Senior Corporate Advisor Allen Chiu: “SELF has the potential to go beyond Taiwan and influence the world.”
Allen Chiu, a co-founder of the SELF proposal, was introduced to Jack through his mentor in the industry. “I have known my mentor for many years, and in all these years, she has never introduced a single entrepreneur to me. Jack is the first, and she brought him directly to me.” Allen is a senior corporate financial consultant, an angel investor, and has helped four companies get listed on the Taipei Exchange Market. He is also the managing director of Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC Global Investment for Great China as well as a cryptocurrency investor.
Past Failures Teach the Best Lessons
Allen recalls the first time he ever met director Jack, saying “I had some free time that day. During that time, I received a call from my mentor saying that she wanted to bring an entrepreneur for me to meet. Since the rest of my day was packed with appointments, I only had about half an hour of time, but Jack arrived within 10 minutes and presented his proposal within the given time limit.”
In addition to the positive impression Jack left on Allen, Allen “personally values how entrepreneurs deal with setbacks. I have heard about Jack’s experiences with failure before, like how he failed to receive film funds in the past. These experiences are incredibly important, because when you learn to climb from the bottom, you have a clearer idea of the direction you want to go. So when Jack faces difficulties, he accepts them and grits through the obstacles, making a promise to find alternative methods of raising funds. Past failures are his lessons, and they make me believe that in the process of this new project, he will be able to face and solve different problems, challenges, and dilemmas.
For Real
“I am willing to join the SELF team because Jack is ‘For Real!’” Allen believes that because Jack is launching this project within film and television industry, “being inside the industry allows you to see it as it really is, including the problems within and changes needed. This project can thus have actual application rather than the naive, unpractical dreams of a youngster.” Allen also notes: “Most blockchain startups come from the younger generation hoping to reverse or update traditional business structures. However, most of the times, the founders have never really had any practical experience in the industry that they propose a plan within. Without solid industry support, these CEOs are simply chasing after the blockchain trend, and their plan will not likely survive.” Allen mentions a team in the past that he previously advised: “This team wanted to build a cryptocurrency exchange, but they focused most of their attention to public relations and marketing. The most important technology for the exchange was outsourced for others to develop. This didn’t work and it ended with failure.”
Listening to the quick presentation given by Jack, Allen focused most on whether the “content” of the proposal could be practically executed. “I can allow imperfections in a project, but I can’t accept the use of packing to create an illusion of perfection. Jack’s SELF proposal may not be perfect, but every step has a practical idea. Whether it is a new way to solve a problem or the degree of actual implementation, Jack has considered all of it. Listening to his briefing, I knew that the proposal was FOR REAL.”
“Integration” is the Most Fascinating Part of SELF
Allen believes that the most fascinating part of SELF is how it can integrate different industries starting with the film and entertainment industry, and how it can integrate the virtual content of something like a film with real life. Combining the film industry with the service industry can create something of a “Pan-Entertainment Ecosystem.” “In the future, watching movies, buying beverages and popcorn, eating dinner after the movie, can all use the SELF digital asset, giving it value.” Allen is also looking forward to the “Pan-Entertainment Ecosystem” that the SELF proposal will construct, anticipating more industries to be integrated and creating a complete ecosystem in Taiwan that can spread to Asia, and later on, the entire world.
SELF official website: https://selftoken.co/
