Today we sit down with Kai Huang, co-founder of RedOctane and the iconic game Guitar Hero. Kai shares his journey, from growing up in Silicon Valley as the child of Taiwanese immigrants to creating one of the most legendary music game franchises of all time. He reflects on key lessons from building RedOctane, including an early pivot from renting video games (like Blockbuster) to selling high-margin dance pads — a move that helped them bootstrap growth despite early struggles raising venture capital.

Kai reveals the inspiration behind Guitar Hero, their immediate and explosive growth, and the challenges of forecasting demand. He also shares clever strategies for managing retailer demand that fueled their rapid rise, ultimately leading to a $100m exit to Activision (all in stock) just eight months after launch. Activision’s stock went on to 10x (not a bad return!), while Guitar Hero generated billions more for the company.

Kai also reflects on the role of luck, the importance of survival, and other key lessons learned along the way. Finally, he shares what he’s spending time on today, including with 886 Studios, a venture studio helping founders in Taiwan build for the global market.

Show Notes

(00:02:54) — Growing up in Silicon Valley and early influences (00:09:20) — Jumping into start-ups during the internet boom, Adux Software, early lessons (00:13:15) — Launching RedOctane: from video game rentals to dance pads. The importance of pricing (00:37:10) — Transitioning into music games and seeing the Guitar Hero opportunity (00:41:38) — Launching Guitar Hero, early success, managing retailers, and scaling up (00:59:41) — $100M acquisition by Activision and navigating post-acquisition growth (01:09:35) — Reflections on luck, survival, and entrepreneurship (01:17:55) — Building 886 Studios and supporting start-ups in Taiwan

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Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0wTzRhxv1K7UogRzXxllhz?si=OK3QErmaSjmp2zj1E3uYtg

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kai-huang-from-selling-dance-pads-to-rock-stardom-bootstrapping/id1271715066?i=1000702678710

Visit our Website: https://harbingerpodcast.substack.com/

Visit 886 Studios: https://886studios.com/

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Hi folks, welcome back! Today Sandy Diao (Director of Growth at Descript) joins us to guest host and interview Adam Bao, founder of The Harbinger and COO at Metatheory. Since 2017, Adam took the path less traveled to explore business model innovation and venture deals across China, Taiwan, and SEA. Adam double clicks into startups he evaluated alongside Hurst Lin (Cofounder at Sina and DCM Ventures) during the Covid years. It’s a roving discussion that highlights the importance of unconventional thinking and competitive differentiation across categories ranging from e-bikes to K12 dance networks to selling upcycled trash products. Adam also describes his early entry into the world of Web3, building games + new IPs at Metatheory with Kevin Lin (Twitch cofounder) and the team. To date, Metatheory has launched the DuskBreakers IP collection, raised $24m+ from lead investors including a16z, Pantera, Dragonfly, Breyer Capital, Sfermion, and Merit Circle, and is currently building out its flagship games. Finally, Adam shares hard earned lessons about scaling high quality teams and organizations, and how he manages (and leverages) chronic pain as a lever.

Show Notes
(00:00:00) — An early education on the value of differentiation
(00:04:40) — Insights into Chinese startups at Shunwei Capital (Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun’s fund)
(00:07:35) — Building out The Harbinger podcast and network
(00:14:05) — Generating 100m+ views for The Harbinger while on Chinese dating show 非诚勿扰 (If You Are The One)
(00:18:33) — Segue to Segway-Ninebot (Loomo, delivery robots, and e-scooters!)
(00:22:42) — Launching Beam, Asia Pacific’s largest shared micro-mobility company
(00:27:32) — Moving to Taiwan during COVID, sniffing out unconventional opportunities and hidden gems with Hurst Lin (Cofounder at Sina and DCM Ventures)
(00:41:28) — Taiwan the “recycling kingdom” and a business in upcycling trash!
(00:47:52) — K12 dance education to power the next vertical social network?
(00:53:03) — But what about manufacturing opportunities in Taiwan?
(00:56:53) — The wacky world of games, Web3, and building with Kevin Lin (Twitch cofounder)
(01:06:32) — Lessons learned while building Metatheory & DuskBreakers
(01:11:53) — Managing chronic pain and finding strength in vulnerability

Medium post here: https://medium.com/the-harbinger-china/building-off-the-beaten-path-in-asia-with-metatheory-coo-adam-bao-a31f16c750eb.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com

Today we have joining us Peter Cheng, who is founding partner at Eminence Ventures. Eminence just raised $120m for its second fund focused on backing Chinese enterprise software and cloud start-ups. After a decade of torrid start-up growth driven by mobile and consumer internet, China’s enterprise software market is poised for a breakout and expected to reach $40bn in revenue in 2025. Peter shares with us his formative experiences across eBay, AdChina (adtech start-up he founded that was acquired by Alibaba), and Tencent (as GM of ads products), before launching his career as a venture capitalist. Peter provides an overview of China’s cloud market, key opportunities across horizontal and vertical software, AI, and IT infrastructure. He describes key success factors and go-to-market strategy for such companies, including for portfolio companies Tsign and Recurrent.ai. Finally, Peter illustrates key differences between the US and Chinese environments and how that impacts the development trajectory of software companies.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com

Today we have a special episode with Hong Lu, founder of UT Starcom, one of the pioneering telecom companies in China. Hong is widely respected not only as a tech entrepreneur, but also as founding chairman at SoftBank China Venture Capital (which wrote an initial $18m check for Alibaba), and for his close friendship and successful collaboration with Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Group and the Vision Fund. The story goes, while working the night shift at an ice cream shop near UC Berkeley, Hong met Masa Son, who refused to pay for a milkshake unless it was made extra thick. The two Japanese speakers became fast friends and eventual business partners on Masa’s first start-up, an electronic translator that would sell to Sharp for $1.7m, and the rest is history. Hong shares with us his personal story, what it was like partnering with Masa on multiple ventures over the years, bringing wireless services to China, and key lessons learned along the way. Enjoy!

Link to write-up: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/ice-cream-masa-son-and-bringing-wireless-to-china-with-ut-starcom-founder

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com

Hi folks, welcome back to the Harbinger VC podcast. Today we have a conversation with my old friend from college, Jeff Zirlin, who is one of the founding members of Axie Infinity and runs their global growth efforts. In short, Axie Infinity created a Pokémon-inspired universe where players can earn tokens through gameplay, and in a just few years has become the #1 Ethereum game with over $1bn token market cap. Today’s interview is spontaneous, but I had to get Jeff on since NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the Metaverse are white hot conversation topics these days, especially after Beeple’s $69 million NFT sale and Roblox’s IPO. We cover Jeff’s initial foray into the world of crypto starting with Ethereum and CryptoKitties, which eventually led to Axie Infinity. We talk through NFT technology in practical terms… what ownership over digital assets enables, starting with collectibles and brand IP but moving into games and virtual worlds. In particular, Jeff highlights the strength of the Axie Infinity community. While Axie is a fun game, it has also created a social network (and jobs platform!) based on play to earn opportunities and community engagement across its players globally, from the US and Europe to Japan and Southeast Asia.

Write up: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/nfts-and-the-metaverse-with-axie-infinity-cofounder-jeff-zirlin

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Harbinger VC podcast. Today we have joining us Edmond Ng, who is a founding partner at Axiom Asia, one of the top performing private equity fund-of-funds (FoF) that invests across venture, growth equity, and buyouts in the greater Asia region. Axiom has had a stellar run since 2006, recently closing $1.8 bn for their Fund 6 (managing $7bn AUM overall), so they’re well capitalized to continue backing growth in the region. Edmond shares with us his formative experiences, including what it was like to join GIC at the height of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and lessons learned. Edmond describes the founding of Axiom Asia, what it took to survive in the early days, and some of Axiom’s best investment decisions. At the same time, Edmond discusses challenges and tough decisions that FoFs must make with regards to their managers, as well as the differences in PE investing across stage and region. Finally, we cover some of the shifting market dynamics in China, from key technological and commercial trends to financial liberalization and the growing attractiveness of Chinese stock exchanges.

Link to write-up: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/edmond-axiom-asia-1

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com

Today we’re recording at the KKBOX studio in Taiwan, big thanks to the Firstory team for setting this up. We have joining us Phil Chen, founding partner of Race Capital and product executive at HTC, whom I can only describe as a basketball loving, deep tech investing, future building nerd of a modern Renaissance man. While at HTC, Phil led product management for the first ever Android phone, founded Vive VR, and launched the world’s first blockchain phone (HTC Exodus). At the same time, Phil ran HTC’s corporate development efforts, where he invested in KKBOX and SoundHound, and also led HTC’s acquisition of Beats Electronics, which was eventually acquired by Apple. As a VC and advisor at Horizon Ventures (Li Ka-Shing’s venture fund), Phil managed their deep tech investments, where he served as a board director for over fifteen companies globally including Improbable, Soul Machines, Kneron, Scopely, Sentient, Fano Labs, Amper and 88Rising. On today’s podcast, Phil shares the insider scoop on HTC’s incredible rise and eventual decline that hasn’t been heard before, including an early opportunity to invest in Xiaomi when it was worth only $150m. Phil describes his investments in VR, especially as it pertains to health and how VR hacks the visual cortex to reduce pain, improve mental wellness, etc. Phil speaks to the potential of a blockchain powered future, as well the opportunity for Taiwanese start-ups to build world-class companies, especially as so many successful entrepreneurs return from Silicon Valley during the COVID era. Lots to cover on today’s podcast, enjoy!

Link to write-up: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/phil-chen-htc-vr-blockchain-1

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com

Raymond Yang is founding partner of WestSummit Capital, a leading technology growth equity fund that primarily invests in the US and China. Since 2010, the team has led investments into defining unicorns including Unity (~$41bn mobile game and real-time 3D development engine), Segway-Ninebot (~$8bn mobility + robotics platform), Twitch (gaming live video platform leader acquired by Amazon), GigaDevice (~$15bn NOR flash storage chip design), and more. Before his investment career, Raymond led the turnaround of Linktone and its successful IPO on NASDAQ in 2004. He also founded RivalWatch (retailer market intelligence) and Saratoga Technology (voice messaging services equipment). Today, Raymond shares with us his fascinating story, from growing up in Beijing and attending Tsinghua University to moving to Silicon Valley, launching his entrepreneurial career. Raymond then describes WestSummit Capital’s investment strategy in more detail, and shares more insights and lessons learned from key portfolio companies such as Unity. Raymond also shares key success factors for Segway-Ninebot and explains the significance of its IPO on the Shanghai STAR board (issued first CDRs in China). Hope you enjoy!

Link to write-up: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/westsummit-capital-raymond-yang-snipers-approach-to-tech-growth-capital

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com

Joseph (Jo) Phua is non-executive chairman of 17LIVE Inc, a company he cofounded and ran as CEO until June 2020. 17LIVE operates the largest live streaming platform in Asia (ex-China) with over 50m global users, led by its flagship app 17LIVE, as well as Meme Live and live stream eCommerce solutions HandsUP and FBBuy. Today, Jo shares with us his fascinating story, from selling watches in China to building Paktor (Tinder of Southeast Asia) and eventually merging it with 17 Media, resulting in one of the few and most notable internet unicorns that grew out of Taiwan + Japan. Jo discusses the operational challenges of running an online dating and live stream business, a fundraise strategy unique to Southeast Asia, and the importance of product-market fit and execution. He also shares his approach to growth, both in terms of M&A as well as market entry. Hope you enjoy!

Link to write-up here: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/pioneering-live-stream-and-social-entertainment-in-asia-with-17live-founder?categoryId=23497

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com

Today we have joining us Faisal Galaria, CEO of Blippar, a pioneer in augmented reality (AR). Now Blippar has a roller coaster of a story… the one-time unicorn raised $100m+ in venture funding but struggled to find a sustainable business model, burned through its cash and entered bankruptcy proceedings, before returning as a new business based on its drag-and-drop AR content creation tool (think WordPress for AR). Faisal joins to guide Blippar’s relaunch and set it on a sustainable growth track, leveraging experiences from his time scaling Skype as an early executive, and Spotify as SVP of International. Faisal shares with us what Blippar is working on these days, key drivers for AR adoption (from COVID-19 to 5G), what developments he sees in the AR/VR space, as well as examples of what Blippar is working on with clients, including with key clients in China and Asian markets.

Link to write-up: https://www.theharbingerchina.com/blog/ar-s-comeback-kid-with-blippar-ceo-faisal-galaria?categoryId=23497

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit harbingerpodcast.substack.com