I spent 10 years learning how to make strangers feel like family
Then I brought that skill to @pudgypenguins and it changed everything
Here's the story:
My family owned properties, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues across Asia. Growing up, I learned from my dad negotiates in meetings to memorize the names of guests and even details like their dietary restrictions
By the time I was managing things myself, I understood something most people in business miss: the small stuff is the big stuff. A birthday call matters more than a pitch deck. True heartfelt intention matters the most 💙
I carried that everywhere. But I had no idea it would end up being the most valuable skill in crypto
My bestie @pudgyray got me into buying pudgy penguins nft right when Luca Netz bought the project with $2.5M and gave all of us a reason to believe again
It wasn't just about the penguin it was about finding a place that felt like home
And I could see it in action as the people in the community were different. They actually cared about each other
I started as @pudgymalaysia lead, growing the community from 30 to 300 members in a short time. Not long after, I joined the Pudgy team and eventually stepped into the role of Asia Lead and President @penguasia
What followed was the craziest year of my life, managing partnerships with global legacy brands, 100+ meetups across KL, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Korea in cafes to big events, all this on a limited marketing budget
Among all the partnerships, one that meant a lot to me was with BE@RBRICK Japan’s biggest collectible brands
Their first ever collaboration with an NFT project, limited to just 800 pieces, their lowest supply
It took six months of showing up, building trust and proving that we’re not just a project but a real brand with real people behind it 🐧
Three years later, I'm still here building belongingness for ones who rep Pudgy in any way
I'll be sharing what I've learned about bullding across cultures, closing brand partnerships that wasn’t easy for young IP and why I genuinely think Pudgy Penguins becomes one of the most recognizable IPs in the world
I've got a lot to say. This is the start💙
Gong Xi Gong Xi $PENGUS 🧧
From underdogs to unstoppable, we’re here spreading the HUAT vibes to the @pudgypenguins HUDDLE
ASIA IS WHERE PENGUS STARTS ITS COMEBACK ARC 🐧🔥
#PenguLunar2025
Kicking off the first day of 2025 by showing up to support our @pudgymalaysia $PENGU huddle at @pudgyray cafe
We flooded the whole cafe!
This is @pudgypenguins ethos:
Showing up and supporting the community ALWAYS
The whole situation seems to be really unjust for @FoxyPenguinApe ,
Pudgy asia deserves to be lead by inclusive leaders . Pudgy support pudgy
@LucaNetz@pudgypenguins
Was pretty surreal to see so much local talent at @ETHKL1
While there was a lot of focus on zk & RWAs at ETHKL, I would like to highlight below some important local developments going on behind the scenes:
1. Government Support via @mymdec
- FREE education for aspiring devs in partnership with @42KualaLumpur, with over 350 industry placements since inception — some of the hackathon winners were students from 42KL!
- Grants for local web3 startups, with RM1.5b ($320m) earmarked for startup development via the recently announced Budget 2024.
2. New Digital Asset Licenses
- Digital Asset Exchange (DAX)
HATA Digital was recently granted a DAX license and joins @LunoGlobal@mxglobalmy@SinegyMY @TokenizeMY as the 5 regulated DAXs.
- Digital Asset Custodian (DAC)
@cokeeps was recently granted a DAC license, the first in Malaysia!
- Digital Asset Fund Management
@HalogenCapital was granted the first digital asset fund management license, with @EquitiesTracker following suit. This enables products such as crypto ETFs & unit trusts.
- Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) Operators
@pitchin_my & Kapital DX (KLDX) were recently granted IEO licenses for private markets.
tldr:
Local regulatory and infrastructure Lego blocks are falling into place. Combining this with great food, culture, and a relatively low cost of living, Malaysia has the potential to become a hub for web3 development! #MalaysiaBoleh