Ian Ang, co-founder and CEO of gaming chair makers Secretlab, has been named this year’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY). At age 28, Ang is the youngest winner ever to be named in the 19 times this annual award has been held in Singapore.
Secretlab was co-founded by Ang and his business partner Alaric Choo (picture). The start-up produces ergonomic gaming chairs that have gained popularity with gamers worldwide. The duo, avid gamers themselves, believes there was a viable niche to fill in making proper, comfortable chairs for gamers who typically spend hours at a stretch.
Ang dropped out of school to start the company in 2014. Since then, Secretlab has sold more than half a million chairs all around the world. “We [Choo and himself] didn’t start this company from a purely business perspective. We didn’t see that there was a $300 million gaming market out there and decided to go into it. We started this because we needed a chair,” Ang tells The Edge Singapore in an earlier interview, before his win was announced.
“To win this award among so many other great, experienced entrepreneurs is an absolute honour. There is still much to learn, and it is still early days for Secretlab,” says Ang after his win was made known.
“There are far too many people that I’m indebted to, but I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to our journey — staff, partners, investors and fans. Singapore will always be our home where we first started six years ago and we’re proud to be part of putting our little red dot on the world map in the esports industry and beyond,” he adds.
Ang — who was earlier named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for consumer products — was one of the three category winners at this year’s event. Richard Koh Seoh Leng, founder and CEO of M-Daq, has been named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for financial technology while Eric Leong Jia-Le, managing director and co-founder of Mlion Corporation, was named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for industrial solutions.
Ang will also represent Singapore and compete against more than 60 other country winners for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year (WEOY) title next June.
“Despite his youth, Ian embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and displays the business acumen of a seasoned entrepreneur,” says Enterprise Singapore CEO Png Cheong Boon, who is also the judging panel chairman.
“He spotted a niche in the ergonomic gaming chair market and went on to build Secretlab into a commercial success globally. With the courage to drop out of university to pursue his dreams and perseverance to build a product from next to nothing, Ian demonstrates how there are multiple pathways to success, the power of ideas and the value of continual hard work,” he adds.
The judging panel is also made up of leading government and business figures. They include Elaine Yew, senior partner and Asia head of board practice and global head of leadership advisory at Egon Zehnder; Greenpac CEO Susan Chong, Professor Freddy Boey, deputy president of innovation and enterprise at the National University of Singapore; Aw Kah Peng, chairman of the Shell Companies in Singapore; co-managing partner of TPG Capital Asia Ganen Sarvananthan and Ron Sim, executive chairman and CEO V3 Group. Both Chong and Sim are themselves former winners at the EOY.
The winners were selected from close to 50 nominations and assessed on their entrepreneurial spirit, financial performance and value creation, strategic direction, national and global impact, innovation as well as personal integrity and purpose-driven leadership.
Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam was the guest-of-honour at the event, which was held virtually. He notes that with the outbreak of the pandemic this year, people, governments and businesses all find themselves in a new world, where many old assumptions that have stayed true for long got to be changed.
To do well in this new normal requires innovation, daring and persistence. “This does not refer to business but also public agencies — those on the ground in addressing specific needs,” says Shanmugam, who is optimistic that Singapore as a country is able to overcome the challenges and with the spirit of entrepreneurship, continue to thrive and prosper.
Max Loh, Singapore managing partner at Ernst & Young, notes that the Covid-19 pandemic has created pronounced and accelerated shifts in the business environment. “Even as business activity starts to resume and recover, business must go beyond protecting what has worked well to creating what will keep them competitive and resilient in future.”
“Our winning entrepreneurs today demonstrate what it takes to be unstoppable — strategic vision, grit and agility — even in the face of a global crisis. They believe in opportunities amid challenges and have pivoted themselves quickly for a new normal, rethinking their business models and processes, and revitalising their products and services,” says Loh.
Apart from the three category winners, there were two special awards at this year’s EOY as well. Vietnam’s Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) has been given the EY Asean Entrepreneurial Excellence award. The company, founded by chairman and former automotive apprentice Duong Ba Tran in 1997, is now a leading conglomerate with a workforce of more than 20,000.
Loh says Duong’s entrepreneurial journey and commercial success is not only inspiring. Beyond that, Thaco has created a significant socio-economic impact in terms of job creation and community contribution.
“In addition to sponsoring community activities, providing scholarships to the needy, and supporting infrastructure development in the country, this year, the company has also donated money and provided medical equipment to support the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” adds Loh. “In 2020, we built new foundations for Thaco’s sustainable development, and made contributions to national development,” says Duong.
Besides Thaco, EY also presented the EY Family Business Award of Excellence to Hong Leong Group. The award recipient is jointly selected by knowledge partners Singapore Management University’s Business Families Institute and Insead’s Wendel International Centre for Family Enterprise.
“Family enterprises are an important segment of our economy and many draw strength from their ability to preserve company culture, tradition and values while maintaining corporate governance and the entrepreneurial spirit,” says Loh.
“The success of Hong Leong Group built over the decades demonstrates that a combination of strong family bonds and a shared vision is key to harmonizing both commercial and family interests, which has enabled them to thrive and succeed over generations,” he adds.
“I am honoured that the company my father built has been accorded with the EY Family Business Award of Excellence 2020. At Hong Leong, family has always been the core of the business. Whether bonded by blood or a common vision, we will carry on a legacy that continues to inspire generations,” says Hong Leong Group executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng.
The official partners of the EOY awards are the Singapore Exchange; Portfolio; The Business Times and The Edge Singapore (official media partners). The supporters are Action Community for Entrepreneurship; Enterprise Singapore; Singapore Business Federation and SkillsFuture Singapore.
