INFORMATION technology entrepreneur  is happily reaping the fruits of success and hard work.

Over the last four years, the 36-year-old chief executive officer of Shinjiru MSC Sdn Bhd has indulged his love of premium German cars by buying an Audi A4 1.8T as well as the BMW 735Li and 545i.

Two years ago, Terence also bought a Mazda5 MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) for his family.

“My wife chose the Mazda5 as she wanted a spacious family vehicle,” said the business graduate who founded the Shinjiru group of companies.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Shinjiru has been a leading provider of offshore dedicated servers and web hosting services in Asia since 1998.

The company has six data centres in Malaysia and another located in Europe, and has its own IP (internet protocol) block of over 8,000 addresses.

It was listed among the 100 most dynamic web hosting companies (2004-2006) by Hostpulse.com.

Products and services include Linux and Windows web hosting, email web hosting, VPS (virtual private server), dedicated servers hosting, server co-location, web design, web marketing, domain registration, SSL (secure socket layer) certificates, hardware sales and support, maintenance contract and software programming.

Shinjiru has an annual revenue of about RM4 million.

Presently, Terence operates the company with another partner and more than 40 full-time employees.
Most of the staff are in their twenties.

“We have a young and dynamic team,” said Terence, who aims to double the total annual revenue of Shinjiru by 2010.

However, like many successful entrepreneurs, the journey towards a prosperous business was not always smooth sailing for Terence.

After graduating in 1994, Terence worked as a marketing executive at Help University College for two years.
At that time, Terence drove a used Proton Iswara, which continued to serve him well when he joined a computer hardware retailer as a sales executive.

Later, Terence decided to set up his own company despite the Asian financial crisis.

“It does not matter whether the economy is strong or weak. More importantly, one has to be hard-working and focussed,” said Terence.

The business grew quickly, and Terence decided to buy a European car after five years of driving the Iswara.
He bought a used Peugeot 406 but got to enjoy it for a short period only.

Both his Iswara and Peugeot 406 had to be sold during the economic downturn in 2002.

During lean times, his mode of transport was a Proton Wira 1.5 (automatic).

“Buying a new Wira was logical choice due to low maintenance cost compared with an old continental car,” said Terence.

During the economic downturn, Terence almost gave up on his business.

“Close friends from the good times disappeared. But somehow, I did not give up like many others who took the easier route by seeking employment. I reduced unnecessary spending, analysed the company’s weaknesses and rectified them, and prioritised the unique selling points of the business,” he said. 

Two years later, the business was profitable once more and Terence bought an Audi A4 1.8T.

He enhanced the A4 with an ABT body kit, quad exhaust system, engine performance upgrade and sport wheels.
“More than RM30,000 was spent on the modifications but my driver probably enjoyed them more than I did,” recalled Terence. 

The A4 was driven for three years before it was passed to his business partner.

A used BMW 735Li came along but Terence kept it for a short while before buying a pre-owned 545i.

“I was attracted by the 735Li as it was a four-year-old unit that had clocked only 110,000km. But later, I decided that the 545i was better suited for my driving style,” he said.

The 545i has been modified with an M Sport body kit, sports suspension and exhaust system, engine performance upgrade and 19-inch Japanese sport wheels.

“The Japanese wheels weigh 9.5kg per piece. They are about 40 per cent lighter than the stock 18-inch wheels,” said Terence, who likes driving the 545i on occasional business trips to Johor Baru and Singapore.
Someday, Terence hopes to be able to buy cars like the Aston Martin DB9 and Cayman S Porsche Design Edition One.

For details on Shinjiru, log on to www.shinjiru.com

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