IT'S AFTERNOON in the offices of Outblaze - and appropriately everyone is on the verge of fainting from the heat. The 15-month-old company - valued at US$55 million (HK$426 million) after recent cash injections from two prominent Hong Kong companies, may be one of Asia's hottest Internet start-ups ... but it went without modern conveniences, such as blinds and sufficient air-conditioning, in the frenzy of its first, cash-strapped year.
As staff seated at close-packed rows of desks stare at computer monitors, shafts of sunlight force their way through gaps between flattened cardboard boxes haphazardly duct-taped to the windows. Two tiny air-conditioners drone fruitlessly, unable to combat the heat generated by 26 people and stacks of computer equipment.
There's no room to swoon, but if you're going out for air, tread carefully: tempers could fray if you disconnect a computer by tripping over the maze of wires taped to the carpet. You would think a company trying to impress investors would be eager to conceal such a chaotic working environment, but Outblaze staff seem to revel in the absence of office comforts. Such deprivation could be considered part of the romance of a start-up, and the bonhomie that comes with it means the office is more cozy than claustrophobic.
The strangest thing is that the mess can be appealing to the guys in suits. Ibrahim El-Mouelhy, 26, a co-founder and Outblaze's chief editor and PR director, smiles and shrugs as he surveys the shambles. 'It's strange,' says El-Mouelhy, wearing a loose T-shirt and jeans, 'but VC [venture capital] people love this kind of stuff.' El-Mouelhy can laugh, because he's one of the lucky ones. Not long ago he and nine members of the marketing department escaped the maelstrom for the relative sanctuary of a room two floors higher up the dingy Wan Chai building where Outblaze has its offices. The air-conditioning works properly there, and El-Mouelhy even has his own cubicle. Not that they've shed all the trappings of the crazy early days: El-Mouelhy's telephone is not plugged into a jack near his desk, but an outlet two floors below, via a cord that snakes out of his window and down the side of the building.
RING THE BELL outside the locked door of Outblaze's offices, and chances are it will be opened by Yat Siu, another 26-year-old co-founder. He is also the company's figurehead, having engineered its spectacular ascent, and personally is now worth an estimated US$26 million - although he points out that that is a value on paper which he couldn't easily turn to cash. The pace of development hasn't allowed Siu the luxury of living Silicon Valley-style; he modestly lists his leisure activities as spending time with his girlfriend (a former America Online employee) or friends, 'having dinners and that sort of thing'.
Siu was called 'a whiz kid', 'a brilliant guy' and 'a millionaire several times over' in the whirl of media coverage which followed the news that Hong Kong construction group China Rich Holdings, and Richard Li Tzar-kai's Pacific Century Cyberworks, had taken stakes in Outblaze. Ghostly pale, a little skinny and in need of a haircut, Siu is energetic ... despite the bags under his eyes. His roles as chief technical officer, product developer, financial negotiator and media frontman leave him little time to talk. 'It's hard for me to pin down a particular job I do,' he says with a whimsical air of resignation. 'At the moment I do everything, but I can't keep doing that.' Unlike many Internet start-ups, Outblaze doesn't provide Website content, but the infrastructure that allows them to operate as portals to the Web. It's a vital area in which the company has little local competition.