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Melvin Poh
FRSA
Born (1991-07-01) July 1, 1991 (age 33)
Malaysia
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, investor, barrister, public intellectual
Known forPublishing, access to knowledge movement, public intellectual

Melvin Poh FRSA is a Malaysian entrepreneur, barrister, investor and public intellectual. He is known for his work in crowdsourcing knowledge in Asia[1][2][3][4] and his efforts to facilitate greater accessibility to knowledge in the region.[5][2][6][7][8] Poh is also known to be a public proponent of the access to knowledge movement in Southeast Asia and has been advocating for the democratization of knowledge in public media as well as in his work.[9][10][11][12][13]

Early life and education

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Poh was born in Malaysia but had emigrated and spent most of his years living in New Zealand, Australia, United States and United Kingdom.[12][14] He attended Hale School.[15] He later pursued studies at Harvard University,[2][3][16] Imperial College London[17][18][19] and University of Cambridge.[20][21][22] Poh subsequently became a barrister in the United Kingdom and was admitted as a member of The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn.[12]

Career

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The Asian Entrepreneur

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In 2013, Poh founded The Asian Entrepreneur with another student at Harvard.[3][2][23] The Asian Entrepreneur began in the United States as a print publication documenting business knowledge in Asia.[14][24] The print publication was later developed by Poh into a digital crowdpublishing platform that allowed users to participate in the production of content and the editorial process through an open collaboration model.[14][25][26] The Asian Entrepreneur then became an open access platform for accessing, exchanging and publishing business knowledge across Asia.[2][27][28][29][30] The organization had worked with Southeast Asian governments on various startup initiatives for open access knowledge and education.[1][31][32][33] In 2021 after raising funds, The Asian Entrepreneur was further expanded and officially rebranded to Empirics Asia.[2][28][27]

Empirics Asia

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In January 2021, Poh and his team raised US$8 million for The Asian Entrepreneur to expand its publishing scope further and renamed the company Empirics Asia.[28][34][35][36] Empirics Asia was launched as an open access knowledge platform modeled on empiricism that incorporated social journalism, open publishing and crowdsourcing from Asia to publish direct insights on social scientific fields.[2][3][37] Through the expanded publishing coverage, Empirics Asia worked with authors and experts to crowdsource knowledge and publish topics ranging from technology, psychology, philosophy, sociology, business, literature, economics, science and arts.[38] Without operating a conventional paywall, content sponsorship and advertising, the platform aims to contribute to the democratization of knowledge.[13] The organization also established a publishing and distribution operation for sourcing original titles and books from authors in Asia.[6] The organization launched Empirics Podcast, an open access knowledge podcast produced and hosted by a machine learning artificial intelligence that was developed to study knowledge trends.[7][3][39][40][41] As of September 2021, the organization has crowdsourced and published 1 million open access knowledge content in the social sciences from its network of writers and volunteers.[6] In 2023, Empirics Asia released Librius, an artificial intelligence developed by the company to increase book knowledge by making learning from books more accessible to the public.[42]

Public Advocacy

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Poh publicly shares his insights and reflections on philosophy and the value of intellectual discourse through his platforms. He has actively advocated in official public forums. Poh was invited to speak about the importance of collective knowledge at The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations Conference organised by Harvard University in 2018.[43][44] He spoke at TEDxSUTD in Singapore on knowledge creation through digital media and advocated for democratization of media.[45] Poh delivered a speech on the evolution of entrepreneurship at TEDxUMSKK[46] and was also a keynote speaker at TEDxHeriotWatt sharing views on sustainable economic developments.[47] The Securities Commission Malaysia has admitted Poh on the panel of its Business Foresight Forum at the Securities Industry Development Corporation where he has advocated for the need of open access media.[48] In 2021, Poh shared views on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship at the Enterprise Asia Center Of Entrepreneurship.[49] He delivered a keynote on human existentialism in the digital age at TEDxAIMST and advocated for the importance of wider knowledge.[50] During the British Council's 75th Year Anniversary Conference in 2023, Poh delivered a keynote on the knowledge gap facing young people in the Malaysia.[51][52] In 2024, Poh was invited by Malaysia's Ministry Of International Trade And Investment to share his views on empowering youth entrepreneurs at the ASEAN Business Forum hosted in Malaysia.[53]

Investments

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Poh has been an active private equity investor.[2][9] He co-founded an investment company that specialised in sourcing private equity for collegiate entrepreneurs and startup companies from Australia, United Kingdom and United States.[15] In 2018, Poh became the second largest shareholder of De Clout, a SGX publicly listed company in Singapore by acquiring a 11.8% personal stake in the company.[54][55] He later joined other investors in the development of several real estate in Singapore and co-founded a property development firm specializing in Singaporean real estate development.[56][57] In 2021, it was revealed that Poh had an invested stake in a textile manufacturing plant based in Malaysia that specialized in interior building materials.[58] Poh was reported to have made acquisitions of several significant cultural works in China in 2024.[59] He is a co-founder of a Singaporean investment firm that engages in private equity investments in Southeast Asia.[9]

Recognition

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In 2019, Poh was among the 30 entrepreneurs admitted on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, for fostering education through crowdsourcing knowledge in Asia.[30] He was listed on Prestige 40 Under 40 for contributing to open access knowledge in the region[60] through digital crowdpublishing[2] and was named among 30 honourees of industry leaders on Tatler's Generation.T Leaders Of Tomorrow for creating an open access knowledge hub in Asia and making contributions to regional education.[61][6] In 2022, Poh was one of the 4 Malaysians whose work was recognized by British High Commission and HE Charles Hay;[10][62] he subsequently was the recipient of the Business & Innovation Award from the British Council for his work in improving accessibility to knowledge in Asia.[5][63][64][65] In 2023, Poh was officially made Fellow Of The Royal Society Of Arts (FRSA) of the United Kingdom in recognition for his work.[66]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Melvin Poh". Forbes. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Melvin Poh transforms the Asian Entrepreneur into Empirics Asia and here's how he is doing it". Prestige Online – Malaysia. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e Jayatilaka, Tania (13 July 2021). "Melvin Poh: What The World's First A.I-Run Podcast Means For Malaysia's Future". Tatler Malaysia. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  4. ^ "各领域表现优异 4人获留英杰出校友奖 - 国内 - 全国综合". 星洲网 Sin Chew Daily Malaysia Latest News and Headlines. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b Ignatius, Cynthia (18 March 2022). "The British Council Has Recognised Four Malaysians For Their Achievements At The UK Alumni Awards - BusinessToday". www.businesstoday.com.my/. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d T, Generation (8 September 2021). "Melvin Poh". Generation T. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b "This AI was so good at its content-based job, its M'sian creator gave it its own podcast". Vulcan Post. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  8. ^ "英国文化协会 助大马学子圆留英梦 - 国内 - 全国综合 - 市场情报". 星洲网 Sin Chew Daily Malaysia Latest News and Headlines (in Chinese (China)). 5 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  9. ^ a b c cue (4 March 2023). "Me & My Money: Just because everyone values an investment doesn't make it valuable | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Malaysians Bag Prestigious British Council Awards - 2022 NST".
  11. ^ "Sin Chew Daily". Retrieved 27 March 2022 – via PressReader.
  12. ^ a b c Khoo, Natalie (14 May 2019). "How Melvin Poh is crowdsourcing business insights with The Asian Entrepreneur". FirstClasse. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  13. ^ a b Xiung, Chong Jinn. "Melvin Poh of Empirics Asia Makes Knowledge Accessible To Everyone". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Dayangku, Sade (18 July 2019). "Bad Info Killed His First Business, So His Second Shares Insider Info On The Asian Market". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Melvin Poh – founder of Volition Ventures". Ideas Hoist. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Melvin Poh | Harvard University - Academia.edu". harvard.academia.edu. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Imperial Business | 2023 by Imperial College London - Issuu". issuu.com. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  18. ^ Vibes, The (18 March 2022). "4 Malaysians awarded by British Council for success at UK Alumni Awards". The Vibes.
  19. ^ "Alumni profile: Melvin Poh widening access to business knowledge in Asia | Imperial College Business School". www.imperial.ac.uk. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  20. ^ Council, British (July 2023). "CEO Insights Series Malaysia". British Council.
  21. ^ "Melvin Poh | Harvard University - Academia.edu". harvard.academia.edu. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Melvin POH | University of Cambridge, Cambridge | Cam | Cambridge Judge Business School". ResearchGate. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  23. ^ "缺乏市场知识导致失败，他用他的失败让其他人获得成功！". 老板的故事 (in Chinese (China)). 22 April 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  24. ^ Shea, John (22 March 2014). "Interview with Melvin Poh, founder of the Asian Entrepreneur Media Group". Voices Of Marketing. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Open For Business: The Asian Entrepreneur, Revisited". BFM 89.9. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  26. ^ "Open For Business: The Asian Entrepreneur". BFM 89.9. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  27. ^ a b "The Asian Entrepreneur Rebrands After $8m Fund Raise". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  28. ^ a b c "The Asian Entrepreneur raises $8 million; rebrands to 'Empirics Asia'". BEAMSTART. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Top 20 best funded startups in Malaysia". ASEAN UP. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  30. ^ a b Bernama (2 April 2019). "11 Malaysian entrepreneurs make the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2019". New Straits Times. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  31. ^ "Melvin Poh". New Entrepreneur Championship Conference. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  32. ^ "Security Commissions Malaysia" (PDF).
  33. ^ "Melvin Poh – Founder, The Asian Entrepreneur". Cyberjaya Startup Summit 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021.[dead link‍]
  34. ^ Lee, Faye (4 June 2021). "23 M'sian startups who earned investor confidence and got funded during the pandemic". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  35. ^ "Top 20 best funded startups in Malaysia". ASEAN UP. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  36. ^ "Empirics Asia Company Profile: Valuation & Investors | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  37. ^ "People Against The Grain". Retrieved 24 July 2021 – via PressReader.
  38. ^ "World's Leading Newsstand | Online Magazines | Digital Magazine for iPad, Android, Windows 8 and Web". reader.magzter.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  39. ^ "Catch these new podcasts, virtual tours and concerts right from your home". Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  40. ^ "Tech Talk: A.I. Robot". BFM 89.9. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  41. ^ "Empirics Asia on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  42. ^ "Empirics Asia Officially Launches "Librius" AI That Teaches Book Knowledge". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  43. ^ Harvard Conference 2018 Keynote Speaker – Melvin Poh, retrieved 10 August 2021
  44. ^ "HPAIR | The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations". HPAIR. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  45. ^ Poh, Melvin, Exploring knowledge creation through Digital Media, retrieved 10 August 2021
  46. ^ Evolution of Entrepreneurship | Melvin Poh | TEDxUMSKK, retrieved 10 August 2021
  47. ^ Is Richer & Bigger really Better? | Melvin Poh | TEDxHeriotWattUMalaysia, retrieved 10 August 2021
  48. ^ "Business Foresight Forum (BFF) 2019: New Business Directions 2025 – Catalysts for Change". SIDC – Delivering Professional Excellence. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  49. ^ "Enterprise Asia Center for Entrepreneurship | Enterprise Asia". 19 February 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  50. ^ "TEDxAIMSTUniversity | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  51. ^ Ignatius, Cynthia (13 January 2023). "British Council Celebrates 75th Anniversary In Malaysia With New Opportunities For UK alumni - BusinessToday". www.businesstoday.com.my/. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  52. ^ "Alumni UK Symposium and Careers Fair 2023 - Event Highlights".
  53. ^ "ASEAN-Malaysia Business Forum 2024 – Majlis Belia Malaysia". Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  54. ^ "Bloomberg – Melvin Poh DeClout". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  55. ^ "Business Times Singapore". www.businesstimes.com.sg. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  56. ^ "Melvin Poh | GCB Development". www.businesstimes.com.sg. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  57. ^ "Sales of detached houses over last four months double in volume compared to a year ago".
  58. ^ 与楼有关EP17 上集 - 到底墙纸有多少种类？ 墙纸的材质你知多少？, retrieved 30 November 2021
  59. ^ "ICON Singapore-January/February 2024 Magazine - Get your Digital Subscription". Magzter. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  60. ^ "Prestige 40 Under 40 2019". Retrieved 24 July 2021 – via PressReader.
  61. ^ T, Generation (8 September 2021). "Meet The Malaysia Honourees On The Gen.T List 2021". Generation T. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  62. ^ "4 rakyat Malaysia terima pengiktirafan British Council". Dagang News. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  63. ^ "4 Rakyat Malaysia Terima Pengiktirafan British Council". www.astroawani.com. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  64. ^ "British Council Awards 2021 - 2022".
  65. ^ AZLAN, RYNNAAS (18 March 2022). "Four Malaysians bag prestigious Study UK Alumni Awards". Sinar Daily. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  66. ^ "Find a Fellow - RSA". www.thersa.org. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
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