There’s no big secret to Secretlab’s exponential growth in the last few years – just a keen focus on research and development (R&D), a hearty appetite for internationalisation, and plenty of hard work.

Founded in 2014 by Ian Ang and Alaric Choo, the homegrown furniture manufacturer had originally made its chairs for gamers, though its products soon gained traction with customers outside the gaming community. It was one of three companies to clinch the top honours at the Emerging Enterprise Awards in 2017, a year which also marked its expansion into Europe and the UK.

When the Covid-19 pandemic happened in 2020, the rapid and unexpected shift to work-from-home arrangements prompted soaring demand for its chairs worldwide – and the firm has not looked back since.

Today, the European Union and North America are among Secretlab’s largest markets, with Singapore accounting for only 5 per cent of all sales. Last year, the firm announced that it would invest in S$50 million in R&D over the next few years.

The Business Times spoke to the 30-year-old Ang recently to find out more about Secretlab’s journey to success, and what sets the company’s products apart from the rest.

Q: How much has life changed for you and Secretlab, since the company won the Emerging Enterprise Award?

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Almost all of our original team members are still here. We’re still very much the same in our obsession towards making the world’s best chairs (and now desks), but we are now dealing with 50 times the scale, on top of having access to a lot more resources. Our economies of scale – we produce over a million chairs a year for over 60 countries – unlocks cost savings, access to new technology and materials, and the ability to invest more back into our R&D.

For example, we work with A*STAR (the Agency for Science, Technology and Research) scientists to ensure the durability of our materials, and we’ve assembled an ergonomics advisory board consisting of doctors and professors across various fields to validate the design ergonomics of our chairs. Today, the world’s top e-sports professionals are using them to train, before competing in premier global tournaments. Over two million users and international media reviewers rave about our chairs. Even police force Aetos uses our chairs at their command centre, along with our other corporate partners and clients.

If I were to compare how much our products have evolved compared to years ago, it would be like comparing the original iPhone to the latest iPhone 14.

Q: How are Secretlab chairs different, and how do you stay ahead of the curve?

Over the years, we’ve built a team of specialists who do nothing but work on chairs all day. These industrial designers, engineers, scientists, are specialists who are led by myself and my co-founder Alaric. On the other hand, other companies may have a product manager who looks at product catalogues from Chinese factories. Then they choose what to order. Perhaps bigger companies may have generalists who work on many different products.

Every design change we make is grounded in data, and makes use of feedback drawn from testers and users worldwide. To further fine tune our chairs, we assembled an independent Ergonomics Advisory Board of academics and experts in the fields of biomechanics, orthopedics, and more to work with our engineers on detailed ergonomic studies and product development reviews.

Q: Secretlab has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world over the past years. What has been the highlight so far?

This is tough to pick. Considering that it is the peak season for e-sports now, one of our most exciting collaborations is with Dota 2’s The International, currently ongoing in Singapore. The tournament holds the record for the biggest prize pool (over US$40 million) in e-sports history. Having been competitive gamers ourselves, Alaric and I have always hoped for The International to be held here. So it’s really a dream come true for us, to have it staged here on home ground, and to have Secretlab as the tournament’s official chair partner equipping the world’s best players onstage.

Q: Can you share some tips for young aspiring entrepreneurs?

The toughest part is figuring out what strategy works best for your business. There isn’t a textbook to success. It comes from your willpower to make the 10 difficult decisions every day and trying to get them right. Some will be risky, some will be painful – but nothing worth having ever comes easy.

This article is part of a series on former winners of the Emerging Enterprise Awards. This year’s EE winners will be announced on Nov 22.