We’ve reached the final part of the “People Behind Advanx Health”. Let’s get to know more about our CEO, Wei Shian!
Yong Wei Shian is born and raised in Taiping, Perak – the rain town of Malaysia. He enjoys reading, sports and playing games.
“I really, really like to play competitive sports, like football, badminton, basketball and competitive games like e-sports.”
explained Wei Shian.
As the company’s CEO, he is the one who oversees everything from finance, business strategies, administration as well as investor relations.
Did you know that he started this company to challenge himself? He wanted to stay out of his comfort zone, which pushed him to take on this entrepreneurial journey.
“I believe that when we are out of our comfort zone, we can learn things at a faster pace.“
said Wei Shian
Apart from that, it has always been one of his passion to marry healthcare with technology, because he wants to provide more meaning to healthcare data.
DNA analysis has become a norm in the United States, where statistics have shown that 8% of the U.S. population have done a DNA test. “I believe and foresee the number of people in Southeast Asia that adopt DNA analysis will only grow faster in the future.” added Wei Shian.
“I foresee that the number of people in Southeast Asia who adopts DNA analysis will only grow faster in the future.“
said Wei Shian
Dammia: What are the biggest challenges that you and your team has faced? And how did you manage to overcome it?
Wei Shian: One of the biggest challenges that we have faced so far is to introduce DNA test to the Malaysian market. It is quite challenging because DNA testing is fairly new in this region. The awareness level on DNA testing amongst Malaysians are still very low, compared to other regions like Europe and United States.
Since the beginning of 2018, we have experimented with many ways to educate Malaysians on DNA testing. Because of our efforts, we have generated more interest amongst Malaysians so far. We also got some coverage by online news portals as well. We will penetrate the market more this year, by working with more brands, offline stores and events.
Dammia: What are the biggest accomplishments of Advanx Health this day?
Wei Shian: We’re grateful to have secured our angel investors, who believe in the company’s mission.
Dammia: What are the paths you took to get to where you are today?
Wei Shian: I’ve always chosen to take the unusual paths in life so far, which have constantly placed me in uncomfortable situations. But, I believe that when we are out of our comfort zone, we can learn things at a faster pace. Because of that, I’ve also had to constantly unlearn and relearn from my experiences.
Dammia: What were some great contributions made by Advanx Health team?
Wei Shian: Everyone in the team plays a crucial role in the company. Even though everyone is assigned with a primary role, all of us have helped each other out since we’re a very lean team.
Ping handles the tech and product aspects, which is a huge part for a health tech startup like us. John has secured many crucial partnerships to expand our reach to more Malaysians. For example, the recent Hong Leong Bank promotion and our retail pharmacy partners who provides our test in their outlets. Vishala helps us to establish connection and potential collaboration with local universities and research institutes, which is part of our company mission to support more local research.
Besides that, our interns have also been playing major roles in the company. We always provide chances for interns to handle projects and marketing campaign, like the recent #DnaNegarAku campaign.
Now that you’ve had the chance to learn more about the team behind Advanx Health, let us know what else you’d like to read more about, in the comments section!