‘Million Dollar’ business bosses show the drive to succeed

Their project was originally inspired by the fact that people waste a lot of time online trying to find exactly what they want. The aim, therefore, was to devise an easier way of pinpointing the desired information accurately.

 

A methodology was developed after months of research into perceptual hashing algorithms by team founder Hamza Zia, a B. Eng majoring in computer science. The challenge then was to communicate the benefits of the technology in terms which were easy to understand, while fine-tuning the product based on user feedback and with the assistance of just two software developers.

 

“The toughest part of the final round was convincing the judges that our product could attract users on a massive scale and keep growing,” says team spokesman Ben Tiede, who was joined by fellow MBA student Rikiya Masuda and computer science undergraduate Jenny Kang. “Many apps have been unable to grow successfully, but we believe we have a great way of achieving ‘virality’ based on our platform’s reach across the internet.”

 

The next step will be to use some of their prize money to hire an additional developer and invest in efforts to further expand the user base. In part, that will involve taking on a number of “ambassadors” at HKUST to increase general awareness and help drive adoption of the app. At the same time, the team has plans to approach providers of MOOCs (massive open online courses) about using Parle to improve student retention on their platforms.

Parle explaining their product

Parle presenting during the Final Round of the Competition

 

“The competition was an incredibly rewarding experience for all of us,” says Tiede, who paid tribute to the professors and mentor who provided invaluable advice and guidance in honing ideas and creating a smart business plan. “We met influential people within Hong Kong’s investment community and had the chance to build, test and launch a beta version of our product, which is currently helping users save time and stay better informed while they browse the web. Along the way, we were also introduced to other entrepreneurs with great ideas.”

The members of second-placed team Nanoprint no doubt fall into that category. Their project was basically to find ways of resolving some of the very practical issues that the printed electronics industry faces today. As they saw it, the key was provide more design flexibility with metal pastes and metal inks, as a way of ensuring that next generation devices, whatever they might entail, can be manufactured at an affordable price. A secondary goal was for the “made in China” label to be seen as a guarantee of quality and technical expertise, not simply as a low-cost choice.

 

Nanoprint explaining their product

 

“We found the biggest challenge lies in scaling up the nano-material manufacturing process,” says team spokesman Dr Judy Zhang Di, a research associate in HKUST’s CBME (chemical and biomechanical engineering) department. “But, looking ahead, we have the confidence to overcome these difficulties thanks to our team’s extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in relevant areas.”

The other team members were PhD students Tam Sze-kee and Khak Ho Lim, visiting scholar Dr Fung Ka-yip, and An Zhi, R&D manager of an OEM company specialising in printed electronics. The main adviser was Ng Ka-ming, chair professor of the CBME department. However, the Entrepreneurship Center also provided systematic guidance on planning and presenting a viable business model. And both the competition workshops and a panel of counsellors were instrumental in keeping things firmly on track.

“As mentioned in our company’s mission statement, we would now like to lead the way into a bright new era of printed electronics manufacturing with a revolution in materials,” Zhang says. “We will be using our prize money to ‘push’ the product into the market, backed by quantitative evidence to show its merits.”

Based on her experience, Zhang’s general advice to anyone thinking of taking part in next year’s competition is clear and concise.

 

“You have to think like you’re an investor, a customer, a collaborator and a competitor.”

 

 

This article appeared in Education Post as ‘Million Dollar’ business bosses show the drive to succeed