He smiles understandingly at the FMT team, having read the room’s apprehension at joining him in this unique afternoon snack.

After all, crickets are not for the faint of heart (and stomachs).

It was less than a week ago that the 26-year-old, munching on granola protein bites made from cricket powder, became one of the seven Malaysians to make it into the annual Forbes’ “30 under 30 Asia” Class of 2021 list.

While many others his age are struggling to climb the corporate ladder, Wu currently helms three different businesses; cricket farming, furniture and the most recent, a law firm.

And no, becoming a cricket farmer and owning a furniture store was never part of Wu’s plans growing up.

Having read law in London, Wu returned to Malaysia where he worked at one of the largest law firms specialising in corporate mergers and acquisitions.

But in early 2018, he took a short hiatus with the hopes that a mini-break would help him figure out how to spend the next few years of his life.

“I spent the next few months travelling, and it was then that I had my first taste of roasted crickets. I had stopped by a roadside stall to indulge in some cricket tacos in Mexico,” recalls Kevin.

“Honestly, it tasted like fried anchovies and I quickly grew an affinity for them.”

Upon returning to Malaysia, Wu attempted to source for crickets online but discovered that these were incredibly tough to get hold of.

“That’s when I realised that there was a gap in the market. The only other places selling crickets were in the US and Europe, and I wanted to ensure that these edible insects were easily accessible in Malaysia.

He said another troubling issue was how expensive it was to purchase them and have them shipped to Malaysia. “To me, that was another business opportunity to drive the price of edible insects lower.”

And so Ento was set-up, an alternative protein company specialising in edible insects for human consumption.

Just in case you’re still in doubt over the humble cricket’s status as a superfood, even the United Nations and other credible organisations promote crickets as an alternative protein source.

However, just because crickets are good to eat, does not mean that roasting any kind you find is a good idea. Ento specifically uses house crickets which are smaller, lighter in colour and most neutral in flavour.

“We’ve taken crickets a step further by pulverising them and adding them to various other products such as cookies, cakes and bread, which makes them a lot more palatable and acceptable to consumers,” explains Wu, who adds that Ento has its own cricket farm in Sunway.

In 2019, another business opportunity presented itself, prompting Wu to partner with an experienced businessperson to set up one of the largest furniture retail centres in Petaling Jaya, the Furniture Outlet Centre.

With two successful businesses under his belt, Wu began to sets his sights on his next business venture – starting his own law firm. That was in 2020.

Wu currently runs a full-service law firm with close to 10 lawyers practising corporate law, dispute resolutions and criminal law.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic was totally unexpected, taking even this experienced entrepreneur by complete surprise.

“The Covid-19 pandemic really affected businesses as offices and retail shops could not operate for almost two months. It was an extremely difficult period since there was no cash flowing in but expenses were going up.

“We had to juggle things around and make some difficult decisions. Ultimately we had to reevaluate our business so we could survive during and after the pandemic.”

So how did Wu achieve such great success so early in life? Wu credits it to “understanding what his goals and motivations are and what essentially makes me happy”.

He also believes that setting small goals make it easier to tackle all the big tasks.

“That’s what I’ve been doing for the past five years. Managing three businesses is definitely not easy, but it does come down to tackling a series of small tasks.”

He advises budding entrepreneurs to keep an ear open for opportunities but to remember that when an opportunity does come along, it’s usually “a gentle knock”, not a loud bang.

“There will be risks in terms of capital and time but I encourage everyone to take calculated risks. It’s fine if it doesn’t work out.

“At worst, you will lose a bit of money and time but keep your head up, as money can always be earned back.”