Alex Is Nuts (or Alexis' Nuts?)

Founder, CEO, Dreamer, Father, Bacon Addict

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Licensing Expo - Exhibitor Blog Part 2

Booking space as an Exhibitor at the Licensing Expo:

So, you have decided that you want to exhibit at the Licensing Expo... exciting!!! 

Let’s talk about the process of booking and a few things to take into account.

The big guys book space 1 year in advance, well, they have tonnes and tonnes of money, and they want to ensure the best location of their behemoth booths... good for them! Are you playing that game? I don’t think so!!! (And if you are, that means you are rolling in cash, so please check my contact details, I am open for further investment :D)

So neither myself (at least right now), nor you (I suspect), can afford to freeze that amount of money so far in advance (sure, it’s just a deposit, but it still hurts!)... and you know what? It doesn’t matter.

If you are an artist selling designs and patterns, you will end up in the Art & Design section (where you can get tiny booths at a cheaper price) and where you will find available spots no problem just a few months before the show. However, I honestly think that the traffic there is not very good (based on my walks around the show).

The cat is thinking: “Damn! I should have gotten a booth on the Brand & Entertainment section!” :D

Now, if you are a small brand (as we are), and you want to License your characters, then the Brand & Entertainment area (which is the main area of the show) is the place to be, and there, for your booth size (smallest is 10ft x 10ft), regardless of when you book, you are going to end up with all the other small brands that book last minute, that is in one of the sides of the hall.

At this point, you might already have searched online on how to choose the best spots for a booth, yes, I also did when I started this tradeshow routine. Guess what? It’s going to be useless. You are going to end up with locations that most people would say are either bad, very bad, or awful.

However... Is that true? Based on our experience this year, not really! We got a lot of traffic! The meeting rooms were just behind us so there were a bunch of top executives walking through the area and they installed a food area next to us so we had tonnes of traffic also during lunch time. And guess what? People know that brands must start small, so those seeking what’s up and coming, looking for the next big thing, won’t be looking for that on the Main Hall, they will come looking for you right there!

Of course, one thing is having traffic around and another thing is driving leads to your booth. It is your job to be visually attractive enough to make people notice you and stop :)

So, how far in advance to book? We booked about 4 months before the show; initially we were forced to get a location in the last line of booths because they had many reserved ones more towards the “center”. However, suddenly many of those reserved ones opened up and we could move to a nice corner booth 2 rows closer to the main action (still on the outskirts but hey, a bit closer!). Sweet!

In fact, it seems they could not fill all the booths opened to small companies, so the show ended up deleting the whole last row and everyone moved a bit closer. So you see, there’s space for everybody, don’t fret!

That being said, if you have taken a decision and see a relatively nice space available (and you have the cash available), move fast! They can hold it for you for a few days before you make the payment, so don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today.

Now about the cost, it was upwards of US$4,000 for 100sq ft. And that includes... well... nothing, just the space, concrete floor and the air on top of that... not even a poor carpet! If you are US based maybe that comes to you as no surprise but I am used to the Hong Kong Licensing Show, where HKTDC (the organizer) makes the small exhibitor life extremely easy and offers very nice standard all included deals for basically the same price as getting just the space (which only big companies prefer so they can build their custom exhibits).

In Vegas Licensing Expo you can also get “turn-key booth” solutions “kindly” offered by GES... but you need to sell your kidney to afford them, and they are so basic, and limited, that well, its not even funny.

So you booked the space... Now what?

Prepare to get spooked! But we will talk about that in the next Blog post! Keep tuned!

[alexisnuts-blog1]

Licensing Expo - Exhibitor Blog Part 1

Exhibiting in the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas is any Licensors’ dream but it is expensive and it involves a whole lot of preparation. Are you an artist trying to license your artworks? Are you a young brand trying to license your characters? I think you will want to keep reading!

This June, we (myself and my company, Kokonuzz) joined the Licensing Expo for the first time, and I would like to share in this post our experience. When I was deciding whether to join or not, I tried to find blogs with other exhibitor’s experience and unfortunately I could not find much, so I hope by spending some time on this I can help some future Artists or Startups make a decision, ease the pain of the preparations and get the most of the Expo.

I should warn you, I am not good a summarizing things, so get ready for a long read, which I will cut into pieces for easier digestion :)

Exhibiting in the Licensing Expo: Should you do it?

Well, that is totally up to you. You will need to balance the costs (not only financial but also in terms of time!) with the perceived potential benefits. Was it worth it for us? Hell yeah!!! But we did our homework and we were convinced that we had something very attractive and licensing ready. Why? Because we have been in the licensing arena since early 2014 and we have joined the Hong Kong Licensing Show with tremendous success for 2 years already.

I would say that if you are an artist licensing your artworks the readiness requirements are lower. Basically you should have tonnes of artwork/designs ready and be able to churn out samples. The minimum cost of joining as an artist in the Art+Design section is way lower than that of the Entertainment+Brand section, so that also helps. But of course, I think the potential benefits are way smaller in that section, or you could say that the odds are less in your favor.

If you are a brand, I think to profit from the Expo you need to have at the very least a solidly defined concept and some sort of market proof that you are onto something. I say that now but let’s be honest, I joined my first Licensing Show (in Hong Kong) being a complete newbie in Licensing, having an almost empty bank account (I spent my last few thousand Hong Kong dollars in the show) and with basically nothing solid to offer besides a very clear vision, some samples and some leaflets. And that show changed my business and my life. By any normal standard, was I ready for the show? Not even close. Did I take a gamble? You bet! Did it pay? Big time!!!

So take the advice above with a pinch of salt. If you are very early stage but you truly believe in what you have and you have the guts to try it out, or if you are at that desperate moment when it’s all or nothing... I would say... it’s Vegas baby, so take a shot!  

Now, let’s imagine you decide to become an Exhibitor. What’s next?

Check my next article (coming very soon)! Booking space as an Exhibitor at the Licensing Expo.

[kokonuzz]

The TOP 5 Show: FROZEN!

Special guest: Elsa’s Sister! (a.k.a. Anna)

KINO & LUPPO are finally running their own Youtube Show! It’s been a crazy ride… (check it out in our Comic Series: https://www.facebook.com/KOKONUZZ)

The TOP 5 Show: Episode 1 brings KINO & LUPPO a bit closer to their dream of reaching Youtube celebrity heaven and sit there next to Pewdie almighty and the Fine Bros Spirit.

This episode explores the Top 5 moments in “everyone’s” favorite movie: Disney’s Frozen!

Kristoff and Sven were busy selling some “ice” and Olaf’s manager asked for more than we could afford, so we ended up inviting Elsa’s Sister :)

*** Special Thanks ***

1) To our talented voice actors: - Shiroppu / Raspdere: https://www.youtube.com/user/raspdere (Anna, Elsa) - ChuckFresh (Luppo) - Yours truly :) with my very accurate Spanish accent (Kino)

2) To our amazing Fans; thank you for your unconditional support!

3) And to our awesome Kokonuzz Team (including our Pop-Up Team in PH!): Yes we can!

* The KOKONUZZ Channel features KINO, LUPPO, FIN, GINA, HARI, OTTO and KOO (and sometimes also parodies of celebrities/popular characters). For more details on our characters, check out our website: http://www.kokonuzz.com/

Created by Kokonuzz: BE HAPPY, HAVE FUN & LET’S GO NUTS!

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kokonuzz INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/kokonuzz_ig/ TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/KOKONUZZ TUMBLR: http://kokonuzz.tumblr.com/

Support us by Subscribing our Channel! Thanks Kokofans!

Copyright © 2015 Kokonuzz

[alexisnuts-blog1]

The Show begins!!! So proud of my Team!!!

[alexisnuts-blog1]

david comes across as a truly nice person! Love your vision for Tumblr in Asia & I hope it becomes a reality!

[alexisnuts-blog1]

10+1 Myths of the Startup Scene in Hong Kong (Part 4)

...

And here we go, the last part of 10+1 Myths of the Startup Scene in Hong Kong. This one will be a bit shorter since we only have 1+1 Myths left to analyze.

First a quick recap:

Check Part 1 here: http://alexisnuts.tumblr.com/post/114900471016/10-1-myths-of-the-startup-scene-in-hong-kong-part

Part 2 here: http://alexisnuts.tumblr.com/post/115667082266/10-1-myths-of-the-startup-scene-in-hong-kong-part

And Part 3 here: http://alexisnuts.tumblr.com/post/116211297361/10-1-myths-of-the-startup-scene-in-hong-kong-part

 So here goes Part 4 (the last one!), hope you enjoy it!

  Myth #9: Hong Kong is the next Silicon Valley

Sure... And in TST there are herds of unicorns that eat marshmallows and poo fragrant rainbows...

This might sound a bit absurd because, well, it is absurd. But there’s people out there painting such rosy pictures of the HK Startup scene that it makes you wonder... am I living in the same place than them? :)

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Hong Kong. You have seen in Part 1 to 3 that HK offers many advantages to Startup founders and things keep improving... However, that does not make Hong Kong Startup Magic Heaven... Not even close!

That makes this Myth absolutely false in general terms. But the question worth exploring is: is Hong Kong especially attractive for any specific type of Startups?

Over the years I have witnessed several discussions about this topic and I have my own take on the matter. General consensus seems to be that Hong Kong is especially good for:

a) Hardware based companies (the Internet of things anyone?);

b) Logistic related business models, which include online retail; and

c) Fintech, which stands for Technology applied to financial markets, (nothing to do with Technology from Finland)... 

Fintech includes all sort of weird business models that seem almost metaphysical to me... But to be fair, it also includes standard boring transactional models because if it weren’t boring then it just would just not be Finance (ok, I am biased, I am a Marketing guy...)

So what’s my take on that?

In my opinion, pure hardware companies would do better in let’s say... neighboring Shenzhen. I mean, the edge of HK on that field is proximity to China, right? So... you might as well be there.

You could argue that China might present IP related dangers... but you are going to face them too if you end up producing in China, regardless of where you are based. Besides, Shenzhen is home to a growing number of accelerator programs targeting this specific industry, generating a lot of funding and support, so I don’t see how Hong Kong can beat that!

That being said, there’s another type of hardware companies that I think would do better being located in Hong Kong, the ones with a hardware direct retail business model, such as those based on crowdfunding and online sales of the product. For those Startups the logistic advantages of Hong Kong can make a huge difference and for them I think this city is a clear choice.

For the same reason I also believe that Hong Kong is ideal for any other logistic intensive Startup, such as online retailers.

And finally about Fintech, I must admit that I am no expert on that field... But considering that 4 out of 3 Hong Kong residents works in Banking/Finance... that seems to me a clear sign that there is a market for such Startups here :)

On the other hand, what type of Startups would have a hard time here?

I would say there are 2 main groups: a) Creative Startups (and that I know first hand) and b) Capital Intensive Startups (be it for fixed assets or because they need huge marketing/development budgets to scale globally faster than competitors). For Creative Startups I already mentioned a few reasons before and I will rant extensively about that on a different post... cause I know you probably don’t care :)

For Capital Intensive Startups the problem is the lack of significant funding sources within the city beyond seed stage, as mentioned on Myth #8.  

Result: This Myth is totally busted. However, there are a few types of Startups that could find a much better home in Hong Kong than in Silicon Valley, as surprising as that might seem.

And finally let’s move to Myth #10+1, which is a bonus track:

Myth #10+1: There is no global Startup Success from Hong Kong. No Hong Kong unicorn.

Unicorns, everyone loves them, everyone talks about them and very few have even got close to be one of them... What are unicorns? Startups worth (based on funding valuations) 1 billion USD or higher.

Over the last century Hong Kong has breed more than its fair share of mega companies... Sure, they are all in traditional sectors: real state, banking, telecom, utilities, retail... but it is still very noteworthy that there are so many of them considering Hong Kong is a tiny speck in the vastness of the world.

But what about modern Startups? Well, Hong Kong has no unicorn yet... that’s true. But there are quite a few exciting success stories and we might see rainbow-money pooping unicorns soon too! 

Among the most exciting stories we have Divide, which was sold to Google for 120 million USD (although the official headquarters were based in NYC...), Outblaze (and the half million different companies it owns), 8 Securities (raised 9 million USD in 2014) and GogoVan which recently raised 10 million USD at a 100 million valuation... Not bad! Sure, if you compare that with Silicon Valley... well, just don’t compare it cause it is not pretty. But all seems to point to HK Startups getting higher and higher valuations and the unicorn will come, sooner or later.

And here goes my prediction: Hong Kong’s first unicorn is going to be... Kokonuzz of course! :)

Wouldn’t that be something? A Creative company merging branding and technology, embracing the power (and perfecting the art) of growthhacking (or whichever way you want to call it) to generate one of the most sustainable and profitable business models in the long term: character licensing. :)

Ok, ok, I am not going to do a pitch here and now... But my bet is there and time will tell :)

Result: This Myth is true, but hopefully for not too long! 

And that brings us to a close. Time to wrap things up! I hope you found this article interesting, I had a great time making it happen. Thanks a lot for reading and if you feel this is might be a worthwhile post, please feel free to share and follow either on Tumblr or Twitter (more posts to come of course!)

On my side, I can finally move to some other topics that I want to talk about. I need to learn to keep things short so I don’t need 1 month and 4 parts per topic... I will do my best! :)

Have a great week ahead and always remember:

Be Happy, Have Fun & Let’s Go Nuts! 

[alexisnuts-blog1]

10+1 Myths of the Startup Scene in Hong Kong (Part 3)

...

And here comes the post that you have been anxiously expecting this entire last week: Part 3 of 10+1 Myths of the HK Start-Up Scene in Hong Kong!

I know it is hard to wait for a whole week between posts, but please stop sending me emails, PMs and tweets asking me to write faster...

(Somehow I know that you know that what I just said did not actually happen... I guess I am not George R.R. Martin)

(On a side note, George, if you are reading this, and I know you are since you are a big fan of my blog, please, please, please stop writing short stories, novellas and making silly GoT maps, games and dumb animated toons and finish the goddamn Winds of Winter already!!! Love you!)

Back to business, First a quick recap:

Check Part 1 of this Post here: http://alexisnuts.tumblr.com/post/114900471016/10-1-myths-of-the-startup-scene-in-hong-kong-part

And Part 2 here: http://alexisnuts.tumblr.com/post/115667082266/10-1-myths-of-the-startup-scene-in-hong-kong-part

So here goes Part 3, hope you enjoy it!

Myth #7: Startups are just not cool in HK

Let’s see how to tackle this Myth… To be cool or not to be cool…that is the question.

But why would an Entrepreneur care about whether he/she is perceived either way on the place he/she decided to set up his/her company? Well, it’s obvious! If Startups are perceived as cool, there will be more people interested in investing on them, working for them or partnering with them.

Moreover, as a young male entrepreneur (maybe also for female ones), I would imagine there’s an extra (and probably more important reason) on top of that, which is that chances to get laid increase exponentially if what you are doing is perceived as cool – And back in 2007 that might or might not have been a concern of mine too… :)

So, back to the question, are Startups cool in HK? Let’s analyse Startup perception in this city among the 3 groups of population that for this issue are most relevant to the entrepreneur:

1. The average HK citizen: 5 years ago, the generalized perception would have ranged from “Startups are not cool” to “Don’t get closer to me, I don’t want to catch the Startup virus and suffer the sort of financial humiliation you are going to suffer”.

Today, the perception has improved, somehow… ranging anywhere from “You mean American StartUp? Good!... Oh, you mean HK Startup? You crazy?” to “Startups are ok, but you can make more money in the stock or property market”. So I would not say Startups are cool for the average HK citizen, but things are slowly improving…

2. The “Startup friendly” Community: You would expect that for people within this community (of which I am part of!), running a Startup would be cool… Well think again! Everyone in this community runs (or previously ran) a Startup or is doing something related to Startups, so if something is so common… how can it be cool??? 

 Now, if you achieve any sort of notable success with your Startup that’s a different story! Then you are very cool indeed! But just for the fact of being an entrepreneur, you are definitely not. I am sorry but that is the hard truth…

And now for the truly heart breaking fact: Even if your Startup is successful, if you are not a purely tech related Startup… then I am afraid you are never going to be perceived as cool in HK…

And just as I write that, with tears streaming across my face, imagine me changing to a serious determined stance, clenching and raising my fist to the sky while I say: We will see about that Hong Kong!

3. The pretty young ladies / handsome young guys: Here I will have to disappoint you again, being an entrepreneur is not perceived as cool as you would like by this group. So that means... don’t expect to have Startup Groupies in Hong Kong, sorry!!!

However in this group the situation has also improved… 5 years ago if you went to a bar with a banker friend and both of you introduced yourselves to a group of ladies… let’s just say that you would be significantly challenged - statistically speaking - to end up being the “lucky one”.

Today, I would say there is no such bias, either for or against entrepreneurs, at least among the young generations… but realistically speaking the banker would still probably get the most action just because he can buy more drinks than you can (the hardships of being an entrepreneur...). :) 

Disclaimer: I have no experience or data on how this would work for female entrepreneurs, so if you have first hand info, please feel free to send me your thoughts on this vital research matter.

Result: Generally speaking, this Myth is true, Startups are not perceived as cool (by default) in HK. So, if you are considering Hong Kong as the place to set up your Startup, just accept the fact that you will need to work your ass if you want to be admired (within the Startup friendly community) and outside of that bubble, just be thankful that things have changed and people won’t be avoiding you or looking at you as if you had a contagious disease anymore…

Myth #8: HK market is just too small

Hong Kong has a population just above 7 million, which is almost 1.5 million less than New York City… So yes, it is a small place. Of course, everything is relative… I was born on a city of 40,000 people… about the population of the building complex where I live now…

In any case, the concept of small enters a whole new dimension when you compare the actual dimensions of this place… HK is1,104 km², which is already small for a metropolis, but if you take into account that 95% of the people have decided to live in a tiny section of that area…what does that tell you?

That we are all freakingly crammed in here, of course!

So now that I have given you the stats, does that make HK too small to be considered as a home for your Startup?

Of course not! Are you crazy?

First, if for some weird reason you decided to create a Startup whose market is just the city where you are based, HK is the place to go! In a tiny manageable package you have an economy that is bigger than Israel’s and Ireland’s and with the sixth highest GDP per capita at purchasing power parity...

Second, you probably don’t just want to create a Startup for just one city, right? So the good thing of starting in HK is that it’s size and density offers a fantastic ground to test your concept efficiently before you move to other markets.

And third, the greatest advantage of having a small native market for a Startup is that it forces you to be international from the get go! So if you start in HK you will probably set up things in a way that will allow you to scale and go global easily!

You might be tempted to think, why should I care about all that? If I am based in the US I can access the whole market easily, which is hundreds of times bigger than Hong Kong… 

And my answer to that is, a) if your product is digital, basically you could be anywhere and it wouldn’t matter anyway and b) if your product is physical, let’s just say HK is a logistics hub for a reason... You would be surprised to know that you can ship stuff here faster and at a lower cost than you would do from State to State within the US…

Now, I need to be realistic about something, which is connected to the point I made in Myth #4. If you base your Startup in the US, and you find local success in your area, chances are that you will easily find the funds needed to take the next steps and grow globally.

The paradox in Hong Kong is that whereas it is a perfect place for companies to expand globally the sad reality is that very few Startups can raise the resources to do so at the speed needed to remain competitive and ahead of the curve…

Result: This Myth is completely false. HK market is small, sure, but who cares? The important thing is that it offers Startups many advantages to launch, test and reach the whole global market. If only it also offered the money to do so…

Myth #9: Setting up in Hong Kong will open you the doors to China.

This one is an easy one: Bullshit!

You will hear that repeated over and over as a top reason to come and set up your Startup in Hong Kong (look at us, we are the gateway to China yada yada…) Well... Don’t be fooled.

First, if you want to target the Chinese market, then go to China, there is a thriving Startup ecosystem in Beijing and Shanghai, so just go to the source!

Second, even if you said, “Well, quality of life is better in Hong Kong (which it certainly is), so I will handle my China business from there…” No way, forget about it!

Doing business in Hong Kong has almost nothing to do with doing Business in China. Sure, proximity will help logistically, but at the end of the day, you are going to struggle like crazy if you think you can just copy paste your business from HK to China.

Result: This Myth is also busted. If China is your main target, then go to China. Starting here won’t make it easier and in fact, once you have experienced life in HK it will be very hard to relocate.

I might say, though, that I truly enjoyed my last visit to Shanghai (things have improved a lot over the last few years)... It helped, though, that it was a short trip…

Now, for all of you Chinese Entrepreneurs reading this blog, if your target is the rest of the world... then no doubt about it, come to Hong Kong!

And that’s it for today!

Stay tuned for the last part of 10+1 Myths of the HK Start-Up Scene in Hong Kong to be released within 7 days...

And if just can’t wait that long without hear me rambling, feel free to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexisnuts

P.S. And if by any chance you have a ton of money and don’t know what to do with it, drop me a line :)

[alexisnuts-blog1]

10+1 Myths of the Startup Scene in Hong Kong (Part 2)

Here we go, as promised, Part 2! By the way, you can find Part 1 here: 10+1 Myths of the Startup Scene in Hong Kong (Part 1)

Myth #4: It’s difficult to raise money in Hong Kong

Well, that is a trick question, and the best answer I can give you is: Yes and No.

On the one hand if you have a good idea and some traction I can assure you you can raise money.So, somebody, somewhere will tell you: “we want to invest”. I have experienced that a few times, so I know that moment feels good... the problem comes when they tell you how much and for how big of a stake… lol

Let’s just say that generally speaking, it is hard to get big bucks in Hong Kong and even harder to do so with a sizable valuation. So while in the Valley you will hear about crazy valuations, don’t expect that here… in fact, if you grow quickly you might eventually find out that to raise the kind of money you need you might have to tour the Mainland or Southeast Asia in search for VCs or Super Angels or… you might as well go to raise it in the USA...

Result: Inconclusive. For seed funding Hong Kong has become an easier place for Startups (but not even close to being the easiest), however for Series A onward it seems to me that Hong Kong still has a long way to go.  

Myth #5: Rental in Hong Kong is expensive

That is an easy one to answer: hell yeah!!! Now, is that an excuse to not set up your Startup here? A few years back, maybe… Unless you rented some cheap office space in some industrial building somewhere in the deep Kowloon side (which I did for 6 years... see below...). 

However, this has changed now, especially for companies that do not require a “traditional” office space and can work basically anywhere they have internet access and a plug for the computer. What made the difference? Starbucks? Not really, it’s the emergence and crazy mushrooming of co-working spaces in the city.

What happened with co-working spaces in the last few years is an example of a very typical Hong Kong phenomena: someone has a good idea that seems cool and potentially profitable… And just like that everybody goes and opens the same thing, not one, not two, dozens! 

That is proof that the problem in Myth 4 is not lack of money in the city... As a result, by today’s census we have around 6,321 different co-working spaces in the city and by the time I post this on my blog maybe the number will have passed 8,000 already (ok, I might be exaggerating a bit)...

So this scenario is good for entrepreneurs cause there is waaaay more offer than demand for hotseats… But in a city with such high rents this obviously means that most of those spaces will end up closing down or reformulating their business... Even more when newcomers open shop offering free space as part of their accelerator program (yes you know who I mean). And of course, free is even better than cheap! So… take that expensive rental!!! 

Result: This Myth is True in general, but it does not affect most Startups these days.

Myth #6: It’s hard and expensive to find and recruit talent in Hong Kong

Oh man, this one is true. It is really hard... However, I don’t think any Startup worthy place has it any better. I mean, you can only find good cheap talent in places where no one wants to Start Up, like Spain…

(I am Spanish so I can make this sort of jokes…)

Now, you might argue that an aspect that makes recruiting extra harder in Hong Kong is that there is little Startup culture in the city and people (recent grads and most specially their parents) do not value Startups as much as working for big firms.

And that is also linked to the fact that there is no Startup mentality about Payroll, where fix salary is just a minimum and employees are motivated by a potentially lucrative share option package... 

In Hong Kong, in general, people will expect to earn a Fix salary, and all extra perks, might be a nice add on but are generally not truly valued.

Now, an exception to that is a small but growing number of people which understand the way the ecosystem works and are willing to play along. The problem is that this group is still very reduced.

So, that might make it look like recruiting as a Startup in Hong Kong would be harder than in other locations but in reality there is a factor that offsets this issue: Competition for talent within “Startups” or companies that a few years back were Startups is not so intense in Hong Kong as in other places. 

Take Silicon Valley, for instance: There, Google, Facebook, and all the other other digital darlings can pay ridiculous sums of money to talented people, so competing with that as a small Startup is… challenging. In Hong Kong, that competition practically does not exist.

Result: This Myth is True, but it’s also true for anywhere else worth considering, so not a factor to take into account.

 This is all for Part 2. Sorry, I am a very busy CEO :-) and among other crap that happened last week my Unity programmer just left the company (I think this experience deserves a Post sometime in the future). In any case, don’t despair! More to come within a week! Stay tuned!!!

[alexisnuts-blog1]

10+1 Myths of the Startup Scene in Hong Kong (Part 1)

Hong Kong has changed a lot since I first landed here in 2006… and the Startup scene in this city has experimented one of the most dramatic changes I have seen. 

Now, not everything in the Startup world of HK is as lovely and bright as many claim these days (Hong Kong the next Silicon Valley… WTF)

but for sure it is nowhere as bleak as it used to be and there are plenty of things to be proud of…

So, in a true Mythbuster Fashion, I am going to go through 10+1 Myths about the Startup scene in HK to discover if there is any truth behind them and ultimately decide if they are right or wrong.

  Hopefully this will offer a balanced view that helps local and foreign entrepreneurs wannabes decide about setting up shop in HK.

Myth #1: There’s No Startup scene in HK - Startup Scene? What Scene?

This would have been pretty much true until around mid 2011. I mean, when I tried to raise funds for my first Start-Up back in 2007 this city was a freaking Startup desert (at least in the way we understand & define modern Startups).

I managed to find 1 single investment pitch program in the city, the British Chamber Business Angel Program (still running btw: http://angel.britcham.com/). To make things worst there were basically no Startup events, groups, forums… nothing! Man, life as an entrepreneur was not easy, especially for those “gwailopreneurs” like me (a foreigner becoming an entrepreneur in HK).

But those days are gone la! The reality today is just the opposite. In Hong Kong you can find tonnes of Startup events scheduled daily (difficult to choose sometimes!) and plenty of entrepreneur/Startup/investor associations or groups, incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces offering a great deal of regular Startup pitch events, workshops or competitions in both English and Chinese. Add to that the fact that Hong Kong is incredibly small and dense, and you have a very thick Startup Smoothie (or maybe Startup Congee would fit better for HK).

Result: This Myth is BUSTED! If you are reading this from abroad you can rest assured that in HK you will find a tightly-nitted Startup scene, where if you want (and make the effort), within a few months you can get to know everybody and everybody can get to know you and what you do.

Myth #2: Great Hong Kong Startups quickly move to the Valley

That used to be the case (in the Tech era). And it’s not surprising considering what I just explained on the Startup scene in HK pre-2011…But today we have more and more examples of great HK startups that were born, raised and blossomed here (Outblaze, Easyvan, Gogovan, ShopLine, 9GAG...) Sure, they might go to the Valley once in a while for training or VC funding but now they come back and stay! :-)

Result: Myth BUSTED, good news for HK!

Myth #3: There is little government support (specially compared with Singapore)

Government support is a sensitive issue, and in this case I am a bit biased (since our company is part of one HK’s government backed incubators) but that also qualifies me to analyse this Myth. Two things are obvious and few people will negate: 1) HK government has a lot of money to throw away and 2) HK government (like most governments) has proven to be quite inefficient (to put it in mild words) using that money for promoting Startups.

Now, the money is there, so there is support, the problem is that the way it is structured and handled makes it a pain in the ass for Startups to 1) know about it and understand how it works and 2) take full advantage of it.

Result: For me this Myth is BUSTED, I think there is a lot of support, the problem is that it is not efficiently deployed because the people in charge of the ultimate decisions still don’t fully understand how Startups work and what they need…

Now, based on what I have heard, in Singapore everything is just way easier (for local Startups) and the government basically gives you cheques after seeing your Powerpoint presentation… 

As attractive as that sounds, I don’t think that is good either. Basically a Startup needs the initial struggle in order to find out quickly if it is going somewhere or not. Only after that initial struggle and early traction (of some sort) a Startup is worth investing on. If Startups can get government funding without having to struggle first, there will be a tonne of underpar ideas doomed for failure that will subsist for as long as the government funding does (1-2 years) and disappear just as fast as the government money dries up. That is bad for multiple reasons both for the Startup Community as a whole and for those “lucky” entrepreneurs who will be wasting time that could have been better used rethinking their offer, looking for new ideas, etc… So it is definitely not just about giving money, but to whom and how that money is given.

I do believe strongly in direct government support of Startups, especially in industries were private support is not so strong, like our case for Creative Industries. That being said, I do feel that 1) all Startup support should be handled by 1 single and coordinated arm of the government (under 1 budget) and 2) that the running, operation and screening of the programs involved in that support should be run by private associations/organizations independent from the government and with a vested interest and deployed private investment in the program. That way all interests are aligned and everyone wins if the program is run successfully. Anyway, maybe we can arrange a discussion on this if one day this Blog has any readers :-)

This is the end of Part 1. Hope you enjoyed it! Keep tuned for Part 2, coming within 7 days.

[alexisnuts-blog1]

A proper presentation is in order. You can see me on the picture above, and in case you are not sure, I am the one carrying the pig. 

My name is Alexis, or Alex if you prefer. I am an entrepreneur and founder of 2 companies, which I guess qualifies me as a serial entrepreneur... although compared with most 20 somethings in SV these days, that makes me look like a lazy ass... But in my defense I will say that I do have a few million business ideas per year I just don’t execute more of them because: 

a) I have no physical time (please Elon tell me how you do it) and 

b) because I am already doing what I love, so what could be better than that?

So, what am I doing when I am not carrying pigs around? I am CEO & Creative Director of my dream company, Kokonuzz. Just one company you say? Well, I might not be handling many businesses at once but I do have a life outside the office: I am a husband (a pretty good one I think) and a father (one that actually my kids recognize and see every day hahaha). Now, if you thought being an entrepreneur is hard, try being one with 2 small kids... I rest my case.

And to wrap up this intro, I would like to say that I am a consummate optimist, a dreamer. That does not mean that I live in the clouds, I do keep an eye on details, but what really drives me forward is the big picture. I see it, it’s awesome, it’s there just waiting, and I am on my way. 

But while I get there, since it might take some time, I have decided to share the road with you (only if you want, if not, go find a guru to follow, Tumblr and Twitter is packed full of them). 

To be 100% honest (which I will always try to be), I started this blog because 2 days ago I went to a pretty interesting Startup Event organized by TiE HK on Social Media and the guys there, well seasoned social marketers Jay Oatway, Guy Parsonage and Andy Ann kind of agreed on something Jay suggested, which is that the single most important thing that a StartUp should be doing on Social Media is to have it’s CEO run a personal blog. As you will soon figure out, I am not one of those that follow “expert” recommendations blindly, but I have seen over the past years many many founders do this, and I did find some of those blogs very interesting, so I thought, why not? Let’s do it!

So here we are... Unfortunately I don’t promise wisdom, as mentioned, I am not a fan of the “guru” type... hell I don’t freaking know the answers! But I can promise you to be honest and to be transparent, and that is more than you are going to get anywhere else 95% of the time (source: my gut feeling). 

I can’t promise outstanding literary value either, English in not my mother tongue, I am originally Spanish (although living in Asia since 2006), so my English is far from perfect (thank you Spanish education system). That means that if you see grammar or wording mistakes, excuse me but don’t bother telling me cause I sincerely don’t give a sh*t... Of course, if I ever write something that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, feel free to tell me... but really? No sense whatsoever?

Ok, so first post is done. I have a problem keeping things short, sorry in advance. In any case, wth, I am aware this might end up being read only by crawling robots... well... better than nothing.

Wish you all a happy weekend (sorry no weekend for you dear robots!)