Interview with Launchbyte: Bryan and Chris
Launchbyte is a weekly podcast by Bryan Lee and Chris Cai. They cover technology, productivity tools and startups.
I am a friend of Bryan Lee and Chris Cai. They bootstrapped, released their 24th episode and made it to one of the featured podcasts on Apple TV/Podcast.
Read on!
0. Let’s start with a short introduction. Who are you?
c: Hi! I’m Chris Cai. I am a Developer and I work with several different Start-ups(Replaid, Intraix & Viddsee). I have been building apps for nearly 4 years and that’s how I discovered that I love the Start-up community.
b: Hellooooo! My name is Bryan Lee, but my friends like to call me “李老板“ (Boss Lee in Chinese) which started when I set-up my first event company back in 2005. I write my life journey over at http://bosslee.co. I also co-founded Intraix. We deal with energy data for both residential and commercial entities. So if you are wondering why your energy bills are high? You can reach me at bryan@intraix.com.
1. What is Launchbyte?
c: Launchbyte is a weekly show where we talk about global tech news and the local tech Start-up scene. We give a quick rundown of our top 10 news stories of the week and proceed to discuss our take on each news story along with how it affects the local scene if it does.
We will be introducing new segments over time that we think will be beneficial to our audience and the tech community in general.
b: Yes. Chris introduced me to podcast and I got hooked. I also dreamt that I would one day be an DJ so when the opportunity came. It was just Go Go Go !
2. Is there a reason for starting Launchbyte? Why are you doing this?
c: Launchbyte was created because I felt that NUS students like myself were not getting an inside look at the Start-up scene in Singapore. There were a whole lot of lessons that I learnt when I was freelancing and helping Start-ups and I realised that with each successive experience I got better at this.
So wouldn’t it be great if there was a platform for a newbie like myself to come to for advice?
b: Totally.
3. When was it launched?
c: It was launched January 2013, we took a short hiatus in March/Apr because I was busy with Intraix’s global domination plan and the launch of Viddsee’s Mobile Site but we’ve been doing a show a week ever since.
b: And we are on episode 24 now!. This also means that:
1. Without any monetary compensation, we produced 24 weeks of shows.
2. you can see how much we love the tech scene and wants to grow the community.
Our love for the tech scene and community is greater than money!
4. How was it launched?
c: I had this crazy idea that I wanted to start a podcast empire in Singapore and I told my buddies at Replaid and Intraix, I also am a Consultant for Radio Pulze – NUS’s Student Radio Station and had access to the studio while they were not doing shows so I thought I would ask for permission to try out this idea and see where it went.
5. How much did you use to kick-start Launchbyte and how much have you spent?
c: $0. Well, ok maybe a bit more than that, I paid a friend to come up with our logo and all the assets you see from the show coverart/title screen, but apart from that I think we made use of whatever resources we had on hand.
b: Yes. You can read here: How I set up Launchbyte podcasting with Jekyll.
6. What motivate you to do launchbyte?
c: It is fun! I love talking to people about ideas and what the future holds. I think that having a forum to surface news and discuss said news is vital for us as a community. I felt that a lot of people in the local tech scene right now are still a little clueless about developments in the global context and often ask me what is so interesting about developments that get me excited. Sharing my excitement is definitely a huge plus and getting other people excited about it is a huge part of what motivates me.
b: Nothing but FUN. And I get free coding lesson from Chris after each show recording.
7. Regarding the motivation, what kind of problem are you trying to solve?
c: I truly believe that in order for the Start-up scene in Singapore to sustain its current growth we need to get young developers and people with ideas interested in the community as soon as possible – With that we also need to provide them with the right mentors and advice to survive in the Start-up world because it can get really scary and easy to lose your way. You could say that we are trying to be the guiding voice that newbie entrepreneurs will listen out for when they first step into the woods. I’ve also found that a lot of Start-ups struggle to find available talent and I hope to turn this into a platform for them to meet young people who might not have the experience but certainly have the potential.
8. What can we expect from Launchbyte? Anything in the pipeline?
c: I have a wide range of interests and I have met a bunch of people over the year that are excited about doing their own podcasts so we might see more content coming with the new year. I hope to start a Film related podcast soon and come January I will be starting a Hearthstone podcast with a couple of my gaming buddies.
b: More video interviews will be coming!
9. Is there any plan to monetize launchbyte?
c: There was some discussion and potential monetization avenues but for the most part, that is not our focus for 2014.
10.Where can the reader subscribe to launchbyte?
c: You can find us on iTunes by searching for Launchbyte or just type Launchbyte.com on your internet browser.
11. Where can the readers find you online?
c: Launchbyte.com – http://www.launchbyte.com
Chris Cai’s twitter: https://twitter.com/AnttyC
Bryan Lee’s twitter: https://twitter.com/leetucksing