How this non-tech founder built an Uber-like logistics company with his poker winnings

A photo of Shing Chow. Photo credit: Lalamove.

This article is part of Tech in Asia’s partnership with The Jay Kim Show where we publish the revised transcripts from the show’s podcast interviews with top entrepreneurs. This is heavily revised from the original show transcripts. For the full interview, go here.

Shing Chow is the founder of Lalamove, formerly known as EasyVan. Widely known as the Uber for logistics, the Hong Kong-based tech company puts delivery vans and trucks on its platform for on-demand deliveries and match users and drivers across Asia. It currently operates in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, and in 50 cities in mainland China, where the logistics market is estimated to be at US$1.7 trillion. The company recently closed a US$30 million series B round.

But what I think you’ll really appreciate is knowing Shing’s personal story on how he quit his prestigious job as a strategy consultant at Bain, one of the top consulting firms in the world, to pursue professional poker. He used his poker winnings to fund his business, which he started even without a logistics or tech background.

He has a lot of insights for anyone trying to enter the tech startup scene.

Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey

I graduated from Stanford in 1999. That was right before the internet bubble of 2000, and at the time, I wasn’t into the internet. I wasn’t aware that the internet is this big wave that’s going to change not only our daily life but also a lot of other industries. So, after graduation, I came back to Hong Kong and went into consulting for about three years.

In 2002, I got bored. I kind of wanted to make my own course.

Poker started as a hobby but I believed at that time that I could turn it into a living. So, I quit my job at Bain and started to play poker professionally for seven years. I basically made enough money to be financially independent. But it was a pretty long journey because for the first four years, I wasn’t actually very successful. I was barely breaking even.

But poker is a zero-sum game. If you have to win, someone else has to lose. I don’t want to spend my life on something that is just zero-sum.

In 2009, I quit poker and started to find a project that I can kind of dedicate the rest of my life to. I was searching for about four years. In October 2013, I decided to start Lalamove.

How was that whole transition process making a living off of gaming?

Actually, anything you do as a hobby, if you want to make it as a living, that’s hard. That’s really hard.

If you ask me, there wasn’t a long thought process. It was just kind of an instinct or something that I’m passionate about. At that time, I was just playing poker night and day. I decided this is something I really want to get good at and this is something that I really like to do. That’s how I went into it.

Sometimes, you look back and figure out why you tried or how you became successful. I boil it down to APP—ability, prospect, and passion. If you want to create success out of what you do, you basically have to have the ability to do it well. That thing has to have a prospect. And not only do you have to have the ability, but you also have to like to do it. You’re passionate about it.

How did you start EasyVan?

I just went about looking for different industries, and I was actually into investing. I was looking through different lists of companies to see if there’s any inspiration from anywhere.

How did you realize that this business model would be scalable?

You don’t have a background in logistics and tech. How did you execute your idea?

You started off bootstrapped. What made you decide to get external funding?

What sort of expansion plans do you have for 2017?

What was your experience expanding in China?

What piece of advice would you give?