David LeeCo-founder & CEO, Nex

I started my first startup before leaving college in Hong Kong, and it was later acquired by Apple. I spent eight years at Apple working on web apps like Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. That experience shaped how I think about product quality, collaboration, and long-term thinking.

After eight years at Apple, I wanted to build something very different. I love basketball and staying active, and I believed technology could help people train and play in new ways. That curiosity and passion pushed me to take the risk and start Nex in 2017.

We started with a basketball training app using a phone camera. Over time, we realized our computer vision technology could do much more. Data showed that playing on TV had much higher engagement, which slowly pulled us from mobile apps into the living room.

During the pandemic, people were stuck at home and wanted to stay active. Our interactive training games went viral. Families started playing together indoors, which showed us that shared, physical experiences at home were deeply valuable.

We partnered with Sky in the UK and learned a lot building games for TV. But we couldn’t find another partner like them. Building our own hardware allowed us to fully control the experience and design something that runs our games perfectly.

We first sold 5,000 units directly and focused on customer happiness. When retailers tested the product with their own families, they understood it immediately. That belief helped us get into major stores much faster than expected.

We focused on product quality, word of mouth, and strong retail demos. Each year demand exceeded expectations. Growth came from staying focused on families and delivering a great experience, not from aggressive marketing.

We made clear trade-offs. We don’t compete on high-end graphics and removed expensive controllers. Using the camera for interaction lowers cost while still delivering immersive games. Those choices help keep the product accessible for families.

Our focus is sustainability. Hardware and subscriptions work together. We price fairly and rely on subscriptions to continuously improve games and software. That balance lets us build a business that can serve customers long-term.

Our customers are families with young kids. They prefer not being asked to buy something constantly. Subscriptions give them peace of mind and give us creative freedom to focus on making great games instead of monetization tactics.

It removed constant monetization pressure. On mobile, we spent too much time thinking about how to charge users. Now we spend that energy building better games, experimenting, and delighting families.

Licensed brands build trust and recognition quickly. Bluey is consistently one of our most played games. At the same time, our original games are also very popular. We treat every partner IP with care and respect.

Yes. We have internal studios and also work with second-party studios. About half of our games are built externally. However, we stay very curated because safety, quality, and family alignment are critical for us.

Not right now. We want to protect the experience and our customers. We don’t want to turn the platform into a monetization engine. Trust and safety matter more than rapid expansion.

The Wii showed how powerful it is to expand the gaming audience. But it also showed that selling hardware alone is not sustainable. Continuous value and engagement are essential, which is why our subscription model matters.

Success means building something meaningful and sustainable. It’s about serving customers well, taking care of the team, and improving the product every day. Growth should come as a result of doing those things right.

We want Nex Playground to earn a place in every living room. That means creating something valuable enough to sit at the center of family life. If families welcome us into their homes, we know we are doing the right thing.