Cool M1NT celebrates first year with big plans for next club in Shanghai

Naysayers and critics be damned, M1NT has survived - at least year one in Hong Kong. To brag about their results, the club threw itself two nights of parties to celebrate. Nobody was prouder than its two Aussie founding partners, Alistair Paton and Andrew Lewis.

Lewis (above left) is tasked with the running the Hong Kong operation, while its brainchild, chief executive Paton (right) is now plotting their expansion to Shanghai.

'Alistair and I are old school friends and we've studied in school in Melbourne together since we were 11 years old,' Lewis recalled. 'We were all very entrepreneurial at a very early age.'

'We have been friends for 25 years,' Paton interrupted. 'We don't even argue anymore. Any disagreements we had were settled at the school ground. I had to beat him up sometimes.'

However, Lewis admitted running a nightclub is not easy. 'It is a big business with a big turnover of money. At the end of the year, [shareholders] do expect you to return a great dividend. It's a lot of pressure.'

Given Hong Kong's competitive market, you have to wonder how much of the cocky bravado is for show. They are betting big on Shanghai, however.