Darren Chan, the founder and CEO of Sugarbook, an online dating platform based in Malaysia, was arrested by police on his way to lunch on a February afternoon in 2021. He claimed that the police had shown up in four vehicles.
Chan realized that his company’s viral marketing campaign had “blown up a bit too much” at that same moment, which he described as being like a scene “straight out of the movies” to himself. A few days before he was taken into custody, a post on Sugarbook’s website headlined “Top 10 Sugar Baby Universities in Malaysia” attracted the attention of the government as well as the wrath of some of the populace.
Chan spent 10 days in jail and was later charged over the article’s publication, to which he pleaded not guilty. While there have been no recent updates on the trial, Chan, now 36, recently informed Yahoo Finance Singapore that his legal issues have been “resolved” and the “case is now closed,” though he declined to provide further details.
Despite the controversy, Sugarbook reports having around 4.5 million members, primarily from Malaysia, the US, and Singapore, across more than 90 countries. The platform is also expanding into new markets, such as Taiwan, and has introduced new features, including live-streaming.
Although Chan declined to disclose the company’s earnings and other financial information, he did state that revenue had increased by 60% so far this year over the same period last year. Since the feature’s introduction last year, Sugarbook has also given live streamers payments totaling US$1.7 million, according to him. This featured high-end presents like purses from Chanel, LV, and Hermes.
The “sugaring” component—a transactional connection between two consenting adults—is what distinguishes Sugarbook from other dating services, as the platform’s tagline, “Where Romance Meets Finance,” captures.
Controversial meets conservative
Why did Chan choose to introduce the contentious platform in Malaysia, a nation with a majority of Muslims? He said that it was only his home nation. He also thought that he could succeed anywhere on the globe if he could succeed in “conservative” Malaysia.
At the age of 29, Chan launched Sugarbook in 2016. He had already gained some money by then from the sale of the music technology business Gigfairy, which he had helped to fund as an angel investor, for an amount that he would not name but estimated to be “somewhere in the low millions” that same year.
Describing himself as a workaholic with a deep passion for the tech industry, Chan explained that he “needed something to do.” He recounted a moment at a cafe in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, where he observed numerous luxury cars dropping off passengers. These passengers, older men accompanied by significantly younger female partners, caught his attention.
“So, I was curious if these kinds of interactions might be found on any social networking sites. When asked where he got the idea to establish Sugarbook, Chan replied, “I did some research, and it came down to a set of statistics showing the reason that a certain amount of relationships fail is not because of cheating; it’s because of finances.”
Sugaring is a lifestyle choice.
Chan built the company when he discovered his niche in spite of other people’s advice to the contrary.
“I was clear about my goals. As long as we’re not breaking any laws, I don’t see anything to be afraid of. All connections are transactional, according to Chan, who also stated that we are only providing a platform for individuals to meet and enable partnerships.
In order to get the platform up and running, he gave himself a year and allocated RM100,000 (S$30,000). The funds were utilized to cover any additional expenses he might have had for the year, including office rentals, job postings, servers, and ads. Additionally, he hired a website developer, whose salary he said he was unable to pay until six months after the platform’s inception, when it began to turn a profit.
Chan also talked about how, in order to concentrate on growing the business, he cut himself apart from his social circle and sacrificed family time.
“The main reason I had to cut ties with my friends was that I needed to focus. People would say you shouldn’t do this and that if there’s too much commotion and if I go through Sugarbook with anyone else, which could make you doubt yourself,” Chan added.
Not giving up
Chan went on to say that his time in Remand strengthened his will to see his business through to success.
“Every day, I was planning on ways to expand Sugarbook,” Chan stated. “I knew that I was not doing anything illegal.” He also disclosed that he had received proposals from people he had met in jail to invest in the company.
Regarding his intentions to sell the business, Chan stated that he has had 11 bids to purchase Sugarbook. “Selling is definitely not in the pipeline, but should there be a good offer with a number that is very, very attractive, we are more than happy to explore,” Chan stated.
In the end, Chan said, “Would I do it again? If it weren’t for my loved ones, I’d risk getting jailed in every country just to make Sugarbook go viral.”