I’m a keen admirer of James Tan. Many of you guys in Singapore might not know him because he is making his fortune in the big pond, China.
He co-founded, 55Tuan.com, one of the largest group-buy sites in China. (Yeah… I know, some of you are about to exit this page to update your Facebook status because it’s about group buying.) But read on…
I don’t exactly like the group buy model or the clones either. But James and his fellow founders appear to have executed well in order to become one of the largest in China. As we’ve said before, quite often success hinges on the execution rather than the idea.
55Tuan raised hundreds of millions and is now on its way to IPO. Although I’m not sure that will actually pull through, especially with the recent news that Lashou has recently withdrawn from being listed.
Regardless, James has done what most of us haven’t. He got out of tiny Singapore and plunged himself into China. While many Singaporeans still hold a skeptical view about the Chinese market, James was one of the first movers in the tech space to have made it there. So, there’s a load of experience which James can share with us and I’m excited to have him on board with us at Startup Asia Singapore.
I will try to find out as much as possible within the 30 minutes we have with him. Our coffee chat will focus on China and entrepreneurship. So please join us if you want to understand his startup story and learn more about the China market.