MAD Gaze is a world’s top-notch augmented reality (AR) smart glasses company founded in 2013. With head offices in Hong Kong and China, Founder and CEO Jordan Cheng is leading a team of experts with over 10 years’ experience in developing high-end software and hardware. The company’s core technologies include AR algorithm, hand gesture control, and optical display.
What’s your story?
Jordan: I have always been fond of information technology since I was young. Throughout my college life at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, I have been obsessed with developing different futuristic technologies, including a multi-touch interface which was being developed by Microsoft at that time. This leads me to gain numerous Hong Kong and foreign awards, and they have given me further impetus to perform better.
In 2012, I established my first company MAD MAD, a mobile application development company in Hong Kong. It has grown into a team of more than 80 employees and became one of the five largest companies in Hong Kong, before successfully acquired by another company.
My previous entrepreneurial experiences have brought my success in exploring my new orientation — Augmented Reality (AR). I have devoted my efforts in creating MAD Gaze AR Smart glasses with a complete ecosystem and have bred a large pool of talents. Until now, MAD Gaze has been exported to more than 45 countries and received worldwide acclaim.
What were some of the obstacles that your company faced during its initial years and how did your team overcome it?
We started the business in 2013 when AR smart glasses was still a new industry at that time. There were only a few professionals in this field, and it was hard to source for experienced talents. In the beginning, the only team members who were experienced in producing AR smart glasses were our CTO and optical consultant. Under the leadership and professional insight of our CTO and optical consultant, our team improved by leaps and bounds and overcome the R&D and manufacturing challenges.
Our second large obstacle was fund sourcing. Google Glass has failed the consumer market in 2015. That was when we were questioned by the investors and funding organizations about why we would succeed as the smart glasses market was even abandoned by Google. Despite the difficulties we faced, we kept a positive attitude and persisted through the development. We produced high-end products and successfully won the investors’ favour and affirmation.
How does your company separate itself from the competitors?
While most of the augmented reality and mixed reality smart glasses companies are focusing on enterprise market only, MAD Gaze has been working on the R&D not just limited to the enterprise market, but with consumer market as a focus since 2013 when the company first established.
Our company has launched 6 models in different form factors, including monocular and binocular glasses, in a standalone and hybrid version. We are holding 2 hybrid optical technologies and 2 interactive control technologies over other competitors. Apart from the hardware, MAD Gaze is also one of a few companies who have built a complete ecosystem for AR/MR smart glasses for accelerating the adoption of the technology and ensuring sustainable development of the technology.
Name one most memorable learning experience of your entrepreneurial journey
Reevaluation is essential for an entrepreneurial journey. I’ve learnt to observe the market and make adjustments accordingly. The goals we set should be measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. Initially, we built our goal as replacing a mobile phone with AR smart glasses. However, after going through the years, we realized that it was too hard to accomplish and will take more than ten years to archive that. And therefore, we amended our direction to replace tablet products instead.
What do you think should be the most important characteristic of a startup and its team to possess?
Keep up your dream and do not give up so easily. Always remind yourself of the reasons behind your dream and that will give you the strength to fight for the difficulties you encountered when running your business. Also, you have to keep learning new things and use them as a powerful tool to execute better.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with the team so that you know the pros and cons of each decision which will help build a strong bonding between team members.
What are you working on right now that motivates you to get out of bed in the morning?
We are looking to launch a new product that is targeted to the B2C market. This product has many breakthroughs in design and technologies being used. We aim to bring highly innovative and economical glasses to the market. We have since received many positive feedbacks and orders. Currently, we are undergoing the final QC process, working on fine-tuning the packaging design and preparing for manufacturing. We are under a tight schedule.
The positive feedback on our products and achievements in business development means a lot to us. These are the elements that motivate us to go further every day.
What is your company’s five-year plan? Any market expansion plan in the pipeline?
Currently, our offices are located in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore and we are performing well in the B2B market. We plan to expand our business to the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia in 2020 where we intend to strengthen our B2B and B2C foothold in these regions. We thrive to work harder so that we can maintain our position as the market leader in the coming 3 years. With sufficient market shares worldwide, we plan to go public in the stock market in 5 years time.
Looking back, what advice would you tell your younger self?
Trust your intuition but verify and question. Do not fear failure but learn from it and turn it into an opportunity for future endeavors which may lead to a breakthrough. Stay persistent in achieving your goals and review before making any decision. You are going to receive a lot of advice during your life, both good and bad. It’s good to open your mind to other perspectives but the final decision should rest with you, and that you should always trust your gut.
Do you think the mass adoption of smart glasses is possible?
We truly believe that AR smart glasses will soon become the next biggest thing, which will definitely be the new generation replacement of tablets and laptops. Smart glasses work the same functions with tablets but they are foldable, portable and most importantly, free your hands from holding the device. MAD Gaze smart glasses have already accomplished both B2B and B2C market, while some top technology companies like Apple, Samsung, Facebook etc. have started developing their AR smart glasses. It reflects that the AR market is growing rapidly. We estimate our sales volume to quintuple in 2020 and the growth to be multiplied gradually in the coming future.
Which are the top most-used consumer cases as seen on https://www.madgaze.com/cases?type=b2c?
Our consumer devices are mostly used for entertainment, gaming, watching movie and documentation.