ENTREPRENEURSHIP WINTER
SCHOOL HONG KONG 2015
What happened
The Entrepreneurship Winter School Hong Kong 2015 was made a full success by young startuppers from all around the world.
The participants were able to learn about Entrepreneurship in a very interactive way at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, the University of Hong Kong.
Speakers established in and around the entrepreneurial hub Hong Kong ranged from very different branches including; Cosmetics, Fashion, Agriculture, Space Travel or Information Technology.
This allowed each student to connect with each entrepreneur and gain insights into each of their entrepreneurial lives. One highlight was the visit to Huawei Headquarter, where one could explore the innovative technology firm and dine with the vice president.
The School was rounded off with a competition of sparkling business ideas that the participants presented in groups to a jury of successful entrepreneurs of whom met the students during the week.
The best idea was rewarded with 10.000 HKD that will support the lucky winners with the implementation of their future plans!
The Speakers
Charles Mok, JP
Legislative Councillor (Information Technology), HKSAR
Charles is one of the ICT industry pioneers in Hong Kong, as Honorary President of Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, former Chairman of Hong Kong Internet Service Providers Association, and Co-founder of Internet Society Hong Kong. Internationally, Charles served as Chairman of Asian, Australasian and Pacific Islands Regional At-Large Organization, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers during 2011 and 2012. Charles is active in public services with a view to upholding the core values of Hong Kong of which include democracy, liberty, human rights, rule of law and integrity.
He serves as a member of the Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee, and Consultation Panel of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority.
Jennifer Cheng
Founder of Glam-it!
After a career as an actress and model in the US upon graduating from Brown University, Jennifer earned her MBA from HKUST and became known as one of Asia’s leading female entrepreneurs and passionate players in the Technology, eCommerce, and Social Media space.
After management positions with Darizi and Rackspace Hosting, Jennifer took on groupbuying, first with uBuyiBuy, (acquired by Groupon) then as Vice President of BEECRAZY (acquired by iBuy which IPOed on AUSX) After also cofounding and launching a subscription commerce beauty box available in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Singapore, Jennifer's current venture is Glam‐it! a beauty & fashion brand and tech company with the revolutionary and patent pending GlamPact, the first all-in-one customizable, refillable, lighted lux makeup compact with skincare ingredients, complete with a rechargeable LED lighted mirror. Glam-it! products are available at fine retailers including Harvey Nichols, Luxola.com, and is currently available in 11 countries.
Simon Squibb
CEO of Nest Investments
As an angel investor for over 18 years, Simon is dedicated to bringing ideas to life and helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong achieve their dreams.
As founder of multi award-winning, globally respected creative agency, fluid, Simon worked with an impressive list of clients and partner brands including Estée Lauder China, Fortune, CNN, Wall Street Journal Asia, Li & Fung, Citibank China and Starbucks. As CEO of Nest Investments, Simon leverages his extensive network and experience to mentor and develop Hong Kong based start-ups and entrepreneurs.
Alex Tang
CEO of XCOR Asia
Alex is the CEO of SXC Asia, leading the company’s business expansion in Greater China. Since a child, he has been intrigued by technology, cars and space travel. His dream is to be the first in Hong Kong to travel into space.
With this aspiration, Alex met Michiel through a business partner and ventured into the business of space tourism, taking him a step closer to realizing his dream.
Alex holds a BSc from the University of New South Wales and completed his MBA at University of Technology in Sydney.
His entrepreneurial spirit started as soon as he graduated, where he helped expand his family’s footwear business across Greater China.
Jim Coke
Founder of Hilmann Reinier
The son of a Jamaica farmer, Jim read Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge University obtaining both a Bachelor and Masters degree. After graduating, he began a career in banking as a risk manager before relocating to Singapore and becoming an entrepreneur. Hilmann Reinier Brands Ltd started off in Hong Kong as a coffee manufacturing business developing its own brand (Lily Kerridge) before being listed in several stores under the A.S. Watson Group. All this was achieved within 18 months.
Jim is the classic "bootstrapping entrepreneur". His achievements are remarkable because he landed in Hong Kong with no contacts, friends or family and battled his way through to Hong Kong's largest supermarket chain with a brand he developed from nothing. This was all achieved without the help of consultants, advisors, bank loans, local Chinese partners or foreign investors. Jim’s view on entrepreneurship is unconventional and at the same time practical and based almost entirely on the notion of “always doing more with less”.
Hilmann Reinier now develops new brands coming into Asia and has expanded its portfolio from coffee to beer, chocolates, tea, rum, malt drinks and stouts. The Hong Kong Entrepreneur: From Start-up to Supermarket in 18 months is Jim's account of his journey and it will be available in Dymoks' bookstores in 2015.
Cindy Koo
Founder of Cindiddy
Established in 2008, Cindiddy is an influential fashion and lifestyle blog based in Hong Kong that speaks to the trendsetters, tastemakers, and artists of the world. Cindy Ko, the talent behind the site, curates a collective of her fashion, personal style, health, and travel inspiration. She has been featured in major magazines and covers many large-scale fashion events, including Fashion Week in New York and Australia. Cindiddy worked with esteemed brands such as Jimmy Choo, Cartier, Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren,Max Mara, Burberry Prorsum, Hogan, Hugo Boss, and Karl Lagerfeld.
João Seabra
Founder of Jump Willy
He is the founder and partner of Jump Willy (Portugal and Hong Kong), We Came from Mars, Uou, Criatividade Digital, and Idea Lab Diogo Vasconcelos. He won various international and national awards, in film directing, animation, and entrepreneurism, such as the “Young Creative Talent” award by the European Union or the Silver Dolphin at Cannes
Corporate Media & TV Awards. He started at 23 years old as a University teacher, where he also open the first training center in Portugal certified by Autodesk, Apple, and Avid, and was part of the small team that created the first Portuguese Master of Computer Animation where he taught the final project class.
His main company Jump Willy, creates Worldwide for brands such as BMW, Nokia, Axe, Vodafone, Danone, H&M and many others. He’s passionate for traveling and extreme backpacking for remote and isolate areas of the World.
Luca Barberis
Manager at Zalora
As the Director of Marketing, Luca Barberis currently heads the marketing team of ZALORA Malaysia, Asia’s Leading Online Fashion Destination. His roles include managing the company’s marketing activities, ranging from paid advertising to public relations and corporate partnerships. Luca is responsible for ZALORA’s many successful marketing efforts, fueling the company's growth.
Luca is also the founder of Digital Shots Ltd, a online and mobile publisher, running a portfolio of websites with up to 1Mil visitors per day. The company works in online advertising, software downloads and mobile apps distribution with a focus on India, Brazil and South East Asia.
Prior to working with Rocket Internet and ZALORA, Luca held the position of Account Manager at Google, where he managed a diversified portfolio of businesses (from startups to large enterprises), advising customers on a range of topics such as online marketing, international expansion and online growth strategy.