“I have earned my experience and it is meant to be shared”

Teck Hooi is a qualified accountant for more than 20 years, vastly involved in the professional and commercial settings. Financial reporting, planning, change management and resource management are his forte.

“It was back in 1998 when I started my career as an auditor. I was lucky enough to have the opportunities to work in several corporate financial projects involving due diligence audits, special audits and IPOs.”

Teck Hooi’s career accelerated when he gained new business exposures in various industries which have built his capability and experience.

“I worked closely with many clients from different industries such as engineering, manufacturing, plantation, retail, fashion and business consultancy, and these have become my greatest assets to further participate in setting up departments, subsidiary companies and termination of loss-making operations for various Groups of Companies.”

“In 2011, my career reached another level when I became the Group COO to a children fashion business. Back then, I was the key person in transforming a conventional family business to a group of corporate companies. My plans in restructuring, rebuilding and reviving the business were fruitful!  The brand business managed to reach out globally to 10 countries including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Indonesia, China, Kuwait, UAE, Vietnam, Cambodia, Iran and Laos. For Malaysia, I introduced the franchise model into the brand business, and it was definitely a huge success.”

“With my hands-on experience for more than 20 years in the corporate environment, I wish to share them with more aspiring entrepreneurs, hoping to help them achieve their business goals with minimum challenges ahead.”

“It was not only affecting the staff but also their whole family. I wish I could do something”

Teck Hooi recalls his experience as a Special Administrator for a sports equipment factory in Bentong. It was in 2002 and he was assigned to distribute retrenchment letters to 50 over staff due to closing down of the business.

“I still remember having long-serving staff of nearing retirement age, crying helplessly in front of me accepting the fate of being retrenched. Some asked me if it was really the only way to solve the problem. It struck me hard that time, realizing that it was not only affecting these staff but also their family members. Some were sole breadwinners in their family. I wish I could do something to help, to rescue them and their family perhaps, but all decisions made were only for the benefits of the business. This was a heartfelt sentiment which has inspired me to find a way to influence business owners.”

“It is time to educate young entrepreneurs and help them start a sustainable business journey”

In 2014, coming out from his comfort zone, Teck Hooi set up his own business, ICFO. His aim was to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to transform their business into a more sustainable model. However, due to limited capital, only medium-sized SMEs can afford to hire ICFO.

Being a helpful person by nature, Teck Hooi ended up helping micro and small-scaled startups for free! At the same time, some existing clients were overlooked. This is definitely not a sustainable model for ICFO and a long-term solution is urgently needed.

“In order to overcome the problem, with the help of IT, I started inviting a few people (micro & small SMEs owners) to participate in iCommunity’s pilot group project. It was a structured group coaching system, fixed with proper agendas and meetings, and it went on for 15 months. The format has been improvised several times before being finalized into the current version, which has proven effective for all participants.”

“I always have the passion to educate and giving support to young entrepreneurs. Maybe it is because I have the “been there, done that” experience and I want to see the younger generations to succeed in their own passion, something they really love doing.”

Teck Hooi actively shares his opinions and experiences in his social media page, “Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow” and blog, “captainamerigan.com”. At the same time, he reaches out to universities and colleges, supporting them as industry partners and mentors, as he strongly believes in experiential learning, instead of classroom teaching. His effort of running complimentary events to educate SMEs is also exemplary. Since 2016, “SME Accelerator Series” has become an annual signature event on international scale.

“With the SME Accelerator Series, I know that more young entrepreneurs will benefit from it by being on the right path to a more sustainable entrepreneurship journey.”

Currently, Teck Hooi is also the President Elect to International Council for SME and Enterpreneurship, Malaysia (“ICSMEE”).

“I have earned my experience and it is meant to be shared”

Teck Hooi is a qualified accountant for more than 20 years, vastly involved in the professional and commercial settings. Financial reporting, planning, change management and resource management are his forte.

“It was back in 1998 when I started my career as an auditor. I was lucky enough to have the opportunities to work in several corporate financial projects involving diligence audits, special audits and IPOs.”

Teck Hooi’s career accelerated when he gained new business exposures in various industries which have built his capability and experience.

“I worked closely with many clients from different industries such as engineering, manufacturing, plantation, retail, fashion and business consultancy, and these have become my greatest assets to further participate in setting up departments, subsidiary companies and termination of loss-making operations for various Groups of Companies.”

“In 2011, my career reached another level when I became the Group COO to a children fashion business. Back then, I was the key person in transforming a conventional family business to a group of corporate companies. My plans in restructuring, rebuilding and reviving the business were fruitful!  The brand business managed to reach out globally to 10 countries including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Indonesia, China, Kuwait, UAE, Vietnam, Cambodia, Iran and Laos. For Malaysia, I introduced the franchise model into the brand business, and it was definitely a huge success.”

“With my hands-on experience for more than 20 years in the corporate environment, I wish to share them with more aspiring entrepreneurs, hoping to help them achieve their business goals with minimum challenges ahead.”

“It was not only affecting the staff but also their whole family. I wish I could do something”

Teck Hooi recalls his experience as a Special Administrator for a sports equipment factory in Bentong. It was in 2002 and he was assigned to distribute retrenchment letters to 50 over staff due to closing down of the business.

“I still remember having long-serving staff of nearing retirement age, crying helplessly in front of me accepting the fate of being retrenched. Some asked me if it was really the only way to solve the problem. It struck me hard that time, realizing that it was not only affecting these staff but also their family members. Some were sole breadwinners in their family. I wish I could do something to help, to rescue them and their family perhaps, but all decisions made were only for the benefits of the business. This was a heartfelt sentiment which has inspired me to find a way to influence business owners.”

“It is time to educate young entrepreneurs and help them start a sustainable business journey”

In 2014, coming out from his comfort zone, Teck Hooi set up his own business, ICFO. His aim was to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to transform their business into a more sustainable model. However, due to limited capital, only medium-sized SMEs can afford to hire ICFO.

Being a helpful person by nature, Teck Hooi ended up helping micro and small-scaled startups for free! At the same time, some existing clients were overlooked. This is definitely not a sustainable model for ICFO and a long-term solution is urgently needed.

“In order to overcome the problem, with the help of IT, I started inviting a few people (micro & small SMEs owners) to participate in iCommunity’s pilot group project. It was a structured group coaching system, fixed with proper agendas and meetings, and it went on for 15 months. The format has been improvised several times before being finalized into the current version, which has proven effective for all participants.”

“I always have the passion to educate and giving support to young entrepreneurs. Maybe it is because I have the “been there, done that” experience and I want to see the younger generations to succeed in their own passion, something they really love doing.”

Teck Hooi actively shares his opinions and experiences in his social media page, “Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow” and blog, “captainamerigan.com”. At the same time, he reaches out to universities and colleges, supporting them as industry partners and mentors, as he strongly believes in experiential learning, instead of classroom teaching. His effort of running complimentary events to educate SMEs is also exemplary. Since 2016, “SME Accelerator Series” has become an annual signature event on international scale.

“With the SME Accelerator Series, I know that more young entrepreneurs will benefit from it by being on the right path to a more sustainable entrepreneurship journey.”

Currently, Teck Hooi is also the President Elect to International Council for SME and Enterpreneurship, Malaysia (“ICSMEE”).