Crazy Smart Asia: OliveX’s Keith Rumjahn on leadership, listing and realising his limitless potential

The Hong Kong-based entrepreneur shares how he’s exceeded everyone’s expectations of him, including his own, in the latest episode of our Crazy Smart Asia podcast

While some of us registered ourselves for online workout classes during the pandemic, Keith Rumjahn found a different way to monetise workouts.

In 2022, his NSX-listed company OliveX launched The Dustland, the world’s first move-to-earn audio fitness blockchain game that lets players earn tokens and NFTs as they exercise. Set in the year 2272, the game shows a post-apocalyptic Earth where survivors have to run to get resources, find other survivors and uncover the secrets of the Dustlands.

In the latest episode of our podcast Crazy Smart Asia, Rumjahn also talks about his partnership with Marvel Studios to develop digital fitness experiences, as well as OliveX’s IPO story and how he has exceeded the expectations of everyone, including his own.

Here are a few excerpts from the conversation. Click the audio player below to listen to the full episode or subscribe via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Proving everyone wrong

“Nobody expected me to do what I'm doing now. I kind of exceeded all expectations from everyone, including myself.”

Realising the reality of entrepreneurship

“I thought it was super cool to be an entrepreneur. I had this crazy thought that it was so cool to have so many people working for you. But now that I’m an entrepreneur myself, it’s the reverse. I’m a servant leader to everyone. It’s not as cool as I thought it’ll be (laughs).”

Above Keith Rumjahn

On having to downsize his workforce

“Cutting was extremely hard because, at the end of the day, I'm an emotional human being. But what we realised after that is that the team became much more focused and even though we cut a lot of people, nobody quit after the cuts. There was extreme loyalty and focus.”

How OliveX went from inception to IPO in three years

“It’s about riding waves. And that's an important concept in my life—identifying waves. There’s a Chinese saying that even pigs can fly if the wind is strong enough.”

On partnering Marvel

“In April, we are launching Marvel Move at the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 premiere in Hollywood. And that’s a big bet for us, and I'm excited to be the first Marvel fitness game out there.”

On how he inspires his team

“I truly believe that everybody has limitless potential. I have to believe that because if I don’t believe people can exceed their expectations, that means I don’t believe in myself. So people love that because when they work with me, I tell them, you can do much better even when they don’t believe [in themselves].”

Quotes are edited for clarity and brevity.

Listen to the episode and subscribe using your preferred podcast platform on our Crazy Smart Asia podcast page.

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Topics

Fitness Technology Wellness Startup Entrepreneur Hong Kong Leadership IPO Web3 NFT

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