KUALA LUMPUR, 14 November 2018 - Commerce DotAsia Ventures Sdn Bhd
(Commerce.Asia), a fast-expanding omnichannel commerce ecosystem builder announced that it has launched Silicon Valley-based GrowthX Academy and GrowthX Accelerator in Malaysia. The founders of GrowthX, Sean Sheppard and Andrew Goldner are in Kuala Lumpur to announce the launch of GrowthX here together with Commerce.Asia founder and executive chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah. The launch was witnessed by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief executive officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood.

Ganesh met up with the GrowthX founders in 2017 when he was mentoring at the Google Launchpad Accelerator in San Francisco. “In today’s business environment, technology or product is no longer a big differentiator as the internet has democratized the sourcing of products and technology. Therefore, rather than focusing on product development, companies must instead focus on the go-to-market strategy and finding the correct product market fit. Realizing the gap that exist into today’s business, the founders of GrowthX have developed a growth methodology that encapsulates their learnings to effectively turn entrepreneurship from an instinct to a science”, explained Ganesh.

“To ensure consistent and quality delivery of our programs, all GrowthX trainers are trained by instructors in Silicon Valley before they can begin training at the GrowthX Academy in Malaysia. In addition, GrowthX Malaysia will also have an instructor from the USA that has the experience on helping companies in the Silicon Valley grow, ” outlined Sean Sheppard.

GrowthX Academy will train talents on the skills and methodologies required to grow businesses online. These skills which include Business Growth mindset, Growth Marketing and User Experience Design are key skills required by SMEs and Startups to succeed in today’s digital economy. On the other hand, GrowthX Accelerator provides a Market Acceleration Program (MXP) that provides a foolproof formula for Startups and Corporates to commercialise their innovation.

GrowthX was started in the Silicon Valley in 2015 by a group of entrepreneurs who have extensive experiences in building and mentoring start-up companies. Through their first-hand experiences, they developed a structured methodology and training syllabus that teaches organisations to grow their businesses effectively in an ever-changing business environment.

With GrowthX, companies now have a scientific method to develop product market fit through the process of market discovery, market messaging, market outreach and market results. This process will help Startups, SMEs and even Corporates develop scalable and successful business for the digital economy.

GrowthX is located at a 5,000 square feet facility at DOJO, the latest Malaysia Digital HubTM. “As a government agency, MDEC works closely with industry players, regulators and accelerators to drive the nation’s tech start-up and entrepreneur ecosystem. Commerce.Asia’s positive vision in bringing GrowthX Academy to Malaysia will help tech entrepreneurs boost more sustainable business growth. Tech entrepreneurs will be able to tap GrowthX Academy’s extensive network of entrepreneurs, com- panies, world-class mentors and instructors, together with industry engagements designed to help them succeed,” said Datuk Yasmin Mahmood, CEO, MDEC.

At the launch, Commerce.asia entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU). The MoU was exchanged between Ganesh Kumar Bangah and the university’s Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Parmjit Singh while it was witnessed by YBhg Datuk Yasmin Mahmood.

When asked about his objectives of the MoU, Datuk Parmjit explained, “The MOU represents a collaboration between industry and academia that aims to inculcate into students not only the entrepreneurial and growth mindset that is required in today’s innovation economy but also to teach the foundation of growth from the perspective of marketing, business and user experience. In addition, it aims to develop an acceleration platform within APU for innovative ideas from students to be identified, nurtured, developed and eventually commercialised. This will facilitate the growth of the start- up ecosystem within Malaysia. All this is consistent with APU’s mission to ensure that our students are transformed not just into highly employable professionals but are also equipped with the
ability to be in control of their own futures.”

Concluded Ganesh, “By early next year, we plan to launch an acceleration program within APU which will focus on helping to commercialise students’ ideas and projects. The acceleration program will not only provide students with a structured commercialisation program powered by GrowthX’s MXP but will also provide seed funding to APU students to start their business in exchange for equity. We hope to find the next Mark Zuckerberg in APU.”