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.

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Tan wakes up at 8am on most days, but wants to sleep more if you let him. (Picture: Thomas Leung/Abacus)

Karen Chiu

Published: 10:10pm, 26 Aug 2019Updated: 8:10am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

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.

But Tan isn’t afraid of disconnection with his customers -- because he’s a true gamer. He plays trending titles like Apex Legends, but also cites iconic games like 1985’s Ultima IV and the 90s hit Civilization as personal favorites.

He’s also the kind of entrepreneur who compares his life to a game of StarCraft, and professes a distaste for waking up early. The CEO says he still spends many nights playing games well past sleeping hours. And when asked what he enjoys besides gaming, his colleagues responded, “Er, just gaming, he does not have any hobbies.”

Whether it’s carefully curated showmanship or his real personality, Tan is aware of what that image of youthful defiance means for his customers.

“Youths are a hard-to-reach segment and authenticity is important for reaching millennials,” he told the South China Morning Post.