Just a few years ago, Quek Siu Rui conferred with the management of his Singapore startup to contemplate whether to sell. Quek was only 26 years old, and a proposal of $100 million would have made him wealthy beyond his dreams. But he said no: he desired to proceed constructing the business.
Great combination. Quek, which offers a used goods sales app called Carousell, is currently valued at about $500 million, in response to an individual conversant in the matter. The president doesn’t regret his selection. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Quek said in an interview. “We want to build a sustainable company.”
After raising $85 million in its latest round of funding, Carousell plans to expand its existing markets, which also include Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, before expanding to more countries. It is an element of a league of secret marketplaces including Seattle-based OfferUp Inc and Japan’s Mercari Inc which are in search of to challenge eBay and Craigslist.
The launch of Facebook Marketplace is confirmation that the issue we’re solving is large
“Carousell has entered a fresh market with a new product offering tailored to Southeast Asia,” said Vinnie Lauria, founding partner at Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures and a long-time supporter of Carousell.
Quek and his partners, Lucas Ngoo and Marcus Tan, met as students on the National University of Singapore. The self-proclaimed geeks bonded over their hobby of shopping for and selling gadgets online. As a part of the university program, they spent a yr in Silicon Valley and took part in talks with entrepreneurs, including the founding father of Facebook Inc. Mark Zuckerberg.
They founded Carousell in 2012, naming it after the Kodak Carousel projector that was utilized in the TV series as cutting-edge technology Crazy people. They have won fans from generation to generation by making shopping on mobile as easy as Instagram or WhatsApp.
Quek, now 30, drew inspiration from Zuckerberg, who also rejected buyout offers in his early years. Facebook has since grow to be something of a rival, this yr debuting its Singapore Marketplace, a platform that enables consumers to sell used items. Quek is not too nervous. “The launch of Facebook Marketplace confirms that the problem we are solving is huge,” he said.
There are also local accents. The popular in-app chat suggests a reply based on the conversation. These include Singaporean-English (or Singlish) phrases corresponding to “Can or not?”, which is a way of asking if something is feasible, or “Wait ah”, which implies “wait some time”.
This month, the corporate will roll out CarouPay, which is able to allow users to finish transactions without leaving the app. It has already unveiled premium reseller services, paid promoting and subscription services for automotive dealers and real estate agents in Singapore.
“Siu Rui’s growth and evolution has been phenomenal,” said Kuo-Yi Lim, managing partner at Monk’s Hill Ventures in Singapore, which just isn’t a Carousell investor. “They will undoubtedly be attractive to many people. The question for Siu Rui and his team is: “Is this the right company to sell to?” Is this the proper time to relinquish control, or should we proceed to shoot for the moon?”
Quek admits that he continues to receive inquiries in regards to the offer, but the corporate continues to be not on the market. “We want to be in the driver’s seat,” he said. “We are less than 1 percent complete.”
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: The founding father of a web based marketplace is glad he turned down a $100 million offer
