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Why tech-first companies struggle in narrative-first markets.
The Silent Launch
It is a scene familiar to almost every technical founder.
You are staring at your dashboard. It’s late. You’ve spent the last 18 months in development hell, but you made it out alive. The code is clean, the uptime is perfect and the product actually solves the problem you set out to fix. By every engineering metric, you have won.
But then you look at the user growth line. It’s flat.
You check your inbox. The investors who smiled during the pitch haven’t called back. They didn’t “get it” in the first five minutes and they certainly didn’t stay for the deep dive.
The conflict is painful: Why is nobody paying attention to something this good?
The thesis is simple, though hard to swallow: The problem isn’t your technology. The problem is that you are speaking “Engineer” to a world that only listens to “Story.”
Survivors use AI to type faster.
Thrivers use AI to think deeper.
The “Malaysian Founder” Trap
If you feel this way, you aren’t alone. In fact, you are part of a very specific national paradox.
The good news is that you are building in an ecosystem that is finally hitting its stride. Malaysia is building world-class infrastructure. In fact, Kuala Lumpur has just broken into the major leagues, ranking 18th in the Global Top 20 Emerging Ecosystems in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2025. The foundation is there. The talent is there.
But there is a specific weakness that threatens to cap our potential.
As Dr. V Sivapalan, a veteran of the local industry, bluntly noted in his analysis of the ecosystem: “We are really terrible at telling a great story about Malaysian technology.”
This isn’t a lack of skill; it’s a mistake in mindset. Too many founders treat marketing as “decoration”, something you paint on at the very end to make the product look pretty. But in a crowded market, the story isn’t decoration. It is the foundation.
The High Cost of Silence
You might think, “The product will sell itself eventually.” Unfortunately, the data disagrees.
According to 2025 analysis on startup failure rates, 56% of startups fail because of “marketing problems” related to poor product-market fit. This isn’t usually because the product was useless, it’s often because the founders failed to communicate the value clearly enough to create that fit.
This creates an “Invisible Tax” you pay every day you don’t have a clear story:
- The Referral Tax: If your current users can’t explain what you do to their friends in one sentence, you have zero word-of-mouth growth.
- The Funding Tax: If an investor has to “work hard” to understand your pitch deck, they won’t. They will pass and move to the next deck that is easier to digest.
Being the “best-kept secret” in the industry isn’t a badge of honor. It is a business risk.
The Fix: It’s Not Marketing, It’s Biology
So, how do you fix it? You have to stop talking about specs and start talking about people.
This isn’t just fluffy creative advice; it is a biological fact. Peer-reviewed research confirms that listening to character-driven stories triggers the release of oxytocin in the brain. This chemical directly increases trust and cooperative behavior.
Look at the giants. Apple didn’t just sell computers with good processors, they sold “Thinking Different.” Nike didn’t just sell their shoes, they sold “Just do It.”
They didn’t sell what. They sold the who.
Three Steps to Fix Your Story Today
You don’t need a Stark Industries budget to fix this. You just need clarity.
1. Customer is the Hero
You are not Luke Skywalker, you are Yoda. Your customer is the hero of this journey. Your product is just the lightsaber they use to win the battle. Stop talking about the lightsaber and start talking about the battle.
2. The “Grandma Test”
Can you explain your startup to your grandmother in one sentence? If you have to use words like “scalability,” “ecosystem,” “API” or “AI-driven,” you have failed. Keep it simple. Just like how Anthony Tan convinced his grandma to invest in MyTeksi before the big money came in.
3. Consistency is King
Your website, your pitch deck and your LinkedIn bio must tell the exact same story. If your deck says you are “The Future of Logistics” but your website says you “sell truck tires,” you create confusion. Confusion kills conversion.
Proof from the Trenches: How Narrative Changed the Trajectory
Through our work with programs like Cradle Turbocharge, we have seen firsthand how refining the narrative can turn a prototype into a powerhouse.
1. MyTeksi (currently known as Grab) Long before they were a regionally dominant unicorn with a $14 Billion valuation, MyTeksi was a team of six developers with a new, unproven app. When Aaron Gill signed up for the Cradle Turbocharge program in 2012, they were preparing to launch with just 50 taxi drivers.
The Narrative Fix: They needed to answer one fundamental question: Who is the hero? Is it the passenger or the driver? We helped them resolve this identity crisis and refine their launch strategy. By clarifying their brand story before hitting the market, they were able to scale from a local solution in Kuala Lumpur to a regional giant in Jakarta and beyond.
2. Evenesis A startup story isn’t static; it must evolve as you scale. When we first met Evenesis in 2012, they were new to the market. As they progressed, they were securing large clientele in the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Events) sector.
The Narrative Fix: A generic story wouldn’t work for a sophisticated target market. We helped them pivot their narrative to “Event Tech Specialists,” underscored by a new tagline: “Better Event Experiences Powered by Evenesis”.
3. Suncrox Solar In a market crowded with urban solar providers fighting for the same customers, Suncrox needed a different story. Led by Noor Shahiwan, they were an MTDC Symbiosis incubatee with a vision.
The Narrative Fix: Instead of fighting the “urban” battle, they shifted their story to the “Solar for All” mission. They targeted the “blue ocean” of off-the-grid customers in rural and island sites, places competitors ignored. This unique “Solar Village” narrative allowed them to venture into Cambodia and Lombok, differentiating them instantly from every other solar company in the city.
4. Athena is a pioneer in the social enterprise space, specifically regarding menstrual health. But selling reusable sanitary products is a functional pitch, not an emotional one.
The Narrative Fix: We helped them connect the product to the global conversation on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. By repositioning as “Athena Empowers,” the story shifted from “selling pads” to “empowering girls.” This narrative clarity allowed them to engage the public on deep, emotional issues, turning customers into advocates for a cause.
Conclusion
Malaysia has the engineering talent to compete globally. We’ve proven that in the rankings. The infrastructure is ready. The capital is there.
The only gap left is the narrative.
You have a choice. You can continue letting inferior products beat you just because they tell a better story. Or you can decide that your technology deserves to be understood.
Engineering builds the car. Storytelling puts the fuel in the tank. It’s time to drive.
Your product can change lives. But first, people need to understand why it matters. Start writing that story today.
Sources
- Startup Failure Rate: How Many Startups Fail and Why in 2025?
- Kuala Lumpur Enters Top 20 Emerging Startup Ecosystems in Global – The Exchange Asia
- Reboot: How the Anwar Ibrahim Government Can Jumpstart Malaysia’s Startup Ecosystem Pt2 | Digital News Asia
- https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/insights/reboot-how-anwar-ibrahim-government-can-jumpstart-malaysias-startup-ecosystem-pt2
- Why Inspiring Stories Make Us React: The Neuroscience of Narrative – PMC
- https://www.failory.com/blog/startup-failure-rate
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4445577/
Regarding Brand Geeks Inc
Since 2011, Brand Geeks Inc has helped brands evolve into tech-empowered market leaders. We’ve guided 300+ brands, including MyTeksi (before it became Grab), to turbo growth. We don’t just nurture legendary brands that change the world, we nurture the people who build them. Explore our portfolio and services at brandgeeksinc.com
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