Ventures
From matching pandemic-era help requests to turning Malaysia's home cooks into micro-entrepreneurs, same pattern, different problem.
As Malaysia faced economic hardship in early 2020, Arun noticed a gap in how help usually reached people. Generic aid, rice, Milo, hampers, went out at scale, but people with specific needs still went unmet. Some needed a laptop for their child's schooling. Some needed a tutor. Some, in more affluent neighbourhoods, needed help quietly, without putting up a public white flag. He built Waymaker to close that gap directly, with co-founder Richard Cristhappa.
Post exactly what you need, and get matched with someone who can actually provide it. A beta version went live in October 2020 after months of research and user interviews. The public platform launched on 14 February 2021.
Run as a non-profit passion project by a small team who all held full-time jobs elsewhere, Waymaker spread from Klang Valley to Sarawak, Penang, Perak, Johor and Perlis. The observation that carried forward: people don't need generic help, they need their specific gap closed. That's the same instinct behind Dapor.
Arun's mother was a skilled home cook whose talent never turned into income. Caregiving always came first. That pattern, common across Malaysian households, is what Dapor was built to fix: a marketplace connecting home-based cooks and caterers with customers, so skill in the kitchen can become a real, flexible source of income.
Dapor soft-launched in December 2022 and officially launched on Mother's Day 2026. It now runs two products:
Connect straight with a caterer, no commission, ever. Post a request, get competing quotes from verified caterers, deal directly with the one you choose. Built to be frictionless for anyone getting started, from a single tray of kuih to a 150-pax event.
Order together with a minimum group size, or let your company order on everyone's behalf. Pick a "dropzone," join or start a pool, and once it hits its minimum it fires to the kitchen as one consolidated delivery: recurring team lunches, without the admin.
Currently live across the Klang Valley, with expansion plans beyond. Read more about the socioeconomic and environmental thinking behind Dapor Drop on the Impact page.
In their own words
“Through this app I was able to secure home caterers for our event serving 150 pax. Responses were quick and the caterer worked closely with us to create a menu within our budget. Highly recommended if you're looking for home caterers whose food is just as delicious as professional catering services..!”
Penny managed high-volume event catering with a lean internal team. Dapor coordinated full food and beverage fulfillment for 150 participants across a multi-day itinerary.
Penny · Dapor Direct“I like to use Dapor because it's a convenient app, very reliable and the food quality is nice. We have so many options on the app and we want to continue using Dapor. The payment part solves everything. The customer service is good and fast. We look forward to more orders with Dapor. I hope we can continue to work together long term.”
Qistina orchestrates recurring internal meal programs for corporate employees twice a week. Dapor eliminates menu fatigue with highly customized, rotating culinary selections every cycle.
Qistina · Dapor DropFeatured in