The gamer who quit his job to create a gadget empire
Min-Liang Tan is the founder of Razer, a company that makes gaming computers and peripherals and recently expanded into fintech for millennials. A lawyer by training, he’s considered one of the most well-known entrepreneurs in Singapore’s startup scene.
At 41, Min-Liang Tan is older than his audience. But he connects just fine with them anyway.
Razer, the Singapore and San Francisco-based company he founded some two decades ago, is unabashedly oriented toward millennials. From the brand’s iconic black and green gaming hardware to its fledgling business of virtual wallets for users without credit cards, Razer makes its money by going after young gamers.
Whether it’s carefully curated showmanship or his real personality, Tan is aware of what that image of youthful defiance means for his customers.
During his visit, Tan skipped hotels to save money, opting instead to stay in cyber cafes, where he observed gamers and the equipment they used. He realized that for serious gamers, even seemingly trivial tools like mice and keyboards can make a huge difference.
When you look at Razer’s catalog today, products are marketed using buzzwords that could be mistaken for describing sports cars and motorcycles. The Viper mouse, for instance, provides “industry-leading response time,” “instant actuation,” “99.4% tracking accuracy” and “minimal drag.” The Huntsman Elite keyboard is said to maximize APM, or actions per minute -- a measure of the number of commands and moves that a gamer can perform in a minute.
That athletic obsession has helped Razer secure its place in the esports community. The company sponsors some 18 esports teams, including Evil Geniuses, Alliance and China’s Top Esports. Some fans are so loyal to Razer that they have tattooed themselves with its triple-headed snake logo, or even Tan’s face.
As recognition for the Razer brand grows, so does its ambition. While it’s branching into services, its focus remains adamantly fixed on millenials.
But Razer isn’t just interested in gamers. With Razer Pay, it looks like the company is hoping to replicate the success of Chinese mobile payment apps like Alipay and WeChat Pay, which also rely on QR codes. It also incorporates Visa’s prepaid cards. The service launched in Malaysia in 2018 and arrived in Singapore in early 2019.
(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba, whose affiliate Ant Financial operates Alipay.)
How the QR code conquered China
Despite its seemingly youth-centered strategy, though, don’t expect the company’s products to be getting much cheaper. Tan appears committed to keeping Razer a premium brand.
In China, where you live determines the tech you use
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For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.