Niaga SPOTLIGHT: Startup Success | What Comes Next?

Name: Niaga SPOTLIGHT: Startup Success | What Comes Next?
Uploaded: 2026-10-30T03:24:46+00:00
Duration: 28 min 5 s
Channel: AWANI

00:02Hello, I'm Tamina Kaosji and this is Niaga Spotlight. Today our spotlight falls on startup

00:06success and what comes next. Well, at some point, every startup founder faces the same burning

00:12question. Can this business stand on its own? Well, it's always wonderful to have repeat customers,

00:17salaries also have to be paid, and expanding overseas also means putting money at risk

00:22before knowing whether it will pay off. Now, the companies in Cradle's Malaysia Top 100 Startups

00:282026 edition generated a whopping 8.5 billion ringgit in revenue in financial year 2024.

00:36Now, behind that top line figure are years of decisions about what to build, who exactly to

00:42hire, and when to take a chance. So what can we learn from their experience and where do the many

00:48other startup founders across Malaysia's thriving ecosystem for startups still require support?

00:54Well, joining me for this very timely discussion is Norman Mathieu-Wan Hacker, Group CEO of Cradle.

01:01Very good morning, Norman.

01:03Thank you. Pleasure to be here.

01:04Absolutely. So, Norman, let's get into it. Tell me all about the Top 100 Malaysian Startups

01:092026 edition, and of course the work that went into not just collating it, but identifying these

01:14companies and having supported them.

01:16Yeah. Well, first off, I mean, we are so proud to have our very first edition of the Malaysia

01:21Top 100 Startups for the 2026 edition. It's been more than a year's worth of work, but if

01:28I want to be honest, actually, it started way back in 2021. When we first launched the My

01:33Startup platform itself before it was upgraded to become the nation's single window for startups

01:38in 2024. There, today, you can find more than 5,000 active startups are being tracked over

01:46there. So, from there, there is that population of the entire Malaysian startup ecosystem. And from

01:52there, we narrow it down to, you know, to the final 100, you know. And we looked at not just

01:58their

01:58revenue, you know, but we also looked at in terms of their growth, in terms of their fundraising

02:03performance. And also, we look into the specific industries that they're in, the kind of

02:08technologies that they're in. So, there's quite a bit of a, quite a lot of work that actually went

02:12to this, and actually, we're very proud of this. Absolutely, because I think it's really valuable

02:17that Cradle has also looked at the entire ecosystem of startups. Since, of course, the

02:22top 100, they represent perhaps a top two, top three percentile of that entire ecosystem.

02:28So, at the same time, what would you say are some of the interesting findings that came out of having

02:34covered this entire startup ecosystem versus the ones who came out right on top? There are, of course,

02:40substantial differences between what makes a sustainable startup versus one that may get

02:46off the blocks and do really well, but then perhaps stutters a little bit when it comes

02:51to going past that one or two-year mark, right? Well, this publication is meant to answer all

02:58those questions, actually. Sure, sure. You know, sometimes when you go about and, you know,

03:01going through all the whole 5,000, it's quite difficult to actually identify exactly. You know,

03:06every single company has their own path of growth, their own path to success, right? But when we look

03:12at just the 100, then we can start to see some very, very interesting patterns. And it's quite

03:17interesting because I've always had this kind of feeling that Malaysian startups are built differently.

03:23Okay, tell us more. What do you mean by built differently? Of course, we're a very unique country.

03:27When you talk about startups, people always tend to mention that, oh, everyone, all the startups are

03:30always non-profitable. You know, 90% of them will fail. But when I look at this, right, when you

03:36look

03:36at the top 100 list, right? Yes, okay, they're there. But 36 of them actually do make profit.

03:43And it's not like insignificant amount of profit. It's not 10 ringgit, 100 ringgit. There's at least a

03:47million ringgit. Right. And at least one of them actually have an annual revenue of less of around 10

03:53million that are making profit that is more than 1 million. So that's more than 10% net margin.

03:59That's very interesting. And then 66 of them are actually AI powered. So yes, they may not be an

04:07AI native startup. Some of them may be in, you know, health or automotive or, you know, like drones.

04:15But they employ AI solutions. They employ AI technologies into their products, which is, which again,

04:21we find it very, very interesting among Malaysians in the sense that we are adopting the latest

04:26technology in our solution. So that is the key insights here. Actually, I can go on more. Actually,

04:31there's a lot more here that I would like to talk about. Exactly. And thank you for that brief overview,

04:36because what you're saying actually is very meaningful as we're cresting out of 2026 and Q4,

04:42because one consistent bugbear that comes across, especially when it comes to our enormous SME,

04:50MSME sector, is that they adopt technology, but it's not deep, meaning that it does not necessarily

04:57take over streamlining and maximizing solutions for the business. Meanwhile, here you're saying that

05:04what you know, what you're noting from, especially the 36 featured companies that were,

05:09that were going up there with the recorded net profits, they're actually able to bridge that gap

05:15to natify AI, even though they may not be AI native companies. So when Cradle assesses a company,

05:22Norman, tell us a little more about how it distinguishes between the company's spend on

05:27future earnings from a business model that perhaps becomes the opposite. It becomes more

05:34difficult to sustain it because of how much you need to keep pouring into it, right?

05:40Well, I was from the corporate background before, and typically, I mean, I've done something like

05:45this before for a different industry, way back when. So it was in the online gas, so we did the

05:49top 100

05:50for online gas services companies in Malaysia. And in there, we looked at revenue, right? We ranked them

05:55based on revenue. But when it comes to startups, I think, what is that measure of success? And it's not

06:00just

06:00revenue. It's also how fast you're growing. And in the age of, you know, there's a lot more emphasis

06:08and importance on sustainability. How sustainable is your business, you know? So we look at these

06:13three main criteria, actually, when we come up with this top 100. So it's not a purely list that

06:20is ranked based on revenue, but we're looking at their growth. And a lot of them are actually growing

06:25very, very well. I think average-wise, the 100 is like 87% on average. So I think that's pretty

06:31high.

06:32And then, of course, when it comes to their fundraising performance, you know, a lot of them

06:36have actually raised their own funds, you know, and actually gone through the later stages of

06:41investments as well. And of course, their revenue as well. Some have gone way beyond 100 million

06:46ringgings. So hence why that's how we got the 8.5 billion out of the 100, actually.

06:50So that is very interesting about the startups that are doing well. For those on the flip side,

06:57that may be finding difficulties to move out of the silo of funding into actually making the best

07:04use of that funding. What would be some of Cradle's strongest recommendations so that they can hopefully

07:09get back up on their feet too? Yeah, yeah. I mean, the idea for this is not, you know, just

07:16to highlight

07:17the top 100. Actually, it becomes a bit of an aspiration for the rest, actually, to be there.

07:22So it sets that benchmark, right? So to be at the top of the whole population, the entire startup

07:28ecosystem in Malaysia, these are your criteria. These are your metrics that you should look at.

07:34And then, you know, from then on, then we can talk about, okay, what else do we need to

07:38be able to help, you know, the larger populations? Well, I mean, if I were to share with you every

07:43year,

07:43nearly a thousand startups come over to apply for our grants in Cradle. And has that number

07:49increased in recent years? Yes, it did. I would say that before two years ago, it was

07:55hovering around four or five hundred, but I think the past couple of years... That's very encouraging.

08:00Yeah, pretty much so. But of course, you know, we only have so much that we can give out as

08:04grants.

08:05So last year, it was a bit less than around about 70 for this year, actually, this year's allocation.

08:10But having said that, you know, what happens to the rest? So it's kind of, it's a bit of something

08:15that's burning within me to say that, okay, what else can we do actually to the other 900

08:19that do not get the grant? There's this, let's call it a bit of a myth, because it's not necessary

08:25that we expect at least 90% of startups to fail. What's changed in the past one or two years?

08:32I'm a disbeliever when it comes to the typical startup statistics. So, you know, we've been hearing

08:39all this about, you know, out of 10 startups, only 90% of them will fail, right? So I always

08:45question,

08:46I mean, ourselves, why can't we make it 50%, why can't we make it 100% of them actually succeed?

08:52Well, you know, coming from Cradle's history, actually, I mean, an interesting fact,

08:55our commercialization rate for our prototyping grants stood at, I think, above 75%.

09:02All right.

09:03So that is nearly 80% of all the ideas that went through the grant program materializes into

09:10a commercial proposition, into an actual project.

09:12That's a really incredible margin.

09:14That is a really good benchmark. But it does come with a lot of work, a lot of focus, you

09:19know,

09:20a lot of ensuring that we get the right ideas through. So this is the same message that I would

09:25like

09:25to give to the rest of the population as well. Think about your idea, think about your product,

09:30you know, really, you know, study deep into it, you know, don't just, you know,

09:33have an idea and just straight away start to do your pitch deck, you know,

09:37without actually thinking through what you're trying to propose.

09:41Sure. And Norman, then moving into looking at the companies which are bringing in the bulk

09:47of the top hundreds profitability, that would be automotive and logistics. You've got commerce

09:53and consumer businesses that they accounted for roughly seven billion ringgit of the 8.5 billion

09:59revenue. So tell us a little bit more about these ultra high value startups and what they have been

10:07able to do after a closer examination of the margins, the profitability and how they have organized

10:15themselves to go into this industry. Yeah. Well, when you looked at the, if I may,

10:21Sure. This is a brief look at the whole industry, right? So we have from the automotive to the

10:27commerce and consumers and AI and data and so forth. So yes, you're right. From the 8.5 billion,

10:33the biggest two contributors are from automotive logistics and consumers and commerce. But if you

10:37look at the automotive and logistics, the growth, average growth is actually 68%. So what does it tell

10:43you? It's yes, they're generating a lot of revenue, but they're not growing as much. If you're looking

10:49at AI and data, which actually records the highest average GAGR or average growth at 177%. And this is

10:57only from nine companies. Yeah, sure. They're making about 200 million a year. But if you look a little bit

11:03deeper into that, you, you know, there are certain parts of this that looks into the fundraising

11:09performance. Okay. So over the four years that we studied, they raised about 14 million ringgit,

11:15all right, in terms of total capital raised. But if you were to add up all their revenues,

11:20it's more than 600 million. So from that 14 million initial capital, the industry, the nine companies that

11:27are in AI and data are actually generating more than 600 million revenue. So it's actually not really

11:32about ensuring that you get an immense funding round, right? Well, it depends on the technology.

11:37So when you go to deep tech, so deep tech, any research-based technology, yes, you will need a lot

11:44of initial capital. And if you go into that section, you will find that the initial

11:53capital that went in is actually pretty, really high. Right. But it takes time. Yeah, there you go.

11:59That's a completely different model. Yeah, it's a completely different. So you have to understand

12:03the industry that you're in. They're all very, very different. But I would like to highlight this,

12:07though. Deep tech and life sciences, yes, they took a while to grow, but then average net margin is

12:13pretty high. That's every 7% out of eight companies. It's all about always staying consistent. But

12:20beyond consistency as well, where is Cradle seeing a little more evidence that AI is actually the key

12:28behind enabling the growth and sustainability of the businesses? Yeah, I mean, we do see the

12:33prevalence of the impact of AI within a startup's business. I mean, you rightly mentioned so. And

12:39it's also evidence within this that 66 of the top 100 actually employ or utilize AI technology in some way

12:46within their offering. So we see this to only increase going forward, actually. And you know,

12:53our applicants this year alone, I think at least 70% of them utilize AI in some way in their

13:00offering.

13:01So, I mean, people tend to be afraid of the AI takeover. But having said that, I think there's a

13:06lot of opportunities that can actually be realized and leveraged out of this AI technology. And it's not just

13:13about creating AI chatbots or AI agents. I mean, AI tech can also be used in biotech,

13:19can also be used in other forms of technology as well, to really accelerate the development and

13:25also the adoption. The R&D part of it, right? You don't have to wait five, six, seven, eight years.

13:30Why don't you utilize AI and maybe you can accelerate that and get to market even quicker.

13:34And you don't also have to depend upon others developing the AI solutions.

13:39Yeah. If you have sufficient allocations for looking at AI, for R&D, for your specific sector,

13:45right?

13:45I mean, I mean, I mean, one part that I would like to add on to that, actually,

13:49we have guys locally that are good in AI tech. They're listed here. Why don't we collaborate

13:57with them? We have our own technology, right? I want to develop something. I don't know,

14:01the next flying car or something like that.

14:03Yeah. So on that part, Norman, thank you so much for the conversation so far. We take a quick break.

14:08We'll be right back with this rest of the discussion on startup success and what's next. Stay tuned.

14:22Welcome back to Niagara Spotlight. Still with me, Tamina Kausty. And today,

14:25we're looking at the startup success game and what it takes to go beyond that with Norman

14:30Matthew Van Hacker, who is the group CEO of Cradle in Malaysia. So, Norman, getting back into the

14:36conversation. Now, from the featured companies list, you also have several, 58 to be precise,

14:42that operate beyond Malaysia. Let's talk about this group of companies whereby an overseas presence

14:49for a startup can mean anything from a really small outfit, just servicing, to all the way to

14:55a substantive local operation. What has Cradle been noting about these companies?

15:02Well, Cradle sits in a position where we are looking into the early stages of a startup's

15:10growth, right? So, it's where the risk is as its highest. So, when we see startups are actually,

15:17you know, even in first or second day or first week of inception and are already expanding overseas,

15:21that really encourages us because we know that the product that's been developed or the service

15:26that's been developed is global ready. So, why limit ourselves? So, for us, we see this as very

15:34encouraging signals, actually, that our product can be sold beyond our borders. So, what we need to do

15:40now is to be able to support them even better. So, the one thing that inhibits other startup founders

15:47from expanding overseas is that the fear of the unknown, not knowing whether my product can sell,

15:52not knowing whether I can be accepted by the market out there, or what regulations should I

15:57follow when I'm over there. It's very different than how it is over here. And it's very different

16:01even in Singapore, in Indonesia, right? You don't have to go very far even. So, what can the startup do?

16:07So, this is where agencies like us, like Cradle, come in and to be able to create that bridge that

16:13would help them to cross over to another market. So, we create this my startup platform to provide that

16:19access to information and even opportunities as well. So, we do a lot of matching with other markets.

16:26We do a lot of awareness program and we do travel to other markets as well to find opportunities for

16:32our local startups and to see that more than half of the top 100 having international presence as one of

16:39the key factors of their success really pushes us to know that this is something that is really

16:45worthwhile for us to push for. And that one-stop hub for information is one part of the equation, Norman.

16:52Let's talk a little bit more about what you've actually noticed when it comes to those who are

16:58actually going into substantive international operations but towards the beginning arc of their expansion.

17:06Well, the thing about startups and the beautiful thing about startups, I mean they are so flexible,

17:12so agile. So, I know this one founder who has started with a Cradle Grant actually and is now in

17:20the

17:20States operating really, really well. So, his entire back end remains here in Malaysia but his front end,

17:28his sales office is in the States. I see. And there's only three persons. The rest is run by AI

17:33agents.

17:33It's very lean. So, you don't have to have a big office outside of Malaysia to be able to, you

17:40know,

17:40expand your market actually. So, I think with how connected the world is right now, how globalized the

17:47technology is right now, I think you can find that really, really efficient ways of really expanding

17:52your market. You don't really have to set up. But of course, you have to respect the market and its

17:57regulations. You know, you really have to understand. So, having the on the ground information of market

18:03demand, I mean you have to know whether your product can sell over there or not, you know. And then

18:08of

18:08course, you have to know things about, you know, the talent and the resources that you need to be able

18:14to sell within that market as well. So, these are some of the things that you need to think about

18:18and

18:19it's no different than any other companies out there as well. It's the same kind of consideration.

18:22But I think being a startup, being where you are right now, you're lean and mean. So, you tend to

18:28be a bit

18:28more agile and be able to expand a lot quicker actually.

18:32I'm just curious Norman, also because Cradle was also there completely supporting the ASEAN year that was

18:39last year. Would you say that we have seen a little more momentum around our startups wanting to push on

18:46having the courage and the vision now because of that year. And is it going to sustain us till the

18:52next round?

18:52Oh yes, definitely. I mean, coming from us, I can tell you we will definitely be pushing a lot

18:57more of that actually. I mean, last year was just the start of it. So, we launched something that is

19:02actually almost an equivalent of my startup platform. So, we call it Startup ASEAN, which is a

19:07single window for ASEAN startup ecosystem, right? So, you want to know opportunities beyond Malaysia,

19:12what's happening in Laos, what's happening in Myanmar, what's happening in Indonesia. You want to

19:17connect with investors outside. All is there for you to access. But of course, it's one thing to

19:26access the information, it's another to actually be there and see how the market is like and to

19:30actually identify the situation. So, we do run programs like, you know, when we go to overseas

19:36exhibition trade programs or conferences, right? We do bring startups over there to actually, but

19:41it's not a sightseeing trip. It will never be a sightseeing trip. It will be with a purpose to

19:47the point where we actually put some KPIs. There's target KPIs. Exactly. So, if we were to take you there,

19:52you got to, you know, actually, you know, either sign on a business or a funding deal.

19:56Not a ringgit wasted. But that brings us back to at the report launch, Norman. Now,

20:01financing difficulties for companies who are at the Series A, Series B stages were highlighted.

20:07How does Cradle then establish whether a promising business is being held back by a shortage of

20:12suitable capital or whether actually investors are having more concerns about its performances,

20:18valuation or its route to eventual returns?

20:22I mean, I can see, I mean, it's not just in Malaysia. I think within the region as well,

20:26I mean, startups are probably facing some difficulty in raising later stage funding, right?

20:32But within Malaysia itself, I think the challenge has always been about awareness, about, you know,

20:38the kind of opportunities within the startups for investors to invest in. I am a firm believer that

20:44money is there, actually. But these days, the money is a bit more cautious. So, we need to

20:51understand how do we attract... A bit more strategic, perhaps?

20:53A bit more strategic, yes. You know, probably last time it was growth at all costs. Maybe now the

21:00sentiment is a little bit towards that, yes, I want you to grow, but I want you to be profitable

21:04or sustainable as well. I want you to have that vision so that perhaps you can capture more market share.

21:09Yeah, exactly, right? So, this is why we do this. So, this is why we're not just reporting about growth

21:15or just about revenue. You know, profitability matters, how your funding performance matters

21:20as well, and the areas that you're looking at matters to potential investors, not just locally,

21:26but overseas as well. But within Credo itself, we do have another program as well to actually

21:30bridge that gap. So, we call it Elevate. So, it's actually, first of its kind. I mean,

21:35I've been going around everywhere, regionally and beyond, to ask, have you seen something like

21:39this before? Not really. So, what does Elevate provide? Exactly. So, it's beautiful. Tell us more.

21:45So, it's a three-way funding setup, actually. Okay. So, where the objective is to ensure that the

21:53startup would be able to capture the next stage funding. But then again, the next stage funding

21:58has its own requirements. So, for me, for them to be able to invest in the startup, I need that

22:03startup

22:03to be able to meet one, two, three, four, five criteria. So, how do I do that, right? For the

22:08startup,

22:09the startup, I don't really have the money to actually meet those before I start attracting

22:12your money, right? So, this is where Credo comes in. Right. So, we will fund that initial milestones

22:18for them to meet. Close that gap so that they can focus on other sustainables. Yeah. And then,

22:23once you meet all that, the next investor will have to come in. So, it's a three-way kind of

22:32a funding

22:32agreement where Credo puts in the first tranche upon completion, then only the next funder will come

22:37in. So, that is a way for us to bridge that gap and really pull the investor to come in

22:42and invest

22:43in startups. Elevate indeed because you remove that completely off their plate, in a sense,

22:48and just make sure that they are able to focus on sustainability. So, let's say a successful trial

22:54with a government agency or maybe a large company does not necessarily lead to any kind of a commercial

23:00contract for startup X. From the cases Credo has been looking at deeply, where does that transition

23:08period often fail if they're not really able to make it despite that traction? Again, coming from

23:14a corporate background, I mean, I am not too surprised at the apprehension towards working with startups

23:20because, you know, some people will probably think that, oh, the startup is not profit-making.

23:25You know, if I were to enter into a contract with them, they'll close down the next day, right?

23:29But then again, I think there's a lot of support system for startups to be able to

23:33be able to deliver on their promise, you know, to actually and then create value for the corporate

23:38itself. So, hence why we try to catalyze this movement from the BIG program.

23:43Okay.

23:44Yeah, it was a Bankal University GLC, now it's simply called the BIG program.

23:48So, working with MOF and MUSTY as well in this program. So, this is where we attract the largest

23:54corporates in Malaysia, GLCs and public listed companies, to come and work with startups. So,

24:00it is a matching grant program. So, a grant up to two million provided by the government,

24:05but it has to be matched like for like with the corporate itself. So, you have to have skin in

24:10the game,

24:10right? You have to have that conviction to actually see this through. And we're seeing the interest

24:15is actually quite a lot, actually. And we are very encouraged by it. And we are into our second year

24:20this year, actually. So, last year, our first cohort, seven GLCs were engaged within this program.

24:26So, there were the likes of TNB, e.co, SIMDARB, you know. And from there, more than 20 startups were

24:34engaged to create, develop and provide solutions for these corporates. So, it is our hope

24:40that, you know, when this happens, the value can trickle down into each of the corporates' own

24:45ecosystem to, you know, see the value in working with startups. Yes, there are challenges. And we

24:52worked with each of the corporates to actually break down that whole process on how to make

24:58working with startups, well, safer from a risk perspective, but also can create larger value

25:04for the business itself. Exactly. And what you mentioned about bringing those GLCs in

25:09actually speaks about trying to break out of the silo mentality. And once that is actually enabled,

25:16what happens is pretty much magic. Now, let's perhaps land this conversation, Norman,

25:20by telling us a little more about impact of the public funding that is coming towards the startups. And,

25:28of course, Cradle has provided grants, investments to about 33 of the top 100 startups,

25:33drawing from that experience. Yeah. Well, I mean, some would say that, oh,

25:38how come there's only 33 that is Cradle funded within the top 100? What does that mean? Does it mean

25:42that

25:43the rest did not make it? No, not really, actually. You have to look a little bit deeper into that.

25:47It shows that we do have a pretty good thriving ecosystem of being able to support the other 70 odd.

25:56Yeah, 70 odd. Yeah, I'm bad at math now. I need to calculate. But having said that,

26:03it is a promising indication, actually, that there are support systems outside of Cradle to be able to

26:10grow really, really good companies out of this. But having said that, again, the impact that we're seeing,

26:15because early stage support is really, really crucial, because that is where the risk is at its

26:22highest. Right. Right. And it is not easy to get private funders to come in at this stage. I mean,

26:28we do have angel networks, you know, we do have the P2Ps, the ECFs to come in at this stage,

26:34but I don't think we are at the position where it is still enough. So the support still needs to

26:40be

26:40there. You know, so the 33 are there, well supported, great, you know, but we still need

26:47help with the other 77. Right. So, but having said that as well, if I can add on, so Cradle

26:55has been

26:56around for about 20 years now, and we've supported around about 1,300 startups, right. And more than 250

27:03million grant has been dispersed. But the GDP contribution, the creation of that, the value

27:09that's been created to the country, that is what we're looking at, actually. So more than 1.5 billion.

27:14The ROI is substantial. Exactly. All right. More than 80,000 jobs, if I can add. Yeah. Incredible.

27:20Norman, thank you so very much for coming on air with us and telling us a little bit more about

27:24this

27:24brand new report. Congratulations and all the best moving forward. Come to our summit next week,

27:294th to 5th November. All right. Well, Malaysia has definitely promising businesses to build upon.

27:35The challenge is to help more founders win customers and grow sustainably with public support,

27:40of course, coming from the results that it's able to deliver. Thanks again to our Norman

27:45Mathieu Van Hacker of Cradle for joining us. I'm Tamina Kausji signing off for now. Thank you

27:49for watching Niagara Spotlight. We'll be back next week with more business analysis and insights. Here's

27:54to a productive week ahead.

Niaga SPOTLIGHT: Startup Success | What Comes Next?

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