I don’t even get a tangible product to sell off in-order to cover off my cost. It looks more like a money laundering company, where u roll the money by sucking and sucking and sucking the money from your downlines.

Sadly, I don’t even think only the youngsters will fall for this, even the elderly generations which I overheard a group of aunties and uncles that were talking bout matching bonuses, binary systems, and How fast of getting back their money. And I observed how people convince the other. The wife try to convince his husband into the business, where the husband, by his facial expression, can tell he had too many doubts but he dare not question cause the group will start to brainwash him as he starts to speak. I hope the old couples will not fight over these issue~

I wonder when will there be another auction on those raided luxurious cars~~ hohoho…..

More photos, videos and News, click below for more info:

1. http://www.mlmscam.net/site/one-team/friends-club
2. http://www.voiceitout.com/2010/08/01/get-rich-quick-scheme-raid-with-video/
3. http://www.scammeralert.info/gadis-mlm-orang-kuat-friends-club-star-club-one-team-family-club-fc-8282-serah-diri/

Yes, I won’t deny that Multilevel Marketing can make you a fortune, gives you a better living. In fact, since the introduction of MLM, it created lots of millionaires around the world, its a proven concept. The question comes to whether if you are prepared for it yet. I have joined and tried a few, and personally, I don’t think I belongs there. So I quit. It just not my cup of tea. So before you join, considered these sacrifices:

1. Are you prepared that your friends (specially your closest friends) will reject your offer, and start running away from you.
2. Are you able to tolerate the spiritual style of motivations ceremony held weekly, everyone is like a hypnotherapist continuously brain washing you again and again, persuading you to become the next hypnotherapist. (I hated this the most, but you can’t deny their determinations and passion. I salute)
3. Are you willing to go all out, leaving your career behind and make a fortune in MLM. (In order to succeed in MLM, I suggested you go all out focusing on what you should do, where else you will not go anywhere)
4. Are you prepared to work your entire life with MLM? (MLMers will tell you that you need not work when your network is established and you will be earning a passive income monthly. and I don’t think that is entirely true. There is no free lunch in this world. No matter which level you have succeed in MLM, you will still need to work for it.) 
5. Are you prepared to take the blames from the person you recruited under you when things gone hay wired or you quit half way. (If you have caught in the most recent Get-Rich-Quick Scam such as the Red Island Cafe and Stevens Corner, you might feel the pain in the ass)
6. How sure that the company you joined is not a scam? (Nowadays, MLM fees has increased so dramatically. my time, it was only less than RM100, and now there are few which need to start off with RM10k –RM20k to ensure your commitments. If you do not want your money to fall into the drains, please do some homework. you can refer to this site for scam)
7. Please get your family support or a mutual agreement, your spouse specially. (I have seen husband and wife filed a divorce due to unsupportive relationships since one of the party involved in MLM). 

Lastly, Quitters of MLM like me are not credible to give any opinions here about MLM. I don’t want MLMers to blast this post with hatred. MLMers are businessman. and not entrepreneur, though they claim they are. The founders of the MLM company is, but not the MLMers that follows trends that the founder created. To differentiate Entrepreneurs with Business Man, please read this post. There is no free lunch.

Dear ICON Grant Applicants,

Congratulations.

We are pleased to inform you that your application for the ICON grant has been approved.  The secretariat will be contacting you soon for the arrangement of your letter of offer.

Thank you.

Regards,

Secretariat

Upon receiving this email, the excitements is ……zero. We have waited for too long and some of our previous plans has been overturned due to the delay of ICON Grant. However, as we expected, with full preparation of our effort from going door to door to get Letter of Interest from various parties, and with the past previous experiences in presentations and answering question, although we are still nervous, but experiences really made us when through the following presentation.  On top of that, I have learnt something from my partner which I am still very lack off in QnA. So, here is some advice with some tricky questions that my partner has answered well. Thanks to him that we have gotten through this stage.

• What is your expected revenue/profit?

Tricky Part: This is the most tricky question ever. Imagine if you have told them that your expected revenue/profit will be RM1 million. Wow, such a good business to do. If your idea could generate RM1mil, everyone will have started and there is no point for you to receive this grant. This question lures you into telling an unknown figure that you yourself are so unsure. Whether the numbers you have mentioned is reasonable or unreasonable it will definitely lead you to another question that will taunt you down. “So on what basis that your idea will help you generate RM1mil? how sure are you with your analysis?”

Answer: The best answer will be telling them that you are aiming to breakeven for the first year. In any start-ups, if you are able to breakeven the first year is considerably good and reasonable. Don’t try to talk BIG here, the panels are not stupid.

• What stage are you in now?

Tricky Part: This question is to see how SERIOUS are you with your own business. 

Answer: Even you have nothing started, just bullshit them that you had something started, whatever you have done to your make your idea come true. Of course, if you have really put in your effort, tell them! Grants are only given to people with real effort put in. (In matter affect, we have done IP and Trademark for our proposed idea, we have gotten letter of interest, we have our initial work done, now is left out with the money to push the product out)

• Since your clients has shown interest with your product, why do you still need the grant?

Tricky Part: Are you trying to con our money here? The panels will try to give all kinds of reason that you do not need the grant.

Answer: Yes. Indeed that our potential clients has shown interest with our ideas, however, there isn’t a tangible product to urged them to issue us a PO (Purchase Order) yet, and that’s why we only had a LOI (Letter of Interest) instead.

Back dated to 7-9 December 2009. MSC Malaysia kre8tif is the last event I attended in year 2009. Kre8tif Digital Conference, in the mission to showcase the best work from the Malaysian creative industry, and to invite many international industry experts to share their experiences, knowledge and ideas, for instance, Mr John Stevenson’s, the Director of KungFu Panda, gave a very insightful knowledge and experiences on the making of KungFu Panda. “Story is King”, the phrase denotes that the fundamental of a successful interesting animation lies within the story. 

There is a clear cut motive that I intended for the event. My ultimate mission is to get at least 1 broadcasters contact or any potential investors so that we could sell our idea. I am not a natural born salesman, and i felt like Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible”. of course the secondary missions will be understanding the industry’s future trends, competitors, technical knowledge and other information, etc.

However, while I was wandering around the event. Talking around, bullshitting around, throwing name cards (the ninja way). I had a very weird feelings walking up to competitors (specially the local’s one). for example, if i walk up to them, showing my name card, ask them how are they doing lately, seeking advice in the industry. Will they tell me the truth? So i tried on with one of the company, and I regret immediately, and I felt that I will never get the right answers. To me, I believed being sincere and truthful to the person i met is a kind of respect, however by showing my name card to the competitors, the information i get from them will be vastly filtered, so what’s the point of being sincere? Maybe I am too ingenuous to think that there is a day that we might had a chance to cooperate on a certain project. On the other hand, one of the most funny thing that I found out is, that some of the local companies, they complete their products first before selling it. Some gotten grant to developed a series of animations from MOSTI. but when I ask if they have secured any sales contract from the broadcasters, surprisingly the answer is ‘No’, and they told me the industry works that way. ???????!!!! WTF, I don’t believe!!! What if happens when the final product completed, and broadcasters do not like it? Anyway, they had the capital and resources. So is not up to me to judge. But I think I will do it in a different way.

Back to the mission. There is a session given by for broadcasters representative regarding on the industry. I feel lucky that the 3 largest local broadcasters has 2 turn up for the session, Mr. Zainir Aminullah executive director from Astro, Malaysia, Syafiq Al Fonse from RTM Malaysia, and lastly Tim Brooke-Hunt, Executive Head of Children’s Content for Australia’s ABC Television. I paid full attention to their talks, however, my mind keeps bothering me to “take their name cards”, “take it or you live hungry and miserable”~!!!! Right after the sessions ends. Oh gosh, people is like swarm of bees. I was just pancaked and squeezed out from the scene in seconds. I didn’t know they are even more hungrier people than me. However, I did manage to get their names cards, and we are in the process of setting appointments with Astro and RTM. Phewww~~~ Mission Accomplished.

Final conclusion, the event is a fun and awesome experience I never had before. I learnt a lot from the gurus, the competitors and the industry players.

For more information and the summary of the speakers presentation. follow this link: AnimationXpress

“FREE”, from the author of “The Long Tail”, Chris Anderson. The word FREE, sounds cheap, sheepish and stingy. However, I found it to be intelligent, brilliant and fascinating in the sense of business and marketing strategy. Long before this book was published, the word “FREE” has come to me while i am doing research for a business proposal. It is everywhere whether you realized it or not.

For products that I am interested with, “Cheap people” like me are always never hesitate to take “FREE” and discounted products. And people with high egoistic and self-esteem person will never understand. However, these people did not realised that the Radios they are listening and the TV they are watching comes “FREE” as well. and with today’s informative world of internet, most content and services are provided “FREE” such as, email, news, blogs, dictionary, music, video, software whether is it from google, yahoo, youtube or etc.

FREE is never meant by entirely “FREE”. Is just that money is being subsidized and transferred from one product to another or from one person to another. For example, our local media broadcasters such as “TheSun” newspapers, RTM 1, 2 and TV3, NTV 7 and etc, are provided free to the public to read, watch and listen. So where does the revenues comes from? It is obvious that these broadcasters charges the advertisers at a very costly price. So in this sense, audiences are being subsidized by advertisers to watch free content. Same goes to Google search engine, YouTube and etc.  Hence, whether is it a “buy one FREE one product”, or a “FREE trail” saloon, the intention is to gets consumers interested in the paid product. for example, Skype provide free phone calls to users, and you need to pay to call to cell phones.

Ideas can be generated within the “FREE” Model and it will be the future trend of businesses employs. For start-ups to employ such strategy will be a brilliant one. However, the tough part to employ such strategy is how you will be able to sustain the losing part to gain the interest of consumers with your paid products. Huge capital is needed.

1. Purpose of grant: Hooraay~~~ Malaysian will enjoy high speed broadband in the near future!! However, the authorities are afraid that the broadband penetration rate will still remain low after the implementation. Hence, the objective of this grant is to generate more local contents to encourage the nation broadband penetration. Hence, your proposal and business model must be able to align with their strategy in promoting broadband uptake in Malaysia. In actual, with or without the grant, with high speed broadband, i see a lot of opportunities ahead for businesses such as IPTV and etc.
2. Amount of grant: RM100,000
3. Duration: 8 months
4. Application Flow: The application flow for ICON grant is rather different from  PRE-SEED. For Pre-seed, after submission of application, you will need to present your ideas to the panels yourself. However, for ICON, after submission, you will be assigned with a representative from the ICON community, and you will present to your representative, and your representative will present on behalf of you to the panels. There is a possibility that you will also need to do the presentation yourself if the panels has doubts and they need further information or better understanding from you.
5. Disbursement method: I hope I did not interpret this wrongly from MDEC. If I do, please do correct me. PRE-SEED disbursement will be given upfront by MDEC in quarterly basis. However, ICON will be rather different. The phases are structured in 2/3/3 format. which means 2 months + 3 months + 3 months = 8 months. If I did not interpret wrongly from the community, the first 2 months, 20% of the requested amount will be given upfront from MDEC, but the remaining quarter, you will need to fork out your money first, and claimed back as proposed. In another word, if you are requesting for max RM100k, you need to have extra RM40k to survived the first 5 months after 20k has been disbursed.
6. Type of Programme Supported: Please read the following links = (ICONapps, ICONedu, ICONity, ICONex)
7. Forms and Application: Please contact them via their email to obtain the forms and application.
8. More details please contact them personally via their email. Please download the infopack

A few months back, I was helping a friend with their grant application, great business model with great proposal written. However, they failed due to poor presentations. A brief recipe of what you should be present:

1. Problem – What is the current problems in the market which you found it as an opportunity ?
2. Solution – The solutions to the problem. What can your system do?
3. Product – The main features of your product that provides the solution.
4. Demand – Show them the demand from the market. Tell them this is what the market wants. show them letter of interest.

I believe most of the you might have known of the above recipe. but what you have not notice which kengyew has pointed out, and I totally agreed with that. Things you should get notice for your presentation:

1. Don’t put your panels to sleep nor giving them a headache:
   • This is one of the mistakes that my friend did. The panels are listening to more than 20 presentation a day, they are tired, sleepy. So, Stop listing all the features that what your system can do.
   • Example, you are pitching to built a Toilet bowl with a system that is able to analyse human health condition by examine the faeces (your stool).
   • Hence, you do not list down every single feature of the toilet bowl from flush tank, design, flap seat, ass washer, can do this, can do that and bla bla bla bla bla etc. How boring was that!!!
   • All you need is to find out your few main unique feature, and focus on that only. the rest, mention in brief.
   • if you list down too many features, it looks more like a rojak system instead of a uniquely defined product, and may open up more problems and question for the panels to haunt you down.
2. Tell Stories
   • “Imagine, every morning when you are sitting on your toilet bowl, there is a nice sweet voice with background music, reporting on your health condition, advising you the amount of water you should drink, print and plan the type of food you should eat. Apart from that, if your ass get too numb, you get to comfort your ass with the massage system”,
   • rather than …“The toilet bowl that we proposed will have voice reporting system, a built-in speaker, a printer that will list down the amount of water should drink and the food to consume. and also, a built-in X2131 latest model of massage system.”..ZZZzzzzz …. who cares about X2131 model.
   • I am not a good story teller, that’s why I plan for my presentation with stories. Preparation is needed.
3. Is all about Emotion:
   • You don’t present like you have just gotten up from bed or your dog just died last night.
   • You need to show PASSION and EXCITEMENTS. Give me the money or i will ….~!

Malaysian Top model Amber Chia has now became the role model for all Malaysian startups. A lesson that should be learnt when dealing with businesses. According to the news in the recent papers (see: news 1, news 2), Amber ran into a business partnership with a friend that claim to possess a Franchising Agreement from Ford Model, an international model search franchise, to run a show based on Ford Supermodel of the World. Winners of the show would win US$50,000 (RM173,250) each, coupled with modelling contracts and stand a chance to compete in the Ford Supermodel of the World contest. The saddest thing is the business started off with a verbal agreement and Amber have no doubts on the Franchising agreement that her friend claimed to own. And these are the real facts that do always happens in the real world.

We humans tends to be over sentimental than rational when dealing with business. The moral that amber has taught everyone that no matter how close you are with your business partner, you will still need to take in consideration of self protection. Self protection is not meant by profiting only yourself, but is just to be un-harm, where risk are fairly shared and profits are fairly distribute. Coming back to the reality of life, Yes, the business world is cruel and complicated. Even blood brothers, relatives, siblings can betray each other, there is no doubt that your best friend will turn you over. Amber mistakes was not getting a confirmation from Ford Model from the very beginning before running into business and over trust a friend. Sometimes these kind of "sentimental relation risk" is needed to take, but we still can minimize the risk and to be extra cautious. I envied that Amber has the heart and ability to encourage, to train and nourish new young talented models from Malaysia, however, I guess, to protect and benefit others, first you will have to be strong enough to protect oneself.

1. How Business Ideas Work – Grant applicant must read.
2. How Business Plan Work – Grant applicant must read.
3. How Start Up Capital Work
4. How Does Venture Capital Work
5. 10 Ways to Finance A New Business
6. 10 Common Problems for New Businesses
7. How Business Legal Structure Work
8. How Marketing Plans Work

For those who are reading the my blog post on "Basic Tips and Guidelines for applying ICT Funding in Malaysia", the links above is a must read, specially the How Business Plan and Business Ideas Work.

At the recent local newspaper, it has known that the founder of pendrive is a Malaysian. Yes, indeed, Malaysian is the one that invented the pendrive(a thumbdrive, usb flash memory, etc or whatever u named it), Mr Pua Khein-Seng, the pride and proud of an Malaysian Entrepreneur (click here for more info). I felt proud for the moment when I was reading the articles that how Pua made his way up when he started his company (PHISON ELECTRONIC CORP) in Taiwan while he was only 27. I googled around and search for his profile and I came out to a very ironic information (which i do not know how true it was), that Pua was a rejected student from the local university, and even though his proposal of his USB flash memory (pendrive) was also rejected by Malaysian authorities, and he was force to stay back in Taiwan to start his invention. a Malaysian Entrepreneur which was not in MALAYSIA.

Today, PenDrive or USB Flash memory, has revolutionize the era of floppy disk and storage in the world of computer. As an inventor, just only by receiving licensing revenues from different manufacturer would have made how many billions of dollars from around the world. However, the most ironic thing is this, it is claimed to be a “TAIWAN TECHNOLOGY” instead of “MALAYSIA TECHNOLOGY“. First of all, the technology is patented under a TAIWAN company, funded and invented in TAIWAN, hence, it is a TAIWAN TECHNOLOGY. This is just one “in your face” disgraced for MSC MALAYSIA, that has missed an opportunity to sparkle and polish Malaysian capabilities that all pendrive around the world is a MALAYSIA TECHNOLOGY. Apart from that, the millions and billions of dollars that has flown into the TAIWAN company which is worth RM4.1Billion, instead of a MALAYSIA company has really really sadden me off. Arggg…..I am so sad, so angry, the money, the pride, the proud~~ gosh, all gone to TAIWAN~! You can’t blame Pua. Now, whether is it for 1Malaysia, reporters has been running around to spot out entrepreneurs that has lost from malaysia, asking them, “Will you be coming back? do you still love your country? will you bring back your business?”, i think most will answered, yes, I love my country, i will be back. In terms of bringing back the business, hmmm, what will be the offer from the country? My business is well established out of malaysia, whats for the hassle to bringing it back?

I was wondering, if Pua managed to do this in Malaysia, will it be the same achievement as he has in Taiwan now? so? the pride, the proud or the shame?