Hong Kong’s start-up scene for businesses is buzzing, but does it have enough talent and support to take it to the next level?
- No shortage of tech entrepreneurs with ideas, but investors slow to put money into projects
- Successful tech companies can do more to help struggling start-ups and create much-needed ecosystem
Hong Kong tech entrepreneur Lucas Cheung Wing-lung has suffered failure and relished success over just three years in the city’s fast-growing start-up scene.
The online commerce platform he set up in 2019 to sell handbags flopped.
“That was an epic fail, but a valuable lesson to realise my capabilities and the reason for my failure – my lack of knowledge about handbag design and the market,” the 27-year-old said.
Undeterred, he used about HK$300,000 (US$38,489) of his savings and, with his partner, started 26 Hz the same year to help clients promote their products with tech solutions, including augmented and virtual reality.
“The most difficult stage was the first six months when you had to burn your money without any income,” he said, recalling the early days. “Every morning I woke up wondering how I could find clients.”
He pretended to be a jobseeker, showing up at multiple interviews where he came clean and pitched his firm’s services.