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Marcus Wee (Singapore Entrepreneur)

Revision as of 14:17, 4 September 2020 by Dayana Rizal (talk | contribs) (→‎Background)

Marcus Wee (born 1984) is a Singaporean entrepreneur. He is the founder and the current managing director of Aftershock PC, a Singaporean company that specialises in custom-built personal computers (PCs) for gaming.[1][2] As of August 2020, Aftershock has over 79,000 likes on Facebook and 18,000 followers on Instagram.

Marcus Wee
Marcus Wee Aftershock.jpg
Born1984
EducationBachelor of Science (Information Systems Management)
Alma materSingapore Management University

Background

Early life & family

Marcus Wee was born in 1984 to parents who worked as an insurance manager and a dentist. He has a fraternal twin, Joseph (Joe) Wee, who was born seven minutes earlier.[3] Marcus’ exposure to video games started when his childhood neighbour invited him and his brother over to play games on their Nintendo console.[4] Marcus then became a competitive gamer, participating in games like StarCraft II and World of Warcraft III.[5][6][7]

 
Marcus (left) pictured with his fraternal twin, Joseph in 2020. Photo credit to Ariffin Jamar/ ST PHOTO.

Education

From 1998 to 2003, Marcus and his brother studied at Geelong Grammar School, a boarding school in Australia.[8] Marcus was quoted to have said the following about his time studying in Australia:

“It was probably the best decision they (his parents) made. Those were our formative years; we learnt independence, how to deal with different people and environments.”[9]

In 2005, Marcus pursued his tertiary studies at Singapore Management University.[10] During his time at SMU, Marcus became even more invested in gaming and reportedly spent upwards of 15 hours on his computer.[11] In his second year of university, he went on a five-month overseas exchange programme at the University of Waterloo in Canada. While there, he had a memorable experience at a boutique PC shop which he had visited to buy a gaming laptop. He says:

“The (buying) experience was awesome - all the way from when the agent communicates to you when you are customising the PC, to the point when you receive the PC and the after-sales support. It had me thinking, “Why wasn’t there someone doing the same in Singapore?”.[12]

Upon returning to Singapore, Marcus presented his business idea in his entrepreneurship class but did not have enough capital to kickstart and fund the business. He graduated from the School of Information Systems in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Management.[13] Marcus then embarked on several jobs to save up sufficient funds for his startup.[14]

Career

Upon graduating from SMU, Marcus was initially jobless for six months before finding a job as a systems implementer at Mercer Singapore, a human resource company.[15] He worked in Mercer for a year before resigning. In an interview with The Straits Times in 2020, he said that he quit as he felt “like a cog in a machine” due to the corporate structure of the company.[16] He subsequently joined TUM Asia as an IT executive before eventually starting Aftershock.[17]

Aftershock PC - Founder (2012 - present day)

 
Marcus and Joe pictured at the Aftershock showroom in 2017. Photo from Business Times.

After quitting his second full-time job in 2011, Marcus started and a business partner started Aftershock with the money that he had saved from his previous jobs. Marcus’ parents were sceptical of his endeavour, but Marcus was convinced that his idea would come to fruition:

“I knew it would work. I’ve been a data person all my life. I had a solid business plan. I knew my numbers and my products and that I’d be delivering good stuff. It was just a matter of executing the idea well. Because if not, that would be a blight on my record… Even in gaming, I don’t play to lose.”[18]

In 2012, Marcus’ partner left the company due to the stress of dealing with the business.[19] Marcus' twin brother, Joseph (Joe), joined the company that same year after returning to Singapore from New Zealand to write the press release for Aftershock’s new X11 model.[20] As of 2020, Joseph is the creative director of Aftershock PC.[21] In 2013, Aftershock had a booth at the annual IT Show where the brothers managed to sell 150 units over four days.[22]

Awards & accolades

 
Photo from Facebook.

Under Marcus’ direction, Aftershock has obtained several awards from media publishers such as The Straits Times, Geek Culture and HardWareZone.[23] In April 2020, Aftershock was also crowned Australia’s Best Desktop PC Builder at the Australian PC Awards.[24] According to Marcus in an interview with Vulcan Post, the international coverage resulted in a 300% increase in Aftershock’s sales.[25] The following is a list of accolades that Aftershock has won over the years.

Year Awarding Organisation Award Refs.
2020 Australian PC Awards Best Desktop PC Builder [26]
2018 HardWareZone Best Gaming Desktop PC Brand [27]
Best Small Form Factor Gaming Desktop
2017 Best Gaming Desktop PC Brand [28]
2016 Best Gaming Desktop PC Brand [29]
2015 The Straits Times Reader’s Choice Gaming Notebook [30]
2013 The Straits Times (Digital Life Awards) Editor's Choice Best Gaming Laptop [31]

Aftershock has also been praised by its customers for their after-sales service, with one describing it as “excellent” in 2013; just two years after the company's founding.[32] According to Marcus:

"Our goal is to make customers happy. Build a relationship with them and they will come back to you in the future."[33]

Prism+ (2017) - Co-founder

In 2017, Marcus and Joe launched Prism+, a Singaporean company selling gaming monitors.[34] In October 2019, Prism+ won the Top Seller (Electronics) award on Lazada.[35] A month later, the brand announced that they would be retailing 4K smart TVs at a cost that is significantly lesser than other brands in the market.[36]

Omnidesk (2018) - Co-founder

In March 2018, Marcus and Joe launched Omnidesk, a Singaporean company selling desks that were both customisable and ergonomic.[37] Omnidesks are equipped with a motorised system that allows for easy adjustment of desk heights. Customers can also opt for additional add-ons such as computer mounts for desktop PCs. According to Marcus:

“We wanted to revolutionise the way people choose their desks and let them construct their personal work and play space, as if they were building an Aftershock PC from ground up.”[38]

References/ Citations

  1. ↑ Marcus Wee. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 25 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-wee-a2041159/?originalSubdomain=sg
  2. ↑ Chiang, Sheila. “Conquering The Computer Market With Custom PCs: Marcus Wee, Aftershock PC Founder”. Vulcan Post. July 3, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Wong, Kim Hoh. “It Changed My Life: 'We are competitive, we play to win,' say gaming twins behind S'pore's biggest boutique PC builder”. The Straits Times. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Chiang, Sheila. “Conquering The Computer Market With Custom PCs: Marcus Wee, Aftershock PC Founder”. Vulcan Post. July 3, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  5. ↑ Singapore Management University. “Our Journeys Beyond SMU: The Wee Brothers, Founders of Aftershock PC”. YouTube. April 30, 2015. Accessed on 26 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Mah, Raisin. "Twin Ambition". NSMAN. March 2, 2018. Accessed on 31 August 2020.
  7. ↑ Chiang, Sheila. “Conquering The Computer Market With Custom PCs: Marcus Wee, Aftershock PC Founder”. Vulcan Post. July 3, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  8. ↑ Chiang, Sheila. “Conquering The Computer Market With Custom PCs: Marcus Wee, Aftershock PC Founder”. Vulcan Post. July 3, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  9. ↑ Wong, Kim Hoh. “It Changed My Life: 'We are competitive, we play to win,' say gaming twins behind S'pore's biggest boutique PC builder”. The Straits Times. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  10. ↑ Marcus Wee. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 25 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-wee-a2041159/?originalSubdomain=sg
  11. ↑ Wong, Kim Hoh. “It Changed My Life: 'We are competitive, we play to win,' say gaming twins behind S'pore's biggest boutique PC builder”. The Straits Times. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  12. ↑ Chiang, Sheila. “Conquering The Computer Market With Custom PCs: Marcus Wee, Aftershock PC Founder”. Vulcan Post. July 3, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  13. ↑ “Conquering the computer market with custom PCs: Marcus Wee, Aftershock PC Founder”. Singapore Management University. July 6, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  14. ↑ Wong, Kim Hoh. “It Changed My Life: 'We are competitive, we play to win,' say gaming twins behind S'pore's biggest boutique PC builder”. The Straits Times. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  15. ↑ Marcus Wee. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 25 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-wee-a2041159/?originalSubdomain=sg
  16. ↑ Wong, Kim Hoh. “It Changed My Life: 'We are competitive, we play to win,' say gaming twins behind S'pore's biggest boutique PC builder”. The Straits Times. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  17. ↑ Marcus Wee. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 25 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-wee-a2041159/?originalSubdomain=sg
  18. ↑ Wong, Kim Hoh. “It Changed My Life: 'We are competitive, we play to win,' say gaming twins behind S'pore's biggest boutique PC builder”. The Straits Times. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  19. ↑ Chiang, Sheila. “Conquering The Computer Market With Custom PCs: Marcus Wee, Aftershock PC Founder”. Vulcan Post. July 3, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  20. ↑ Chang, Vincent. “Singapore's tech companies: Aftershock PC”. AsiaOne. August 9, 2014. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  21. ↑ Wong, Kim Hoh. “It Changed My Life: 'We are competitive, we play to win,' say gaming twins behind S'pore's biggest boutique PC builder”. The Straits Times. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  22. ↑ Ibid.
  23. ↑ Wong, Kim Hoh. “It Changed My Life: 'We are competitive, we play to win,' say gaming twins behind S'pore's biggest boutique PC builder”. The Straits Times. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  24. ↑ AFTERSHOCK PC. Facebook. April 11, 2020. Accessed 25 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/AfterShockPC/photos/a.185775168220289/1870911859706603/?type=3&__tn__=-R
  25. ↑ Chiang, Sheila. “Conquering The Computer Market With Custom PCs: Marcus Wee, Aftershock PC Founder”. Vulcan Post. July 3, 2020. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  26. ↑ AFTERSHOCK PC. Facebook. April 11, 2020. Accessed 25 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/AfterShockPC/photos/a.185775168220289/1870911859706603/?type=3&__tn__=-R
  27. ↑ AFTERSHOCK PC. Facebook. February 1, 2018. Accessed on 25 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/AfterShockPC/posts/were-proud-and-thrilled-to-welcome-2-awards-to-our-warchest-the-aftershock-impul/1163335963797533/
  28. ↑ Ng, Chong Seng. “HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2017: Readers' Choice Results”. HardWareZone. February 17, 2016. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  29. ↑ Ng, Chong Seng. “HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2016: Readers' Choice Results”. HardWareZone. February 16, 2016. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  30. ↑ Chang, Vincent. “ST Digital Awards: The best of 2015”. The Straits Times. February 24, 2016. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  31. ↑ Tan, Aaron. "Top-notch service is the key". The Straits Times. March 6, 2013. Accessed on 31 August 2020.
  32. ↑ Lee, Mary-Anne. “Singapore’s custom gaming PC startup Aftershock is 2 years old and profitable”. Yahoo! Finance. October 23, 2013. Accessed on 26 August 2020.
  33. ↑ Chang, Vincent. “Singapore's tech companies: Aftershock PC”. AsiaOne. August 9, 2014. Accessed on 25 August 2020.
  34. ↑ PRISM+. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 26 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prismplus/?originalSubdomain=sg
  35. ↑ Prism+. Facebook. October 2, 2019. Accessed on 26 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/Prismplusdisplays/posts/-prism-is-the-top-seller-electronics-in-2019-on-lazada-thats-right-we-edged-out-/702837210234067/
  36. ↑ Sholihyn, Ilyas. “Homegrown tech brand Prism+ now making 4K smart TVs - they cost as little as $459”. AsiaOne. November 14, 2019. Accessed on 26 August 2020.
  37. ↑ Omnidesk. Facebook. n.d. Accessed on 26 August 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/theomnidesk/
  38. ↑ Chang, Vincent. "Local custom PC builder Aftershock launches motorised height-adjustable desk”.The Straits Times. March 9, 2018. Accessed on 26 August 2020.
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