All Eyes On: Lee Ming Wei & Teck Hou

In this issue of All Eyes On, we caught up with 2 of the 3 youthful founders of Saint Games, Singapore’s first video games café, and THE place where the young and the young at heart gather, unwind and spend quality time with friends and family, all through video games!

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF.

MW: Heyo, I’m Ming Wei and together with Teck Hou (Hi!) and Gary, we run Saint Games.

WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A YOUTH?

MW: Rebellious wannabe but responsible by necessity. As a kid, I’ve always mixed better with friends who were less academically inclined. But in order not to piss my mum off, I would make sure I finish my work before I go off to ‘play’ with them. Interestingly, I was the Class Chair Person for both my graduating Sec4 class and JC2 class. At that time, I sort of could get the respect of the class and also negotiate for terms with the teachers on behalf of them. Lol

TH: As a kid, I grew up being compared to the outspoken and confident kids of my dad’s friends. Therefore, I was pretty reserved and conscious of my actions. It was only when I got to Secondary and JC that I got friends (I really appreciate this bunch of peeps) who taught me that I should never be affected by people who don’t know me.

TELL US ABOUT HOW YOUR BRAND GREW FROM BACK THEN TO NOW.

MW: We have definitely evolved over the past couple of years but our mission has never changed. From the day we started, we’ve always believed that video games can become wholesome and healthy activities that can be enjoyed amongst friends and families. And we’ve set our minds and brand direction to do just about that. Over the years, Saint Games has become synonymous with the word ‘FUN’ and apart from bringing in video games that promote bonding, we’ve also set about our in-house promotions to reward customers to come in groups, namely our Fabulous 5 or Awesome 4some, which the names suggest, are packages for bigger groups. All in a bid to encourage folks to bring their friends and families to have fun and laughter together!

TH: Mingwei couldn’t have said it better!

IS THERE ANYONE WHO HAS MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE THAT LED TO YOUR SUCCESS?

MW: Honestly, we still don’t consider ourselves to be successful yet, but we do keep a constant reminder to not be complacent and to continue to strive for what we believed in. My late father, who passed away in 2012, has the most significant impact on my career. Though he was not very well-educated, his professional training as a Renovation Contractor helped developed his aptitude towards creativity and as such he always had the most innovative solutions for problems he faced. I’ve observed since young and have constant translate that to practice. He will always remain as an inspiring source of innovation and creativity for me.

TH: Agreed with what Ming Wei mentioned, we don’t consider ourselves successful at this moment. I consider my Dad as an example of you I should lead my life. He works really hard in his younger days and together with my mum, they both made numerous sacrifices to their lifestyle and created a wonderful family unit for me and my brothers.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUTHS WHO HAVE A DREAM TO SET UP THEIR BRAND/ BUSINESS?

MW: Don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams. Taking the plunge and road less travelled seemed to be daunting at first, but don’t despair and don’t get disheartened when things don’t straighten out at any point.

The only fuel you have in order to keep pushing is to continue learning. Read a lot and keep talking to a whole lot of people to gain knowledge, perspective and their experiences. This will widen your vision.

TH: Entrepreneurship is a road filled with obstacles and sacrifices. Prepare yourself mentally for when it hits you, you do not have the luxury of time to lament over it.

Never be Judgemental and always be humble. Learn from everyone and anyone, everyone you speak to have a different story to tell, the world is a huge place and one can never learn them all!

Also check out the issue on Nelson Yap, Managing Director of The Assembly and The Assembly Ground HERE.