live tweeting the @STcom interview with $SE founder/CEO Forrest Li here 😎
Q: why did you decide to focus on SE esia?
forrest: i followed my wife here. and then i met a lot of friends here and that's how we got started
forrest: i followed my wife here. and then i met a lot of friends here and that's how we got started
Q: tell us about the early days
FL: we didn't have an easy start, and it was right after the global financial crisis. we talked to a lot of VCs in SV, but they said they will only invest in a company they can drive to in 30 minutes.
FL: we didn't have an easy start, and it was right after the global financial crisis. we talked to a lot of VCs in SV, but they said they will only invest in a company they can drive to in 30 minutes.
FL: so in the early days, we used our own money -- and some from family and friends
Q: You created Free Fire, which was the most downloaded game in the world in 2019. Why did it become popular?
FL: It's a great game. I play it myself every day... two factors mattered for its success (1) 6-7 years ago we believed that mobile was the future, and in SE asia a lot of people did not have PCs, so we built for mobile. when we developed free fire, we focused on mobile
(2) the second factor was our deep localized operation... which we learned being a game publisher in SE asia, which is a very fragmented region. we developed a sensitivity to those subtle differences - and we took that skill to LATAM as well. even though we had never been there
Q: given you're operating globally, how do you get ideas for new games?
FL: we heard a lot of ideas every day from the gamer community. globally every quarter more than 400mm ppl play our games and give us feedback. we never lack ideas
FL: we heard a lot of ideas every day from the gamer community. globally every quarter more than 400mm ppl play our games and give us feedback. we never lack ideas
Q: Why did you go into ecomm? that's not related to gaming
FL: i remember 5, 6 years ago we would travel to China. when we were there, my wife started to use an ecomm platform to shop. my daughter was 5 years old and she had a lot of ideas of what she wanted... to her, the ecomm
FL: i remember 5, 6 years ago we would travel to China. when we were there, my wife started to use an ecomm platform to shop. my daughter was 5 years old and she had a lot of ideas of what she wanted... to her, the ecomm
is kind of a magic box to her... I asked my daughter - what do you miss most about the days we were traveling in China? And she said Taobao. So I said "okay daddy will build one for you here"
Q: Why do you target female customers?
FL: At the very beginning, we specifically focused on those categories like home living that had millions of sellers (rather than smartphones, which have very few). those things are good for a marketplace.
FL: At the very beginning, we specifically focused on those categories like home living that had millions of sellers (rather than smartphones, which have very few). those things are good for a marketplace.
FL: we want to build on merchant success. we don't want to compete with them by selling things ourselves. those categories tend to be female-preferred categories. but those were just the early days - today, you can find anything you want there
Q: it must've been a big challenge for you to get digitalization in economies that are less developed. ex: you have merchants in very remote areas. how do you bring them in?
FL: we always believed digital transformation is happening, especially now during the pandemic... we facilitate it through programs. ex: in SE asia, we have a shopee university... through a physical training, we have a dedicated team travel around.
FL: we pick a hotel and offer a course there and anyone can sign up. and then we encourage the community there. those things are very, very helpful. the easiest way to become a Shopee seller is to call our hotline
Q: Can you talk about the social and economic impact of Shopee?
FL: to sell things without ecomm, all they can do is sell stuff from a physical place. they need a lot of capital, and it is location-dependent. there is a lot of risk
FL: to sell things without ecomm, all they can do is sell stuff from a physical place. they need a lot of capital, and it is location-dependent. there is a lot of risk
FL: in 2-3 years, i've seen their business grow 100x. they need to hire people to help with customer service, fulfillment, warehouse... so even as a merchant, they've created job opportunities for a lot of ppl
FL: i'm realizing that Shopee can become a platform to incubate entrepreneurs in this way.
Q: What are the key risks for your business?
FL: Being in the first generation of Internet companies here. we don't have an existing talent pool to pull from. what we have done right is we have focused on campus recruiting. we have ppl who joined after grad that now manage ppl
FL: Being in the first generation of Internet companies here. we don't have an existing talent pool to pull from. what we have done right is we have focused on campus recruiting. we have ppl who joined after grad that now manage ppl
Q: is it also hard to find ppl in the various regions?
FL: we get fresh graduates and we train them. we think they will play a critical role in future growth 5 years down the road... I am very confident in that. we get the best students and give them the best experience
FL: we get fresh graduates and we train them. we think they will play a critical role in future growth 5 years down the road... I am very confident in that. we get the best students and give them the best experience
Q: how has covid19 impacted your business?
FL: biggest impact is on my leadership team. a lot of people have to rely on us, we have become an important part of their daily life. we have waived seller fees/transaction fees, and we have offered financial support as well.
FL: biggest impact is on my leadership team. a lot of people have to rely on us, we have become an important part of their daily life. we have waived seller fees/transaction fees, and we have offered financial support as well.
Q: your third business is payments. you have applied for a digital payments license. what does Sea bring to this compared to the banks?
FL: we believe cash should be eliminated in ppl's daily life. it is not a good experience. a bank should be able to operate without branches and ATMs. phones should just do that.
FL: in SE Asia, bank penetration is very low, and CC is even lower at 10%. they are not being served by financial services currently. we are not thinking about how to serve existing bank customers better, we are thinking about ppl who never have been served by the banks
FL: yes, we don't ever want a payment to not go through. also, we have a lot of buyers who need a payment installment feature. so we are now offering "buy now pay later" features.
FL: we also have merchants who have grown dramatically and also want to invest in their business, so they need a loan. it's hard to walk into a bank and get a working capital loan. but we can see all the data and we can offer some WC loans to help them grow.
Q: Tencent is a major investor... many other institutional investors. What is their value-add apart from money?
FL: our investors are great. we have investors with similar industry experience like Tencent. in China, they are in gaming, financial services...
FL: our investors are great. we have investors with similar industry experience like Tencent. in China, they are in gaming, financial services...
FL: we also have reputable, long term investors. our top 10 investors have a very long term view. they share a lot with us about what we can do in our business better. they tell us the best practices they've observed, which is very valuable to us
Q: What was your biggest failure as an entrepreneur and what did you learn?
FL: If i could do it again, i would be more aggressive about hiring ppl - especially young, driven grads from university. we hired 5-6 in 2013, and gave them all great training. they now are critical to
FL: If i could do it again, i would be more aggressive about hiring ppl - especially young, driven grads from university. we hired 5-6 in 2013, and gave them all great training. they now are critical to
our business. but then i think, maybe our business would be doubled if i had hired 10 or 12...
FL: my advice to younger entrepreneurs is to think through who you are and what you like, and what you're passionate about. what kind of risk appetite can you take?
FL: the startup ecosystem is very different today from back when we started. today, being a founder is a very trendy thing. back then, it wasn't. but not everyone should be an entrepreneur... and you have to think about what motivates you. you need a solid understanding of urself
FL: looking back at our history, I think a lot of entrepreneurs make a judgment too quickly. patience and persistence have great value...
FL: the third thing i would say is right now, the whole ecosystem is booming. there is a lot of capital available. entrepreneurs now can be a little too obsessed with valuation.
FL: valuation is important, but it is not the most important... at any stage, the most important thing is your customer and your employees. that's the advice i would give.
Q: What is Singapore missing?
FL: ... we need society to be more forgiving of failures. we need emotional support from schools and parents. the entire society needs to encourage this, and the media too.
FL: ... we need society to be more forgiving of failures. we need emotional support from schools and parents. the entire society needs to encourage this, and the media too.
Q: What is your next act?
FL: whatever we do, we want to speak to the things where technology can play a very big role. we want to make ppl's lives better. entertainment, ecomm, and FS will have the biggest impact - for each of those, we still see a long runway
FL: whatever we do, we want to speak to the things where technology can play a very big role. we want to make ppl's lives better. entertainment, ecomm, and FS will have the biggest impact - for each of those, we still see a long runway
FL: we still feel resource-constrained. we want to be careful of every dollar we spend. we need to continue to be humble and treat every dollar seriously. we need to focus on the three businesses we are in.
FL: maybe we will see new businesses that excite us. i'm not an expert, but i do feel there is a lot of digital opportunity in healthcare and education.
Q: your company is young. what are the challenges in hiring middle aged people?
FL: we have a lot of middle aged people at our company who play a critical role... we don't hire ppl by age. we hire ppl by value and by knowledge and experience.
FL: we have a lot of middle aged people at our company who play a critical role... we don't hire ppl by age. we hire ppl by value and by knowledge and experience.
FL: we need a lot of experienced ppl to help us. for ecomm, it's not just digital... it is retail. Retail has hundreds of years of history... people with experience are very valuable to us.
FL: when we entered into digital financial services, digital is only one part. the banking knowledge - how to assess and evaluate risk... we need experienced people to do this.
Q: you are in a position to do a lot in philanthropy. what causes would you support? i know you support football.
FL: i realize that people here are very passionate about football. i see their excitement. i hope i can bring back that glory and pride.
FL: i realize that people here are very passionate about football. i see their excitement. i hope i can bring back that glory and pride.
FL: on top of that, healthcare is very important. we may do that through our business. we are specifically interested in this and working with charities who are trying to provide healthcare.
FL: the environment is also very critical, especially during covid.
