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2019 February
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Incubation Platform: Guiding Start-ups Towards Success

It is not uncommon for young people to think about starting their own businesses. They have innovative and creative business ideas but lack funding, experience and support. Fortunately, various start-up incubation platforms have emerged in recent years to support young startup entrepreneurs.

 

Peter Mok: HKSTP promotes start-up entrepreneurial culture

Riding on the strong startup wave in our society, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is one of the most important incubation organizations to support local business starters. It has been helping startup projects with development potentials to transform their ideas into concrete projects and launch them into the market.

 

Peter Mok, Head of Incubation & Acceleration Programmes of HKSTP, stresses that the key to nurturing and assisting innovative companies in Hong Kong is to establish an all-encompassing startup ecosystem and to promote an entrepreneurial culture. To achieve this goal, HKSTP launched the “Science and Technology Entrepreneur Programme” (STEP) as a precursor to provide startups with assistance on all fronts.

 

Transforming an idea into a startup

The HKSTP platform to breed projects with good potentials by offering a platform and assistance to creative young people. Mok said, “We would review their ideas, technology and extent of engagement. Some of the business proposals may not be very mature, yet the project team determination is what really counts. The whole thing may not work out after all, but we hope the experience can foster entrepreneurship among young people.”

 

Take STEP as an example. When the idea was first kicked off, HKSTP empowered business starters with essential knowledge for establishing a new company, including hardware support, marketing and financial support, etc. HKSTP would also offer startups one-year classroom training of five to six modules so that young people can be better prepared and plan their projects well.

 

Advanced program lifts incubation to the next level

When a startup gradually takes shape, it enters the incubation stage. HKSTP would help startups turn their outcomes or services into marketable commercial products. Mok points out that during the incubation stage, HKSTP would review the company’s performance every six months. The program has a “target fund” in place to encourage companies to take part in international competitions, which would make identifying and matching with investors much easier in the future.

 

Mok reveals that the mentor and training programs will be HKSTP’s foci of work going forward. “Our mentor program offers on-site support from entrepreneurs who are recently retired seasoned management executives. Their strong personal networks and rich experience are particularly helpful to budding startups.”

 

When products and services of startups are developed to a certain scale, they can apply to join the “Leading Enterprises Acceleration Program” (LEAP). Mok describes it as the “elite version” of the incubation program, through which HKSTP focuses on helping companies expand market networks and step up promotion to prepare for public listing or M&A in the future.

 

Putting startup supporting resources to good use

Mok stresses that HKSTP is more than a fund provider for startups. It is also assisting startups at different stages through a series of programs to foster a mature entrepreneurial spirit. “Injecting more funds does not always result in distinguished research and development attainments. It is most important to put resources to good use. Otherwise, we will only be offering a startup version of CSSA.”

 

Doris Luey: Eureka Nova Provides Startup Community Platform in the Greater Bay Area

According to Invest Hong Kong, Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem expanded by 18% year on year to 2,625 companies in 2018, indicating that startups are growing at full speed in Hong Kong and the prospects are bright.

 

Startups have proliferated during this strong trend, but they must first overcome challenges in financing and customer acquisition. Eureka Nova, a startup incubator founded by the New World Group in September 2017, aims to help startups seek business matching opportunities and assist them in putting their products and services into practice in the business environment by leveraging the Group’s vast contacts and business network.

 

Stimulation of disruptive business solutions

“At present, many different venture capital and government subsidies are available in both Hong Kong and the Mainland, but opportunities to really help startups acquire customers and develop business are few and far between.” Doris Luey, Head of Social Innovation Department of the New World Group, pointed out that the emergence of Eureka Nova precisely fills this gap in the startup ecosystem.

 

According to Luey, in alignment with its corporate culture of daring to innovate, the New World Group strives to nurture entrepreneurial spirit and creativity in young startups and stimulate disruptive business solutions. “Eureka Nova was founded by Dr Adrian Cheng, Executive Vice-chairman and General Manager of the New World Development Company Limited, to provide all-round support and create a favorable environment for startups so that Hong Kong can become an international hub for incubating disruptive technology, creativity and cultural industries. Since its inception, it has provided support to over 60 startups.”

 

In partnership with Tencent to nurture startups

Last year, Eureka Nova extended the selection of startups to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area and formed a partnership with the Mainland’s innovation and technology (I&T) giant Tencent to nurture startups in the area. Luey said that the Eureka Nova x Tencent Smart Retail x WeStart Greater Bay Area Incubation Programme, launched in partnership with Tencent, aims to encourage young people to seize the opportunity to enter the Greater Bay Area and start their business. As the Greater Bay Area’s population of 70 million people comprises many young people with strong spending power, the startups selected by Eureka Nova can use it as a starting point to move to a larger market nationwide and overseas.

 

The programme is currently about to complete final selection. Luey said that the panel of judges is composed of industry leaders and the senior management staff of the New World Group and Tencent, and Eureka Nova’s selection criteria mainly include innovativeness, uniqueness, business viability, and team expertise. Besides free use of Eureka Nova’s workspace, the selected startups will attend support courses and workshops designed by Eureka Nova to help them find solutions to business challenges, including inviting the industry elite to share industry status, challenges and opportunities.

 

Nurturing startup community and showcasing business ideas

“During incubation, the startups will gain deep insight into the different business areas of the New World Group and Tencent on top of expanding their interpersonal and business networks to unlock opportunities in smart retail.” Luey added that through the programme, the startups will have the chance to validate their business ideas and seek opportunities for long-term partnerships by presenting their businesses to the Group’s leadership, the industry elite, investors and retail giants on Demo Day. The programme’s ultimate goal is to put into practice its idea of providing a platform to foster the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity of young startups in the Greater Bay Area by bringing together and nurturing the startup communities in Hong Kong and the area.

 

Hong Kong has been increasing the resources for nurturing startups in recent years. Luey looks forward to the rollout of more policies in this regard and working together with businesses to build a more diverse and grounded startup ecosystem. “Eureka Nova’s original intention is to advocate businesses, as an important stakeholder in the startup ecosystem, to provide collaboration opportunities for startups such as in funding, product validation, co-investment and joint research & development, which are particularly important for their development.”

 

Looking ahead, Luey stressed that Eureka Nova will continue to combine the innovative capacities of the New World Group and society at large to play its role as a startup incubation platform, injecting a sustained impetus for innovation and creativity into the startup communities of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. “As founder Cheng said, in addition to helping startups grow, Eureka Nova focuses on collaborating with the Group’s various businesses and other startup enablers to create a novel and diverse startup ecosystem that will make Hong Kong into an international center for fostering of disruptive technology, creativity and cultural industries in the Greater Bay Area and showcase the infinite potential of these startups to the market.”

 

Ma Heng: Empowering Startup Metamorphosis

In recent years, many incubation platforms for startups have sprouted in Hong Kong and CoCoon is one of the big local startup communities. Through CoCoon, Co-founder Theodore Ma wants to establish a local startup ecosystem connecting different businesses and entrepreneurial teams to rekindle Hong Kong’s entrepreneurial spirit.

 

Creation of a large startup community

“CoCoon means a chrysalis that protects a growing caterpillar before it transforms into a butterfly. We provide opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors to get to know each other and find a way to work together. They leave when they think the time is right.” Ma stresses that CoCoon is not just a business; it is more about creating value for the society to achieve sustainable development.

 

“We position CoCoon as a home for entrepreneurs,” Ma said. When he was setting up an online retail business for his family’s jewelry business, he found it difficult to find suitable talent needed for cooperation. When he finally put together a team of technical professionals, there was a dearth of workspace. Later, inspired by Jon Buford the founder of the Hong Kong startup incubator StartUpsHK, he sought reference from overseas operating models and set up a shared workspace.

 

Matchmaker of talents and funds

CoCoon Pitch Night is CoCoon’s major event. Ma believes that capital is the key to entrepreneurship, and talent is a decisive factor for investment. CoCoon Pitch Night hones in on this formula and helps members find potential investors and customers, while enabling investors to find talent for their projects. Over the past six years, CoCoon has held 63 pitch nights, allowing 286 teams to showcase their entrepreneurial ideas and raise over HKD3.4 billion in investment funds.

 

CoCoon has also set up the CoCoon Foundation. Since 2014, the Foundation has partnered with local and overseas universities to provide entrepreneurship training and internships in startups for university students. In 2017, the Foundation extended entrepreneurship education to secondary schools to help students establish their future direction in education or career.

 

Innovation must outpace changes

Ma noted that many businesses have survived in rapid social and market changes because they managed to grasp opportunities, while others cannot cope with changes and fail. Businesses will have growing need for innovation and increasing demand for talent gifted with an entrepreneurial spirit. Ma reveals that CoCoon will launch a new scheme “CoCoon for Business” to help businesses keep abreast of the latest market happenings and technology trends.

 

Awaken the entrepreneur within you

Ma recognizes that starting your own business is not easy and the lack of funds is a major hurdle for most people. However, he believes that determination is crucial. Embracing a mission to rekindle Hong Kong’s entrepreneurial spirit, CoCoon strives to nurture the fire inside every entrepreneur.

 

Many people are defeated by setbacks along their startup journey. Ma says very few entrepreneurs enjoy instant success. Instead, they have to accumulate experience and knowledge in order to slowly turn their ideals into reality. As long as they can find the right direction and follow the right path, they will build a profitable business sooner or later. Nevertheless, they must reposition and change timely if they find they are heading into a blind alley.

 

Money is not the only reward. Ma points out that many motivated people who wish to set up their own businesses have more than just money in mind. They also want to create value and have a positive impact on the people close to them, the society and even the world. He has this advice for all business starters: “Lack of success to date does not mean you will not succeed in the future.”