Stories of Successes: Creative Enterprises

Overview

This panel brings together founders of creative enterprises in Penang to share their journeys, from starting out with an idea to growing into sustainable businesses. The conversation will highlight real-world examples of creative entrepreneurship, showcasing the challenges faced, opportunities seized, and strategies used to adapt along the way. More than just personal stories, the session will also reflect on broader themes affecting the sector: what kind of support creative entrepreneurs need, what’s currently missing, and how the local ecosystem can evolve to better support creativity-driven businesses. Whether you’re an aspiring creative founder or simply curious about how creative businesses take shape in Penang, this session offers practical takeaways and thoughtful reflections on building in a creative economy.

Who Should Join

This panel is ideal for aspiring creative entrepreneurs, independent creators, business owners, educators, and anyone interested in how creative enterprises are built and sustained within Penang’s growing creative ecosystem.

Panel Members

Panel:

• Mr Jonathan Yun (Jewelry Artist, Jonathan Yun Sculptural Jewelry) 
• Ahmad Nadir bin Askandar (Owner & Parang Artist, MY Parang) 
• Mr Yeoh Guan Eek (Managing & Art Director, Sculpture Environment Art Sdn. Bhd.) (TBC)

Other Panel Sessions

In addition to this session, we have a series of panel discussions held each evening, each one built around a daily theme highlighting a different aspect of Penang’s creative sector.

  You may register for multiple sessions by visiting our main event profile.  

About Penang Creative Industries Living Lab

The Living Lab will take place in Digital Penang, featuring a series of panel discussions, public dialogues, and co-creation activities aimed at exploring practical strategies for developing Penang’s creative industries. Each day of the Living Lab includes three main components: 

1. Evening panel sessions featuring different key topics related to creative industries in Penang. (8pm to 9pm) 
2.  A showcase of creative startups and organisations, where participating teams exhibit their products or prototypes and receive user feedback for refinement and improvement. (3pm to 10pm) 
3. Interactive research booths, where the public is invited to share opinions and insights related to ongoing research themes, helping the team further understand community perspectives. (3pm to 10pm) 

Using a living lab methodology, PLLACE brings together creative practitioners, government agencies, researchers, and citizens to collaboratively design new solutions, training concepts, and policy ideas in real-world settings. This initiative hopes to contribute to Penang’s long-term creative economy goals by addressing current challenges while encouraging sustainable, inclusive growth. 

About PLLACE Research 

The Penang Living Lab for Advancing the Creative Economy (PLLACE) is a research-driven initiative focused on strengthening Penang’s creative sector through co-creation, policy development, and collaborative innovation. Funded by the British Academy (UK), PLLACE is jointly carried out by researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Greenwich, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.