When Khoo V-Ho was 22 years old, he was gearing up to graduate from law school. But two months before his CLP examination, his dad passed away.
His family had been in the furniture business for the past 35 years, and instead of letting it end with his father’s passing, V-Ho decided to take up the mantle.
Two years later, V-Ho’s sister, Giselle Khoo, decided to quit her studies. Around the same time, an opportunity to start a business together in a premium location in Georgetown came up, so the duo decided to go for it.
To pay homage to their late father, the Khoos decided to name the business Dad’s Woods, simultaneously pivoting to focus specifically on wooden products.
Starting fresh
Their father’s business, called Eng Wha Home Centre, sold a variety of products from mattresses and sofas to tables and cabinets. While V-Ho had obviously frequented the store, he was never quite involved with it.
“During high school, I’ve been to some furniture fairs with my dad, but in terms of business and operations, I had zero experience,” V-Ho said.
But the furniture store wasn’t technically V-Ho’s first brush with entrepreneurship, as he had attempted to start a clothing line and a solid perfume line in his youth.
Still, as V-Ho put it: “It’s one thing to know how to work and sell something, it’s another thing to run a business and manage staff.”
Being only 22 at the time, he faced some doubt, but he admitted that a lot of the time, the pressure came from within. He said it involved a lot of insecurity and getting unnecessarily defensive.
Thankfully, old staff members would help out and support V-Ho as he kept up with the operations. At the same time, he saw the potential in his father’s business, and felt that it could also use an upgrade.
“I always wanted to build a brand that is from Malaysia and, specifically, Penang,” he explained.
When the opportunity arose, V-Ho jumped on it. It started when his friend was…
