Trekking on

The Thumbdrive is such a humble device, so wide spread and easy to use that you may not even give it a second thought about its origins.

Henn Tan, chairman and CEO of Trek 2000 International Ltd (Sesdaq listed in year 2000), was dead serious about this particular piece of gadget a decade ago.

Having come across the USB port, Tan envisioned the proliferation of small yet portable storage devices that would utilise the much faster transfer speeds of the USB port, thus giving birth to the USB Thumbdrive in the year 2000.

It was intended to be a cost effective replacement of the cumbersome and slow floppy disk that dominated the computing industry at that time. The invention of the Thumbdrive was supposed to catapult Trek 2000 forward to overtake its peers and into the big league.

"When I first came out with the Thumbdrive, I was so excited. I believed from day one that this was not a fortuitous attempt. I knew that I wanted to replace the floppy disk - that is why I filed for patent rights in 33 countries," he said.

However, things did not turn out the way Tan intended. Immediately after the birth of the Thumbdrive, the battle for its intellectual property rights would start.

"I was so ignorant, I thought I had the whole world in my hands. I was so proud to share everything, and I kept on saying patent granted," said Tan.

But what he didn't realise was that during the two years between filing the patent and getting it approved, anyone could steal those ideas and call it their own.

"The safest is to launch your product close to the patent grant date, and if possible, wait for it to be granted, then you will be real, real safe," he said.

Soon after announcing to the world the marvel that the company has created and amidst the initial euphoria, Tan received numerous enquiries from tech giants, all wanting a piece of the Thumbdrive.

I must have something I can call my own, that's why I turn to invention, so I can say that this is my own creation and this is my way of surviving.

The very first visit came from the business development president of a major tech companies that wanted to acquire the rights to the Thumbdrive. After setting foot into Tan's humble office he instead shelved the idea.

Although highly impressed by the technology presented by the small boutique technology firm, the foreign tech firm was at the same time unimpressed with size of Trek 2000 then.

At the end of the day, a commercial agreement was not signed with the major tech company, citing the reason that Trek 2000 was too small and untested. The concern was that in the event that something was to happen, the legal implications could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

"That was the saddest moment … we were exceptionally down, and I had to coax and cajole my team to pick up and move forward," Tan said.

That incident was followed by a chain of events that would later plague the Thumbdrive for years to come.

A meeting was held with a foreign company that approached Trek 2000, with interest in being a distribution representative for Trek. Tan gave a comprehensive explanation of his product, and 10 months later found the company launching a similar product which was offered to another large tech company.

Cheap Taiwanese clones began to flood the market. Then came the rush of similar American devices. Amidst it all, Tan was powerless to stop the flow.

Later, other foreign companies approached Tan, representing the threat of large multi-national corporations with massive financial muscle.

One of the companies made a small financial offer for the rights to use the already patented Thumbdrive.

Trek 2000 had to consider carefully as a wrong move would mean a prolonged court battle, which could prove to be financially crippling and disastrous.

"It was then I learnt my lesson," said Tan, who discovered that in the cut-throat world of business, size really does matter. There was the realisation that in jostling by large companies for a piece of the same pie, any new player that would be perceived as a future threat.

Tan decided that a business model with no resources was detrimental to his company's growth, and decided to enforce change.

This time round, in preparation for Trek 2000's newest product, with a workking name, the Flucard, Tan decided that he would engage the help of a big tech company which he has close ties with and which is one of Trek 2000's major shareholders, Toshiba.

Having spent more than a third of his company's resources in the research and development of new products such as the Flucard, a proper plan has to be thought out to protect the intellectual property rights of such precious investments.

Tan decided that he could not do it single-handedly, like in the case of the Thumbdrive. A consortium for the Flucard was formed with Toshiba, and the policing responsibilities of the IP rights would fall on Toshiba's shoulders, with its massive financial muscle.
The Flucard is an invention which Tan is extremely proud of and foresees it taking the world by storm. And now, having learnt his lesson regarding the Thumbdrive, Tan is ready once again to take control of this invention.

The workings of the Flucard are simple - it is shaped exactly like a standard SD card, while providing an operating system (OS) which takes over the OS of a device (e.g. digital camera).

It is able to transfer data instantaneously from a device to another Flucard or any machine which is wi-fi enabled.

Another ability of the Flucard is to push data up and down a computing cloud, opening up new channels in terms of advertising as Trek 2000 also plans to provide the use of a free portal with any purchase of the Flucard.

"When I was travelling in China with my family, my daughter lost her digital camera on the third day! It was not the loss of the camera that made me upset, but it was the loss of the memories found in the card," he said. And that was when Tan decided to invent the Flucard.

Initially Tan had planned to market the product regionally. Then a close friend told him: "This is a product with a global function! Don't talk about restricting it into being regional!"

Tan gave further thought into the positioning of his company while struggling with the issue of cost and eventually decided to bring the Flucard to the global tech arena.

The anticipated impending success of the Flucard, however, does not signal Tan's willingness to take a back seat.

Tan isn't inclined to think of himself as a creative man, but rather a person who finds answers practical needs. "If someone approaches me today with an idea, I will hear them out. However, I expect them to take ownership. I will only take minor stake, as long as they are practical and realistic," he said.

Having grown up in an impoverished family, Tan has always had to rely on himself.

He started working for a Japanese technology firm, but thirteen years into the job, Tan wanted more - a stake in the company he was helping to build and not to retire early.

With savings of S$65,000, he decided to strike out on this own.

But then tragedy struck. Tan's youngest daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia, and he depleted his savings on the medical bills.

Desperate for an income, he decided to stay on with the Japanese technology firm.

A few years after his daughter's illness, he conceived of a plan.

Although he had 6 mouths to feed, he took one last gamble.

His former boss gave him S$1 million in credit, which helped him get started as a distributor of their products.

A few years after starting the distribution business, which earned a decent living for Tan, he felt it wasn't enough.

"I am a product man," he said.

"I must have something I can call my own, that's why I turn to invention, so I can say that this is my own creation and this is my way of surviving."

Posted : 28 June 2010
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