Cambodia Investment Review
On episode E135 of the Rising Giants podcast, hosted by Max and Dom, Myanmar entrepreneur Ye Myat Min, also known as Jeff, shared his journey of building multiple startups, including his current focus, Better HR. Jeff, a self-taught programmer and serial founder, has successfully scaled four ventures: Nexlabs, Better HR, Bluejay Finance, and Peek Money. Throughout the podcast, he reflected on his early experiences, business challenges, and the lessons he’s learned while growing Better HR into a market leader in HR SaaS across Southeast Asia.
Early Beginnings and the Genesis of Nexlabs
Jeff’s introduction to programming came through an unconventional route. “I first got into programming through gaming,” he explained. “We started creating our own games, which led me to teach myself basic coding in C++ when I was just 12. From there, I was hooked.” His interest in coding grew as Myanmar gained limited access to the internet in 2003, a resource that proved pivotal in his entrepreneurial journey.
After moving to Singapore, Jeff worked on small online projects for estate and insurance agents, setting up their profiles and listings. “That experience was my first taste of project management,” he shared. “I managed everything from lead generation to outsourcing backend work. It was the genesis of Nexlabs.” However, his first venture—a social business app—didn’t succeed. “I failed to listen to customer needs, and that was a key lesson. From that point on, I learned to build businesses that served the customer, not myself.”
Nexlabs quickly expanded, growing to 150 employees and becoming one of Myanmar’s top three tech service providers by 2017. Reflecting on this growth, Jeff credited the startup boom in Myanmar between 2013 and 2019. “It was a golden time,” he noted. “There was a lot of support from incubators, and consumer internet access was rising rapidly.” However, he also acknowledged the challenges many Mekong region startups faced, particularly when trying to scale beyond seed funding.
Building Better HR: A Focus on Efficiency and Growth
One of Jeff’s most notable ventures is Better HR, an HR software as a service (SaaS) platform that helps companies streamline processes like hiring, payroll, and employee data management. “We built Better HR to reduce HR department workloads by 90%, focusing on efficiency,” he explained. Securing seed funding of $500,000 from a local conglomerate allowed Jeff and his team to scale quickly. “We built a culture of belonging early on, and this helped attract great talent,” he said. “Great people don’t like office politics, so we worked hard to eliminate that from our company.”
The COVID-19 pandemic presented a significant challenge for Better HR, but Jeff credits the company’s resilience for getting through tough times. “We cut expenses by 50% right away, through salary cuts and negotiating with our suppliers,” he said. “The key lesson was always to ensure we had enough money in the bank. Transparency with our team was essential, and we made sure they understood why cuts were necessary for the long-term vision.”
Better HR’s core product, a payroll management system, has found success with larger clients across Southeast Asia. “Our first client had 8,000 employees, and we quickly saw that our product delivered the most value at scale,” Jeff noted. “What sets us apart is our focus on customer support. We respond to inquiries within three minutes, and we resolve most issues free of charge. This human element, combined with solid software, has been key to our growth.”
Expansion Plans and Lessons Learned
Looking ahead, Better HR is expanding into Thailand and Vietnam. “These markets are promising due to the large numbers and high margins,” Jeff said. However, he noted the geographical challenges of markets like the Philippines and Indonesia. “For now, we’ll focus on Thailand and Vietnam, where we already have customers and can compete on both service and price.”
In his conversation with Rising Giants, Jeff also shared the most important advice he’s received. “The best advice I’ve been given is to always be honest in business. It’s all about reputation, and people will always know if you’re being honest or not,” he said.
