At the time, many Chinese entrepreneurs were rushing to create internet portals, directories of web sites similar Yahoo!. Chen, then 26, went his own way: He created an online gaming company with Chrissy, his younger brother and savings of about $60,000.
Their first big break came in buying distribution rights to the South Korean role-playing game Legend of Mir II. Revenue surged, giving Shanda enough money to begin developing its own games, including the World of Legend. As online game-playing in internet cafes became a craze among China’s teenagers, profit doubled from 2002 to 2003. The company raised $152 million in a Nasdaq initial public offering in May 2004.
Life as a public company proved tumultuous. Shares soared the first year, then plunged the second as fickle users defected to other games. Chen diversified, proclaiming he wanted to become the Disney of China, then doubled down on games and saw his stock rise again. In 2009, he spun off the games unit Shanda Games Ltd. in a $1 billion offering -- the biggest IPO in the U.S. that year.
“One of the obvious differences between Chen Tianqiao and other entrepreneurs was that he had a very good financial backing and a solid revenue model,’’ said Jixun Foo, managing partner at GGV Capital.
The pressure was taking its toll however. In 2004, while Chen was on a flight from Shanghai to Beijing, he felt excruciating pain in his chest. Convinced he was suffering a heart attack, he rushed to a hospital after landing. The doctors told him his heart was in perfect condition. He was suffering a panic attack.
That afternoon, he sat alone on a bench in China’s capital, thinking he’d never do business again. “It was so stressful, so painful,” he said. But once he went on medication and recovered, he went back to work.
As Chen’s ambitions grew, he expanded into home entertainment. He cut a partnership with Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. to create a new set-top box that would allow TV viewers to go online, play Shanda games and buy music and films.
But government officials objected. They were reluctant to cede control over television screens to anyone beyond the government, according to Chen. The project floundered. Chen said he could never talk about the reasons for the failure until now. “Some 10 years have passed,’’ he said.
He suffered his second attack in 2009, this time it was more severe and longer lasting. That’s when he hit bottom emotionally, so shaky that he often felt like he couldn't move.
“When you are lying down, you cannot sit down. When you are sitting down, you cannot get up. You cannot breathe,” he said.