Steven Fong: I Built This From Nothing 0% | EP02

Steven Fong Built This From Nothing!
That sounds like a terrible idea. But I did it anyway.

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Journal, Steven Fong is taking the hot seat to tell the raw, unfiltered truth behind his entrepreneurial journey from freelancing as a student to running multiple companies across animation, tech, and creative media.

What does it really take to build something from scratch when you’re drowning in self-doubt, broke, and uncertain?

Steven opens up about:
🔴 Starting Circle Studio without an animation background
🤠 Surviving 2 years with no salary
😤 Navigating anxiety, financial stress, and identity as a founder
🎯 Why the right partners are the key to longevity
🧠 The emotional toll of ambition—and why staying humble matters

It’s messy, painful, passionate, and brutally honest.

Because entrepreneurship isn’t about perfection... it’s about staying in the game, especially when everything inside you tells you to quit.

🎧 This is for the dreamers, the doers, and the ones who start before they’re ready.

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LinkedIn -   / stevenfongco  
Instagram -   / iam_stevenfong  

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Instagram -   / daseinacademyofart  
Facebook -   / daseinacademyofart  
YouTube -    / @daseinacademyofart  

Timestamp
00:00 Introduction about Steven Fong
04:44 Why & How I started Circle Studio & Bugworks?
09:20 BTS about Dota Cinematic opportunity
13:00 How do you focus while running multiple companies?
14:00 Why not start from being an employee?
17:00 What are the challenges that you faced while running multiple companies?
22:43 How do you feel from building from small scale to at least 50 people?
26:19 Anxiety & Set Backs?
30:30 Any Regrets?
32:51 What's next for you?
35:38 Any advice for the new upcoming entrepreneur?
40:50 Who will you have Dinner with? Dead or Alive?

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About Us
We're Gene and Steven, you co-hosts for TEJ Podcast based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A flagship series produced by Horizen Media x Dasein Academy. We are passionate to interview Malaysian Entrepreneurs and Storytellers uncovering the real, unfiltered journey of business leaders, creatives, and innovators. With years of experience across animation, filmmaking, gaming, technology and entrepreneurship, we’ve built and scaled businesses while navigating the highs and lows of the creative and business world.