You may not know Wong Joon Ian but if you were at Urbanscapes 2011 or HyppTV Moonlight Movies Night, chances are you may have rested your behind on one of his products. Joon’s been around a bit having written for such prestigious publications like Vogue Paris, the South China Morning Post, China Economic review and yes, even KLue!

Being ever on the move he’s currently working on 2.5 startups, including Paperlounger, the unique seating solution for outdoor events. Having seated our fine behinds on his products twice over the past 6 months, we catch up with Joon to find out more about Paperlounger.


Create a simple, creative product that delights and entertains the customer. Sell a metric ton of them at any event in any country.

What made you start Paperlounger?
I love simple, creative, solutions to problems. I also love a good outdoor event, whether it’s a concert, festival or marathon. Paperlounger lets people enjoy the event better because it’s super comfy, mobile and it looks awesome. The company that makes Paperlounger is Space-Kraft LLP.

What sets your company different from the rest?
Paperlounger is a unique seating solution that no other company produces. And we launched at Urbanscapes 2011!

Thanks to Adrian Yap, Joshua Chay and the rest of the crew for giving us the opportunity!

How long did it take you to start up Paperlounger?
I don’t know exactly, but it can’t have been more than a few weeks. Maybe days. I am a  believer of the Lean Startup philosophy, which says getting a minimal viable product to market is much more important than building a perfect product without market feedback. Fail fast and fail often!


How long has it been around and how has it grown so far?
We started around the time Urbanscapes happened last year, so it was in June 2011. We have sold hundreds of Paperloungers at events around the Klang Valley so far, while working on it part-time. We have plans to start focusing on the business more intensely because market feedback has been excellent. People love their Paperloungers. More than 80% of our customers take their Paperloungers home with them after the event.

What are the strategies for Paperlounger?
Create a simple, creative product that delights and entertains the customer. Sell a metric ton of them at any event in any country.

How do you think Paperlounger will fit into the minds of KL/Malaysia?
So far, hundreds of Malaysians have voted with their wallets already. They love their Paperloungers and we thank them for giving it a chance.

Who do you consider a role model in business?
The lovechild of Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett.

What are the perks of your job?
I get to see happy customers at cool events.

What is it like in a day of work for you?
Extremely diverse. It ranges from negotiating with suppliers in a Shah Alam industrial park to brainstorming product ideas with a fine craft beer to shouting down the iPhone to a lost lorry driver carrying a cargo of 2,000 Paperloungers!

What goals do you have for the Paperlounger?
We’re hope to scale it so that anyone at any outdoor event can enjoy the comfort of a Paperlounger anywhere in the world.

What can we expect from Paperlounger for the rest of 2012?
You’ll see Paperlounger at all the major outdoor events! If you’re an event organiser, contact me at wong.joonian AT space-kraft.com so we can be a vendor at your event. Your customers will love you for it!

Also check out Facebook.com/Paperlounger for pictures of our past events.

Posted in Design.