Meet Mark Lee, Founder and CEO of Splashtop
Mark Lee’s entrepreneurial journey began long before his first startup. Born in Taipei and raised between Taiwan and Los Angeles, Mark grew up watching his father build a manufacturing business from the ground up, an experience that shaped his belief in innovation, hard work, and building companies with a family-first culture. After meeting his co-founders at MIT more than 30 years ago, Mark went on to launch two successful startups and help build Splashtop into one of the leading remote access software companies in the world. In this conversation, he reflects on his upbringing, the lessons learned through multiple pivots, the power of long-term partnerships, and why enjoying the journey matters just as much as the outcome.
Judy: Tell us about your background and the journey that led you to becoming a founder.
Mark: I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and came to the United States when I was 13 years old with my brother and my mom. My dad stayed in Taiwan because he had a business to run. We settled in the Los Angeles area, where I went to junior high and high school. Like many Taiwanese families at the time, my parents placed a strong emphasis on education and saw coming to America as a way to create opportunities for their children. Looking back, many people I know from Taiwan made a similar move around that age, which allowed them to build a strong foundation in both Chinese language and culture before coming to the U.S.
After high school, I attended MIT. That experience became one of the most important parts of my life because it’s where I met the people who would eventually become my co-founders. Today at Splashtop, there are four co-founders, and we’ve known each other for more than 30 years. We actually started two companies together, and in addition to the founders, there are other MIT friends who have been part of the journey for decades as well. It has created a culture that feels much more like a family than a company. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we trust each other, we’re transparent with one another, and that allows us to move quickly.
The MIT culture of studying hard, working hard, and enjoying the journey together has carried over into how we built our companies. A lot of what people see today in our company culture is really a reflection of the relationships and values we developed during those early years.
Judy: How did your upbringing influence both your interest in technology and your desire to become an entrepreneur?
Mark: A lot of it started with my parents. They were entrepreneurs in Taiwan, and I was exposed to entrepreneurship from a very early age through my dad. His business was in manufacturing rather than technology, but he was an inventor in his own right. He developed machines that mass-produced the plastic caps used by companies like Revlon and L'Oréal for hair coloring and held patents around those manufacturing processes. That became the foundation of the business he built. Watching him create something from an idea, turn it into a product, and then build a company around it left a huge impression on me.
Growing up, our family lived right above the factory. The first and second floors were manufacturing facilities, our family lived on the third floor, and many of the workers lived on the upper floors. It felt like one large extended family. During Chinese New Year celebrations, everyone would gather together, celebrate, and spend time with one another.
I remember walking around as a kid during those events and feeling like I was part of something much bigger than just a business. What stood out to me was how a company could bring people together around a shared purpose and create opportunities for so many families. That experience shaped a lot of how I think about leadership and company culture today.
Alongside my interest in entrepreneurship, I was always drawn to math and problem solving. Growing up in Taiwan, learning the abacus gave me a strong foundation in numbers, and that naturally led me toward STEM. My parents placed a tremendous emphasis on education and made significant sacrifices to bring our family to the United States, which created a strong appreciation for the opportunities in front of me. As I moved through high school, I became fascinated by innovation and wanted to build technology that could solve real-world problems.
That path ultimately led me to MIT, where I completed both my undergraduate and master's degrees. While the education was incredible, the most important thing MIT gave me was the people. It was there that I met the friends who would eventually become my co-founders. More than 30 years later, we're still building companies together, from our first startup to Splashtop today.
By graduation, I already knew I wanted to become an entrepreneur. My parents encouraged me to gain experience first, which led me to Intel. Looking back, that experience helped me understand how large organizations operate before jumping into startup life. Growing up around entrepreneurship gave me the desire to build, STEM gave me the tools, MIT gave me the network, and entrepreneurship became the natural way to bring it all together.
Judy: How did your first startup evolve, and what did you learn from the experience?
Mark: During my years at MIT, I had worked at Intel every summer as a chip designer, and Intel even sponsored my master's degree. After graduation, they offered me a full-time role.
Working at Intel gave me exposure to how large organizations operate, how different divisions function, and how major technology companies are managed. It was valuable experience and broadened my perspective before jumping into entrepreneurship.
By 2000, many of my MIT friends had spent time working at larger companies, and we all felt the pull toward entrepreneurship again. We came back together and launched our first startup. The timing, in hindsight, was interesting because it coincided with the dot-com downturn. We had signed a venture term sheet that was later pulled back as markets changed and investors became more cautious. It was definitely a rocky environment in which to start a company.
We started the first company in 2000 and were acquired in 2004 for over $100 million by a public company. That was our first major success. Following the acquisition, we stayed on for two years to help run the business and fulfill our commitments. I ended up running a division within the public company and gained firsthand experience operating inside a public-company environment, including compliance requirements, reporting structures, and managing a business unit at scale.
One thing that was always important to us was staying connected to Taiwan. All four co-founders were born there, and we believed Taiwan was incredibly strong in hardware and semiconductors but had fewer software companies. We wanted to help develop software talent and software businesses across the region. By the time our first company was acquired, we had built a team of more than 100 people in Taipei, along with teams in Shanghai and Beijing.
After two years following the acquisition, the entrepreneurial itch returned. We provided plenty of notice, helped prepare the next leadership team, and made sure employees were taken care of before moving on. In 2006, we left and launched what would eventually become Splashtop.
Judy: Tell me more about Splashtop.
Mark: When we started the company in 2006, the business was actually called DeviceVM, not Splashtop. The original vision was very different from what the company is known for today. At the time, we were focused on solving what felt like a major problem for computer users: waiting for PCs to boot up. Back then, Windows machines could take a long time to start, and people increasingly just wanted to get online quickly to check email, look at their calendar, browse the web, or find information. We believed there had to be a better experience.
Our idea was to create an instant-on browser operating system that could boot in about five seconds. Instead of waiting for a traditional operating system to load, users could immediately access the internet. Looking back, it seems obvious because cloud computing and browser-based workflows are everywhere today, but at the time it was a fairly radical concept. We believed that the browser was becoming the center of computing and that people increasingly cared more about getting online than running complex desktop applications.
We built the platform on open-source Linux technology and partnered with major PC manufacturers including HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, and others. Our software shipped on a new class of low-cost computers known as netbooks. These devices were designed around the idea that people primarily wanted internet access, email, and basic productivity capabilities rather than expensive, fully loaded PCs. We were helping create an entirely new category of computing devices.
What is interesting is how early this all was. At the time, Google had not yet launched the Chrome browser, much less Chrome OS. We were already building and deploying a browser-centric operating system before those products existed. I was meeting with Sundar Pichai when he was leading the Chrome effort at Google, and he was very interested in what we were building. We felt strongly that computing was moving toward a browser-first experience, and many of the trends we were betting on eventually became mainstream.
The challenge was that the market started changing rapidly around us. Microsoft recognized the threat and began improving Windows performance while lowering licensing costs. Google decided to build its own browser and operating system strategy instead of acquiring us. At the same time, Apple introduced the iPhone, and the entire industry began shifting toward mobile computing. The world was no longer just about making PCs boot faster. Suddenly, people had devices in their pockets that were always connected and always on.
That forced us to ask an important question: if mobile devices are becoming the primary way people access information, how can we help connect those devices to the rest of their digital lives? That thinking ultimately led to our next major pivot. We started developing remote access technology that allowed people to use an iPad or mobile device to access their Windows or Mac computers from anywhere. What began as a browser operating system company gradually evolved into a remote access company.
In many ways, the original vision behind Splashtop was never really about building a browser operating system. It was about making computing simpler, more accessible, and more immediate. The technology changed, the products changed, and the business evolved through multiple pivots, but the underlying goal remained the same: helping people access the information, applications, and devices they need in the easiest way possible. That idea ultimately guided the company from DeviceVM to the Splashtop that exists today.
Judy: How did the company evolve into what it is today?
Mark: A startup is constantly evolving. In many ways, the original idea matters less than your ability to adapt once you encounter real customers and real market conditions. Our first startup looked very different at exit than it did in the original pitch deck, and Splashtop probably went through four major pivots over the years.
We realized we were competing with some of the largest companies in the world. Microsoft was improving Windows and reducing pricing. Google was building Chrome OS. Apple introduced the iPhone, and suddenly the mobile wave transformed how people interacted with technology. The market we originally envisioned changed rapidly.
That led us to shift our focus toward remote access. When the iPad launched, we developed technology that allowed people to access their Windows and Mac computers remotely from their tablets. The product became the top-selling app on the iPad and even outsold Angry Birds at one point. That success helped establish the Splashtop brand.
Initially, the business was heavily consumer-oriented, but over time we realized many power users were IT professionals. Customers began requesting features focused on manageability, administration, and security. We listened closely to their feedback and gradually moved into the IT and managed service provider markets. That shift eventually transformed us into the B2B SaaS company we are today.
We remain a private company, and that has given us the freedom to focus on long-term execution rather than short-term market expectations. Today, we serve roughly 260,000 customers globally. What’s been especially rewarding is that the product has become highly efficient and scalable. Every day, hundreds of prospective customers come to our website, try the product, and many convert without ever speaking to our sales team. The product has reached a point where it largely sells itself because customers can quickly experience the value firsthand.
Financially, we are in a very strong position. We have been profitable since 2015 and have operated with a disciplined approach toward growth. This year, we expect to generate approximately $120 million in revenue and more than $40 million in cash flow. Because of that, we have not needed to rely on debt financing, and we have been able to fund our own growth while maintaining flexibility around future opportunities. Over the years, we've focused on building a sustainable business rather than chasing growth at all costs.
The COVID period was a major inflection point for the company. As remote work became essential, demand for remote access solutions accelerated significantly. During 2020, our annual recurring revenue grew from roughly $20 million to about $58 million. Customers around the world suddenly needed reliable tools to access computers and support distributed workforces, and Splashtop was well positioned to help meet that need. The growth validated many of the investments we had been making for years in remote access technology.
In 2021, we raised a financing round at a unicorn valuation. Interestingly, we did not need the capital for operational purposes because the business was already generating substantial cash. The motivation was more strategic. We wanted to strengthen brand awareness and position ourselves more prominently alongside public competitors in the market. Even after raising the capital, we remained focused on operating efficiently and growing responsibly.
Over the last several years, we’ve also used our financial strength to buy back shares from earlier investors. Firms such as NEA and DFG had been important partners in our journey, and we were able to repurchase a significant amount of stock using cash generated by the business. That has allowed us to maintain independence and continue building the company on our own terms.
Perhaps what excites me most is that, even after 20 years, it still feels like we are learning and building. AI is creating another major technology shift, bringing both uncertainty and opportunity. We are actively exploring new products and new ways to serve customers in this evolving landscape. The co-founders are still enjoying the journey, still working together after more than three decades of friendship, and still finding new problems worth solving. For us, the story is far from finished. We are focused on continuing to execute, continuing to innovate, and seeing where the next chapter takes us.
Judy: What has been one of the biggest leadership challenges you've faced?
Mark: One of the hardest moments came during a major pivot when we had to change our business model completely. We had built teams around supporting PC manufacturers and needed different capabilities moving forward. That transition required reducing portions of the organization. When your culture feels like a family, letting people go is incredibly difficult.
The way we approached it was through transparency. Transparency has always been a core part of our culture. On a quarterly basis, we shared company performance, revenue, profitability, losses, and even cash balances with employees. Everyone understood where the business stood and what challenges we were facing.
When cash became tight during that transition, employees already knew the situation because we had been communicating openly for months. Members of the executive team took salary reductions, and a number of employees voluntarily offered to do the same to help extend the company's runway. That level of trust was only possible because people understood the reality of the situation and felt connected to the mission.
Looking back, I learned that layoffs done in phases can create uncertainty because people begin wondering who might be next. Leadership often involves learning through experience. What carried us through that period was the trust, transparency, and shared commitment across the organization. Many employees who left during that time eventually came back and rejoined the company after the business recovered, and I think that says a lot about the culture we built together.
Judy: What advice would you give aspiring Asian founders?
Mark: The biggest piece of advice I would give is to find great co-founders and build alongside people you trust. Because of my own experience, I strongly believe the journey is better and the odds of success are higher when you have partners who complement your strengths, support you during difficult moments, and share the same values. The entrepreneurial journey is long, and there will always be ups and downs. Having trusted friends alongside you makes an enormous difference.
I would also encourage founders not to wait for the perfect idea. Take the first step. Once you enter the market, the business is going to evolve anyway. Throughout my career, we've constantly adjusted, adapted, and pivoted in response to changing conditions. AI is creating another major wave of change today, and businesses need to move quickly and continue learning.
Being a founder requires optimism, resilience, and a willingness to make mistakes. The important thing is to recognize those mistakes, learn from them, and keep moving forward. Most of all, enjoy the journey and build it with people you genuinely trust and enjoy working with. That's probably been the most rewarding part of my own experience.
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