Скачать или смотреть I Built a $10 million website for Jackie Chan (& nearly collapsed!) | Senh Duong (Rotten Tomatoes)

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When Vietnamese refugee Senh Duong fled after the fall of Saigon, he could never have imagined he’d one day co-found one of the most influential movie sites in the world - Rotten Tomatoes.

A kid who grew up on Hong Kong kung fu flicks, Senh was obsessed with Jackie Chan.

So when Jackie tried to break into Hollywood again, Senh went looking for honest reviews...

But couldn’t find any.

Every critic said the movies were great (even when they weren’t).

So Senh decided to build a site that told the truth.

What began as a side project coded through sleepless nights turned into a cultural phenomenon - one that raised $1 million (2 months before the dot com bubble burst!!), sold for $10 million, and changed how audiences everywhere judge movies.

In this episode, Senh opens up about:
🔸 Fleeing Vietnam and growing up in a refugee camp in Hong Kong
🔸 How Jackie Chan inspired the birth of Rotten Tomatoes
🔸 Almost quitting Rotten Tomatoes due to burnout
🔸 Being treated as “second-class citizens” by film publicists at screenings (and when that changed!)
🔸 Raising $1M, surviving the dot-com crash & selling too early?!
🔸 Why he says he’s proud to be a “one-hit wonder”

This is the story of how a movie-obsessed refugee created one of the most iconic brands in film history - all because he wanted Jackie Chan to get the credit he deserved.

Highlights
0:00 Fleeing after the Fall of Saigon + pirate attack
2:22 Arriving in the US
4:02 Falling in love with Hong Kong movies & TV series
6:43 The mafia controls the film industry?!
9:08 Getting into Berkeley
11:15 Dream of being a PIXAR animator
13:24 Landing Disney as a 7-figure client thanks to a pizza party?!
18:53 Launching Rotten Tomatoes as a side project
20:37 Love of Jackie Chan
22:00 Thumbs up, Thumbs down
24:22 Walking Zoombie & Burnout
26:51 Rotten Tomatoes’ traffic explodes?!
29:38 Turning Rotten Tomatoes into a $650 million company?!
31:47 Licensing fees
33:31 ‘Second-class citizens’ with film critics + Tomatometer
36:00 Investors saying, what the heck are you guys thinking?’
40:39 What kept you going?
41:47 Internet bubble bursts +mysimon.com
42:50 Layoffs
46:50 Turning point +IMDB
50:38 How Rotten Tomatoes stood out
51:19 Valuation of over $6 million?
52:22 Exiting Rotten Tomatoes
52:48 What’s next + Daniel Wu
54:04 $650 million sale + double dipping
55:16 One-hit wonder?
56:06 What does success feel like?
56:39 Biggest regret & Robert Ebert
57:32 Should you follow your passion?

🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/154

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WHO AM I:
I'm Ling Yah, ex-lawyer turned LinkedIn personal brand strategist & host/producer of the So This Is My Why, where I interview inspiring people about how they found their why, and their blueprint for turning that why into a reality.

I’ve interviewed 170+ Olympians, Michelin-starred chefs, top entrepreneurs, VC founders, Hollywood actresses, and more.

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