FROM high school classmates to business partners, best friends Miles Teow and Lee Shi Hong went through thick and thin together before they successfully grew their local roaster and coffee company with two other business collaborators.
After completing their high school studies, Teow took up accounting at INTI International University and Colleges, while Lee pursued marine science in Tasmania, Australia.
While completing his studies, Teow realised that he preferred a more exciting career instead of being an accountant after he graduated.
“I love coffee and, back then, the coffee café culture was relatively new.
“I got inspired to start a coffee business and together with five other partners, we started a café space in George Town.
“The business was good and all, but soon, the direction which it was heading to was not what I envisioned it to be.
“So, I sold off my share of the business,” Teow, now 34, said in an interview with Buletin Mutiara on Sept 13.
Teow anticipated a swift rebound after he left his first coffee business, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
“I was jobless and was at my lowest. Every day, I ‘pretended’ to go to work as I did not want to worry my parents. And I did so for over a year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lee, a PhD graduate, became a marine biologist, lecturer, and lab manager after his studies.
“I was in Australia for 11 years and whenever I am in Penang, Teow and I would hang out.
“When I came back in 2017, I learnt that Teow had left his coffee business.
“Together with two other business partners, Tan Yaw Tzong and Lim Guan Hong, we again decided to pursue the coffee business. In 2017, our partnership began,” Lee, 34, spoke about the history of Norm Micro Roastery in Gat Lebuh Gereja.
Teow and Lee said initially, the four of them were keen on tapping the relatively new coffee culture in Shanghai, China.
“We were travelling frequently to Shanghai between 2017 and 2019, looking for opportunities to start our business there. In the meantime, we started our first Norm café in Carnarvon Street in 2018,” Lee said.
Teow added that despite their strong interest in starting a business in Shanghai, they had to call off their plans eventually.
“The business culture differs significantly from our own, and a substantial capital investment is required to initiate the business. Eventually, we had to call off our plans,” Teow said.
Lee said the Norm Micro Roastery in Gat Lebuh Gereja was established around December 2019 or January 2020.
“We moved the café here from Carnarvon Street, and after three months of business, Malaysia was shocked by Covid-19.
“In short, our business was impacted again because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Lee said.
Both Teow and Lee said they were grateful that the staff braved hardships together with the company during the period of uncertainty.
“It was so bad that we could no longer afford to pay their salaries at one point. Nevertheless, most of our staff stayed behind and we struggled together as a team.
“This is how we managed to make a swift recovery once Covid-19 became endemic.
“Our strength lies with our team. Without the team, all these are just concrete and bricks,” Teow said.
Lee said the company appreciates the employees and treats them like family.
“Ultimately, we want them to grow together with the company and play bigger roles,” he said.
The company is looking to expand its business in George Town, either end of this year or early next year.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Wong Sook Shyan, Christopher Tan and courtesy of Norm Micro Roastery