Sim Wong Hoo is considered Singapore's first technopreneur, and although he recently passed away at the age of 67, his life includes a lot of interesting facts. Mr. Sim started his journey in a small computer repair shop in Chinatown.
Here are the Top 10 Facts About Mr. Sim:
1. Mr. Sim was Raised in a Family of Entrepreneurs
Mr. Sim was considered the 10th child out of five boys and seven girls and was raised in Bukit Panjang. Mr. Sim's father died when he was only 12 years old in 1969, pushing his mother to continue raising the family by going door to door selling eggs and more.
2. Mr. Sim has an Electrical and Electronics Degree
Mr. Sim graduated from the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, where he studied electrical and electronics engineering.
3. Mr. Sim Established Creative Technology with His Childhood Friend
Mr. Sim and his Ngee Ann Polytechnic schoolmate and childhood friend, Mr. Ng Kai Wai, started Creative Technology in 1981 in China's Pearl Center.
4. In 1990, the Sound Blaster by Creative was the World's Top-Selling PC Add-On Product
Creative revealed the Sound Blaster in 1990, a sound card that allowed computers to generate music and reproduce the human voice. This resulted in the revolution of the audio environment for PC. The company's revenue ballooned from $5.4 million to $658 million USD from 1989 to 1994.
5. Creative's Nomad MP3 Came Out Before the Apple iPod
Creative released the Nomad MP3 player in 1999, before the Apple iPod, revolutionizing the multimedia industry. The tech fell when Apple's iPod launched in 2001.
6. Creative was the First NASDAQ-Listed Singaporean Company
Creative was the first Nasdaq-listed Singaporean company back in 1992. In 1994, the company was listed on the Singaporean stock exchange, which ballooned revenue even more a year later to $1.2 billion USD.
7. Creative Focused on Relentless Innovation
While falling into obscurity with the advancements in motherboard tech and touchscreen smartphones, the company was able to bounce back with its Super X-Fi series in 2019. The company's "holographic" headphones won 15 awards at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show.
8. Create Technology Won Against Apple and Samsung on Multiple Patent Disputes
In 200, Creative Technology sued Apple in 2006 for patent infringement regarding iPods that used their Nomad players' tech. Mr. Sim received $100 million USD in compensation. In 2014, Mr. Sim sued both Apple and Samsung regarding ten patent infringements in their iPhones and tablets, which Mr. Sim won.
9. Mr. Sim Coined the No U-Turn Syndrome "NUTS" Term
This term is widely used in Singapore to describe the behavior which follows only U-turning when there is a U-tern sign indicated.
10. Mr. Sim Set Up the Sim Foundation
In 200, Mr. Sim founded the Sim Foundation, which focuses on education and arts charitable work, along with assisting the elderly and pure. The foundation was renamed Sim-Tan Siok Kee Foundation in memory of his late mother, 94, upon passing, who died in 2006.
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