Few men would ask their girlfriend of several months to be their business partner, and even fewer women would say yes to that business proposal. Yet, that was what Giden Lim did, and his now-wife Penny Choo readily agreed. The rest, as they say, is history—after two attempts that didn’t come to fruition, the third time was the charm and BloomThis was born in 2015.
(right) SANDRO, Top, Skirt NELISSA HILMAN, Shoes
Now entering its ninth year, BloomThis has been a mainstay in the Malaysian market and is almost immediately the first name anyone would think of when thinking of gifting a bouquet of flowers within the day. It’s convenient, easy, and beautiful—three very important criteria in our fast-paced, modern lives. It may seem like a logical business now, but it wasn’t the case ten years ago. “I came from a family that ran a flower business. Growing up, I’ve seen a lot of potential in the flower and gifting industry. However, there was very little innovation and operational excellence in the entire space. It’s also very labour-intensive, operational-heavy, and generally very brick-and-mortar. I wanted to inject newness and innovation into this industry and elevate the gifting experience,” Lim said.
After a first attempt that did not work out, Lim asked Choo, then-girlfriend, if she wanted to do it together. “It was in the early stages of our relationship, and you know what it’s like—you’re so in love and everything is possible!” Choo laughed. “I was so gung ho about it that I wanted to quit my job and join Giden full-time. But he put some sense into me and reasoned that we couldn’t both quit our jobs to do this.”
Incidentally, the pair met while working in the same pharmaceutical company. As Lim reminisced his first impression of her, you could still see the wonder in his eyes. “It’s amazing how capable Penny is. Back in her pharmaceutical sales days, she was one of the top performers and won awards. That was how I got to know of her; because she was constantly on stage receiving all these awards!”
In the spirit of being “better together”, the couple surmised that the only reason the business—as well as their relationship—has thrived is thanks to their complementary skill sets. “We’re very different. Our abilities and competencies are quite distinct,” said Lim. “I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur; I’ve had many failures until I met Penny. She compliments me in many, many ways; that’s why this is a strong partnership. But there are also challenges because we’re so different.”
Choo agreed, adding that while the saying is “opposites attract”, it can repel when not managed properly. Making it work is a masterclass in maturity. “When we first started the business, it was just the two of us. We had to do everything and there were no clear roles and responsibilities assigned to each other. When there was a problem, both of us would jump in immediately to solve it, but it’s not very healthy over time,” she said.
She elaborated, saying they both had very different problem-solving and management styles. “But then, we consciously assessed each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” she said. “We assigned the business territory according to each other’s expertise.”
This conscious segregation, said Choo, drew clear boundaries regarding what each other was supposed to do and what they were accountable for. Naturally, there were hurtful moments, but Choo said it wasn’t good to mull over it for too long, or things would never progress. “Besides, we’re managing a business and the livelihood of our team members. We can’t be letting negative emotions dwell,” she said. “That’s why we needed to solve the problem and segregate tasks and responsibilities. I think that’s one of the things we do well together.”
Lim agreed, expounding that beyond being intentional with time and responsibilities, it was also all about consistency and learning how to be empathetic with each other while communicating well. “In fact, we just did a date night last night intentionally, without our (six-year-old) daughter. We needed to park time aside for a date, or it would be just another work meeting,” he said.
Choo summed it up perfectly: working together is all about tolerance. “You really need to be humble. It’s humbling to me when we work together because I get to see my flaws, and I need to accept that I’m just not good at some things. You need to learn to try and work things around rather than dwell on that negativity for too long.”
Leading up to BloomThis’ one decade in the business next year, we noticed that the e-commerce florist eventually expanded to include three brick-and-mortar outlets too. It has come full circle, and Lim agrees that it is important for the business to be omnichannel. The pandemic may have halted many physical businesses, but they eventually came back en vogue—a sign, Lim says, that bad times don’t last. “It also taught us that staying in one channel can be a risky move,” he said.
“Growth is in our DNA,” Choo declared. “It won’t slow down just because we have established the business to a certain level. Constant improvement will still be very much in place; we’re not just about scaling geographically, but also looking into improving what is already working.”
People say don’t fix what isn’t broken, but that isn’t the case for BloomThis. “If we don’t innovate ourselves, someone else will. Coming into our tenth anniversary, the reminder for us is to never stop learning and growing,” Choo concluded.
This story originally appeared on our August 2024 issue.
Photography: Edmund Lee
Creative Direction & Styling: Sarah Chong
Hair: Ckay Liow
Makeup: Japhet Bong
Art Direction: Shane Rohaizad
Photography Assistant: Zane Chang
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