BL: It has been two years since we interviewed TenCube. Congratulations on your recent award for Mobile Monday Singapore. So, over the past two years, what has happened to TenCube and any interesting stories to tell?
Darius: Thanks Bernard. Plenty have happened over last 2 years, obviously, that’s probably one of the key attraction of a startup life – it’s immensely entertaining. Interesting stories have ranged from the really horrifying incidents of customer not paying up and not making payroll, to key projects delayed due to a key teammate contracting Hand-Foot-Mouth (haha, ya i know *scratch head*), to really good days where you hear the ‘Wows’ from customers and users, to the serendipity of accidental successes.

One of the most interesting thing to me is how fast things can change and how important a deep believe in what you are doing is. We’ve pretty much been doing the same thing from the day we started, and for a long time we have hit stonewalls and were rejected by many who have turned around to be our champions today. And it all happened very quickly, and without us doing much to change anything really – it’s just time has proven us right. We are very lucky to have a team who stuck through it all despite the many times when circumstances or authority have assaulted our belief and brought us on our knees in our moments of doubt.

Photo: TenCube WaveSecure Product – Tracking the Location on a User’s device

BL: Let’s come to users, how have the users responded to the WaveSecure product?
Darius: Haha, for a fair answer on that, you will have to ask our users.

Photo: TenCube WaveSecure Product – Tracking the SIM on a User’s device

All in all reception has been good, our user base has tripled in the last quarter. Admittedly WaveSecure is a very individualistic product – there is no built in viral mechnism/network effect etc that the web2.0 world loves. (ya.. we are rather old school) But we are glad that we have came to a point where our users are actively recommending it to their friends and family, driving a large volume of direct signups and queries. That’s probably the most satisfying part of all.

The biggest complain/challenge we face still remains largely the same – most people still are not familiar with how to download/install an mobile app. We are working quite aggressively to solve that problem, both technically simplifying the process, or just simply work with manufacturers directly to integrate the product as part of the phone so users don’t have to go through the trouble.

Photo: TenCube WaveSecure Product – Screenshot of User’s data backup.

BL: How’s the market out there for TenCube?
Darius: Market has been excellent, the age of mobile app has finally came, we believe. Thanks in part to the iPhone, there’s a lot of buzz around mobile apps nowadays, we are quite excited about times ahead. No one has heard of a mobile app back in the days we started developing on the Nokia 6600. We think our early entrance and substantial technology lead will pay off in the next 2-3 years in a major way.

BL: How are you handling the challenges in the current difficult financial climate?
Darius: We are fortuntately quite recession proof at this point right now, some pockets of the mobile and wireless sector is lucky to have a growth curve that counters the recession. Fund raising has been the only area that has a slight impact where we have faced a few delays, but we are all set now and all in all we haven’t been much affected. If anything, we have benefited greatly from being able to tap on a far wider talent pool now.

Photo: TenCube WaveSecure Product – Locking a User’s device

BL: You are here at the Nokia Developer Summit 2009. So what are you up to here in Monte Carlo, Monaco for the event?
Darius: Oh plenty. We attend almost every major mobile event – from 3GSM Barcelona in March to CMMA here in SG next month. But Nokia Dev Summit will probably be the most important event for us throughout the whole year. We have several collaboration points with Nokia, from partner engagements with operators to getting our act together for the upcoming Ovi store. Dev Summit is the single event that brings together all of these discussions and how those can move forward.

(ok ok fine, i’ll admit it… sun, sea and casinos, what else would i be up to in Monte Carlo)

Photo: (From Left) Darius and BL in Monte Carlo, Monaco for the Nokia Developer Summit 2009

BL: As a start-up, how do you engage in partnership/collaboration with Nokia? Any interesting tips for other start-ups companies to know and look out for?
Darius: Top priority is fit into their strategy and ride the wave.

Here’s 3 areas developers should pay attention to:

1. Anything that goes on Ovi Store – make a best selling app, pretty simple, eh?
2. Social location – Tero’s keynote put it quite plainly; also refer to Michael Halbherr’s keynote on maps on the funky stuff that is happening (and the very obvious things you should avoid, the world doesnt need another geo-tagging photo sharing app or location based friendfinder)
3. QT/WRT – tech platform wise – next big thing coming up on Nokia’s roadmap. It’s incredibly easy for new developers too, excellent choice for startups, check out what other developers have built in 48 hours.

Don’t forget that Nokia still ships 100M phones a quarter (coincidentally – that’s more than the shipment of all PCs combined).

BL: Is TenCube developing any new products for the market?
Darius: Of course, that’s as much as i can tell you though. I’ll keep you posted when i can give you a sneak peek! =)

BL: We will look forward to hear about your new products. Good luck in your ventures ahead.

Today, tenCube Pte. Ltd. launches revolutionary mobile phone security service “WaveSecure“, first-of-its-kind service prevents phone data loss and protects privacy.

Singapore, July 5, 2007 – tenCube Pte. Ltd. today launched WaveSecure, a revolutionary mobile security service designed to protect both mobile phone handsets and the data inside them, in the case of loss or theft.

WaveSecure enables the users to:

• Lock: The user can remotely lock his or her phone upon losing it, making it useless to anyone who finds the phone. The phone will remain locked even if the SIM card is changed or the phone is restarted.
• Track : If the SIM card in the lost phone is changed, the new phone number will be reported back to the phone’s rightful user. Any phone calls or messages will also be reported back, assisting the user in tracking down the phone.
• Back up and Restore: With the user’s permission, WaveSecure can automatically backup the phone’s data to its secure, protected servers. New messages, contacts or photos will be backed up as they are created. In the case of phone or data loss, the data may be safely and easily restored.
• WipeOut: In case of phone loss, the user can choose to remotely wipe out all private data contained in the device. All messages, photographs, contacts and even the entire memory card may be deleted, thus ensuring complete privacy.

WaveSecure is currently available for a three-month trial by invitation only from its website at www.wavesecure.com. Interested consumers may request for an invitation code from tenCube. The service is completely free during the trial period. Pricing will be kept reasonable at the end of the trial to ensure that this service remains affordable to consumers.

Since its inception two years ago, tenCube has focused on providing mobile security to local corporations and the Singapore government. tenCube’s customers currently include leaders in IT security such as the Singapore Police Force and the Center for Strategic IT. tenCube has filed several key international patents for its technology to protect its intellectual property.

“WaveSecure is awesome. I lost my thousand-dollar phone a month ago, and got it back the next day because of WaveSecure. I locked it and warned the person that I have his particulars and offered him 30 bucks, it absolutely makes sense for him to return it than to hold on to a useless phone while risking getting caught. Moreover, it helps me automatically keep all my contacts and messages online, which I can refer to anytime even without access to my phone,” said Ian Koo, Managing Director of Precision Printing, WaveSecure trial user.

“Today, the mobile phone is obviously not only a phone; it’s also your phonebook, camera, calendar, email and so on. Tomorrow, it’s also going to be your keys, your wallet, your mini PC, your portable hard drive and more. And we lose phones all the time. This is a very real, very big problem, and we are here to solve it,” said Darius Cheung, CEO, tenCube Pte Ltd.

“I believe that the founders of tenCube have developed an innovative and inexpensive product, and solution to a real problem in our daily lives in this technological age. The content value and inconvenience arising from the loss of a mobile phone far outweigh the cost of their product and I am glad that someone has come out with such a needed solution. I am proud to be associated with such a talented and entreprenerial team in the pursuit of their dream,” said Kelvin Chan, SVP Partners Group, Chairman of SVCA, Investor of tenCube.

“Cube WaveSecure is an excellent product, I think everyone needs this as we keep more and more important data on the phone. We are working hand in hand with tenCube to enable users to automatically and securely backup their data over the free Wireless@SG networks,” said Ken Chua, CEO of iCell, one of the three Wireless@SG providers.

Editor’s Note:: In this special exclusive, SGE is pleased to inform you that limited invitation codes will be available through a special partnership with tenCube. More details will be announced in the next few days. The team in SG Entrepreneurs congratulates tenCube for their success in launching WaveSecure.

About tenCube Pte. Ltd.

tenCube was founded by four NUS Alumni in 2005 to combat the new security problems brought about by the advance of mobile phones.

Since winning Start-Up@Singapore, a national business plan competition, tenCube has received numerous international awards, including being named one of the 100 Hottest Technology Start-ups in Asia by Red Herring, one of six finalists of the prestigious GES Award by Asian Wall Street Journal and a “Top 10 Wireless Innovation” award by Frost & Sullivan.

tenCube’s customers currently includes leaders in IT security such as the Singapore Police Force and Center for Strategic IT. tenCube is based in Singapore and proudly carries out all its core development work locally.

Bio: Darius Cheung
Darius is founder and CEO of tenCube. He believes in the power of technology to improve the quality of life and believes that the only way people can benefit from technology is by making it really easy to adopt. Before founding tenCube, he has
worked in various high tech companies in Singapore and Silicon Valley. Darius graduated from NUS as Electrical Engineer, he was named a Top Achiever Under 25 by The Straits Times and had been an invited speaker to events & conferences including Global Entrepolis, Nexus 2007 and Start-Up@Singapore. He spends his free time reading, cooking and he has a lovely cat called Maya, name after the Hindu goddess of illusion.

For more information, please contact:
tenCube Pte Ltd
Ming H. Chong, Director for Business Development
email ming@tencube.com
Tel +65 81611905

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