MEET ALLEN WONG. A YOUNG AND SUCCESSFUL APP DEVELOPER WHO WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SHARE HIS STORY WITH THE RIDICULOUS TEAM AND ALL OF READERS. THIS FEATURE WILL GIVE YOU A LITTLE PEAK INTO THE WORLD OF ALLEN WONG AND HIS ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET. WE WANT TO THANK ALLEN FOR HIS TIME AND IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT ALLEN, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT HIS BOOK…
I started my own businesses in my freshmen year of college making websites and programs. Eventually, I moved on to coding apps and that business took off and reached levels I never expected. With just one app, I was able to afford my dream houses and cars, and still have money left over to last me for a lifetime.
Out of all the paths you could have taken, what made you choose the one you did?
I was a programmer since I was around 15. And if you count coding websites as programming, then I’ve been doing that since I was around 12. And I probably would have started even earlier than that, but I didn’t have my own computer to work with. My family was poor, so we could only afford one computer. It belonged to my older brother, and I could only use it when he wasn’t using it.
I’ve always had a fascination with technology and science since I was really small. I used my brother’s computer when I was only in kindergarten. And I loved playing around with the computers at my school. I also grew up with an artistic talent, and that lead to me to want to express myself creatively on the canvas and elsewhere. Coding websites and making apps was one way for me to express my art. And more recently, I’ve been doing a lot of photography. So it’s not really that I choose only one path and that one path made me successful; it’s more like I choose many paths, and I spent more time on the ones that were more rewarding.
How did you come up with the ideas for 5-0 and Police Scanner?
Since I grew up in NYC, I always hear sirens and police cars passing by. I also went to a middle school across the street from a police precinct, so I walked by police officers a lot. And when I was a 5 or so, I remember someone asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her that I wanted to be a “cop”. When she asked why, I said that I wanted to protect people and help them. I never ended up being a police officer, but I still wanted to help out in a way. That’s really where the police scanner app came into play. That app has helped a lot of people in numerous ways. I get emails from policemen and firemen thanking me for the app, because sometimes their own radio wouldn’t work, and they’d switch over to my app.
Whats it like to become such a success at a young age, and how did you parents take to this?
I just feel more free and responsible. I paid off all my debts, so I no longer feel burdened by that. And the money I saved provides a nice safety net in case anything tragic happens in my family. I actually try to not spend so much of my money, because I was pretty happy with spending little money before I was successful. So I knew that I could still be happy with spending little money even if I had money to spend. As a rule of thumb, I try to save about 90% of my income. And I wouldn’t spend more than a few weeks of income on a car.
My father actually passed away before I became successful, so he didn’t know. And my mother lived a poor life all her life, so she didn’t really care much that I now have money. She said she still loves me the same whether I was successful or not. She got used to her frugal lifestyle, and she was happy to stay that way. However, I have been able to take her out to nice places, and that has made her really happy. Those are the times when I’m most grateful for being successful. I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to take care of the people who have taken care of me most of my life. And I’m also grateful that I could help less fortunate people who didn’t take care of
me.
me.
Your father was of great influence in your life. What would you say is the greatest quality you learned from him is?
That’s a tough one, since he taught me so many things. I’d say maybe the greatest quality I learned was to do everything myself instead of relying on others. And to do so, I’d have to learn how to do it first. Left and right, I saw my peers trying to learn as little as they could get away with. They just wanted to get through their work as quickly as possible and get back to their other things.
I admit that I was a bit a nerd in school, so I always wanted to learn more. But it wasn’t because I cared about my grades. I learned very early on that grades didn’t matter much in real life. I wanted to do the extra work, because I saw value in learning (whereas, other students saw punishment and obligation). But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t abhor homework as well. I didn’t like homework that had nothing to do with my career. I remember doing assignments where I had to study rocks found around the school campus. The knowledge from that has not helped me much in my lifetime, and I felt that it was a waste of my time.
How do you balance your time, When is it work time and when is it play time for you?
This is simple. It’s just about what I’m in the mood for. That’s the good thing about being self-employed; I can work whenever I want to. But you really need a lot of self-discipline to do so. I know that most people would choose play time over work if they had the choice between work and play. And that problem causes a lot of waste, because people are going to their workplaces and chatting on Facebook instead of actually working. Instead, people should do the things they want to do and have their fun. And once they’ve had their fill, then they would be relaxed and ready to work. I work much more efficiently when I’m not sleep-deprived and distracted by my urge to watch TV. So I do take naps whenever I’m sleepy (even during work hours) and I work even when I’m not “supposed” to (such as while I’m eating, showering, or sitting on the toilet). I probably get more things done during my short work hours than most people do during the entire week. It’s all about having a good focus, and not being distracted all the time.
What do you like to do for fun when you have down time?
I do what most people do. Watch TV/movies, play video games, visit new places, and hang out with friends. I also do paintballing, swimming, bowling, skydiving, scuba diving, water jetpacking, rollercoaster riding, and etc. I don’t do anything that the average person couldn’t do themselves. The only exception is probably racing a Lamborghini against Ferraris, Porsches and other exotic cars. And I like to do photo shoots with models and exotic cars. I think the main difference is that I get more free time to do these things than most people.
Tell us about your recent Aventador…What made you choose it? Why blue?
I chose it because it was the most beautiful (and practical car) that I could find at the time. I like the tech/sharp edges look, because I’m a tech guy myself. I think the Pagani Zonda R looks way better, but it’s also not a very practical (nor legal) car to drive around town. I chose azure blue because it was a color that nobody else had on their Lamborghini’s. There were also not many blue Aventadors around, neither. The other reason was that blue and silver was my favorite color scheme since I was very young.
What other cars do you have in your garage? and what made you choose them?
Unlike most Aventador owners, I don’t actually collect cars. I buy cars to drive them. I sold my Verde Ithaca Lamborghini LP560-4, because I knew that I wouldn’t drive it after getting an Aventador. So right now, I don’t have a large collection of exotic cars in my garage. I’m not the type of guy who keeps expensive cars in his garage for the sake of having bragging rights. I do collect real estate, though.
What is the most Ridiculous thing you have done in your life?
After a blizzard hit NYC in the winter of 2010, my friends started a conversation about where they wish they could be. They all listed tropical places, such as the Bahamas or Florida. Then a thought popped into my head, “Why not just move there now?” So I contacted a few real estate agents, and booked an immediate flight to Florida. I looked at a few houses, but didn’t see any that I liked. So I flew back later that same day. A few days later, my agent calls me and tells me that a really nice house just went on sale. She went into the house and took a lot of pictures for me. I liked it a lot and made the owners an all-cash offer so that they could close on the house quickly. A few weeks later, I was the proud owner of a luxurious 7-figure Florida house without ever seeing it beforehand.
And this wasn’t the first or last time I’ve done impulse buying with big-ticket items. A few months after I bought the Florida house, I woke up one morning and decided that I wanted a Lamborghini Aventador. So, I drove 50-minutes to the nearest Lamborghini dealership, wrote a check, and bought an Aventador that same morning. I had never test-driven one beforehand. The same thing happened when I bought my LP560-4. I bought it without ever sitting in one or seeing it in person. So I’d say that the most Ridiculous thing I’ve done was buying expensive things without ever testing them or seeing them in person.
If you were expecting some crazy story about me buying some $50 bottle of alcohol for $3,000 at some club or throwing away my money in some other way, then you don’t know me very well. I never felt the need to buy my happiness or buy attention. I’m perfectly okay if people thought I was poor. It seems weird to hear that from someone who drive an Lamborghini Aventador. But I actually prefer it if strangers didn’t know that I was wealthy. I don’t like to be judged by my wealth, and I don’t judge people by their wealth.
If you could give some advice to other young entrepreneurs that are on their own path’s to success, what would it be?
Never stop learning. Even if you fail at something, you didn’t actually fail if you learned from it. Real failure is not getting started on your project to begin with. And don’t cheat people out of their money for the sake of making money. Have an honest business and don’t do anything that will make it hard for you to sleep at night. Having a good night’s rest every night is better than being paranoid all the time (even if you have more money).
Knowing what you know now and becoming who you are, Is there anything you would have done differently?
I probably wouldn’t have been so emotionally attached to bad circumstances. I learned to not let money and bad luck control me. Those who read my book would know that I’ve been through some messed things in my life. And each time, I came out of it alive and okay (sometimes even better). I realized that many people have been though tough situations, and they got out of it just fine as well. So instead of wallowing in sorrow and regret, I learned to land on my two feet and keep on going.
Comments