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Founder of startup Hiverlab once went busking to ensure staff got paid

SINGAPORE — He was facing cash flow issues in the early days of his company in 2018, but startup founder Ender Jiang was determined to ensure his four employees were still paid on time.

Ender Jiang, founder of Hiverlab, on Feb 24, 2020.

Ender Jiang, founder of Hiverlab, on Feb 24, 2020.

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SINGAPORE — He was facing cash flow issues in the early days of his company in 2018, but startup founder Ender Jiang was determined to ensure his four employees were still paid on time.

So he took himself off the payroll, dusted off his harmonica and started busking, going down to Hougang MRT Station for a few hours every evening. He would earn around S$20 a day.

At the time, Mr Jiang was a new father with a one-year-old son.

“The situation was not good for the family, but luckily we did have some savings so we could sustain ourselves,” the 37-year-old said in a recent interview with TODAY.

Mr Jiang founded virtual reality startup Hiverlab in 2015 after a five-year stint at Creative Technologies made him realise that he had his own ideas on how a company should be structured and run.

Hiverlab works with clients, from schools to big tech giants, to create immersive technology solutions and platforms to meet their digital infrastructure needs.

Some of Hiverlab’s clients include Google, Toyota, Huawei and OCBC Bank.

Having established itself as a heavyweight in the immersive tech field, the company is now a far cry from those early days.

TURNING POINT

Mr Jiang said the turning point for the company came after it secured a handful of long-term partnerships with some big clients, which established the company’s name within the industry.

One of these key partnerships was with the Discovery Channel, which teamed up with Hiverlab to create a series of virtual reality documentaries.

Other companies that came on board during this time were DHL and DBS Bank, who were interested in adopting new digital technological solutions with the help of the firm.

“So after we worked with these few clients, our company became stable and then we had a lot of incoming inquiries coming from different clients,” said Mr Jiang.

Part of this was possible because of Mr Jiang’s push to educate clients about immersive tech. He also spoke about the benefits of the field when he was invited as a TEDx speaker in 2016.

Hiverlab did not just work with the big firms. The company also took on low budget projects at the time to prove that there is value in clients taking on immersive tech solutions.

Hiverlab founder Ender Jiang playing his harmonica. Photo: Hiverlab

THE FUTURE

Hiverlab now has 30 employees and plans to expand to more countries in the region, opening offices in India and Vietnam.

Looking back at the early days of Hiverlab’s journey, Mr Jiang said it struck him how much his team has gone through so much.

“They know that those memories are challenges that we have conquered,” he said. “They realise the value of the learning opportunities, and that fuels excitement.”

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busking startup Ender Jiang Hiverlab

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