The document provides an overview of the Hong Kong startup scene. It summarizes Casey Lau's experience in Hong Kong tech startups and the growth of StartupsHK, a community he co-founded that has grown from 6 to over 5,000 members in 3 years. It also outlines various incubators/accelerators, co-working spaces, networking events, and challenges facing the Hong Kong startup ecosystem such as a lack of local Series A investors and clear exit strategies.
2. INTRODUCTION
‣ 15 years in tech startup industry in Hong Kong.
‣ Launched 1st e-commerce site in HK.
‣ Sold 2 startups, 1 failed, 1 exists.
‣ Startup Morpheus.
CASEY LAU
CO-FOUNDER, STARTUPSHK
COMMUNITY MANAGER APAC, SOFTLAYER CATALYST
11. ‣ 6 to 5000 members in 3 years.
‣ Entrepreneurs, media, students, investors.
‣ Meet-ups, conferences, networking events.
‣ Membership program.
‣ Matchmaker.
‣ Voice outside HK.
INTRO TO THE HONG KONG STARTUP SCENE
STARTUPS HK
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5,000+ Subscribers
TREMENDOUS REACH ON SOCIAL MEDIA (JUNE 2014)
3,200+ Fans
11,000+ Views
2,600+ Members
6,700+ Followers
50,000+ Visitors/month
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TRACKING HK ANGELS AND VENTURE GROUPS
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INCUBATORS/ACCELERATORS
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Incubation Centre
15. Startup Saturday 2010 - Our first event! Expected: 100 people. Actual: 500 attendees!
Keynote: Douglas Young, Founder of G.O.D.
16. Pitch Night: 100-200 attend in conjunction with global Social Media Week 2012. Live streaming online to 500+ more. CNN coverage.
17. Startup Weekend: 48-hours to form a team and pitch your start-up idea. Over 1000 entrants since 2010.
18. Startup Saturday 2011: Annual 1-day conference. 700 people attended with guests Dave McClure of 500 Startups and
Brian Chesky of AirBNB.com.
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WHAT MAKES HONG KONG SPECIAL?
‣ Business registration
‣ Strong IP law
‣ International community
‣ Not China, Not South East Asia
‣ SME City/resources
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‣ MailTime: US$500K
‣ SnapTee: US$650K
‣ OpenBall: US$750K
‣ HotelQuickly: US$1.1 million
‣ AfterShip: US$1 million
‣ Bindo: US$1.8 million
‣ 9Gag: US$2.8 million
‣ DeMyst: US$5 million
‣ WeLab: US$14 million
KEY STARTUP INVESTMENTS
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STARTUP GROWTH IN HONG KONG
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BIG TECH COMPANIES IN HONG KONG
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HONG KONG’S EXITS
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HONG KONG’S FUNDED STARTUPS
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MY PICKS FOR MOST PROMISING STARTUPS
35. HONG KONG’S STARTUP LEADERS
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Ray Chan
Founder, 9gag
Yat Siu
Founder, Outblaze
David Zhu
Co-Founder, Divide
!
36. HONG KONG’S ANGEL INVESTORS
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Tytus Michalski
Fresco Capital
Melissa Guzy
Arbor Partners
Felix Lam
Red Chapel
!
37. HONG KONG’S STARTUP CONNECTORS
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Elaine Tsung
Garage Society
Charles Ng
InvestHK
Gene Soo
StartupsHK
!
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VENTURE CAPITAL
‣ Not many active local VC’s/
Private Equity.
‣ Some startups can secure seed
in HK but need to go overseas
for Series A.
‣ Government grants a good start.
‣ New influx of Angels.
‣ No big tech companies for exits.
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HK IS NOT SILICON VALLEY, WILL NEVER BE
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THIS IS HONG KONG FROM OUTSIDE
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THIS IS HONG KONG FROM INSIDE
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GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
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‣ Science Park ‣ Cyberport
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THEHIVEKTOWN
THELOFT
80/80SPACE
INNOVATIONLAB
RETROSPOT
PLATFORM
DIMSUMLABS
SMARTSPACE
THECRAFTIES
OBI-ONE
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HONG KONG CHALLENGES
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‣ Series A Investors
‣ Clear Exit Strategies
‣ Education
‣ Work Visas
‣ Talent
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HK CHINESE CYNICISM
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‣ Parental restrictions
‣ Property/Stocks
‣ Bank hiring
‣ Low tech education
‣ Role Models
‣ Globalization
‣ Fear of Failure
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BAD IDEAS
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‣ Happy Hour Apps
‣ Co-Workspace without clear value
‣ Startup without validation
‣ Not in industry you understand
!
GOOD IDEAS
‣ Anything that gets traction
‣ Mentorship programs
‣ PRoFiL: Property, Retail,
Finance, Logistics
‣ Change the world or at least
the Enterprise.
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$1M INVESTMENT MILESTONES
PRODUCT TEAM TRACTION
‣ Enterprise: 1,000 seats @ US$10/seat per month.
‣ Big Enterprise: 2 Pilot contracts. Some $$$
‣ Social: 100K+ downloads/signups
‣ Ecommerce: US$50K revenue/month
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http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/22/want-to-raise-a-million-bucks-heres-what-youll-need/
Via Ash Fontana of AngelList
59. ‣ 88-gong.com
‣ JobsDB.com
‣ LinkedIn
‣ startbase.recruit.net
INTRO TO THE HONG KONG STARTUP SCENE
HIRING + JOBS
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NETWORKING EVENTS
‣ StartupsHK.com Calendar
‣ Web Wednesday
‣ Mobile Monday
‣ Startup Grind
‣ Co-Workspace Events
‣ TiE
‣ Catalyst After Office Hours
‣ OpenData Hong Kong
‣ SME Creativity Center
‣ Startup Weekend
‣ Internet Society
‣ HK Social
‣ H3
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BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM
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‣ Networking
‣ Sharing
‣ Education
‣ TRANSPARENCY!
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SYNC UP WITH HONG KONG
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>STARTUPSHK.COM
NEWS&CALENDAR
!
>STARTBASE.HK
DIRECTORY&JOBS
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CASEY@STARTUPSHK.COM
LINKEDIN
ANGELLIST
@CASEY_LAU
!