Most 20 year olds are figuring out deadlines. Mukgunthen was figuring out payroll.
While others were chasing degrees, he was building a business people laughed at and turning it into a money-making machine.
Today, he runs Sparqly Cleaning Service, a fast-growing corporate cleaning company proving that so called “dirty work” can build a seriously clean future.
From Lecture Hall to Hustle Mode
Mukgunthen didn’t drop out because he was lost. He pivoted because he was honest with himself.
He started in Cyber Security at TAR UMT but quickly realised staring at a screen wasn’t his lane. What was his lane? Sales. People. Communication. He switched to Digital Marketing and leaned into what he did best talking, pitching, closing.
And then he made the boldest move yet. Instead of applying for jobs, he built one.
Growing up around his family’s cleaning business gave him insider knowledge most outsiders don’t have. Systems. Pricing. Operations. He didn’t copy it, he upgraded it.
“I took the skills I saw growing up… and did it my way.”
The Part No One Posts About
The first three months? Brutal.
He lost nearly RM3,000 to scammers pretending to be marketing “experts.” Cleaners took advance transport money and vanished.
Friends joked that cleaning was “low-class” work.
Even his family wished he’d pick a safer corporate path.
That’s the phase entrepreneurs call the valley of death where dreams either collapse or get tougher.
Mukgunthen chose tougher.
He poured about RM5K of his own savings earned from part-time jobs into equipment, ads, and wages. No investors. No safety net. Just belief and hustle.
Turning Cleaning into a Corporate Game
Sparqly isn’t your typical mop and bucket operation.
Mukgunthen positioned it as a professional corporate cleaning service, targeting office buildings, commercial spaces, and condo management clients who need reliability, not just cheap rates.
His strategy is old-school and powerful:
Walk into offices.
Send proper proposals. Follow up relentlessly.
He runs the backend solo sales, invoicing, operations, and quality checks. A true one-man army.
After an early mistake where a cleaner damaged a marble floor using the wrong chemicals, he tightened standards hard. Now he hires only experienced cleaners and personally checks on jobs daily.
His edge?
Consistency. Communication. Accountability.
That’s how you turn a “basic service” into a premium brand.
Bigger Than Cleaning
Here’s the plot twist. Cleaning isn’t the end goal. It’s the launchpad.
Mukgunthen’s real passion is marketing. He’s already freelancing for multiple businesses and plans to build a full-scale marketing agency offering web design, branding, and lead generation.
Sparqly is the cash-flow engine funding that dream.
And he’s not thinking small; he plans to expand Sparqly beyond Klang Valley across Malaysia within the next few years.
Respect Hits Different When You Earn It
The same people who once laughed? Now they call him “boss.”
At just 20, Mukgunthen pays for his own car, fuel, and maintenance. No allowances. No handouts. Just self-made independence.
His motivation isn’t clout. It’s freedom.
His Message to Young Dreamers
Start before life gets expensive.
Take risks while your responsibilities are still light. Don’t let small minds shrink big ambition.
“Don’t listen to everyone. Sometimes you have to trust your own gut.” And above all?
Discipline beats motivation. Every single time.
Mukgunthen’s story proves something powerful:
Success doesn’t care about job titles.
It rewards courage, grit, and the willingness to start even when nobody believes in you yet.
