Creating a company that eventually goes to an initial public offering is the goal of many an entrepreneur. While, seductive - an IPO typically makes a founder extremely wealthy - that task is extremely difficult.
Herbert Chan Wai-ming, the founder, chairman and chief executive of the fashion firm 2%, has taken key steps towards that task and maybe something bigger.
Despite the city's long history of garment manufacturing, few firms have made the jump to become internationally recognised designer labels. But 2% is establishing a regional presence and, with the resources that a public listing can offer, Chan might establish the firm as a powerful regional brand.
The firm is best known of the family brands targeting fashion-forward youths and Hong Kong women who tend to make bold choices. It represents a wave built on Hongkongers' growing prosperity and need to express their style, especially in clothes.
'I sensed there was a demographic and cultural breakthrough in the 1990s among Hong Kong youth that demanded a local fashion line to speak for them. It needed to make a personal statement beyond simple clothing. Although brands such as Giordano and Bossini met basic clothing needs, young people wanted more,' says Chan.
When Chan graduated from Polytechnic University's Swire School of Design in 1992, he landed a job in wholesale fashion design. His job was to copy the designs of established labels, but the firm he worked for went into liquidation in 1994.