kean tan, nexusv, modisclub, helen siwak, portfolioyvr, vancouver, bc, yvr

Murals, Ringtones, and Text Messages: Kean Tan’s Twenty-Year Build at NEXUSV Inc.

Kean Tan is a Founder, Curator, and Connector dedicated to bridging diverse worlds through art, culture, and intentional entrepreneurship. His journey began in the world of Fine Arts, painting murals around the city, before transitioning into print and web design and development, and ultimately building a thriving, nation-wide SMS marketing business. Expanding his portfolio, Kean recently ventured into importing fine Lamborghini wine and spirits while continuing to actively build upon his experience across various investment landscapes.

As an artist and curator, Kean channels his creative instincts into immersive experiences and aesthetic storytelling, turning visionary concepts into impactful ventures. Beyond his commercial endeavours, he is a devoted meditator, grounding his fast-paced entrepreneurial pursuits with mindfulness, clarity, and purpose.

A passionate foodie and a curious cultural explorer, Kean naturally brings people together over shared tastes, rich conversations, and collaborative ideas. Whether he is launching innovative businesses, curating lifestyle brands, or cultivating global networks, Kean thrives at the intersection of creative execution and human connection, continuously shaping vibrant communities through the art of conscious living.

kean tan, nexusv, modisclub, helen siwak, portfolioyvr, vancouver, bc, yvr

The Business Bio

NEXUSV Inc., founded in 2000 by Kean and his brother, Tom, began as a boutique branding and marketing firm and evolved into a pioneer in business communications. Navigating the classic trials of entrepreneurship, from establishing a harmonious partnership to pivoting through the dot-bomb collapse and adapting to rapid mobile device innovation, NEXUSV has consistently turned market shifts into opportunities.

Today, the company’s crowning achievement is MODISclub, a proprietary business SMS marketing platform designed to bridge the gap between brands and their audiences. By delivering targeted, high-impact messages directly to the palm of a customer’s hand, MODISclub empowers businesses to drive engagement, foster customer loyalty, and maximize campaign ROI with unmatched efficiency.

With over two decades of resilience and continuous evolution, NEXUSV Inc. stands as a testament to strategic adaptation and creative vision. By seamlessly blending deep marketing expertise with forward-thinking technology, NEXUSV continues to help brands navigate the modern digital landscape and connect meaningfully with their audiences on the device they interact with most.

kean tan, nexusv, modisclub, helen siwak, portfolioyvr, vancouver, bc, yvr

In His Words

“I first became aware of my entrepreneurial spirit after graduating from university, when I started my own mural painting business with a classmate of mine. Being able to bring Renaissance-style murals and artwork, such as trompe l’oeil and frescoes, to Calgary, where I lived at the time, and to its communities, motivated us to give it a try. The mural and construction business I was working for while attending university gave me the idea to try and make a business out of the arts, which is known to be quite challenging. Seeing that there was an emerging market in the growing city, accompanied by my Junior Achievement experience in high school and some business classes at university, gave me the confidence to venture into the business world.

THE FIRST PIVOT

One memorable early experience came when NEXUSV Inc. started developing MODISclub, our business SMS platform. It was originally a joint venture with my uncle in Malaysia, which was my first global venture experience, and the business was in selling ringtones, wallpapers, and mobile games, before smart phones came around. At that time, our company had to quickly diversify our service offerings when rapid competition from DIY website builders started to affect our business. So, we worked out the partnership with my uncle as our mobile content supplier, and started designing and developing the mobile commerce platform.

However, as smart phones started replacing those Nokia and Blackberry phones, ringtones, wallpapers, and mobile games quickly became obsolete. We had to pivot again before even launching the full spectrum of our products. Eventually, we had to make the tough decision to end the partnership with our uncle, preserving our family relationship, even though that meant losing some of our seed capital.

SURVIVING THE ODDS

About 80 percent of new businesses survive their first year, roughly 50 percent survive for five years, and only about 30 to 35 percent reach the ten-year mark. Having survived those odds, we attribute our business longevity to staying flexible and resilient, while working smart and not just hard. The setbacks I experienced along the way definitely taught me to never give up. I was reluctant to completely abandon MODISclub after spending countless hours of sweat and tears creating it. Then, I saw a gap in using mobile devices for business communications, specifically with SMS, which is simple, fast, and effective.

After some research, I went back to the drawing board with my brother, and we modified MODISclub’s platform into a self-serve mass texting system, enabling businesses to set up mobile campaigns, like Text-for-Info, Text-to-Win, Text-to-Vote, Text-to-Join, SMS Surveys, Text Notifications, and more.

MANY SIDE HUSTLES

Since I was young, I have always had multiple side hustles, from doing commission paintings to selling my artwork, investing in real estate, and offering my DJ services. That format of thinking about my career path helped shape how I want to live my life, free to do things when I want to, and only do what is important to me. From the constant hustle in sales and networking over the years, I have built a sizeable number of contacts. Through such an invaluable asset, I have been fortunate enough to meet some inspiring individuals who have motivated me to venture into other sectors, like importing Lamborghini wines and spirits to Thailand, as well as other international opportunities that are on the horizon.

Once my businesses reached a certain level of automation, the time I earned back allowed me to explore new knowledge and experience other domains of business. My dad once taught me that in order to make money while you are sleeping, you cannot simply rely on your own two hands. You can either lead a team to help you scale, or leverage the power of technology.

kean tan, nexusv, modisclub, helen siwak, portfolioyvr, vancouver, bc, yvr

THE NETWORK

A lot of time and money are required when building and maintaining a global network of contacts. Curating the network I have today has been a long-term investment for me, but not only has it helped me through the years, it has also allowed me to help my family and friends, from connecting the right people for career opportunities, to referring customers to businesses, sharing unique event experiences with them, and more.

There was a pivotal moment when I knew the business would succeed. When international brands started signing up on MODISclub’s platform and continuously using it to facilitate and enhance their business processes, I realized that we were pioneering an SMS solution in the industry. The feedback has given us the confidence to keep improving our services for our clients.

FAMILY AND WISDOM

My family’s support has played the biggest role in where I am today, namely my dad, who is my financial planner. He taught me how to invest from a young age, and helped my brother and me through some challenging times in our partnership. Mom also reminds me to always look inwards, and to know how to self-reflect, gaining wisdom through spiritual cultivation, not just amassing intelligence from institutions. I have been very fortunate to have that balance. Along the way, of course, I have also met some successful people who have inspired me to shoot for the stars and pursue my goals.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, my advice is to master the art of communication. That alone will help you avoid at least 80 percent of problems in business and in life, from misunderstandings to wasted time and hurt feelings. I have no regrets about not knowing what I know now when I first started, because what I have learned, and continue to learn first hand from this journey, has been my best teacher. As long as I have learned from my ignorance and mistakes, and do better from each experience, I can live with that. Also, health comes before everything, so take priority in maintaining good mental and physical well-being, which can be especially hard for entrepreneurs. Setting a routine and being disciplined with it can be helpful. Success, in my opinion, is having enough time and freedom to live your best, present life with a peaceful mind.

THE HEART TODAY

The heart of my main business today is MODISclub, which is a tool that can help a business master the art of communication by delivering targeted, time-sensitive messages directly to the palm of a customer’s hand. Through a dedicated business number, the self-serve platform allows you to quickly generate new, active mobile contacts at events or from various marketing mediums, to continuously engage and grow new and old databases through alerts, offers, voting, directions, instructions, information, reminders, PSAs, confirmations, and OTPs, and to track all your marketing campaigns. The turnkey platform saves you time and money in building your own system and connecting it to all the national and international mobile carriers.

THE ASK

It does take a village to raise a child, and community support is vital when it comes to growing a business. I invite people to join me on my entrepreneurial journey by connecting with me on one of my social pages, or by keeping an eye on Portfolio.YVR for updates, as there are always exciting investment opportunities, whether sweat, advisory, or financial, from one of my business ventures that may be open for you to join. Last but not least, as basic as SMS is, I hope that MODISclub remains the premium go-to platform for people to use in the noisy digital media landscape.”

Author Profile

Helen Siwak, Collaborator: This story is created in collaboration between Helen Siwak and the featured subject. As the founder and publisher of Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, Helen works closely with entrepreneurs to share their paths of innovation, resilience, and growth. Each story in this series is co-developed through interviews and first-person insights, blending authentic voices with Helen’s editorial expertise to highlight the remarkable individuals shaping British Columbia’s business landscape.