Startup ecosystems can be fragmented, competitive, and hidden to newcomers, which is detrimental for local startups and community growth. The Startup Ecosystem Canvas seeks to provide local entrepreneurs with a clear list of resources for every stage of their startup journey, and outline a basic framework for communities to map their support ecosystem.
With applications for the Hong Kong Founder Institute coming to a close, we are excited to release the Hong Kong Startup Ecosystem Canvas, which is currently in Draft v3 below! It was developed by the Hong Kong Founder Institute and local leaders Jeffrey Broer, Leo Ku, and Brian Chen.
This is just a draft, and more input is needed, so please leave your comments on this collaborative Google document to help us complete the list. There are definitely omissions on this current version.
Are you looking to build a startup in Hong Kong? Then apply to the Hong Kong Founder Institute today!
A text version of the infographic is included below, for searchability:
Startup Stages
There is no one right way to build a technology company, but for the sake of simplicity we have outlined a basic, common, sequential framework.
1. Idea Stage
This is where new entrepreneurs get inspired, learn best practices, develop skills, validate ideas, and begin to build their team and product.
A. Inspire
- Hong Kong Startup Media: Listings, local tech news, and other startup publications. (i.e. startup blogs/ publications/ lists/ FB groups/ newsletter)
- Inspirational Events: Open, inclusive, beginner startup events (i.e. Startup Weekend, idea fairs, and inspirational meetups)
- DrinkEntrepreneurs Shenzhen
- Entrepnr Hong Kong Meetup
- Friday Beer Bay for Web, Tech & Startups
- HK Young Lady Startup Meetup
- Hong Kong Data Lab
- Hong Kong Hardware Massive Startups Meetup
- Hong Kong IT Startups Meetup @ Thinkaholic
- Ladies Business Club Hong Kong Meetup
- Shenzhen Hardware Startups Meetup
- Shenzhen Startups
- Startup Blink Hong Kong
- Startup Salad Shenzhen
- Startup Weekend Hong Kong
- StartwareHK Hardware Massive Meetup
- Thursday Social Meetup
B. Educate
- Best Practices: Beginner knowledge-sharing startup events in Hong Kong. (i.e. beginner events that serve to educate more than inspirate, like Startup Founder 101).
- Agile Hong Kong Meetup
- Clarity
- CoCoon Entrepreneurship Community Meetup
- HK Crowdfunding Salon for Female Entrepreneurs
- HK Entrepreneurs, Start-ups & BlockChain Lovers Community
- Hong Kong Startup: Idea to IPO
- Hong Kong Startup and SME Organization Meetup
- Hong Kong Startup Founder 101
- Startup Grind Hong Kong
- Startup Grind Shenzhen
- Startup Resources Meetup
- Training & Feedback: Tech events that focus on skill & Idea development. (Ex. bootcamps and comprehensive training programs)
C. Validate
- Team Formation: Events, meetups, and resources for finding co-founders. (i.e. events or other resources that facilitate early-stage recruitment and cofounder matching)
- Build Your First Product in HK: Hackathons & product development events. (i.e. hackathons and other builder-focused events and resources)
2. Launch Stage
In this stage, entrepreneurs establish and formalize the company, develop the product, get feedback from customers, and prepare for the next step.
A. Start
- Establish: Best HK law firms & banks for startups
- Workspace: Co-working and open workspaces for startups
B. Develop
- Formalize: Accounting services, development and HR for early-stage startups.
- A Match Consultant
- Cornerstone HK
- Digital Butter
- Fastlane Capital
- Fresh Accounting
- Grayscale
- Harbour Studios
- Hong Kong SEO HK
- Hudson
- Javacatz
- Jump Hong Kong
- One Solution
- Oursky
- Pathfinder Talent Solutions
- Profit Accounting
- Robert Walters
- Robert Half
- Rush Hour Media
- Salt Digital Recruitment
- sans
- Set Sail Software
- WECREATE
- We Software Limited
- Prepare for Seed: HK Incubators and advanced mentorship. (i.e. advanced knowledge sharing, later stage events and resources for startup TEAMS)
C. Launch
- Seed Accelerators in Hong Kong: Seed funding mentor programs (Techstars-style programs that provide funding)
- Pitch & Demo Day events: Show local startups for investment (i.e. demo days for companies seeking seed investment)
3. Growth Stage
Here, a startup proves their utility, receives recognition, and scales up. This usually requires funding, angels, VCs, and ways to connect them to startups.
A. Recognition
- Investor Networking in Hong Kong: Connect professional investors with founders. (i.e. events or groups that facilitate connections with professional investors)
- Major Hong Kong Tech Media: Mainstream local business press. (i.e. major local or regional publications that frequently champion local businesses)
B. Funding
- Hong Kong Angel investors: Seed-stage investors
- Venture Capitalists: Series A and beyond
- Apax Partners
- Arbor Ventures
- Bigcolors
- Bright Success Capital
- Click Ventures
- Fresco Capital
- Golden Gate Ventures
- Horizons Ventures
- Mind Fund
- MindWorks Ventures
- Mount Parker Ventures
- Nova Founders Capital
- Regatta Capital Management
- SXE Ventures
- Sequoia Capital
- Steamboat Ventures
- Vickers Venture Partners
- Vectr Ventures
C. Growth
- Infrastructure: Office space, HR, local business insurance. (i.e. office space/ HR/ insurance providers for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
- AMAC Human Resources Consultants Limited
- AXA Hong Kong
- Compass Offices
- Corporate Locations Hong Kong
- HMI
- Hong Kong Commons
- Hong Kong Offices
- IBNR Insurance
- Instant Offices
- JPWALL
- Korn Ferry
- Links International
- Manpower
- Marsh
- Mercer Hong Kong
- Nova Insurance
- Prime Office
- Prolink Consulting
- Randstad
- Regus
- Search Office Space
- TTP Consulting
- Tricor Hong Kong
- Willis Towers Watson
- Expansion: Growth accelerators/consultants. (i.e. programs and business consultants for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
4. Success Stories
Successful homegrown companies that have raised significant institutional funding, employ a large workforce, or have achieved liquidity.
- 9GAG
- Acadine
- AfterShip
- Boxful
- Coachbase
- CoinSimple
- Dragon Law
- Flexport
- JobsDB
- Oddup
- OneSky
- Pacnet
- Soundbrenner
- WeLab
- Yuneec
Supporters
To facilitate the steps, every ecosystem needs strong supporters.
1. Startup Advisors
Successful local founders who lead the ecosystem & frequently mentor newbies. (i.e. Local leaders who have taken a leadership position, speak at a lot of startup events, mentor all the programs, etc)
- Andrea Livotto
- Bart Verkoeijen
- Bay McLaughlin
- Danny Yeung
- David Brabbins
- Derek Kwik
- Donny Siu
- Fernando Diez
- Gary To
- Graham Leach
- Jeffrey Broer
- Leo Ku
- Mark Munoz
- Michael Prahl
- Mike Mastroyiannis
- Nio Liyanage
- Raymond Chu
- Raymond Yip
- Simon Loong
- Tony Tong
2. Government
Public organizations that facilitate local economic development
- American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
- AustCham
- British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
- Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
- European Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong
- GovHK: Investing in Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Economy
- Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
- Innovation and Technology Bureau Hong Kong
- Innovation and Technology Fund Hong Kong
- InvestHK
3. Talent
Major local business or tech universities and employers that attract and retain local talent.
- Local Universities (universities with prominent technical or business programs)
- Local Employers (Major technical employers, like Microsoft or Google or large local companies, with large local offices)
Learn more about the Startup Ecosystem Canvas here, and leave us your thoughts on the Hong Kong Canvas on this collaborative Google document (This is just a DRAFT, and more input is needed!)
Are you looking to build a startup in Hong Kong? Then apply to the Hong Kong Founder Institute today
