Poor tech layer. We've got grade C developers, in a field where paying 10x, you get 20x results. Low cost low quality is a disadvantage. Education system is not improving, and they are disincentivized to actually make the situation better.
Corporations are stuck. In the US, big companies like Google and Microsoft hire the smartest people in the world at 2-3x the usual pay. In Malaysia the tech giants generally pay 30% less than a startup. They're also far behind the average startup.
The problem is that they hire in bulk and carry a brand name. Startup X poaches an experienced employee from telco Y as a manager at double the salary, and the guy is clueless. Being clueless, they also implement lots of clueless policies. Then you get other startups who imitate them because they got a lot of funding.
We actually do well from an operations perspective. So e-commerce, listing, and deals startups boom, because it doesn't need a great tech layer. But anything else we're locked out. We might have 3 guys who are geniuses with drones or autonomous driving, but we won't be able to find 300 of them, unlike companies that park outside Stanford, MIT, or NUS.
I'd say the solution is to aim lower. We could win on moderate tech like note taking apps or games, or things with breadth, not depth, like CRM or sales funnel automation. Poor currency is a strength - easier to land $5000 than RM20000.
There's also a lot of ideas that are not 'investable' but people would be happy to crowdfund. That's also ideal for Malaysians.
