Ep 55: Karl Mak (Co-Founder, Hepmil Media Group - SGAG, MGAG, PGAG) - Running a Meme Business

Karl Mak is a Singaporean entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of HEPMIL Media Group: a holding company that owns SGAG, MGAG, PGAG, SGEEK and HEPMIL Creators’ Network.If you’re a fan of memes, then you’re in for a treat because that is precisely what HEPMIL specialises in!Karl shares how he almost became a professional swimmer, how he built a flourishing real estate career while in school, his experiences (and failure) with his first startup & how he ended up co-founding SGAG with Adrian Ang, whom he had first met back in 2005 in junior college. Highlights:3:32 Swimming competitively9:53 Entering the real estate business13:28 The gift of the gab20:26 Learning from Professor Soon Loo22:23 Attending a coding bootcamp to find a co-founder26:26 “Crazy” things Karl did to get enterprise clients28:22 Why Televate, Karl’s first startup, failed33:43 Meeting Adrian & starting SGAG38:27 How they come up with memes40:32 The Ah Lian meme, which was picked up by mainstream media42:36 Milestones to track47:47 The early days of SGAG49:04 Land grabbing tactics used by SGAG51:42 Distinguishing SGAG from other similar pages56:40 Selling vulgar T-shirts59:18 How the business deal with Scoot happened1:00:57 Changing the engine of a plane in mid-air1:06:03 Your failure makes you more valuable1:07:26 Building a creators’ network1:15:58 How COVID-19 impacted Karl & HEPMIL Media Group📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/55 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605