By Owen Lee
A private talk event was held on 10 May 2025 at ZUS Coffee in Taman Jubilee, featuring a panel of inspiring speakers including Andrew Chen, Harry Seggu, and KT Pillai, among others.
There were more than 20 people who attended the talk event to gain the experiences shared from the speaker on how to empower young people to choose Ipoh for their startup business.
The lineup of speakers included:
- Andrew Chen, Facebook group admin of We Love Ipoh – City of Good Food,
- Harry Seggu, the producer of Ipoh – The City of Millionaires and the author of The You Economy,
- Sundralingam, the founder of Ipoh Heritage Walk
- Anna Aziz, entrepreneur and digital coach at AnnaAziz.com,
- KT Pillai, master trainer and public speaking coach.
“We hope to encourage the young people in Ipoh to stay here,” said Andrew Chen on his purpose in organizing the private talk event.
Chen expressed concern that many young people continue to leave Ipoh for cities like Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and even Singapore, often due to parental advice or perceived better opportunities elsewhere. He hopes the talk can inspire a mindset shift and encourage youth to build their futures in Ipoh.
In the talk, Harry Seggu shared with attendees on how to create an impactful business startup in Ipoh, emphasizing the importance of innovation, community engagement, and long-term sustainability in building ventures that not only generate profit but also contribute meaningfully to the local economy.
This was followed by Sundralingam in his talk regarding the exploration on how heritage tourism can generate employment. He highlighted the successful case studies from other heritage-rich cities and proposed collaborative strategies between local authorities, businesses, and communities to ensure sustainable tourism development in Ipoh.”
Anna Aziz, who has 57,000 TikTok followers shared her marketing strategies to keep successful in today’s digital world by focusing on the power of authentic content, audience engagement, and adapting to ever-changing social media trends. At the same time, she also encouraged the attendees to leverage digital platforms to build strong personal brands and connect with wider audiences.”
The last speaker, KT Pillai shared his insights on developing confidence and making an impact during public speaking, touching on key elements like posture, tone, and audience connection. He also spoke about the importance of preparation, personal storytelling, and overcoming fear through experience and self-assurance.
For the last talk of the event, Andrew Chen shared the challenges that young people in Ipoh are facing today. He believed that salary issues and the limited number of job opportunities are among the key factors contributing to these struggles. In addition, he pointed out that many youths feel a lack of mentorship and professional guidance, which often leads to uncertainty in career direction and limited growth potential in their chosen fields.
The private talk event ended on a hopeful note, with attendees walking away with valuable insights, new inspirations and a renewed sense of purpose. Through the collective wisdom of the speakers, the event successfully highlighted Ipoh’s potential as a thriving hub for young entrepreneurs. With more such events, there is growing optimism that the younger generation will see Ipoh not only as a place to grow, but also as a place to develop their future.
