Towering ambition: iCook co-founder Richard Lee

2017/11/20

Richard Lee, co-founder and chief technology officer of iCook—Taiwan’s largest recipe-sharing website—is a tall drink of water. At 1.91 meters he towers over most of his colleagues and naturally attracts attention.
 
 During a recent photo shoot promoting Lee’s naming on the list of Forbes 30 under 30 Asia: Media, Marketing and Advertising recently released by the U.S.-based business magazine, a photographer told him to expect more interest from the local press in the days ahead. “I rarely do media interviews and do not feel comfortable about that,” Lee said.
 
 Lee established iCook when he was 21. Six years later, the company is on a growth track and he is assisting organizations such as Eastern Media International Corp., IOH Democratizing Personal Experience at National Cheng Kung University in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City, nonprofit TEDxTaipei and United Daily News Group build websites and design apps. Despite Lee’s many achievements, he is shy and keeps a low profile.
 
 According to Lee, he first developed an interest in computers while studying at Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei City. Lee taught himself programming and acquired the bulk of his skills at that time. After graduating, he gained admission to National Chengchi University’s Department of Computer Science in Taipei. Lee said he was overjoyed at the prospect of finally receiving formal computer science education.
 
 There was no rhyme or reason to Lee’s course selection at NCU. “I took whatever subjects were available and soaked up knowledge like a dry sponge,” he said. During his sophomore year, Lee finished all compulsory courses and won Apple Inc.’s Worldwide Developers Conference scholarship to study iOS app development in San Francisco. From 2010 to 2011, he rubbed shoulders with around 100 similarly gifted students from the four corners of the globe in the U.S. city.
 
 Lee was also accepted to participate in Google Inc.’s Summer of Code, working on an open source project related to Facebook. “Both opportunities made me feel I had fulfilled an important mission in life,” he said, adding that it also helped him realize the futility of self-limitations.
 
 Cheng Yu-xuan, marketing sales director with iCook, believes Lee is one of the few in Taiwan possessing top-notch technical skills in the area of information technology. Even though he runs his own business, Lee is still targeted by headhunters in the pay of high-profile companies at home and abroad, he said.
 
 Given Lee completed his university courses sooner than expected, he decided to use his spare time in setting up a business in the hope of leaving an indelible mark on Taiwan’s corporate landscape. In 2009, he teamed up with Hsiao Shang-nong and Lin Yi-ru to create a blog publishing technical articles about internet trends. Sometime during the next 12 months, the triumvirate of budding entrepreneurs launched software development company Polydice Inc.
 
 Hsiao, CEO of iCook, said Lee would come to work after class and was torn between his academic and business passions. “He did have doubts during the infancy of the startup, but somehow he managed to put them to one side and bag a bevy of university awards.”
 
By 2011, the trio had set their sights on making a splash in the gourmet food field via iCook. Over the next six years, users fell over themselves in sharing recipes and comments, making the website a must for amateur and professional cooks. The popularity of iCook saw it assume the mantle of Taiwan’s No. 1 recipe-sharing portal and attract venture capital investment.
 
 Most IT boffins are renowned for zeroing in on the details and paying scant attention to developments in society. But Lee has broken the mold in this regard, a truism readily confirmed by Cheng. “He understands what people are saying and knows exactly what consumers need and want.”
 
According to Lee, one of his heroes is the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, a man widely praised for his humanitarian concerns. Similarly concerned about economic, educational and social problems, Lee said he supports young talents striving to gain Apple scholarships and participate in Google’s open source projects.
 
 Not one to trumpet his accomplishments from the top of Mt. Olympus, Lee attributes all of his success to good luck. “Finding clients and projects, as well as running a profitable business and winning awards, is about being in the right place at the right time,” he said.
 
 This dignified and humble approach to life seldom fails to impress those in Lee’s orbit. “It is rare to find one so capable who demonstrates time and time again the ability to make any venture a winning proposition,” Cheng said.
 
 The future looks bright for Lee and iCook, especially in light of his basic business and life philosophy based on sharing with others and refusing to compromise core principles. “Through every stage of my life, this approach has helped shape me into the person I am today. Also, when faced with a choice, I always make sure it is in line with my own beliefs,” he said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=11&post=125109)