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.
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.
