Dreamcore: How a Singapore-owned PC brand is gaining a cult following

Catherine Mah27 October 2021

Many companies talk about their focus on customer service, but at Dreamcore, it underpins everything they do. From working personally with customers to create their dream builds, to offering seamless after-sale support and providing education via social channels, every touchpoint is designed to offer the best customer experience.

For those who don’t demand state-of-the-art specs from their PCs, Dreamcore may not be on their radar as a brand. Dreamcore PCs could be considered a niche product offering – custom-built with a small form factor, powerful graphics cards and CPUs housed in sleek, futuristic casing – but they’ve already garnered a cult following among Singapore’s tech and gaming community since they opened shop in 2016.

Standing out from the competition

What makes Dreamcore stand out is the emphasis on special needs and real world benefits, using components such as motherboards and CPUs made for a very specific purpose that mass-market machines don’t cater to. Originally designed to appeal to gamers and content creators, they now also supply to artificial intelligence enterprises.

However, the brand’s principal selling point is not just custom computers, but the enterprise-level service and after-sale support for customers. Dreamcore reviews often mention service and speed as key selling points.

Founder and CEO Shaun Tan says, “We created Singapore’s smallest custom PC that could use off-the-shelf components, in a form factor that was three to four times smaller than our competitors. On top of that, we evaluated what the existing market was offering customers, and innovated and improved on that, ultimately providing our customers with not only a better product, but better service and support as well.

“Traditionally [with customer service], if they can fix it within a month, they’ll send it back to you within one month. So basically you have no PC for the entire month. But when you talk about enterprise service, what we do is advance return. We swap it out on the spot. Dreamcore as a company takes the brunt of getting you business continuity. We’ll sort out the paperwork in the backend so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

He adds, “Our focus has always been on our community, rather than sales because we understand that building communities is more effective in the long run for growth. This means that we take a very different approach when it comes to engaging with our consumers.”

This could be in the form of educational content served via their social channels, “something our competitors do not do because it does not generate direct revenue,” or investing in R&D to create unique products, instead of simply white labelling and reselling.

Dreamcore provides customers with not only a better product, but better service and support as well

Dreamcore’s growth strategy

Shaun established the brand to provide a solution not widely available in the market at the time. With a passion for technology and craftsmanship, he placed form and design high on the priority list when it came to computers. The latest models often sacrificed size and looks in order to house fast processors, vast storage and cooling units necessary for gaming or multi-tasking. A Dreamcore PC, in contrast, boasts a footprint several times smaller and stylish aesthetics.

The company started as a one-man show, with Shaun sourcing parts, photographing, designing the website and writing press releases himself. Then, rather than launch on Carousell or other marketplaces, he went all-in, hiring a booth at Singapore’s largest consumer electronics expo, IT Show, and reaching his target audience directly.

As word got out and demand increased, Dreamcore was able to hire more staff, operate a shop front and even conceive an interactive, experiential gaming studio. It has doubled its revenue yearly and now boasts a team of 30.

Overcoming challenges

An essential service during the pandemic, supporting both enterprises and individuals to work from home, Dreamcore has shipped out thousands of computers to customers in the past 18 months. However, this time has not been without its challenges.

“We faced a massive shortage in inventory but thankfully we had anticipated supply shocks and pre-bought substantial inventory. This is down to forward planning and inventory management. However, demand still exceeded supply and our lead time for order fulfillment was extended.

“To overcome this, we had to reach out to our regional partners who thankfully were able to supply us on short notice, whom we all paid using the awesome services of World First.”

Strong relationships key to expansion

Shaun has been using WorldFirst to pay overseas suppliers for several years now. What drew him to open an account were the “competitive fees, as well as transparent business model. It was just a hassle-free experience from day one.”

The partnership with WorldFirst was instrumental in building trust with international vendors. “WorldFirst has made the world a little bit smaller. Efficiency and speed are paramount in our business – having a quick payment turnaround time leads to faster deal closure. On top of that, we are assured of the payments being successfully transacted, giving us peace of mind.”

Although selling just in Singapore at the moment, Dreamcore has plans to expand to other southeast Asian regions in the near future, including Thailand, Malaysia and Australia.

He is confident of success as long as the company upholds its brand promise based on three pillars: to enrich, empower and enlighten. “While computers are meant to empower and make work and play easier, purchasing them can cause unneeded stress and frustration. We lift the weight off their shoulders, so they can forget about the nitty gritty and focus on what they do best.”