Southeast Asia’s leading Internet TV service, iFlix’s founder Patrick Grove is setting such a remarkable track record not only in the region’s digital industry but also within the entrepreneurial community, proving that nothing is impossible.
The Internet TV service which competes against the world-renowned Netflix – which is also an internet TV service the United States and Europe – has been penetrating the South East Asian market with its remarkable marketing and operation strategy.
Nonetheless, before iFlix was born, Grove himself encountered several of cycles of startups all the way from ideas to execution which collapsed in the end. However, his determination has finally paid off today with the success of iFlix’s emergence into the global market.
Patrick Grove (left) sharing a light moment with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the Wild Digital Asia Conference 2016. -pic by Entrepreneur Insight
According to Grove, the factors that he has attributed to his success can be summarised under the concept of 5P’s. These 5P’s led him towards the success he enjoys today and can be of great guidance to anyone who is still in looking to discover more about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
During the opening of the Wild Digital 2016 conference for tech startups, Grove shared what are his 5 five essential P’s:
1. Problem
Acknowledge that there is a problem faced by your community and environment and identify clearly what is needed to be solved. This is where ideas and innovations become something that brings value. In doing this, you will eventually come out with a solution to resolve the problem.
2. Passion
Many have assumed that passion is what drives a person to continue in whatever he/she is doing to achieve success. However, Grove decided to challenge the status quo and strongly believes that passion and success needs to co-exist.
“If you do not achieve any goals or success you wish to see over a long term, eventually your passion will fade away gradually and this may lead you to giving up,” he says. Thus, it is vital for entrepreneur to develop short term goals so that you can ensure the passion are kept at adequate level.
By balancing passion and success to complement each other, this will not only motivate the entrepreneur but also inspire other stakeholders including employees, investors and business associates.
3. People
The greatest asset for a company or an organisation comes from the people behind it. From the founder to the employees, people are the backbone of the whole business structure.
And also, studies show that businesses with co-founders generally outperform those with one solo founder. Thus, it is important to take the time to filter and choose the best partner possible to achieve your ultimate goal.
Apart of that, it is also an on-going progress for an entrepreneur or businessman to look for reliable talents to strengthen the organisation or company.
4. Pivot
In another words, it means the ability to test, experiment and take a chance. Constant innovations and improvisations are essential to ensure the product or service is in its best shape in the market and offers the highest value.
Being adaptable and flexible in not only products but organisational structure as well has become one of the compulsory survival skills for businesses these days.
5. Perseverance
“It is easy for this one. Never let ‘no’ get in the way,” Grove says. Before iFlix and iProperty accomplished what they have and gained their position in the market today, they have encountered a total number of 115 and 74 rejections respectively.
The thing is, an entrepreneur has to have a great amount of confidence in his/her product and business model to be able to persuade investors, employees, authority and customers. Without determination, it is very unlikely that the entrepreneurs will be able to overcome obstacles along the way of starting a new business.
Comparehero.my is Malaysia’s leading online financial comparison portal and seeks to increase financial literacy in Malaysia by providing free, transparent and detailed product comparisons for credit cards, personal loans and broadband plans. For details, visit www.comparehero.my