My presentation for the Blue Startups conference East Meets West 2014 on November 6-7 at the Modern Honolulu on Oahu, Hawaii - this was a 30-minute talk on the history of the Hong Kong startup scene and snapshots at other Asian startup hubs.
2. • Born and raised in Vancouver,
spent a few years in Kahala
Elementary and been in HK
since the handover.
• Co-founded and sold HK’s first
e-commerce Dotcom in 2000.
• 3 more startups - 1 sold, 1
crashed and 1 continues
without me.
5. HONG KONG AS
TECH HUB
‣
Silicon Valley’s ecosystem is currently 3X bigger than New York City, 4.5X bigger than London + 12.5X
bigger than Berlin. London is the largest technology ecosystem in Europe.
‣
SV’s ecosystem has 22% more companies in the “scale stage” than in NYC and 54% more than in London.CYBERPORTCIRCA 2009
31. Startup Ecosystems
in Asia
Infrastruture Regulation Financing Talent Technology Culture
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
32. ASIAN CYNICISM
‣ Parental restrictions
‣ Property/Stocks
‣ Bank hiring
‣ Low tech education
‣ Role Models
‣ Globalization
‣ Fear of Failure
33. ‣ Singapore government has allotted massive funding,
schemes and matching budgets for startups.
‣ Lots of co-workspace.
‣ Lots of angels and investment groups.
‣ Government subsidies.
‣ Growth forces them to look Pan-Asia.
‣ English/Mandarin.
SINGAPORE
34.
35. ‣ Low-cost, good English, Taipei is great.
‣ Major tech hardware brands.
‣ 23 million population. 17 million+ online. 60% Facebook
penetration.
‣ Low seeds and NO Series A.
‣ Good place to start if you want to go global but NOT
China.
TAIWAN
36.
37. ‣ Think big. Then think even bigger. Then x100.
‣ A billion dollar startup < 10 different billion dollar
startups.
‣ Can create a hit in a single A-class city.
‣ Barriers to entry/exit.
‣ Beijing is Silicon Valley East.
‣ HK no longer a gateway to China:
IF you want to go to China, GO to China!
CHINA
38.
39. ‣ Next big tech sector in Asia.
‣ K-Pop, Korean Dramas = viki.com = US$200million.
‣ Samsung not driving innovation.
‣ Government set aside $4B for creative economy,
$400mm just for startups early stage investments.
‣ Not a market, Korean ideas don't always
translate.
KOREA
40.
41. ‣ What works in Japan not always scalable, cultural.
‣ Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka startup hubs.
‣ NOT a naturally entrepreneurial country.
‣ Amazing ideas, all in Japanese.
‣ Preach globalization, but long way to go, but who cares
seed to IPO all in Japan.
JAPAN
42.
43. ‣ Malaysia: Growing, angel funds, tax benefits.
‣ Thailand: Growing market.
‣ Indonesia: Mass growth market.
‣ Vietnam: Developing market.
‣ Philippines: Geeks on a Beach!
SOUTH EAST ASIA
48. • Look to Asia to expand your
startup.
• Look to Asia to build a startup
(something missing in the
cracks = A LOT!).
• Look to Asia for talent.
TAKEAWAYS
49. • APAC is growing super-fast. Korea and
Singapore have money and drive.
• SEA coming in fast with market boom.
• Japan and China doing their own
thing.
• Hong Kong a soft landings but no
longer a “gateway to China.”
• Trends: Hardware, eCommerce, Uber
of whatever.
WRAPPING IT ALL UP