#99 | The ZUS Coffee Story (Ian Chua & Venon Tian)

How do you go from 8 founders and one tiny office to 1,080 coffee stores in 4 countries — in just 5 years? In this episode, we sit down with Ian Chua and Venon Tian, co-founders of Zus Coffee — Malaysia's #1 coffee chain that quietly overtook Starbucks while the world was in lockdown. From an RM50,000 angel cheque to opening one store a day in 2024, the Zus Coffee story is a masterclass in timing, technology, and relentless discipline. 🔑 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN How Zus' app-first model meant 70% of orders come through their own platform (vs Starbucks' ~30%) Why COVID-19 was the best thing that ever happened to Zus — and how being digitally ready gave them an unfair advantage The "pluck-numbers-from-the-sky" target-setting method that took them from 60 to 360 to 670 stores in three years How segmented P&L (Stars, Bloomers, Matures, Laggards) helps them manage 1,000+ outlets Why they named a boardroom "Servant Leader" — and what a non-Christian learned about leadership from a church principle The "Store Walk" method: Going on ground, visiting stores, and watching what customers actually buy What it means to cannibalize yourself before your competitor does 🕐 TIMECODED CHAPTERS 0:00 – Teaser: "More than a billion in revenue" 0:26 – Intro & Meet the Zus Coffee Founders 1:04 – Ian's backstory: From JB to Australia to e-commerce at 22 2:35 – Venon's backstory: Law school, UK retail, and eBay hustle 5:03 – How Ian & Venon met through a shared mentor (and a cold call) 7:18 – What made them entrepreneurial from day one 8:49 – The Zus model explained 10:24 – Early challenges: Discouragements, no playbook, scrappy beginnings 12:42 – How COVID-19 became their biggest tailwind 13:38 – 70% of customers order via app – vs Starbucks' 30% 14:58 – The app advantage: Cutting wait times and driving footfall to cheap locations 18:12 – Marketing strategy: 50% art, 50% performance 19:18 – Scaling culture: From 40 people in one office to 1,000+ outlets 21:48 – The "Game of Impossible" room in Zus HQ 24:18 – Servant leadership 24:45 – Discipline of action: Opening 1,080 stores across 4 countries 25:35 – "Plucking numbers from the sky" – how they set audacious targets 27:51 – One store a day in 2024: 670 stores opened in a single year 29:14 – Expanding internationally: Philippines, Thailand, Singapore 30:59 – Building the feedback loop & refining the playbook 32:41 – "Every customer counts" – how they handle complaints 34:07 – Segmented P&L: The billion-ringgit revenue question 36:03 – Malaysia Airlines lesson: Why segmented P&L changes everything 36:44 – Idris's Shell story: Standing in front of a competitor to find the right location 41:59 – Did Zus beat Starbucks in Malaysia? 43:57 – Stars, Bloomers, Matures & Laggards: The 4-quadrant store framework 47:00 – Navigating economic headwinds & cost-saving "labs" 48:49 – Letting go of "cowboy" instincts: Adding structure without losing agility 51:10 – The Game of Impossible for Ian & Venon: Zus going global ✍️ KEY QUOTES "We always believe the biggest competitor will be ourself." — Ian 40:51 "Whatever that brings us today might not be taking us to tomorrow." — Ian 49:22 "When we first started we didn't think as much. It was very much being ourselves." — Venon 19:44 "If you can do it one month, why can't you do it every month?" — Venon 26:45 "When a crisis comes, people who are ready for the crisis have a massive advantage." — Idris 14:44 "Marketing is 50% art, 50% performance." — Ian 18:32 "People taking the effort to feedback to you means they care." — Ian 33:03 ✌🏽ABOUT US Dato Sri Idris Jala is a former minister (ranked by Bloomberg in 2014 as the Top 10 Most Influential Policy Makers in the World) and Chairman of PEMANDU Associates and Heineken Malaysia, as well as Co-Chairman of Sunway Group. Leon Jala is the Executive Pastor at HTBB Church where he heads Leadership Development and Innovation. He is also a Board Member of PEMANDU Associates where he serves as Vice Chair. 📲 FOLLOW US 🤳🏼IG: @thegameofimpossible 🕺🏻TikTok: @thegameofimpossible 🎧Spotify: The Game Of Impossible