Recently we had another edition of Startup Weekend Hong Kong! With lots of good ideas coming out...
Now.. a few of them are going into the Global Startup Battle and they need YOUR help by voting for them. A few years ago we had AfterShip crushing the competition by the support of Hong Kong.
So do take a look at the next ventures and vooooooteeeee
Tofu Pay - Modern Payment options for online commerce in Asia!
http://app2.pitchburner.com/upglobal/championship/pitch?evtid=406940&subid=428719
C FU - where is the handyman, locksmith or plumber when you need one!
http://app2.pitchburner.com/upglobal/championship/pitch?evtid=406940&subid=428604
My Grandma Can Skype - Simple communication tools to bring your grandma into the 21st Century!
https://app2.pitchburner.com/upglobal/championship/pitch?evtid=406940&subid=424726
Monday, 1 December 2014
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
Kickstarters visiting China - Passing Through Hong Kon
I do like sites like KickStarter and IndieGogo. Projects on there vary from just raw enthusiasm to well thought through projects.
With regards to hardware related projects, they often have one thing in common: outsource production to China. After their campaigns are funded, they often travel over China to work with manufacturers and vendors to bring their ideas to reality.
Many don't seem to realise that in other countries things run well lets say differently. It often surprises me how much learning does not get transferred. Learning with regards to challenges on communication, understanding the way business is conducted, other cultural aspects and the fact that often small orders have low priority for big manufacturers. This besides the normal learnings that come with developing new products.
A number of times I tried to hook with visiting teams to share some insights. Easy, as most of them fly to Hong Kong and then travel to Shenzhen. The easy part is that I live close to the airport, so no issue to pop over for a coffee or so.
One team was curious to hear some insights - though had a tight schedule. As they were writing about their learnings through their updates I decided to hook them up with a friend of mine who is based in Shenzhen. The team is producing Spor, solar powered chargers (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spor/spor-solar-battery-chargers-usb-cables-and-accesso)
I got them hooked up with +Michael Michelini who is the founder of SocialAgent.me and has spend a fair bit of time in China. He knows Shenzhen very well and as a startup founder is always willing to spend some time helping others.
He met up with the team and they created a podcast out of the conversation, which can be found here at Mike his blog Global From Asia. Listen and Enjoy hearing about the journey of a kickstart project!
With regards to hardware related projects, they often have one thing in common: outsource production to China. After their campaigns are funded, they often travel over China to work with manufacturers and vendors to bring their ideas to reality.
Many don't seem to realise that in other countries things run well lets say differently. It often surprises me how much learning does not get transferred. Learning with regards to challenges on communication, understanding the way business is conducted, other cultural aspects and the fact that often small orders have low priority for big manufacturers. This besides the normal learnings that come with developing new products.
A number of times I tried to hook with visiting teams to share some insights. Easy, as most of them fly to Hong Kong and then travel to Shenzhen. The easy part is that I live close to the airport, so no issue to pop over for a coffee or so.
One team was curious to hear some insights - though had a tight schedule. As they were writing about their learnings through their updates I decided to hook them up with a friend of mine who is based in Shenzhen. The team is producing Spor, solar powered chargers (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spor/spor-solar-battery-chargers-usb-cables-and-accesso)
I got them hooked up with +Michael Michelini who is the founder of SocialAgent.me and has spend a fair bit of time in China. He knows Shenzhen very well and as a startup founder is always willing to spend some time helping others.
He met up with the team and they created a podcast out of the conversation, which can be found here at Mike his blog Global From Asia. Listen and Enjoy hearing about the journey of a kickstart project!
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Sun Set over Hong Kong Airport
Another nice sunset today triggered the idea to take a timelapse shot. The view is from my balcony, over Tung Chung then Hong Kong International Airport and in the back you can see China.
Air pollution levels have been not too bad in the last few weeks. Providing us with lots of blue skies and amazing far away views. Throughout the year the views are blocked either by haze caused by pollution or just water damp. However when it opens up, some spectacular views can be seen. Lots of mountains and other things. Unfortunately Macau can't be seen from our place.
Pollution levels were low in most places in territory as can be seen below. The graphic is taken from a site maintained by the University of Hong Kong (The Hedley Index) and keeps track of pollution and its impact on the society. (http://hedleyindex.sph.hku.hk/)
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