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Sherman is a 29-year-old KL native who has spent more than seven years building his career in the investment and finance industry. For years, his working life revolved around numbers, businesses and meeting entrepreneurs.
But outside his corporate career, he had also been quietly wondering what it would be like to build something of his own. That curiosity eventually led him somewhere very different from the world of finance.
Today, he is juggling his full time career while building The Tender Boss, a Muslim-friendly chicken tender business which officially launched in January 2026 and currently operates six days a week.
Wanted to build something himself
Having spent more than seven years in investment and finance, Sherman’s work often brought him into contact with business owners, where he would meet entrepreneurs and study how their businesses operated, including what made certain companies work.
Over time, constantly observing businesses from the outside made him curious about whether he could build one himself.
Sherman’s motivation was not simply to leave corporate life behind. In fact, he still maintains his regular job. Instead, he wanted to experience entrepreneurship for himself and see whether he could create something that would have a positive impact on Malaysians.
As for why that “something” eventually became fried chicken, the answer goes further back.
Fried chicken reminded him of childhood
Sherman describes himself as a longtime fried chicken lover where growing up, he remembered his parents taking him and his brothers to popular fast food restaurants during special occasions, particularly birthdays.
They were not necessarily about expensive food or elaborate celebrations, but about sitting down together as a family and enjoying something everyone loved. Those experiences later influenced what he wanted his own brand to represent.
I just want to recreate some of those memories through a brand that is built by Malaysian for Malaysians.”
Still, enjoying fried chicken and knowing how to run a food business were two very different things, and Sherman was cognizant of that. Thus, before pouring his time and money into the idea, he decided to find out what working in the F&B industry was actually like.
Took a part time job at a fast food outlet
Instead of immediately buying equipment and starting his own stall, Sherman spent about a month working at a major fast food outlet while still holding onto his permanent job.
According to him, he wanted firsthand exposure on how a high volume kitchen operated and what happened behind the scenes when a food outlet had to serve large numbers of customers consistently.
It also gave him a chance to test whether F&B was something he truly wanted to commit himself to.
“Working inside the outlet allowed me to see that running a food business was not simply about having a good recipe as there are operations, kitchen systems, service standards, speed and consistency to think about too.
“Most importantly, I found that I genuinely enjoyed serving people and delivering great experiences to Malaysians.”
Once that experience confirmed that he wanted to continue, Sherman began thinking more seriously about what his own food business could offer.
Eight months of R&D before opening the truck
Through his research, Sherman and his team felt there was an opportunity for a business focused specifically on high quality chicken tender meals paired with proper customer service.
While chicken itself was hardly unfamiliar to Malaysians, he believed chicken tenders could offer something familiar while still being different enough to stand on its own.
But knowing what to sell was only the beginning. The next hurdle was figuring out how to make it properly.
Before The Tender Boss served its first customer, he spent approximately eight months developing the recipes.
One particular challenge consumed months of that process: achieving chicken that remained juicy and flavourful inside without sacrificing its crispy exterior. This saw the team carrying out A/B testing with focus groups, gathering feedback and repeatedly adjusting recipes.
Sherman also discovered another problem as The Tender Boss inched closer to its official launching: food, no matter how well the recipe is prepared, does not necessarily behave the same way when quantities increase.
“We ended up having to redo many rounds of R&D just to be able to cater to bigger crowds consistently.
“And taste was not the only concern. We also had to calculate ingredient costs and margins to ensure that the product could eventually support a sustainable business.
“Even today, the recipe is not something I’d consider completely finished. Since The Tender Boss’ opening, customer feedback has continued to lead to adjustments and new iterations,” he said.
After months of testing, the team settled on a process designed around juiciness and crispiness, with The Tender Boss using fresh chicken tenderloin sourced from halal-certified suppliers.
Before cooking, the tenders are placed in a wet brine and marinated for at least 12 hours overnight. The following day, they are battered and coated using a flour mixture prepared by the team before being double fried.
Orders are also fried fresh for customers and paired with seasoned fries, signature sauce and sweet pickles.
To someone receiving the finished meal, much of that preparation is invisible, leading Sherman to jokingly remark it as “the boring stuff behind the exciting crunch.”
Balancing act
Even now, Sherman does not pretend that balancing his two worlds is an easy task.
Honestly, I’m still struggling with it every day and learning to manage it better.
“Maintaining my corporate career while trying to grow an F&B operation also meant I had to confront the fact that I couldn’t control every part of the business.”
Sherman added that a major part of making the business manageable was creating proper systems and learning to delegate responsibilities to other people.
He credited much of the business’ progress to having crew members whom he described as “capable, passionate and high in integrity”. Their support gave him confidence to gradually hand over more responsibilities.
The Tender Boss goes live
The Tender Boss officially launched in January 2026 at TTDI due to Sherman’s personal connection with the neighbourhood.
His partner previously worked nearby, and the pair would sometimes go for runs around the area. But there was also a business reason behind the move to launch in TTDI.
“I saw TTDI as a neighbourhood with an active food scene and a diverse community. That made it an ideal testing ground where the team could expose the product to different customers, collect feedback and determine whether the menu could find its place in the market.
When asked about his biggest challenge, Sherman said people might expect him to mention developing the recipe or dealing with the long hours. But his answer was this: Getting people to take the first bite.
“Making the product was one challenge. Convincing a stranger to walk towards an unfamiliar food truck and spend money on something they had never tried was another, especially for an unknown brand like The Tender Boss.
“Also, we’re not sold out every night, but we still focus on keeping the food consistent, improving service and giving customers a reason to return after their first visit.”
Sherman initially kept The Tender Boss open only on weekend evenings as he was working full time. During that period, he continued to refine the food, improve operations and build a steady customer base.
Since then, the food truck has gradually expanded and now operates six days a week from Tuesdays to Sundays.
Support from the public & crew
To Sherman’s delight, he has since witnessed a handful of customers coming back for more.
“Being able to play even a small role in customers’ moments of enjoyment and celebration is something I’ll remain grateful for.
“There was an instance where one regular customer rushed back from her hometown just so she could reach The Tender Boss in time to buy our tenders. She even bought gifts for the team. It’s such moments that have become some of the most memorable parts of the journey.”
It was not only customers who left an impression on Sherman. His crew did too.
On days when business was slower, some employees would look at the remaining stock and offer their own allocated staff meals for sale.
For someone who began the venture hoping to create some form of positive impact, seeing the people around him care about the business on that level was emotional.
Sometimes this makes me tear up a bit, knowing we’ve at least had some positive impact on Malaysians in our own small way.
What he learnt going from finance to F&B
Sherman’s advice to young Malaysians is to build up enough savings before starting, do proper research and test the idea before committing too much money.
At the same time, he believes founders should not spend so long planning that they never launch.
“Start off with a simple version of the product, test it with real customers and decide what comes next based on their response.
“Businesses need a clear point of difference and having a smaller group of loyal customers can be more valuable than trying to appeal to everyone..”
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