Malaysian Entrepreneur Shares The Harsh Truth About 2020, But He’ll Keep Fighting

2020 has not been easy on anyone. With the pandemic affecting the whole world, many businesses that are less fortunate had to close down.

One of the worst hit industries is events, and Iqbal Ameer, founder of Malaysia’s leading events company Livescape spoke out about what he had to go through as an entrepreneur.

“I am a failed entrepreneur.”

“I’ve said it. Not the easiest thing to say for one, but I’ve accepted it and I want to share with you why I say so.”

Having started his first business at the tender age of 23, Iqbal admitted that he had gone through a lot of ups and downs.

One of his very first ventures is called Biero, a restaurant he opened up when he was in Melbourne.

“I realised it was not as easy as it sounds. Overheads, cashflow, inventory, stock, marketing, promotions, etc – was just the TIP of the iceberg of getting into the world of F&B. Dealing with customers, suppliers, council, police – and also managing other stockholders was a real whir into what the journey really is. And it’s not something we can put brakes on.”

The business was so much harder than he imaged and he eventually sold the business to a few people from Hong Kong. Later, he started an ice cream truck business which didn’t last too long either.

Iqbal’s ice cream venture

2020 was supposed to be an amazing year

Iqbal shares,

“My third and ongoing failure is my current journey with what started as an events company and now we-have-no-idea-where-we-are-heading, youth event activation arm Livescape.”

Initially, 2020 was supposed to be an amazing year for the company.

Livescape group had built up assets for themselves. They had:

• Fencing, CCTV towers, furniture and even a wuduk container for prayers during large scale events
• A ticketing company
• An RFID company
• Artist booking agency

In the world of entrepreneurship, Iqbal admits that the ride was not always smooth sailing of course.

“Along the way I had multiple failures: I had to part way with business partners, events cancelled and postponed, cashflow issues, sold the RFID company… but nothing not familiar when it comes to the world of entrepreneurship – you take these falls with pride and you get back up.”

How the pandemic shook the business

“The team had to be restructured in all of our 3 offices across Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia; our positive 2020 outlook vanished – and we were an event company without events.”

“Who can I blame? The virus? Hell no.”

“You cannot blame anyone but yourself.”

As an entrepreneur, Iqbal knows that starting a business is always a risk, and there’s no one to blame but yourself.

“The people in your team follow your lead – the clients trust you to deliver. You are the reason and you will be the cause if things go belly up. As an Entrepreneur, you have to remember that you have to be ready to take the fall. And you have to be ready to fail.”

However, he is determined to keep fighting and not give up, especially now that he has a great team with him.

“If you have your business and you are failing, don’t let that be the end of your journey – just keep going, fail faster so you can grow stronger and be the best in your field. There is no such thing as an overnight success. People take years, sometimes their entire lifetime to be the best in what they do – remember to always push forward no matter what is thrown your way.”

For now, Iqbal shares that he’s continuing to push Livescape to greater heights, and has 2 digital startups coming up.

• A rebellious merchandising company
• A horrific, immersive drive-in experience event and an Epic Escapade unlike any other

And he’s not going to let anyone stop him on the way there!

Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Iqbal shared that the drive-in experience is something everyone has to try. You can check out their trailer below:

Kudos to him and the team. We wish Livescape all the best in their journey!

Also read: M’sian Billionaire, Vincent Tan’s Rags-to-Riches Story Teaches Us 8 Inspiring Lessons