KUCHING: Building a startup is rarely a straight road, and for Borong, one of Malaysia’s B2B commerce marketplaces, survival and growth came down to one word: grit.
Borong’s Managing Director and Co-Founder, Aizat Rahim, shared the hard realities behind the company’s journey from a small idea in 2017 to a platform that has transacted more than USD18 billion, serving nearly 200,000 businesses across five countries.
“While you see the glory and glamour of Borong today, the truth is I started exactly where you guys are.
“The reality is most startups will fail and one of the key things, something that we all never really grew up with, is that failure hurts, but the one that will actually help us a lot is that those failures will teach us how to actually be successful even faster.
“For context, Borong, we failed multiple times. We’ve pivoted our business from dropshipping, hence last time our company was called Dropee, from dropshipping changing to B2B commerce and after that add-on additional procurement and many, many others as well.
“Running a startup is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. What separates successful entrepreneurs from those who just dream is grit, tenacity and perseverance,” he said in his keynote session titled ‘Grit Over Glory: Lessons from Building Borong’ during the TEGAS Pre-Accelerator Bootcamp (TPAB) 2025 held at TEGAS Digital VIllage here today.
Aizat recalled how Borong, originally called Dropee, endured repeated failures, pivots, and financial struggles.
In 2018, the company had less than two months’ runway before nearly shutting down. In 2019 and again in 2020, investors pulled out at the last minute, leaving the founders scrambling.
“I’ve spoken to over 700 investors and heard rejection after rejection. It hurts, but as long as you believe in your vision, eventually someone will say yes. Once you get that first yes, momentum will follow,” he said.
He also cautioned founders against chasing vanity metrics, stressing instead on customer validation, execution speed, and building strong peer and mentor networks.
“Success is not the end goal; it’s in the journey. The road ahead won’t be easy, but it will be yours. Keep pushing through, and that’s how you build something real,” he stressed.
Borong has facilitated transactions worth over RM18.6 billion on its platform, serving nearly 200,000 businesses and expanding its operations across five countries.
