Dennis Fong
Encyclopedia
Dennis "Thresh" Fong is an entrepreneur
and retired celebrity pro gamer
. Fong has been called "the Michael Jordan
of video games", a "Top 20 Entrepreneur Under 35" by Red Herring
magazine, and voted as the "Top North American E-Sports Figure of All Time" by the E-Sports Entertainment Association, and is best known for: co-founding Xfire
, an instant messenger and social networking site for gamers which was acquired by Viacom
for US$102 million in April 2006; co-founding Lithium, a leading Social CRM company with clients such as AT&T and Barnes & Noble; and winning John Carmack's Ferrari 328
in a 1997 Quake tournament.
Fong initially chose the pseudonym "Threshold of Pain", which meant being able to withstand enemy fire and suffering. However, as many games had an eight-character limit and the truncated "Threshold" did not sound cool, he went with "Thresh" and liked the meaning of the word, which is, "To to separate the grain or seeds from a cereal plant or the like by some mechanical means as by beating with a flail."
In games, Fong is known for his reflexes, intuition, and tactics. People coined the term "Thresh ESP" to describe his unnatural knack for knowing exactly what his opponents were doing.
The highlight of his gaming career was at the Red Annihilation
tournament in 1997. He and Tom "Entropy" Kizmey emerged from a crowded field to face off in the Quake level E1M2 "Castle of the Damned", where Fong, playing as "Thresh", defeated "Entropy" 14:-1. In his gaming career, Fong rarely lost, winning tournaments over a five-year span in many games including Doom I and II, Quake, II, and III, and StarCraft
.
Using his prize winnings and endorsement money, approximately $100,000 a year over his gaming career, Fong and his brother Lyle started GX Media, the parent company of Gamers.com, FiringSquad, and Lithium Technologies
. Fong was the CEO of the company and Lyle was the Chief technical officer
; together they grew the company to 100 employees.
In 1999, GX Media raised over US$11 million dollars from CMGI
and built gamers.com, a popular web portal
. Fong's Ferrari was parked in the lobby of the GX Media offices and the company threw a party at the Playboy Mansion
during E3. In 2001, Gamers.com was acquired by Ziff-Davis.
While running GX Media, Fong was also editor-in-chief at the video gaming site FiringSquad, wrote a monthly column in the popular PC Gamer
magazine, and co-authored the official Quake II
strategy guide.
GX Media spun off Lithium Technologies
, a leading Social CRM platform provider that counts AT&T
, PlayStation
, Verizon, Comcast
, and Best Buy
as some of its customers. The company has raised over $40 million dollars from Benchmark Capital
, Emergence Capital, Shasta Ventures, DAG Ventures
, and Tenaya Capital
.
Fong went on to co-found Xfire
, an IM designed for gamers, that was acquired by Viacom in 2006.
In 2007, Fong founded Raptr
, a social network and related software client for gamers. The company has raised over $12 million dollars in financing from Accel Partners.
Fong currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and retired celebrity pro gamer
Gamer
Historically, the term "gamer" usually referred to someone who played role-playing games and wargames. Since they became very popular, the term has included players of video games...
. Fong has been called "the Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
of video games", a "Top 20 Entrepreneur Under 35" by Red Herring
Red Herring (magazine)
Red Herring was a technology business magazine, which flourished during the dot com boom, with global distribution and bureaus in Bangalore, Beijing, and Paris. It also sponsored conferences designed to bring venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and technologists together. But the magazine went into...
magazine, and voted as the "Top North American E-Sports Figure of All Time" by the E-Sports Entertainment Association, and is best known for: co-founding Xfire
Xfire
Xfire is a proprietary freeware instant messaging service for gamers, that also serves as a game server browser and has various other features. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows. Xfire was originally developed by Ultimate Arena based in Menlo Park, California...
, an instant messenger and social networking site for gamers which was acquired by Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
for US$102 million in April 2006; co-founding Lithium, a leading Social CRM company with clients such as AT&T and Barnes & Noble; and winning John Carmack's Ferrari 328
Ferrari 328
The Ferrari 328 GTB and GTS was the successor to the Ferrari 308 GTB and GTS. While largely based on the 308 GTB and GTS respectively, small modifications were made to the body style and engine, including an increase in engine displacement to 3.2 L...
in a 1997 Quake tournament.
Biography
Fong was born in Hong Kong and came to the United States when he was 11 years old.Fong initially chose the pseudonym "Threshold of Pain", which meant being able to withstand enemy fire and suffering. However, as many games had an eight-character limit and the truncated "Threshold" did not sound cool, he went with "Thresh" and liked the meaning of the word, which is, "To to separate the grain or seeds from a cereal plant or the like by some mechanical means as by beating with a flail."
In games, Fong is known for his reflexes, intuition, and tactics. People coined the term "Thresh ESP" to describe his unnatural knack for knowing exactly what his opponents were doing.
The highlight of his gaming career was at the Red Annihilation
Red Annihilation
Red Annihilation was a Quake competitive eSport event, sponsored by Microsoft, held in May 1997. The winner, Thresh, took home John Carmack's 1987 Ferrari 328 GTS cabriolet as the offered prize....
tournament in 1997. He and Tom "Entropy" Kizmey emerged from a crowded field to face off in the Quake level E1M2 "Castle of the Damned", where Fong, playing as "Thresh", defeated "Entropy" 14:-1. In his gaming career, Fong rarely lost, winning tournaments over a five-year span in many games including Doom I and II, Quake, II, and III, and StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
.
Using his prize winnings and endorsement money, approximately $100,000 a year over his gaming career, Fong and his brother Lyle started GX Media, the parent company of Gamers.com, FiringSquad, and Lithium Technologies
Lithium Technologies
Lithium Technologies provides Social CRM solutions for the enterprise. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, Lithium has additional offices in San Francisco, London, and Zürich....
. Fong was the CEO of the company and Lyle was the Chief technical officer
Chief technical officer
A chief technology officer is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization....
; together they grew the company to 100 employees.
In 1999, GX Media raised over US$11 million dollars from CMGI
CMGI
ModusLink Global Solutions, formerly CMGI Inc., is an American technology and venture capital company, headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company supplies a range of internet and communications services, mostly to computer companies, its biggest customer being Hewlett-Packard Company...
and built gamers.com, a popular web portal
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
. Fong's Ferrari was parked in the lobby of the GX Media offices and the company threw a party at the Playboy Mansion
Playboy Mansion
The Playboy Mansion is the home of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner. Located in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles, California, the mansion became famous during the 1970s through media reports of Hefner's lavish parties.-History:The house is described as being in the "Gothic-Tudor" style...
during E3. In 2001, Gamers.com was acquired by Ziff-Davis.
While running GX Media, Fong was also editor-in-chief at the video gaming site FiringSquad, wrote a monthly column in the popular PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
magazine, and co-authored the official Quake II
Quake II
Quake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Id Software and distributed by Activision. It is not a sequel to Quake; it merely uses the name of the former game due to Id's difficulties in coming up with alternative names.The soundtrack for Quake II...
strategy guide.
GX Media spun off Lithium Technologies
Lithium Technologies
Lithium Technologies provides Social CRM solutions for the enterprise. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, Lithium has additional offices in San Francisco, London, and Zürich....
, a leading Social CRM platform provider that counts AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, Verizon, Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, and Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
as some of its customers. The company has raised over $40 million dollars from Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital is a venture capital firm responsible for the early stage funding of some very successful startups. In 1997, the firm invested $6.7 million in eBay, which became worth more than $5 billion by the spring of 1999. Other high-profile investments include Ariba, Juniper Networks, Red...
, Emergence Capital, Shasta Ventures, DAG Ventures
DAG Ventures
DAG Ventures is an American venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California. It is known as a "coattail" fund for co-investing in later-stage private financing rounds alongside more prominent top-tier venture funds such as Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Accel Venture...
, and Tenaya Capital
Tenaya Capital
Tenaya Capital is a venture capital firm with offices in Menlo Park, California, and Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1995 as Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, Tenaya spun out to become an independent firm in 2009 following Lehman's bankruptcy. To date, Tenaya has raised five funds representing...
.
Fong went on to co-found Xfire
Xfire
Xfire is a proprietary freeware instant messaging service for gamers, that also serves as a game server browser and has various other features. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows. Xfire was originally developed by Ultimate Arena based in Menlo Park, California...
, an IM designed for gamers, that was acquired by Viacom in 2006.
In 2007, Fong founded Raptr
Raptr
Raptr is a social networking website and instant messenger, targeted towards video game players. The company was founded by Dennis Fong, co-founder of Xfire, in 2007 and is located in Mountain View, CA...
, a social network and related software client for gamers. The company has raised over $12 million dollars in financing from Accel Partners.
Fong currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.