AgroQuest
Okay, nampak gayanya aku kena tukar strategi. Berdasarkan daripada sembang-sembang dengan penasihat tembikai aku yang memang otai pasal hal tanam menanam tembikai ni, it is obvious that my cashflow for tembikai is wayyyyyy out of the reality. Seriously, aku pon tak aware pasal hal ni sampai bila diorang mention the cost untuk tanam tembikai with the help of automation is reaching RM11,000/hektar. Memang out figure aku!

So bila aku discuss balik dengan Bad tadi, aku rasa kitorang mesti bertanggungjawab atas risiko untuk buat projek tembikai ni. Therefore, as usual, I made the decision to scrap the idea of raising capital through public. The concern is that we may not achieve the profit rate as promised in our cashflow and it's no way that our cashflow is a true reflecton of the watermelon plantation.

However, the intention is clear - we will go into watermelon plantation within this year but through different means of collecting capital.

So this is what I thought. I plan to secure personal loan no more than RM 12,000. Aku cadang untuk daftarkan AgroQuest secepat mungkin and tanam tembikai secara kelakar di kawasan Serting Ilir (just untuk cukup syarat apply loan MARA). Selepas 6 bulan, aku akan apply for loan from MARA. We go maximum of RM 250,000. Interest rate is 4% on balance.

Then baru boleh kita kerjakan tanah 5 hektar di hujung Serting Ilir. Tak pun, based on maklumat yang aku dapat, kita 'henjut' terus tanah 10 hektar kawasan tanah kelapa sawit yang baru ditanam dalam setahun gitu. So I should expect the yield would be about 250 tan for the first season (and 750 mt or less for 1 year production). Assuming 70% of 250 tan is grade A material and 30% is grade B material, therefore we should gain about RM 197,000 (or RM 591,000 for 1 year). There is a possibility yang kitorang boleh dapatkan tanah kelapa sawit for free, depending on my negotiation skill la kan. So less cost. Hopefully is free! Wohohohoh!

So yes, kali dengan 3 season per year. Mudah-mudahan lagi bagus la and we don't have obligation towards creditor except for MARA for 8 years.

Okay, the downside is that we need to wait for 6 months. Fine by me (shitttt...bulan 9 jugak la kitorang start!).

So maybe what we can do in the meantime is raising capital through public (warm market sebenarnya) untuk projek pisang. Aku baru bercakap dengan peraih pisang dari Johor petang tadi and get his feedback on potensi pisang. Local market memang tak boleh nak support local demand. So yeah, there is a huge potential for us! So, maybe akan ada tembikai division and pisang division in AgroQuest.

The finite question is - sapo nak buek for both of project? Aku tau biar la aku handle tembikai. Bad dah penuh pasal dia kena handle MediaT@ni and M@gicQuest side by side (tu pasal ler aku suh share same office dengan MQ). Eak, not quite sure kalau dia sanggup pasal dia dah ada family. FizZah, not quite sure pasal tak nampak sangat dia keen untuk turun padang. So far nampak dia keen more on project management.

Takpe, this coming Saturday is our next meeting. Jadi memang betul-betul finalize la. Don't take anymore risk than we can handle. If we promise, we must deliver.

Medi@Tani Dot Com Sdn Bhd
Yes, let's talk about MT pulak. Hari Jumaat ni is the closing date for application of Pre Seed FUnd from MDEC. Yes, kitorang memang berterabur otak untuk siapkan paperwork and what not. Aku pon dah penat bercakap sorang-sorang untuk buat ayat to include in the paperwork. Terasa macam amik ENG202C balik. Kena buat executive summary etc. So yeah, it's practically ENG202C.

The application form did ask us of how to create revenue through our venture. Aku figure out, let say current statistic of internet user in Malaysia is about 15.8 million. Assuming 1% is 158,000 people who get involved or interested with agriculture. Only 10% is interested to go online. So we would get an audience of 15,800 people and each of them becomes our premium subscriber who pay RM 30 per year for exclusive news, training materials (including text, podcast & video) and marketplace for doing trading online on agriculture. That means about RM 474,000 revenue for the second year. Tu tak masuk lagi untuk ruang iklan. Remember, 1st year is the development stage (which aku akan jadi promoter tak ingat-ingat nya untuk portal ni!).

Aku dah call Tengku Zafrul, ex CEO of TuneMoney.com, to get his view on our online venture. He said we should meet up after he comes back from Dubai in two weeks time. Okiedokie, i'm fine by the tentative appointment. He may have a lot of advice or tips on how to do business/info services online. Most importantly is that he knows what works and what doesn't work for online business. This also reminds me to call up my mentor, Tengku Farith, and sit down with him and as usual, ask him to be my devil's advocate. AKu harap sangat otai-otai yang berpengalaman ni dapat bantu aku untuk get into perspective before aku pitch for the grant.

By the way aku dah bagitau kat Bad that aku nak reduce stake aku dalam MT. I'll just opt for 40%. I suggest he takes the same portion and let another 20% for our potential senior programmer.

So takat tu ajer la update pasal two ventures nih.

Random Thoughts
Anyway, this is just a random thought from me.

Semalam aku sembang-sembang dengan ayah aku bila aku balik rumah dalam pukul 1 pagi. Aku bersemangat gila babi citer kat ayah aku yang aku nak bina the next Sime Darby. Hahahaha, memang bila difikir-fikirkan, kelakar sial. But hey, dulu-dulu pun aku yakin giler ramai orang gelakkan kat Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim bila dia kata dia nak engineer the mass buyover Sime Darby from its English owner. But he did it in a single day when he was Chairman of PNB.

My plan was to start from agriculture sector. Build capital through this industry, branch out to another types of agriculture activities but still maintain our position in agriculture (especially in plantation and livestocks but we must raise to the stage of peraih laa). Finally AgroQuest akan jadi holding company - a place to collect assets. This will be about 4 to 5 years. Given a solid financial foundation, we should extend our reach into healthcare. Yang aku nampak ialah sediakan pusat hemodialysis center. In fact, aku dah adakan nama untuk dialysis center ni (sempena nama mak aku). Through my simple observation, dialysis center is a cashcow due to high demand from diabetic patients in M'sia. Silap-silap aribulan kalau aku tak jaga makan aku, aku pun boleh jadi one of loyal visitor of my own dialysis center. Medi@Tani and M@gicQuest akan jadi AgroQuest punya IT arm. And later we must develop our own property management company by acquiring high value properties and provide rental services. So yes, agriculture, healthcare, IT services and investment property arms. Cukup untuk bina a group of company, maybe in 15 to 20 years.



Yang paling menariknya, all the founders are budak Alam Shah. And that was exactly I said when I invited my friends to join my quest for becoming financially free men.

"Kalau aku nak kaya, aku nak tengok juga kawan-kawan Alam Shah aku kaya!".