Razer CEO runs a billion-dollar startup in the morning, plows PUBG through the night

Liang Tan is one of the most expensive CEOs in the field of e-sports.

Min-Liang Tan – co-founder and CEO of gaming startup Razer shared in an interview: “A lot of tech CEOs wake up at 5 am. They meditate or exercise to start the day while everyone else is still sound asleep. I hate all those people simply because I can’t do the same. I usually wake up at 8am, check work email right in bed before going to work.”

Min-Liang Tan is now considered one of Singapore’s most high-profile tech entrepreneurs. In an initial public offering in Hong Kong in 2017, Razer raised more than $500 million and helped Tan become one of the country’s richest self-made billionaires at the age of 40.

High-precision products and striking rainbow-lit designs have helped Razer gain attention in the gaming community and become a leader in the esports industry. The company has attracted the attention of some famous investors, including billionaire Ly Gia Thanh.

When a reporter from the South China Morning Post asked Tan’s employees about their boss’s hobbies outside of gaming, they gave an interesting answer: “He has no other hobbies other than playing games.”

Tan said his passion for gaming did not affect his studies much. He studied law at the National University of Singapore before dropping out to found Razer. In 1998, Tan (then in college) met co-founder Robert Krakoff while playing games, and a year later, the two created the world’s first gaming-specific computer mouse. , the device improved gaming performance so much that they were kicked out of the server for suspected cheating.

Razer’s boss is working between three locations: Singapore, San Francisco, and Hong Kong, leading a team of 1,500 employees. Busy like that, but Tan still makes time for his endless passion for games. There were times when he played PUBG all night and even into the early hours of the morning.

“I always say I’m just going to finish this game, but play game after game,” says Tan. I know it’s not healthy, but what can be done?”

Razer recently reported a 38% increase in annual revenue, reaching $712 million in 2018. It shrunk its net loss from $164 million in 2017 to $97 million last year. In addition, the company also announced a cooperation with giant Tencent in the overall game market development plan of the two sides. Tan said Razer’s goal is to build an ecosystem of software, hardware, and services to serve a single audience of gamers.

In 2017, Razer released its first high-end phone designed with gamers in mind, and an upgrade in 2018. So far, Tan has not revealed information about the Razer Phone 3.

The 41-year-old CEO shared: “I run the company like playing a real-time strategy game. I had to find a way to gather people, allocate resources, and seize opportunities. Currently, I am involved in designing Razer products, for example choosing pink for some products to target female gamers.”

Tan’s attention to detail in his work stands in stark contrast to how the billionaire takes care of his personal life. Whenever in Singapore, he will stay with his parents. This caught many of Tan’s American colleagues by surprise.

Even so, he revealed the emotional cause: “I like being with my parents. They are getting older every day and I want to spend more time with them. When I’m at home, I can comfortably play games and my mom will bring me food. There are many more suitable places for my corporate headquarters like Shenzhen or Taiwan but the main reason why I stay in Singapore and my parents. They are the most important people to me.”

For nearly a decade, Tan’s lunch at work has remained largely the same: It’s all a type of noodle or sandwich bought from shops near work because it saves a lot of time, he says. In 2014, when he was honored to meet the President of Singapore, Tan accidentally forgot the dress code and wore a black T-shirt and jeans.

Talking about his personal life, Tan said: “I don’t exercise and I don’t drink. My typical Sunday is playing games and eating McDonald’s. I have no interest in doing anything but playing games even though I know it’s a bit tedious at times. But the game is my life and I will keep this passion for the rest of my life.”

According to GameK