Singapore. Further, the company has sold more than 20,000 set tops that attach to ordinary TVs - giving users MyWeb access. Wong's latest project is marketing a new Philips TV with built-in MyWeb software. Wong anticipates that by 2003 some 16 million users throughout Asia and India will be logging onto MyWeb's portal site regularly.
Today, Wong can afford to buy a few more chairs - and with more than 140 employees, he's had to do so. He's moved out of the kitchen and into a bona fide office space. In fact, the company's putting up stakes worldwide. With global headquarters in San Francisco, it has satellite offices in Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, and Shanghai.
Wong hasn't bought a Lear (dossier) jet yet. The once-impoverished student may be a millionaire, but he is the first to recognize that his fortune is only on paper. "The game isn't over until the chips are cashed in," he says, adding that while his company made a profit last year, MyWeb - like its Internet startup brethren - is directing all earnings into business development. "We don't take those millions seriously."
Wong says he's careful to keep close watch on the company, staying ready to move forward when the market demands. If any industry can outrun even the most nimble of entrepreneurs, it's the Internet. "I sometimes think experience can be a baggage," say Wong. "You can easily get confined by your own box. I think that's why a lot of big companies stumble, because they are stuck in a way of doing things; the way they've always done it." It's hard to imagine Wong stopping long enough to get stuck anywhere.
