His leadership style is characterised by his willingness to listen properly to his team, whether they are at the front of house or in the back-end operations. He is receptive to new ideas from marketing to operations and he is not reluctant to learn from other successful business models. Being a good leader, he feels, also means a willingness to admit one’s mistakes and to take full responsibility for the team. “All the above, I think,” he shares, “inspires my team to go the extra mile especially when the going gets tough.” The fact that his employees feel as if they are part of one big family rather than just mere staff, and believe that they are all together on the shared journey is also a key contributor to the group’s collective success.

Given his decades of experience, Goh has meaningful advice and insight for anyone wishing to make that journey as an entrepreneur and for those who wish to make the climb to true leadership. A good entrepreneur must have “commitment, determination, leadership, an obsession with opportunity, a tolerance of risk, creativity, adaptability, self-reliance and the motivation to excel, as well as humility,” he says.

And the advice he imparts to a young person looking to start their own business, is to “start with a plan, start modestly but think big and always surround yourself with the right people.”

This is sound advice from the man who loves what he is doing now and hopes that in a decade he will still be leading the company in a more strategic fashion. In time to come he also hopes to occupy the role of mentor to his flourishing teams.

Presently the group is 500-employees strong, with many staff expressing their pride that a Malaysian brand could achieve a presence regionally in the short span of four years, to the point where their reach encompasses 24 outlets. Goh has taught his team the importance of thinking out of the box, to be resourceful and innovative especially when there are challenges.