IN 5 OR 10 YEARS COME BACK AND TELL US HOW

TODAY CHANGED YOUR LIFE

INAUGURATION OF HKU ENTREPRENEURSHIP SERIES

DREAMCATCHERS, with its inaugural event on Sunday, May 31, 2015, is a series of initiatives at The University of Hong Kong. It began with “If I were 28…” and ended with “What Next?”. We will form a hub to inspire and nurture innovation and entrepreneurship; there will be forums, mixers, events, courses, training, marketplaces, co-workspaces, funding for programmes and an innovation commons.

DREAMCATCHERS is cross-sector and inter-generational, for alumni, students, friends old and new, everyone with passion and determination to innovate and change the world.

The University in particular provides an environment that supports a willingness to fail, and an obsession to succeed. It is all right to fail as long as we learn the lesson. It is all right to take risks and do something that is unconventional.

The speakers and participants, patrons and partners all came together to make the day happen. There was so much energy and enthusiasm, humour and hope, sincerity and warmth. People were squeezing into the lecture halls, sitting on the floor, and eagerly exchanging views over a coffee. There was appreciation and support, heated debates and candid sharing.

And in 5 or 10 years’ time, if you come back and tell us how this day changed your life, then together we have made it.

This is the best time and there is no other better time to start. But if you do want to start your business and become an entrepreneur, be prepared for the following. First, the China market, which you have to enter. It is not a matter of ‘IF‘; it is a matter of ’HOW‘. Second, think global. There is no Hong Kong startup. You are starting in Hong Kong, but you are doing one market, the global market.

Jason Chiu 趙子翹The Cherrypicks

When you have the spirit of entrepreneurship, I believe it is there wherever you are in your life stage, whatever position you are in. Whether it is a big company or a startup company, you can always apply that spirit of entrepreneurship to whatever you do. I think that is the beauty of it because it gets you excited. It is a lot of fun.

Leong Cheung 張亮The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Whether you are 28 or 68, one has to keep learning. You have to keep a certain degree of curiosity and keep asking questions.

Ask yourself two questions before starting your own business. Do you really have the passion to do it? Then ask yourself whether you have the personality. You have to not be afraid of losing. The success rate of starting a business is less than 1%. Prepare to lose. You lose fast. You lose big. And you lose forward. The important thing is, after a few failures, you should not repeat the same mistake. Then you learn how to be successful.

Antony Leung 梁錦松Nan Fung Group

“It is all right to fail – with an obsession to succeed”

IF I WERE 28…

Peter MathiesonPresident and Vice-Chancellor

3-minhighlight video

互聯網與傳統產業？

互聯網不是一個完全的虛擬經濟，它應該跟很多傳統產業相結合。我曾經說過，互聯網就像第一次、第二次工業革命，發明蒸汽機和電力一樣，是一種新的信息能源，是每個行業都能加以利用的，好比電，任何行業，不管金融業還是服務業都會用電。所以我們的思路是希望互聯網和傳統行業密切結合，每個人都思考怎樣更好的利用它，你不用好它，必然在這個行業被淘汰。

中國公司VS外國公司？

我們所有互聯網公司都希望有朝一日能夠躋身全球前十名，覺得那已經是人生的巔峰。後來我們看到了，所以我們真的要為中國互聯公司自豪，前十名當中有六個是美國公司，四個是中國公司，而且從市值來說中國公司和美國公司是同一個量級的，不像以前那樣差得很遠……所以當你批評中國很多東西的時候，你可以看到中國還是很難得的做出這樣的成績。我們僅僅靠一個中國的人口，與中國以外所有國家加起來的人口，我們的業務可以做到同一量級，這已經是非常大的奇跡了。

中國一直不乏國外互聯網公司的競爭。強龍和地頭蛇誰贏呢？目前看來無一例外都是地頭蛇贏了。但是強龍可以投資入股，成為它的股東。如果說直接競爭，那麼在中國過去的十幾年，沒有一家競爭得過地頭蛇。因為本地的創業者所有身家性命都在這裡，一天可以做幾輪決策，而跨國公司要向老闆彙報，還有時差問題，肯定不行。中國有充足的資金，PE（Private Equity， 私募股權基金）很活躍，因此我對中國本土的創業者非常有信心。

中國=抄襲？

美國的確是互聯網的霸主……而且他們做的是全球性的產品，甚至包括操作系統、數據庫、芯片、路由器等等，整個IT的核心源頭都是美國公司的，所以你可以看到大家不在一個競爭起點上，這是非常難的。對於美國以外所有國家來說，其實都是在學習和copy美國的模式，這是毫無疑問的。但是到了應用層面，每個國家的文化不同、用戶群的習慣也不同，會有分裂。中國在滿足自身需求的互聯網發展過程中，創意是很多的，現在有一部分美國公司還沒有中國走的快……對我們來說無所謂誰抄誰，最難的是你能滿足用戶的需求。

錯在你太老了！

有時候你什麼都沒有做錯，錯在你太老了。記得我們最早看到Snapchat的時候，美國13-18歲的女孩子特別喜歡玩。我們高管裝了之後，互相發了幾次，覺得很傻很無聊，看不到它的價值，所以我們投資的很少。後來它漲的很快，成為市值上百億美金的公司，我們就很後悔，反思自己是不是太老了，不懂這些孩子的喜好……雖然現在很多人用微信，但實際上中國很多孩子還在用手機QQ，因為他不想和父母在同一個community裡面。這個不是技術的問題，是人性的問題，他們不想跟父母在一個地方，他想分開，也可以在一起，但他要有自己的一個社群。所以現在冒出來很多新世代的community，我們不能理解，但要表示尊重，它受歡迎還是有道理的。

fact that our business is in the same league as the U.S. companies - This in itself is a miracle.

China has no lack of competition from foreign companies. So who will emerge as winner in this fight? So far, there seems to be no exception. The local has always won. However, of course, foreign ones can choose to invest in these local companies. Over the past decade, not a single local company in China has ever lost a fight in the face of competition from foreign companies. That is because local entrepreneurs stake all their wealth and lives into their businesses and hold several rounds of decision making in a day. On the other hand, multinational companies are unable to achieve this as they would have to report to the big bosses who are based out of China, and the issue of time difference also prevents them from doing likewise. Furthermore, China has sufficient capital and an active Private Equity market; therefore I have great confidence in our homegrown entrepreneurs.

Is China a copycat?

Indeed, America dominates the world of the Internet… and they manufacture products that are adopted globally, which include products like operating systems, databases, computer chips, routers. The entire core of IT has originated from U.S. companies. So you can see the Chinese and U.S. companies are competing on the basis of very different starting points, making things very difficult. Other countries are learning from and actually copying the U.S. model. There is no doubt about this. However, when it comes to the application, every country’s culture is different and their user groups have different preferences. There is bound to be divergence. Developing the Internet to meet its own needs, China has displayed much creativity, which is the reason why U.S. companies are now lagging behind their Chinese counterparts in terms of innovation. To us, what really matters is not who is copying who. The main thing is rather, you satisfy your customers’ needs.

The problem is, you are just too old!

There are times when you have done nothing wrong at all. The only problem is, you are just too old. When Tencent first came across Snapchat, something which teenage girls (from ages 13 – 18) in America are particularly fond of, our senior management installed it and after exchanging a couple of messages, we found it silly, boring and saw no value in it, therefore we made only minimal investment in it. Later on, when its value skyrocketed, Snapchat became a company with a market capitalisation amounting to billions of dollars. We came to regret and self-reflect on whether we are just too old to keep up with times, or that we simply do not understand the preferences of the kids… The majority of people in China are using WeChat (微信) these days, but the kids are still using the mobile version of QQ. This is not a technical issue; this is an issue concerning human nature. These kids do not want to be in the same community with their parents. They want to be separate while being “together”. Therefore, many communities of new generations are popping up. Even though we do not understand, we have to show our respect. After all, popularity has its reasons.The Internet Versus Traditional Industries

The Internet is not totally a virtual economy and should be integrated with many of the traditional industries. As I have said before, the Internet is just like the First or Second Industrial Revolution, or the invention of the steam engine and electric power; it is a new information energy and every industry should utilise it. The Internet is just like electricity, where any industry, whether financial or service, will have the need for. Our company’s thinking is to bring the Internet and traditional industries closer together to integrate them. Everyone should consider how best to utilise the Internet. If you do not use it well, your industry will be inevitably eliminated in time.

Chinese Companies Versus International Companies

We Chinese internet companies have always wished to be ranked among the world’s top ten someday. To us, this would be our highest point of achievement. Now that it has really happened, we should really be proud of ourselves. Out of the world’s top ten companies, six are U.S., four are Chinese, and based on the respective market capitalisation, Chinese and U.S. companies are currently in the same league, unlike in the past when there was a big difference. So, when you are criticising the many things about China, you should also realise that it was no easy feat for China to beat all odds and achieve these hard-won accomplishments. Given the population of China alone compared to the population of all the other countries put together, the

錯在你太老了YOU ARE JUST TOO OLD

Pony Ma 馬化騰�Founder, Chairman and CEO, Tencent

ModeratorDr Zhang Lifen 張力奮Visiting Professor, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, HKU

Full speech and interview

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Vision and Opportunities for Technology Entrepreneurship

From Dream to Reality - IT & Business

Four thought leaders exchanged views on the following questions: What should be the vision for technology entrepreneurship for Hong Kong, in the context of China and the Regional development? Everyone is talking about entrepreneurship as the means of moving forward for the younger generation, but what are the real opportunities in Hong Kong? What is Hong Kong’s competitive edge over our neighbours for technology startups? How should Hong Kong respond to this worldwide movement and benefit from it?

Innovative technology, design, and business models are key to successful startups. At this session, four young entrepreneurs from the fields of electronics, ICT, innovative watch design and online jewellery shared their experiences, challenges, pain and lessons learned from running their respective businesses.

Nick Yang 楊偉雄*�Advisor to the Chief Executive on Innovation and Technology

Dr Rosanna Wong 王䓪鳴 *The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

Johnson Lau 劉耀南*�Kinex Pharmaceuticals

RespondentAllen Yeung 楊德斌 Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation

ModeratorJanet Wong 王榮珍*� Innovation and Technology Commission

Dr Patrick Hung 洪小瑩�* Velosti

Theodore Ma 馬衡*�MaBelle Jewellery Co. Ltd

Keith Li 李勁華*� Innopage

Nick Gu 顧力恒 *�Eone Timepieces Inc

ModeratorHerman Lam 林向陽 Hong Kong Cyberport Management Co. Ltd

* HKU Alumni

eat.travel.laugh. music@Creative City

From Dream to Reality - Biomedicine

Energetic and unconventional entrepreneurs in the cultural and lifestyle arenas, mostly in their 20s and 30s, passionately shared their aspirations and were not shy about the challenges and frustrations they are dealing with. Their common goal is to re-create the city’s social and spiritual values rather than merely financial ones.

“They are young and not so ‘successful’, still at the age when they are struggling to achieve their goals. Their sharing of the difficulties they encountered provide us all with very useful lessons. They were inspiring.”

– Forum participant

Biomedicine is considered one of the most challenging fields for startups and entrepreneurs to tackle. At this session, the founders of four young biomedicine startup companies, which use technology and innovation resulting from research at The University of Hong Kong, shared the experiences and challenges they encountered on their exciting journeys.

James Hong 項明生 *In-depth Traveller and Writer

Paul Chan 陳智遠 *Walk In Hong Kong

Ray Chan 陳展程 *�9GAG

Victor Lo 羅靖邦 * The Mixing Bowl

Ka-Jeng Wong 黃家正� Music Lab

Jing Wong 黃靖 Singer-songwriter

ModeratorDr Travis Kong 江紹祺 Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU

Prof Ronald Li 李登偉Novoheart

Dr Barbara Chan 陳佩�Living Tissues Ltd

Dr Wilson Wong 黃棨麟�*� Novus Life Sciences

Dr Kelvin Yeung 楊偉國*OrthoSmart Ltd

ModeratorDr Cecilia Pang 彭慧冰� Innovation and Technology Commission

47 speakers and participants were interviewed by students and alumni of JMSC. MEDIA STUDIO

Harnessing Resources to Build in the World’s Biggest Mobile Market

Media Tips for Founders: Gaining Traction and Customer Exposure

The panel highlighted the resources and support that are available to startups in Greater China. Investors are looking for good projects, especially those catering to a young audience. But startups must be proactive in telling their stories to potential funders. Startups in Hong Kong must also take bold steps to enter the China market.

This panel took an intimate look at delivering media to audiences of all kinds in an environment where mainstream media no longer holds a monopoly on news and information distribution. Social platforms and inexpensive media production software mean that startup founders must pay attention to communications with the public on all media platforms.

Huang Xiang 黃翔�IDG Communications China

Dr David Chung 鍾偉強Hong Kong Cyberport Management Co. Ltd

ModeratorProf Ying Chan 陳婉瑩�*� Journalism and Media Studies Centre, HKU

May Yamaura Brand Pit

Catherine Tan Notey

Ben Cheng 鄭斌彬OurSky

ModeratorDouglas Crets* AsiaHustle.co

Entrepreneurial Spirit in Social Innovations

The Magic of Social Innovation

Social Business - Blending Social Enterprises with Traditional Businesses

The social entrepreneurs talked about the challenges their startups faced in the beginning or in later phases of scaling up. As creative pioneers, they took up different community issues and ventured along different paths to success. Their sharing not only opened up new frontiers for imagination, but also provided newcomers with very practical tips on managing and sustaining social enterprises.

This workshop combined a lecture with a magic performance, using 18 real-life cases from the 18 districts in Hong Kong, to explain how social innovation can be achieved from the bottom up and demonstrate how the four principal social innovation models actually work.

“Relaxing time. He was delivering his message via a Monopoly game, sharing his insights into the operations of the Hong Kong Government, and also made fun of the Government‘s mistakes. Cool.”

– Forum participant

The speakers discussed how they reformed traditional businesses, such as garment, catering and agriculture, to accomplish the same missions as social enterprises. These entrepreneurs transcend the dichotomy between commercial and social enterprises, and create social businesses that continue to provide financial rewards to stakeholders while bringing tremendous social benefits to everyone.

Vincent Wong 黃永 Solution-On-Wheels

Zenneth Kok 郝赫�Hong Kong-based Professional Magician

Paul Lam 林子傑�Solution-On-Wheels

Phoebe Tang 鄧珮頤*�Healthy Cottage

Howard Ling 凌浩雲Bijas, Happy Veggies and Harvester Social Enterprises

Alan Cheung 張益麟 *Grandion Industrial Ltd

RespondentTimothy Ma 馬錦華 Project Flame of The City University of Hong Kong

ModeratorSiriboe Keisha* PhD Candidate, English Language Education, HKU

Francis Ngai 魏華星�Social Ventures Hong Kong

Clive Lee 李家倫 *Chen Yidan Foundation

Jah-Ying Chung 鍾嘉穎�*� LaunchPilots

Martin Fung 馮景行*� Next City

RespondentDr Albert Chau 周偉立*� Dean of Student Affairs, HKU

ModeratorHilton Lam 林曉峯 *� Final Year, BBA (IBGM), HKU

* HKU Alumni

FINDOUTMORE

STARTUPS IN CHINA: Creative Entrepreneurship in an Era of Great Transformation

WHAT NEXT? Hub or Pub – co-working space, incubator, accelerator and MORE

Pitch DemonstrationWhen it comes to the China market, it is not a matter of “IF” it is a matter of “HOW”. The “Internet+” strategy, stated by the Chinese Government in a working report, will be the trend going forward on the Mainland. The panel discussed China’s changing business environment, and the keys to survive and succeed in the dynamic Mainland market, which include policies, partners and allocations of capital. Speakers shared their success and failure stories of doing business in China today.

“What next?” “Where should I start?” “Where can I get help?” “What resources are available out there in Hong Kong to get me started?” These are just a few of the questions posed by the audience at the final session. Here the panel generously provided answers and pointers to what are available in town – and there are many options!

“We will be launching our Innovation Commons. We need you to keep up the entrepreneurial culture and spirit.”

– Prof Paul Tam Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)

“I hope that this event is just the beginning. Entrepreneurship is growing rapidly in Hong Kong and entrepreneurs, big or small, need the support. With HKU’s unique vantage point, it will undoubtedly give students and alumni the competitive advantage they need to succeed.”

– Forum participant

At the Pitch Demonstration, jointly organised by HKU Alumni Entrepreneurs Club and HKU Graduates Association, eight alumni-based startup companies pitched their business ideas and were evaluated by a panel of judges.

“The demonstration provided a great platform for young people to promote their inventions and inspire the audience to think big. I believe some of the inventions could become successful and popular. I love this kind of event and hope the University could do more of this.”

– Forum participantLo Sheung Yan 勞雙恩 *� J. Walter Thompson

Ted Chong 莊煥華 *�Designer Time

Norman Sze 施能自*� Deloitte China

David Fong 方文雄 *� Hip Shing Hong (Holdings) Co. Ltd

Victor Tsang 曾昭學*� PMQ

Cherry Chan 陳卓卓 The Mills

Judges

Douglas So 蘇彰德*� Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Advancement), HKU

Ada Yip 葉蓁蓁 Hong Kong Institute of Social Impact Analysts

Terence Cheung 張廣達 *Western Region, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Nicholas Tung 董鳳濤*� Lewis & Paul Investment Co. Ltd

RespondentPatrick Yeung 楊偉添*� Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd

ModeratorRaymond Chow 周學文*� B+CR Marketing Consulting

Ada Wong 黃英琦 *� The Good Lab

Vincent Fong 方添明Kairos Society Hong Kong

ModeratorProf Paul Cheung 張英相 Associate Vice-President (Research), HKU

Patrons

Partners

Ernest Wong 黃耀傑� *�KVB Kunlun Holdings Ltd

Joelle Woo 胡靄慈*�Business Development & Developer Experience (DX), Microsoft HK Ltd

Organisers

* HKU Alumni

Curatorial Team

Professor Paul Cheung, Associate Vice-President (Research)

Dr Albert Chau, Dean of Student Affairs, Centre of Development & Resources for Students

Professor Ying Chan, Director, Journalism & Media Studies Centre

Professor Bernadette Tsui, Director, Development & Alumni Affairs Office (Convenor) Project Team

Monica WongLaurence TangCatherine ChanCindy Chan

Special Thanks

HKU Faculties Information Technology Services Chi Wah Learning CommonsCommunications and Public Affairs OfficeShun Hing College

Support Team Business & Economics Assn, HKUSUHKU MenteesGreen Gown Guides HKU Class of 2005

Dr Julian Fong, MBBS

Great event! Proud to attend DreamCatchers as an HKU alumnus!

67 speakers 1200+ participants14 panels

DreamCatcher/ˈdriːmkatʃə/ Noun [C]

A small hoop containing a horsehair mesh decorated with feathers and beads, believed by American Indians to give its owner good dreams.

Extraordinary! This professional forum offered a platform for all real dreamcatchers to share their minds, thoughts, and ideas or maybe even souls at a decent pace.

Sara Li, M.Phil in Psychogy