Broke or not? Ryan Tan sheds light on financial situation after leaving NOC

Was NOC founder Ryan Tan really broke? 

Back in June, Tan confessed on social media that he was "officially broke" and "it's not a joke", leading to a stranger Khoo Keat Hwee sending him $1,000 to help him get back on his feet. 

However, that prompted a barrage of messages from netizens to Khoo, saying how "Ryan is rich", that he owns a penthouse and how he had spent $200,000 renovating his home back then. 

In a podcast uploaded on Tuesday (Oct 12) by The Daily Ketchup, the 34-year-old came out to clear the air, explaining that his post was "heavily twisted" by the media. 

"Yes, I do have a bit of money, but it's fast depleting and nothing is coming in. I have no income because all my money is being diverted to the lawsuit," he said, adding that he didn't have any platform to make money then. 

In July, Night Owl Cinematics (NOC), now run by Tan's ex-wife Sylvia Chan, took his video production firm, Reno King to court over employment issues. 

In his Instagram stories back then, Tan also wrote that he "lost 90 per cent" of his money since leaving NOC.

"How long can I sustain [this]?... If you keep seeing it [the money] deplete like that, obviously I know I'm on the road [towards] going broke like within five months, six months," Tan said on the recent podcast.

"You know there's no income coming in. In my perspective, that's me going broke..I'm just projecting my cash flow and it's not looking well."

At the height of NOC's success in 2016, Tan and Chan made it into Forbes 30 under 30 in the Media, Marketing and Advertising category.

Although Tan said on the podcast that he has recently started a YouTube channel of his own, he shared that it would still take him some time before he'll be able to turn a profit. 

He also said that his monthly bills range between $80,000 and $90,000, including the rental for his office, as well as his employees' salaries. 

Tan also brought up the topic of the 'material possessions' that he owns. 

"The good thing about being in this industry is that we have sponsors. They may not give us money, but they sponsor us things. But that doesn't pay the rent, nor [my employees'] salaries. 

"It helps us to have things, but there's no money. I can't pay my staff or my rent in chairs or tables. That is something that I think the public doesn't see." 

Cash flow woes aside, Tan also took the opportunity to talk about how he's focused on building his YouTube channel, while admitting that he's now wary of posting on social media.

"Because everything gets misconstrued. So now I'm very inactive on my socials, I just do everything on YouTube." 

ALSO READ: 'We needed to have a future after divorce': NOC founder Ryan Tan opens up on public split from Sylvia Chan

claudiatan@asiaone.com

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