History of SkyQuestCom

Published on 4 February 2009

Richard Tan, CEO, SQC
Failed Businessman to Global Entrepreneur

If you’ve had two feet of your colon removed, followed by chemotherapy and unhappy customers hounding you for $600,000 in compensation, what would you do?

Richard Tan started a business back in 1990 along with his friends who were all engineers. His company made non-slip chemical for floors and sold them for $250 each. Driven by their great marketing skills and enthusiasm, they sold about $6,00,000 worth of the product to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia. However, there was a small problem. The Product was unable to prevent slipping! To make things worse, the chemical was a bit too acidic than it should have been, which corrupted the floor tiles and allowed dirt to be stuck in the crevices. Ultimately, it left Richard with $6,00,000 in debt, and he also got 20 lawsuits against him.

In 1993, Richard started another company called Success Resources to organize conferences all across Asia. Sometime in 1995, just 6 weeks before a big conference in Hong Kong, only a mere 250 tickets had been sold for a venue that was actually meant to accommodate 6,000 people! Also, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Determined to personally sell tickets for the conference, Richard decided to travel Hong Kong. By traveling to Hong Kong despite his life-threatening medical condition, the doctor thought Richard was totally crazy. However, seeing Richard’s unshakable determination, he agreed that Richard could go, on the condition that he continues his cancer treatment while in Hong Kong.

Richard began each day at 7.30 AM. One by one, he knocked from door to door, promoting the conference. He would start from the top floor and walk down every floor of the apartment buildings to promote the conference. In the afternoon, when it was time for lunch breaks, Richard went for chemotherapy.

Richard has this advice to people who have failed in certain aspects of their lives: Don’t quit until you win. You’re not out of the race until you quit. It can be a long corner but it’s just around the corner.
In an unforgettable and inspiring video footage of the National Achievers’ Congress in Hong Kong in 1995, Richard can be seen without hair, on stage, presenting a talk in front of a crowd of over 4,000 people. Richard said in his landmark speech, “If I do nothing challenging, I don’t leave a footprint in life by doing the very best I can. I cannot give my family the best.”

Like a phoenix, Richard’s indomitable spirit helped him to build up Success Resources in 1992, which became a $15 million company in 2004. Singapore has acknowledged Richard’s vast achievements as a model for successful entrepreneurs by awarding him the prestigious 2003 Phoenix Award. Awarded by the Singapore Government, the Phoenix Award is given to one successful entrepreneur from Singapore each year.
He currently sits on the boards of several international corporations apart from being the CEO at SkyQuestCom. He serves as a living example to all that despite initial failure, we can stand on our feet again!