The Game-Changers of Singapore's Scene
Entrepreneurs of Singapore
Series 1:
Secret Lab
For July, our featured entrepreneur is an outstanding duo, changing the whole gaming and e-sports scene one chair at a time.
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About Secret Lab
Founded in December of 2014 by Alexander Ang and Alaric Choo, Secretlab was created to provide a solution to gamers who suffered from backaches and strained necks after long hours of gaming. The duo first met as professional gamers during a StarCraft II tournament. Ian had reached out to Alaric with the idea of designing an aesthetically beautiful chair that could provide gamers with incredible comfort, made of industrial-grade materials.
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The launch of their first product, Secretlab Throne was fully sold out within a week and allowed the company to break even within a month. In 2018, the pair sold over 100,000 chairs, earning them a global partnership with Riot Games and One Championship. The duo was then listed on Forbes 30 under 30 for Retail & Ecommerce in 2018. Currently, their wide range of chairs attracts customers from not only the gaming industry but also law firms, clinics, and corporate offices, amounting to annual sales of over $15 million.
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The meaning behind Secret Lab's name
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According to Ian Ang, the words “Secret” and “Lab” describe the company’s most important values. “Secret” suggests something mysterious and is such an alluring word-which they strive to achieve in our products. On the other hand, “Lab” refers to our pioneering approach towards R&D and is also how much Alaric and I (Ian Ang) love the product development process.
How has the passion for gaming helped with developing such a successful business?
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Ian Ang- “Gaming has taught me more about business than anything I’ve learned in a classroom.” Ian has learned concepts of economics cost accounting and even organizational structures from playing games such as World of Warcraft and RuneScape. He also said that finding the most efficient way to complete tasks in games helped him develop the skill of thinking outside of the box, a key element of a successful business.
Interview by Tatler Singapore.
Series 2:
Carousell
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About Carousell
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Built on simple principles of snap, list, and sell, Carousell, an online consumer-to-consumer marketplace has now won more than $150 million in funding from major names including Rakuten, Golden Gate Ventures, and 500 Startups. The founders of Carousell are three friends, Siu Rui Quek, Marcus Tan, and Luca Ngoo who met at NUS. Inspired by other entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey during their internship at Silicon Valley, they decided to use their interest in technology to “solve problems and make a bigger impact.”
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Success in Singapore
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Returning to Singapore, the team started Carousell with a goal of helping users sell underutilized, unused items from a user-friendly interface. Within 3 days of launching, the app was ranked 2nd for lifestyle apps in Singapore. Initially, the app only focused on electronic products but has now expanded to broader categories such as clothing, property, and even services.
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Today, Carousell has expanded to over 7 countries - Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan - with over 250 million listings and 71 million sold items. Carousell’s latest deal with the global online marketplace OLX group, worth $56 million, took the company’s valuation to $550 million. In Singapore, the company has become a well-established household brand for buying and reselling personal goods.
(Gilchrist, 2019)
Do you think you have the next big idea? Embark on your journey at ideaSLAM! 2020