Ben Chiu
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Chiu is the founder of KillerApp.com, a popular comparison shopping site for computers and consumer electronics that was acquired by CNET
Networks Inc. in 1999.
moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina
at eight months of age with his mother (Hsiu Lan) and father (Sheng Dien) where they lived for six years before moving to Toronto, Canada. He attended high-school at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Ontario
and graduated with honors and awards in Computer Science
and Visual Arts
. In 1993 he received his Bachelor's Degree
in Applied Science
, Industrial Engineering
from the University of Toronto
.
When he was 11, Ben began to take an interest in programming. One summer, Ben's father assigned him to write a database system (using DBASE
) for their family business. With help from his father, Ben started Linguasoft Corp. and sold his system to bookstores and libraries. To this day, the Royal Ontario Museum
is still using his software.
Barely a teenager, Ben Chiu played table-tennis for the provincial (Ontario) team. Under the relentless training of renowned Yugoslavian
coach Zoran Kosanovic, Ben won the Canadian National Championships (junior singles), Formosa Cup (men's singles) and took 2nd place at the 1984 U.S. Open (junior doubles). Oddly enough, Ben is cross-dominant (ex. plays table-tennis with his south paw but writes with his right hand).
In addition to high school, Ben also attended school for the gifted in visual arts. His art teacher once offered to buy one of his oil paintings but Ben declined. Some of his wildlife paintings have been displayed at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario
. At the time, his style was inspired by Robert Bateman
, Glen Loates and Andrew Wyeth
.
to help manage his father's publishing business--Pan Asian Publications. While buying computer hardware for the company, he discovered it was tedious to browse through thousands of magazine listings for the best deals.
Instead, he cut the spines off publications like Computer Shopper
and PC Magazine
and keyed all the specs and prices into a database, page after page, one page at a time. After e-commerce sites began to appear on the Internet, Ben developed a web crawler
that would automatically gather and update prices around the clock. This was to form the foundation for his new company.
Ben formally incorporated KillerApp, Corp. in 1995 and went on to pioneer the concept of online comparison shopping (also known as the price engine). This paradigm shift proved devastating to the computer publication industry. "Print" simply could not compete with the timely content and convenience of these specialized search engines.
The web crawlers at KillerApp ran 24/7, updating 1.5 million prices daily. Within two years, killerapp.com was receiving 14 million page views per month and 1/2 million monthly users. The site was also generating 150,000 leads per month for its base of 360 merchants.
In order to sustain the growth of its business, Ben raised two rounds of funding from angel investors that included: C.S. Ho (founder of Mitac
/Synnex and honorary chairman of Computex); Charlene Wang (president of FIC
and daughter of tycoon Y.C. Wang); Ming Chien (chairman of FIC) and
Cher Wang
(chairperson of VIA Technologies
and daughter of Y.C. Wang).
In 1998, Ziff-Davis approached Ben with a buy-out offer. He declined but instead brought in Deutsche Bank
to produce competitive bids. A long M&A roadshow ensued. Ben held due diligence
discussions with Microsoft
, ZDNet
, Yahoo!
, CNET
, Excite
, Lycos
and Inktomi
. On March 23, 1999 he sold his company to CNET in a stock swap
valued at USD 54 million and joined CNET as the Director of Commerce Services.
) to appear on the cover of Wired Magazine. Po Bronson
chronicled Chiu's rags-to-riches story in his best-selling novel The Nudist on the Late Shift (ISBN 0-7679-0603-9). His story has also been recounted in Chinese by Peggy Teng in her book 華裔網路英雄傳奇 (translation: Unique Passages of Overseas-Chinese Internet Heroes).
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
Networks Inc. in 1999.
Early life
Born in Taichung, Taiwan, Ben, the only childOnly child
An only child is a person with no siblings, either biological or adopted. In a family with multiple offspring, first-borns, may be briefly considered only children and have a similar early family environment, but the term only child is generally applied only to those individuals who never have...
moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
at eight months of age with his mother (Hsiu Lan) and father (Sheng Dien) where they lived for six years before moving to Toronto, Canada. He attended high-school at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
and graduated with honors and awards in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and Visual Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
. In 1993 he received his Bachelor's Degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Applied Science
Applied science
Applied science is the application of scientific knowledge transferred into a physical environment. Examples include testing a theoretical model through the use of formal science or solving a practical problem through the use of natural science....
, Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
When he was 11, Ben began to take an interest in programming. One summer, Ben's father assigned him to write a database system (using DBASE
DBASE
dBase II was the first widely used database management system for microcomputers. It was originally published by Ashton-Tate for CP/M, and later on ported to the Apple II and IBM PC under DOS...
) for their family business. With help from his father, Ben started Linguasoft Corp. and sold his system to bookstores and libraries. To this day, the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
is still using his software.
Barely a teenager, Ben Chiu played table-tennis for the provincial (Ontario) team. Under the relentless training of renowned Yugoslavian
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
coach Zoran Kosanovic, Ben won the Canadian National Championships (junior singles), Formosa Cup (men's singles) and took 2nd place at the 1984 U.S. Open (junior doubles). Oddly enough, Ben is cross-dominant (ex. plays table-tennis with his south paw but writes with his right hand).
In addition to high school, Ben also attended school for the gifted in visual arts. His art teacher once offered to buy one of his oil paintings but Ben declined. Some of his wildlife paintings have been displayed at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario
Kleinburg, Ontario
-External links:* * *...
. At the time, his style was inspired by Robert Bateman
Robert Bateman (naturalist)
Robert Bateman, OC, OBC is a Canadian naturalist and painter, born in Toronto, Ontario.Bateman was always interested in art, but he never intended on making a living from it. He was fascinated by the natural world in his childhood; he recorded the sightings of all of the birds in the area of his...
, Glen Loates and Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Newell Wyeth was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century....
.
Career
In 1994 while the Internet was still in its infancy, Ben moved to Fremont, CaliforniaFremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
to help manage his father's publishing business--Pan Asian Publications. While buying computer hardware for the company, he discovered it was tedious to browse through thousands of magazine listings for the best deals.
Instead, he cut the spines off publications like Computer Shopper
Computer Shopper
Computer Shopper could refer to the following publications:* Computer Shopper - a home computer magazine published in the United Kingdom* Computer Shopper - a home computer magazine published in the United States...
and PC Magazine
PC Magazine
PC Magazine is a computer magazine published by Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009...
and keyed all the specs and prices into a database, page after page, one page at a time. After e-commerce sites began to appear on the Internet, Ben developed a web crawler
Web crawler
A Web crawler is a computer program that browses the World Wide Web in a methodical, automated manner or in an orderly fashion. Other terms for Web crawlers are ants, automatic indexers, bots, Web spiders, Web robots, or—especially in the FOAF community—Web scutters.This process is called Web...
that would automatically gather and update prices around the clock. This was to form the foundation for his new company.
Ben formally incorporated KillerApp, Corp. in 1995 and went on to pioneer the concept of online comparison shopping (also known as the price engine). This paradigm shift proved devastating to the computer publication industry. "Print" simply could not compete with the timely content and convenience of these specialized search engines.
The web crawlers at KillerApp ran 24/7, updating 1.5 million prices daily. Within two years, killerapp.com was receiving 14 million page views per month and 1/2 million monthly users. The site was also generating 150,000 leads per month for its base of 360 merchants.
In order to sustain the growth of its business, Ben raised two rounds of funding from angel investors that included: C.S. Ho (founder of Mitac
MiTAC
MiTAC International Corp. is a Taiwan electronics company established December 8, 1982. It is a subsidiary of MiTAC Inc. ....
/Synnex and honorary chairman of Computex); Charlene Wang (president of FIC
First International Computer
First International Computer, Inc. is a Taiwanese computer and components manufacturer, that designs and manufactures computer products and electronic components for other electronics equipment manufacturers worldwide. The company's products include motherboards, embedded computing systems,...
and daughter of tycoon Y.C. Wang); Ming Chien (chairman of FIC) and
Cher Wang
Cher Wang
Cher Wang is a Taiwanese entrepreneur. Wang is a co-founder and the chairperson of the HTC Corporation and VIA Technologies. Her father was Wang Yung-ching, who was one of the richest individuals in Taiwan...
(chairperson of VIA Technologies
VIA Technologies
VIA Technologies is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory, and is part of the Formosa Plastics Group. It is the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets...
and daughter of Y.C. Wang).
In 1998, Ziff-Davis approached Ben with a buy-out offer. He declined but instead brought in Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
to produce competitive bids. A long M&A roadshow ensued. Ben held due diligence
Due diligence
"Due diligence" is a term used for a number of concepts involving either an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract, or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a legal obligation, but the term will more commonly apply to voluntary investigations...
discussions with Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, ZDNet
ZDNet
ZDNet is a business technology news website published by CBS Interactive, along with TechRepublic and SmartPlanet. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991 as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication owned by CNET...
, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
, Excite
Excite
Excite is a collection of Internet sites and services owned by IAC Search & Media, which is a subsidiary of InterActive Corporation . Launched in 1994, it is an online service offering a variety of content, including an Internet portal, a search engine, a web-based email, instant messaging, stock...
, Lycos
Lycos
Lycos, Inc. is a search engine and web portal established in 1994. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, webhosting, social networking, and entertainment websites.-Corporate history:...
and Inktomi
Inktomi
Inktomi Corporation was a California company that provided software for Internet service providers. It was founded in 1996 by UC Berkeley professor Eric Brewer and graduate student Paul Gauthier. The company was initially founded based on the real-world success of the search engine they developed...
. On March 23, 1999 he sold his company to CNET in a stock swap
Stock swap
A stock swap, also known as a share swap, is a business takeover or acquisition in which the acquiring company uses its own stock to pay for the acquired company. Each shareholder of the newly acquired company receives a certain number of shares of the acquiring company's stock for each share of...
valued at USD 54 million and joined CNET as the Director of Commerce Services.
In the media
Ben Chiu is the second Taiwanese American (since Jerry Yang co-founder of Yahoo!Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
) to appear on the cover of Wired Magazine. Po Bronson
Po Bronson
Po Bronson is an American journalist and author who lives in San Francisco, California.-Personal history:Bronson was born in Seattle, Washington. After attending Lakeside School in Seattle, he graduated from Stanford University in 1986 and briefly worked as an assistant bond salesman in San...
chronicled Chiu's rags-to-riches story in his best-selling novel The Nudist on the Late Shift (ISBN 0-7679-0603-9). His story has also been recounted in Chinese by Peggy Teng in her book 華裔網路英雄傳奇 (translation: Unique Passages of Overseas-Chinese Internet Heroes).
Further reading
- Po BronsonPo BronsonPo Bronson is an American journalist and author who lives in San Francisco, California.-Personal history:Bronson was born in Seattle, Washington. After attending Lakeside School in Seattle, he graduated from Stanford University in 1986 and briefly worked as an assistant bond salesman in San...
(1999) Wired Magazine 07/99: Gen Equity - Po BronsonPo BronsonPo Bronson is an American journalist and author who lives in San Francisco, California.-Personal history:Bronson was born in Seattle, Washington. After attending Lakeside School in Seattle, he graduated from Stanford University in 1986 and briefly worked as an assistant bond salesman in San...
(1999) The Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley (ISBN 0-7679-0603-9) ISBN 0-7679-0603-9 - 鄧海珠 (2000) 華裔網路英雄傳奇﹕－有想法也能玩出一片天 ISBN 957-607-390-1