Hong Kong Startup Association

Announcement - HKSUA Workshop August 31 2010 - Simone Brunozzi of Amazon Web Services

Rod Lloyd — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:23:47 +0000

The HKSUA is excited to announce our next workshop to be held at Servcorp’s offices on 19/F IFC 2, Central 630pm to 8pm on Tuesday 31 August 2010.

Leading the workshop will be Simone Brunozzi, Technology Evangelist at Amazon Web Services to discuss best practices and showcase with S3 and EC2 and other new technologies Amazon has released for developers and startups as well as discuss his other areas of expertise including cloud computing, security, large database systems, disaster recovery architecture design, and virtualized infrastructure among other areas. View his profile here:

All attendees will receive a US$50 credit for Amazon services.

Space is limited and as usual, on a first-come, first-serve basis. The exact nature of Simone’s talk will depend on the experience level of the attendees so on your RSVP request, in addition to your name, company and contact details, please indicate if you currently use any of Amazon’s services (and which), whether you are a developer and how many years of experience you have using Amazon’s tools. Please email contact@hksua.com.hk to register. Attendance is free of charge as always.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Regards,

HKSUA

Announcement: Startup Saturday 2010 - August 7

Henry Oh — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:39:19 +0000

The HKSUA is pleased to announce an exciting event to take place on 7 August 2010.

Come out for the very first Startup Saturday event at Cyberport on 7 August 7 2010.

The must-attend event for the Hong Kong tech and entrepreneurial community is being supported by the Hong Kong Startup Association.

A series of panels from the leading startups in Hong Kong share the stage with 24 of the hottest new HK and Southern China based startups to showcase their companies.

Who should attend:

investors
angels
tech enthusiasts
media
entrepreneurs
startups of all shapes and sizes

The 1-day event is free and is for sharing and inspiring the startup scene in Hong Kong.

This exciting event is being co-sponsored by the Hong Kong Cyberport and Microsoft Bizspark with featured speakers like:

Andy Ann, Founder, Darizi.com

Patrick Lee, Co-Founder, Alivenotdead.com

Kevin Huang, Co-Founder, Pixel Media

Arthur Chow, Co-Founder, 6Waves.com

and more!

Our keynote address is being delivered by G.O.D. co-founder Mr. Douglas Young and we’re featuring a showcase of the 24 hottest new startups in Hong Kong.

To register for this free event please click here: http://beta.oursky.com/startupsat/register-now/

To see more about this event please click here: http://www.startupshk.com/sus2010/

Startup Saturday 2010 where inspiration and technology meet in Hong Kong!

HKSUA Workshop May 11 2010 - Registration Closed

Rod Lloyd — Mon, 03 May 2010 12:03:08 +0000

Dear HKSUA Members,

Thank you to those who have registered for our forthcoming workshop “Seed Investment, Incubation, & Capital Management”. Due to overwhelming response, registration is now closed.

We shall separately contact registrants and advise registration status.

Thank you and look forward to seeing successful registrants at the event.

Regards,

HKSUA

Announcement - HKSUA Workshop May 11 2010 - “Seed Investment, Incubation, & Capital Management - How Seed Investors Can Add Value To Your Startup”

Rod Lloyd — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:59:32 +0000

Dear HKSUA Members,

We are pleased to announce our next workshop event to be held at Servcorp’s offices on 19th Floor 2 IFC, Central starting at 630pm ending at 8pm on Tuesday May 11th 2010.

For this event we are delighted to have as speaker Mr. Robert Clarke, the Chairman of 7bridge Capital Partners who will share his experience in seed investment, negotiating terms, and how a firm such as 7bridge approach investment and hands on management of their portfolio companies to bring value to the startups concerned.

Attendance is free of charge. Places are limited to 15 seats only on a first come first served basis. Due to space limitation we will only be able to accommodate one representative from each company.

To register, please email info@hksua.com.hk with your name, contact telephone number, contact email address, and your company name if applicable.

All those interested to learn about seed investment, capital and startup management, and negotiating terms with investors are encouraged to attend.

We look forward to the event and seeing you there.

Regards,

HKSUA

Announcement: HKSUA Event At HK Science Technology Parks - March 16: ” The 3 P’s of Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs: Principles, Practice, & Pitch Preparation To Investors”

Rod Lloyd — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:53:16 +0000

Dear HKSUA,

The HKSUA is pleased to announce details of our forthcoming event at Hong Kong Science Technology Parks (HKSTP) on March 16th 2010.

Frederick Yung, Senior Manager of the HKSTP, will present on the topic of “The 3 P’s of Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs: Principles, Practice, & Pitch Preparation To Investors”. The HKSUA will also provide an update on developments and plan for 2010.

All those interested to learn about pitch preparation and understanding angel financing are encouraged to attend.

The event will be held at meeting room 3, G/F, InnoCentre, 72 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong starting at 6:30pm to 8pm on Tuesday 16 March 2010. Places are limited.

Please email info@hksua.com.hk to register. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Thank you and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

Regards,

HKSUA

Member Offer: Discount Tickets to Cyberport Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum 2010

Rod Lloyd — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:36:13 +0000

Dear HKSUA,

Cyberport is hosting the Digitial Entertainment Leadership Forum (DELF) on 23 March 2010.

Themed “Seeing 2020 - New Directions and Coming Trends: The Next Wave of Digital Creativity”, DELF 2010 will examine how the creative industries converge and in particular what factors and forces will influence the shape and future of digital content and media entertainment during the coming decade. This year, they have invited a Five-time Oscar Award winner Richard Taylor (from Founder of Weta Companies, NZ) who contributed to James Cameron’s number-one-box-office blockbuster, Avatar, in aspects of visual effects, costumes, props and weapons and will share his outlook and anticipations on the future of digital entertainment/media.

The HKSUA is pleased to offer a discount rate of HK$300 for our members to attend (normal price HK$800) and HK$50 for access to the workshop (normal price HK$100). Inerested members should contact info@hksua.com.hk to request an application form. DELF’s website is delf.cyberport.hk.

Regards,

HKSUA

Cyberport Creative Micro Fund Winners Announced

Rod Lloyd — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:02:22 +0000

The HKSUA wishes to congratulate the winners of the 2009 Cyberport Creative Micro Fund.

In alphabetical order the following will each be the recipient of a HK$100,000 grant courtesy of Cyberport:

Aldiko
Alkheme
M3 Games
Smartpad
Smile

Please join us in congratulating the winners.

Thanks to those who applied, the vetting committee members and of course to Cyberport for making this happen.

The HKSUA is working on further exciting developments for 2010 and will make an announcement in due course.

Regards,
HKSUA

Final Reminder: CCMF Application Closing date Oct 31st 2009

Henry Oh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:11:57 +0000

Dear HKSUA members,

We would like to thank those of you who have submitted an application to the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund.

The response to the initiative has been very strong.

We would like to remind those of you still interested in submitting an application to do so on the following website by the final deadline by end of day on Saturday Oct 31st 2009:

http://ccmf.wikienterprise.com

Should you have queries, feedback, or wish to collaborate with other entrepreneurs, please use the Resources and Forums sections of the site.

Thanks and Regards,

HKSUA

CCMF Application Available Online on WikiEnterprise

Henry Oh — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:04:41 +0000

The CCMF Application is available online (with the eligibility requirements) at:

http://ccmf.wikienterprise.com

Please use the Resources and Forums as well for your questions/feedback as well as the collaborate and participate with other current and would-be entrepreneurs.

The deadline for the application is October 31st.

HKSUA

Cyberport Creative Microfund Information

Henry Oh — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:32:04 +0000

1.0 Objective

The Cyberport Creative Micro Fund (CCMF) Pilot Scheme is set up to encourage innovation and creativity, by seeding potential good start-up projects or business concepts in digital entertainment, digital content and creative lifestyle. This fund is focused on a particular industry sector which is consistent with Cyberport’s public mission. Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport) is to award half a million dollars in grants through CCMF. CCMF will award up to $100,000 each to five promising startup projects in digital creative innovation. Cyberport has engaged the Hong Kong Startup Association (HKSUA) to do the overall program management of the CCMF Pilot Scheme.

2.0 Background information

The Cyberport Creative Micro Fund (CCMF) Pilot Scheme is set up to encourage innovation and creativity by seeding creative and innovate start-up projects or business concepts in the digital entertainment, digital content and creative lifestyle sectors. The CCMF will encourage rapid prototyping of digital, creative content-based ideas, which may or may not lead to intellectual property, that can be commercialised. This fund is focused on industry sectors which are consistent with Cyberport’s public mission.

CCMF is designed as an award scheme so that Cyberport will not take on any financial interest of the awarded applicants and will maintain its neutrality. The applicants are asked to voluntarily contribute to CCMF, after their projects become financially successful. The management of Cyberport and the HKSUA believe that if successful CCMF will start a new trend of private-sector driven financial support to the development of creative business in Hong Kong, which complements government funding schemes such as the Innovation Technology Fund (ITF) and/or CreateSmart Initiative (CSI). The purpose of the CCMF Pilot Scheme is to demonstrate the viability and success of the CCMF model for a possible extension and expansion of the CCMF project.

3.0 Composition of the Vetting Committee

The Vetting Committee consists of five members assembled by the HKSUA (in consultation with Cyberport) from a diverse cross-section of the members of Hong Kong’s ICT community, including a Cyberport representative . Vetting Committee members were chosen because of their knowledge of trends in the digital entertainment, digital content and creative lifestyle sectors, prior work and engagement with local startups or other companies in the aforementioned sectors (as consistent with CCMF Pilot Project’s mandate) and provide additional resources, such as dealflow, useful connections or other contributions that will promote the success of the CCMF Pilot Project. Specifically, the Vetting Committee were selected based on a belief that they have the ability and experience to judge the applications to identify the project applications with the highest probability of success.

Five-Member Team

Mr. Robert McTamaney, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs (Asia).
Mr. Edmon Chung, Chief Executive Officer, DotAsia Organisation;
Mr. Aaron Farr, Board Member, Apache Software Foundation;
Mr. John Lo, Partner, King & Wood; and
KO Chia, Cyberport Representative and a member of Cyberport’s Board of Directors

4.0 Timeline

Aug 25/Sept 14: CCMF Pilot Scheme Launch at Pre Incubation Training which will provide a full day of free, professional training for applicants and those interested in startups
Oct 31: CCMF Application Submission Deadline (through WikiEnterprise)
Nov 18: CCMF Grant Recipients announced at CVCF
Nov through Mar: Weekly Mentorship
End of Mar: CCMF Pilot Scheme Completion

5.0 Vetting Criteria

Management Team (20%)
- Prior track record, execution ability, good probability of launch to market, and individual qualifications

Revenue Model (20%)
- The commercial potential, feasibility, and assessment of market potential

Business Model and Time to Market (30%)
- Communication and quality of vision, direction, short and long term objectives, market need for product, target market and marketing strategy, and realistic assessment of the project viability will be considered. In addition, a product launch of three months from grant disbursement will be encouraged.

Technological innovation (10%)
- Use of innovative technologies, creative solutions, disruptive technology capability, emerging, or breakthrough technologies

Social Responsibility (20%)
- Preference will be given to projects that incorporate social responsibility objectives as a project focus (including contribution to open source, Creative Commons and other “progressive” technologies with a social focus), exercise ethical decision making, or contribute toward solving a problem originating from the social environment.

6.0 CCMF Eligibility Requirements

Applicants can apply as individuals or companies recommended or endorsed by the Hong Kong Startup Association (“HKSUA”). The graduates and incubatees of IncuTrain Centre are automatically eligible to apply.
For individual applicants, they can be from any nationality; overseas applicants not in possession of a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card must have a company registered as a legal entity and incorporated in Hong Kong. University students are eligible as long as they are over 18 and meet the other eligibility requirements.
For company applicants, the company must be registered as a legal entity and incorporated in Hong Kong.
Projects must be rooted in the digital entertainment, digital media and creative lifestyle sectors. Application must demonstrate to the vetting committee a reasonably good probability of success for their plans with regard to the technology, creative and innovative ideas, social impact and business model underlying their project.
All applicants must have, or be willing to open a bank account with a recognized Hong Kong based lender for receipt of the funds and such account must be under the name of the incorporated company.
Project related expense items should not overlap with the Government and/or ITC’s funded items if any.
All entries must be a startup that has received less than HK$500,000 in funding from outside sources during the past 18 months. Grants earmarked for research expenditures do not count toward the HK$500,000 limit. Additionally, each team must pledge that they have not exceeded the HK$500,000 limit at the time their application is complete and submitted. A startup can be a group of people who have formed a team to enter the contest. However, a legal entity (in accordance with the Companies Ordinance) must be created prior to receiving the CCMF Pilot Project grant and any such legal entity must have an ownership structure typical of an independent startup (at the discretion of the Vetting Committee).
The team should have at least one full time founder as a Director of such company.
All applicants will be required to sign and adhere to CCMF’s terms and conditions and be subject to the laws of the Hong Kong SAR.

If interested and you would like to know more about the eligibility requirements, please email info@hksua.com.hk with “CCMF” in the subject title with your contact information and we will send you more information once the project officially launches. Alternatively, you can send us a message on our Facebook Group “Hong Kong Startup Association” or our Google Group of the same name….

Or attend our session at Barcamp this Saturday, September 12th!