SUCCESSFUL ICON#6 : REUBEN KANG from JINNYBOYTV

I met Reuben Kang years back during one of the event that I organized for youth entrepreneurs.

At that time, he’s still attached to an Animation company before he went on to an Advertising Agency as a Television Commercial Producer. His creativity breakthrough came when videos on Malaysian lifestyle posted on YouTube (produced under JinnyboyTV) went on viral and has reached many viewers / subscribers. It’s the familiarity, message and straightforwardness that tickled many to click on them and then sharing it. The rest is history.

I first noticed THIS video and spontaneously prompted me to share them with friends on Facebook. And from thereon, I anticipated seeing more of his work.

A friendly, chatty and always a creative person he is, here’s a quick interview that I managed to sneak from him.

Me: Hi Reuben, it’s been a long time isn’t it? Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and what business do you currently run?

Reuben: Hi Angie, yep it’s been a while. Okay, my name is Reuben Kang and I currently run a YouTube channel called JINNYBOYTV with my partner Jin Lim. 

Me: What exactly does your business do?

Reuben: Basically, we make short films and upload them on YouTube. Our videos vary from comedy to love stories, and more often than not, with a Malaysian flavor sprinkled into it. We tell stories that are relatable to your everyday Malaysian.

Me: How did you first start your businesses/passion?

Reuben: I started as a 'coolie' when I was 16 years old, in the film industry. As a kid, I always wanted to do something creative - or at least be part of a creation process.Eventually I pursued my tertiary education in Broadcasting and followed the typical order of working in several production houses and advertising agencies. How JinnyboyTV came about was rather accidental, to put it simply. It was never our intention or goal to be an actual YouTube channel. Jin called me up to shoot a script he had in mind, just for fun; and after our first video, we had several requests of doing more videos. We were astounded to learn that this has led to several thousand of subscribers, and landing on business collaborations.

Me: How did you first discover your passion and how do you know that you wanted to do it as a business?

Reuben: When we were getting a substantial amount of viewers and subscribers, the advertising & marketing industry in Malaysia realizes the power of YouTube. Then one by one approached us for business collaboration. We encourage using YouTube as a platform as we noticed people’s trend, mainly the youth, spends more time on the internet than television. This is the demographics where majority of businesses are not able to penetrate, as they can't be reached on television, radio or even newspapers. And one way to approach them is using the internet. That was when we realized that we have a rather unique business model. But having said that, I think content is King. I believe our content is unique in its way, and that Malaysians can relate to our stories, and we have always kept our stories real and sincere from our hearts.

Me: How do you know that this business will make money?

Reuben: We didn't. And I think that was never our intention to begin with. As it was more of a hobby at the beginning, our intention was merely to continue what we enjoy doing. Having said that, we were also fans of many YouTubers from across the globe, mainly WongFu Productions, NigaHiga, Just Kidding Films, Freddie Wong, Barely Political and many others, and they have all managed to make this as their careers, through YouTube AdSense, client sponsored videos, as well as their merchandising. So our bench mark was merely to replicate them in the beginning.

Me: So when did you realize that you rather work for yourself than having a job & working for others?

Reuben: When my blood pressure returned to normal, and finally having a good night sleep! Hahahahaha! But most importantly, especially in the creative field, the satisfaction of creating your own content rather than creating it for a brand has given me so far much more fulfilment.

Me: What is your advice to those who wants to quit their job & pursue their dream?

Reuben: That should be the end goal if you believe you would perform better on your own. But you should always be pragmatic about making the big leap. I have seen failed ventures before and what's important is to have that balance of passion and pragmatism. And continue to have that passion on what you do and never stray away from your initial intention of why you're doing this in the first place.

Me: That’s very meaningful Reuben. Thanks so much for your time buddy!

Reuben: No problem and thank you for the opportunity!

(Above pic) Reuben and his partner, Jin.

(Above pic) JINNYBOYTV infamous logo on YouTube.

(Above pic) One of JINNYBOYTV videos!

(Above pic) Reuben interviewed by the BFM radio.

 So, the TAKE AWAY of this interview:

1) Be pragmatic before taking the big leap.

2) Passion should always come first when starting a business, the rest (like money, etc) will fall into place.

3) Find your niche in business. Be uniquely interesting.

4) Never stop learning from others who has done it before. 

5) Replicate successful people/company business model and transform it to be your own. 

Be entertained and watch more of JINNYBOYTV videos HERE! 

And if you are a Malaysian / Asian, I promise you, you will be tickled!