Nuffnang co-founder starts Jipaban

This news might be worth to note as it involves Malaysia's biggest online ad server Nuffnang which is the adverising muscle behind the local blogging scene.  With Jipaban, they are providing a one-stop shopping portal for blogshop owners.

Curiously, the Jipaban site has a Singaporean domain: http://www.jipaban.com.sg/

A look at the screen shot will show that this site is different than the countless other directories and aggregation sites in that it has a distinctively Web 2.0/social media feel to it.  It also has social networking features which adds to its uniqueness.

Here is an interview article with Cheo Ming Shen, the co-founder of Jipaban:

From: Today Online website: http://www.todayonline.com/Shop/EDC100703-0000033/Five-questions-with-Cheo-Ming-Shen

Written by Lynette Koh

If you are a fan of blogshops, you should bookmark new e-commerce website, Jipaban.com. Launched in May, Jipaban brings together small retailers to create a one-stop virtual shopping portal. With about 80 retailers currently onboard, its name may be a bit of an exaggeration (jipaban is Hokkien for one million), but still, it offers e-shoppers a reasonably hefty selection of products, including clothes, accessories, and lifestyle products.

Its co-founder, Cheo Ming Shen, is also one of the people behind blog advertising website Nuffnang.com. Here, the 27-year-old entrepreneur tells Today about e-commerce, his ever-growing watch collection, and how the name of his newest venture came about.

Nuffnang was started in 2007. You and your partners have co-founded several other web-based businesses since, such as Jipaban. Why the focus on e-commerce?

I believed then, and I believe now, that the Internet is a "greenfield" for today's entrepreneurs. In South-east Asia, in particular, there is very little locally developed content, so this represents great opportunities for prospective dot-com entrepreneurs who are willing to innovate and work hard.

Why did you call your new website Jipaban?

"Jipaban" means one million in Hokkien. It first came up when I heard a Hokkien song of the same title. The song reflects the aspirations of a wannabe millionaire. There are two reasons why the name is relevant.

Firstly, it represents the aspirations of its retailers to make money and become millionaires. Secondly, Jipaban is currently in its embryonic stage. In the future, we will expand and bring in more variety for our shoppers. The limits are endless.

Where do you shop?

I shop online quite a lot. My favourite online shops are www.firebox.com (a British gadget store) and Amazon (where I buy e-books for my Kindle). I also go to

www.manutd.com and www.icons.com to buy football memorabilia.

What are your retail weaknesses?

Definitely watches. I have over a dozen watches. My favourite watch is Mr Roboto, (an automatic steel watch) by Azimuth, a Singaporean-founded company. The watch cost about $6,000.

What's your worst buy?

Although I spend a lot of money on thingamabobs, I usually deliberate over an item quite a lot before I actually buy it, and I have a natural attachment to the things I buy. They usually represent a memory or have some other significance, so I haven't really regretted any single purchase so far.