WAN Mohd Zahidi Zakwan met his two business partners James Hay and Asgari Stephens, at the Pangolin Cricket Club, as they shared a common love for the bat-and-ball game.
But cricket was not the only thing that forged this friendship, as each of them was also a magnate in the investment world.
Hay is a British who has lived in Malaysia since 1993. In 2004, he founded Pangolin Investment Management.
Stephens is the director of Intelligent Capital Sdn Bhd, one of the country's first venture capital firms, in 1999.
Together, they make up Tapir Partners, a one-stop investment agency that analyses investment proposals to enable shareholders to invest in potential businesses and companies.
The trio has been able to combine their expertise in investment banking, corporate finance, asset management, equity research, and business advisory.
"Our investment philosophy is to look for Malaysian-based environmental social governance-compliant companies that are seeking expansion.
Wan Zahidi, who is the chief executive officer and director of Tapir Partners, will go through the investment proposals submitted by companies that want to work with the firm.
"We have an investment committee and the decision to work with a company has to be unanimous.
"If anyone in the committee were to say 'No' to the collaboration, we will not proceed. No matter how good the business model is and how good the company's track record is, if we cannot have a decent conversation over teh tarik with its founder and their team, then we don't think we can work with the company."
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Wan Zahidi grew up in Terengganu as his father, who was with a petroleum company, was based there.
He graduated from the University of Melbourne with a bachelor of science in Physics in 2009 and is the only one in his family who works in the investment industry.
"I don't understand charts and rather prefer to look at the fundamentals. If anyone were to come to me for advice on stock selection, I would say go for companies that pay dividends.
"If a company has the confidence to pay investors dividends, it is a company with a solid footing. Also, go for businesses that you understand.
"I would urge investors not to get caught up in the hype and to know your own risk tolerance."
Wan Zahidi started his career in 2013 as an equity analyst in RHB Research Institute, covering the oil and gas and energy sector.
In 2017, he moved to GD Express and worked there for another two years. When he was with GD Express, he was sent to Jakarta to prepare PT SAP Express, GDEX's sister company, for its listing on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.
After he left the logistics company, he joined Tapir Partners which started operations on Jan 1, last year.
"We (Tapir Partners) were cruising along at the start. It was challenging as it took five months to open a bank account during the lockdown and we could only do virtual interviews with clients.
"Next year, I think the domestic economy will present many opportunities. I anticipate more investment proposals to look through, and there will be more fundraising exercises in the market," he added.
The writer was a journalist with The New Straits Times before joining a Fortune Global 500 real estate company. This article is a collaboration between the New Straits Times and Tradeview, the author of 'Once Upon A Time In Bursa'.