ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMER
SCHOOL HONG KONG 2014
What happened
This edition of the Entrepreneurship Summer School Hong Kong saw a gathering of more than 50 young entrepreneurs coming from all over the world, with a strong majority from Europe and China.
The speakers were very high level entrepreneurs from all over the world who are based in asia. They shared their experiences on doing business across different cultures and continents, and worked with our startuppers on their concrete business ideas.
The whole group was granted a one day visit to the headquarter of Huawei in Shenzhen, one of the biggest and most innovative technology firms in the world. The youth had a chance to meet the senior vicepresident to have a discussion on this exceptional entrepreneurial achievement: from sme to international corporation in 25 years.
The Speakers
Kay Ross
Founder and Boss of Kay Ross Marketing
Kay Ross is a marketing consultant, editor and copywriter – her company is Kay Ross Marketing.
She helps her clients to devise effective marketing/branding strategies and to craft and tell compelling stories.
Kay is also a former Listings Editor at the “South China Morning Post” newspaper, so she knows what journalists want.
And she performs with local English-language improv troupe People’s Liberation Improv (they make stuff up on the spot, without a script), leads corporate workshops about how to apply the principles and mindset of improvisation to life and business, and is a member of the international Applied Improvisation Network.
Kay was born in Scotland, grew up in Australia, and has lived in Hong Kong for 20 years.
Jennifer Chan
Founder of Delta Think
Riding on her understanding of the cultures of both East and West, she has the vision of bringing in new concepts and solutions by creating “delta” platforms across different sectors and geographical locations. Jennifer has an unparalleled knowledge of business from the perspectives of owner, manager and operator.
She has developed long-term relationships with reputable companies, NGOs, government institutions and professional firms in the Benelux regions, as well as in Hong Kong and China.
Recognised as a successful entrepreneur, she also holds advisory positions in various institutions, including the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Shenzhen Association of Trade in Service and the Economic Development Board Rotterdam.
Robert van Hunsel
Founder of Media Group Asia ltd
Robert, born and raised in the Netherlands, has a very diverse background. At a young age he started as a singer and worked with many acts which enabled him to travel to many places, perform on many stages and work with great and talented people in the international music industry.
In 2011 Robert moved to Hong Kong to start Media Group Asia ltd. a media & creative investment company where he has worked on many different projects and build up a network in Greater China and Singapore.
Tin Hang Liu
Tin Hang Liu is the founder of SEOLAB (SocialMedia division), an italian company with top clients like the Benetton Group Worldwide, Fox, Kimberly Clark and CEO/founder of Cityfun, a startup company that focuses on reviews of local business in partnership with the biggest media group in Italy, Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso.
Previously, he was the director of Italchina, an international company concerned with mergers & acquisitions, consultancy and corporate management.
Here he worked with top clients such as: The Cagiva Group and Giugiaro Design. He is also a teacher at IULM University where he lectures about Social Media Marketing and Online Strategies for students at a Master Level.
Brian Goldberg
Founder and CEO of Mr. Bing
Born & raised in New York, Brian Goldberg fell in love with 'jianbing' while studying Chinese in Beijing in 1998.
There was a street cart right outside his school that fed students and locals daily with those hot & fresh Chinese crepes.
Made right in front of his eyes and customised to his liking, jianbing was the perfect meal-on-the-go, anytime of the day or night. After moving back to the USA, Brian missed jianbing so much that he and his friends held reunion parties just to recreate the experience at home. It was then that Brian realised he wasn't the only one obsessed with "the bing".
He proceeded to write the original business plan for Mr Bing (initially coined 'Goldberg's Chinese Crepes') - to introduce the world to this interactive Chinese street food, with the music and design culture that surrounds it.
Mr Bing experienced a complete media craze and customer frenzy from the first day of launching in Hong Kong in December 2012. Brian then made the decision to make Mr Bing his career - and to give many others the opportunity to join along for the ride.
Massimo Sfriso
Founder of Il Bel Paese
Venice-born, Massimo came to Hong Kong in 1989 on an academic project and stayed much longer that he had intended.
He set up ‘il Bel Paese’ in 2001 and the Company currently runs eight stores. Massimo, thanks to his vast knowledge of Italian culinary tradition, has become a noted authority on Italian food and culture.
He has made several TV appearances related to his expertise of Italian food. He organizes and teaches tasting & appreciation food series to diversify the business model. Massimo, married to a local Chinese woman, speaks fluent Cantonese. A 20-year old daughter completes the family.
Billy Yuen
Founder of EntrepreneurHK
Bill is a serial entrepreneur.
At age 31, Bill found EntrepreneurHK (www.entrepreneurhk.org) — a private non-profit that works with startup leaders and government to build Hong Kong's startup ecosystem. In the following year, EHK formed a partnership with TIME and FORTUNE magazine. The goal is to bring the most relevant startup news, stories and business knowledge to upgrade the city’s entrepreneurs’ quality.
Ian Fong
Founder of Cuffs
In 2011 Ian Fong created CUFFS, a fresh and modern take on the traditional Hong Kong tailor. Ian’s goal with CUFFS is to make it easy for men to look good, through innovations such as a step-by-step Shirt Bar, seasonally curated fabric collections, knowledgeable staff and stylish sample designs from their inhouse designer. SInce it opened its doors CUFFS has built a loyal fan following and has been featured in CNN, National Geographic Traveller, Newsweek (“Top 100 Travel destination”), and Forbes (“Top 5 tailor”).