STARTUP MAGAZINE: Jumpstart Issue 2 (July/Aug 2014) Hong Kong by Jumpstart Magazine: The Entrepreneur's Magazine

Issue 02

JUMPSTART

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR This summer, indulge in a refreshing ice pop from Lola’s Pops, bring the whole family for gluten-free cuisine and playtime at Choice Cooperative, plant an edible garden with Time To Grow and do a detox cleanse with Detox

July/August 2014

CONTENTS 04

UPCOMING EVENTS/CLASSES

MEET FOOD ENTREPRENEURS

FOOD INCUBATOR OF HK

Punch. In this issue, meet nine Food Entrepreneurs who reveal what it takes to launch and run a successful food business in Hong Kong. As part of this issue’s food theme, we’ll examine other aspects of food businesses such as HK’s food delivery services, Groupon as a service to help start-ups, food trends around the world, interviews with top food bloggers in HK and what’s missing from the HK food scene. No matter what business you’re running, marketing is an essential component. On pages 38 - 43, Hong Kong’s marketing and sales experts share their advice on how to build remarkable business, optimize your website for SEO and the four not-so-obvious mistakes that most startups and entrepreneurs make. All these writers teach at General Assembly, and you can catch their classes this summer and fall. It’s been an exciting couple of months since we launched this May, and we’re grateful to the Hong Kong supportive and engaged startup community. We had a wonderful launch party at Garage Society with over 130 attendees (see photos on next page!) and heard from many of you post-launch. Since our first issue, we’re proud to say that we’ve more than tripled the number of magazine copies and you can get a hold of your own copy of Jumpstart in nearly every entrepreneurial corner of HK. You can find out exactly where to get your copy on page 46. Have a great summer and enjoy working, cooking, and, of course, eating! Editor-In-Chief: Yana Robbins Editors: Lucy Banks Designer: Bobbie Miltcheva Circulation Manager: Jamie Bennett Website Manager: Rosalyn Smith Contributors: Jennie Cranham Mark Altosaar Michael Wolczyk Mush Dinchack Sandra Wu Sharon Maloney

Sales: Gavin Mak Paul Oddicini Jamie Bennett Marketing Assistant: Emily But General Inquiries info@jumpstartmag.com Editorial editors@jumpstartmag.com

Cover Photo Credit: @Pim Photography

Advertising advertise@jumpstartmag.com Upcoming Events events@jumpstartmag.com

EMERGING FOOD MARKETS

FOUR WAYS TO KILL YOUR STARTUP

BUILD A REMARKABLE BUSINESS

SEO: CONTENT MARKETING FOR YOUR WEBSITE

WHAT’S MISSING FROM HK’S COWORKING SCENE

facebook.com/jumpstartmag twitter.com/jumpstarthk

* Printed on FSC-Certified Paper Copyright 2014 Jumpstart. The contents of the magazine are fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reprinted without permission. The publisher and editors accept no responsibility in respect to any products, goods or services that may be advertised or referred to in this issue or for any errors, omissions, or mistakes in any such advertisements or references. The mention of any specific companies or products in articles or advertisements does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by this magazine or its publisher in preference to others of a similar nature which are not mentioned or advertised. Printed by Magnum Print Company Limited. 11B E-Tat Factory Building, 4 Heung Yip Road, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong.

JUMPSTART

JUMPSTART LAUNCH PARTY May 22, 2014 PHOTOS BY PIM PHOTOGRAPHY

JUMPSTART

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

UPCOMING EVENTS

EVENTS Tuesday, July 22, 7-9pm CoCoon Market Meetup: More about IP, HotelQuickly and Media A matchmaking night for freelancers and project owners and a chance to network and learn from four speakers. eventscocoon.blogspot.hk

Wednesday, July 23, 6:30pm Battle of the Apps VI at Web Wednesday As a continuation of their popular “Battle of the Apps” series, Web Wednesday is inviting app creators, developers and publishers to compete in a live contest in the heart of Hong Kong’s entertainment area. meetup.com/WebWednesdayHK

Wed, July 30, 6:30–8:30pm Shaken Not Stirred Networking Drinks at Souvla Widen your business network over a casual drink in a relaxed and informal setting with BritCham. britcham.com, $310HKD

Monday, August 4, 7-9pm Building a Business People Love: Restaurant Edition General Assembly brings you a panel talk with the restauranteurs behind some of Hong Kong’s most beloved dining establishments. General Assembly, $150

Friday, August 8, 4-6pm Seminar and Networking Cocktail with Canadian Digital Media Network Canadian Digital Media Network comes to Hong Kong to share the latest industry development and introduce their programs. cyberport.hk

Monday, August 11, 6-9pm Shatin - Technology and Business Networking at Hong Kong Science Park Happy hour networking for technology companies. 20% off on drinks. meetup.com/2HKIBC

Tuesday, August 19, 6:30-9:30PM Tsim Sha Tsui - Business Networking Come relax and meet new and interesting people for networking drinks at TST. meetup.com/2HKIBC

Saturday, August 23, 9:30-5:30pm TEDxWanChai TEDxWanChai is an independent & locally organized event that inspires people to change their lives, their futures and ultimately their world. More details about the event including the line up of speakers will be available soon. TEDxWanChai.com

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS Thursday, 24 July, 12:30 - 2pm Marketing a Website Digitally For Bloggers And Retailers Learn how to effectively penetrate the market and promote your website online to maximize impact, reach and conversion. The Workground, Causeway Bay, $200 HKD

Tuesday, July 29, 7-9pm How to Set Up Your Social Media This intro class will help you choose the right platforms for your personal and business needs. You will learn how to actively maintain your platforms so that you gain the maximum amount of publicity and engagement for your personal or business brand. The Wynd Coworking Space, $100 HKD

Wednesday July 30, 7-8pm App Technology Basics Before jumping into APP development and wasting thousands of dollars, learn the foundation of how they work so you can avoid common problems and bottlenecks that appear later during the development process. Papercliphk.com, $200 HKD

Thursday, 31 July, 7–9 pm Selling Made Simple: How To Communicate Simply And Effectively In Sales This class will cover topics that will benefit both the experienced and non-experienced salesperson alike and is a great class for all entrepreneurs and business owners to take. General Assembly, $280 HKD

Monday, 11 August 7-9pm Facebook Advertising Workshop In this hands-on workshop, you will explore strategies for creating unique and engaging ads, maximizing ROI and driving traffic from Facebook to blogs and websites. In addition, you’ll learn how to integrate Facebook with your other marketing strategies like e-mail marketing, SEO and blogs. General Assembly, $299 HKD

Wednesday, August 27, 7-9pm LinkedIn for Startups Learn how to build a strong brand on LinkedIn to help you stand out from the crowd as well as Hong Kong’s marketing trends on LinkedIn and why SME’s are using it The Wynd Coworking Space, $100 HKD

Saturday, September 6-9, 9:30-5:30pm Mobile Bootcamp Intensive The core of the curriculum will be based around “Instagraaam”, a play on the popular social photo sharing application. Go from zero coding experience to deployed app in four days. No prior programming experience required. General Assembly, $11,000 HKD

SUBMIT EVENTS ONLINE For more events and classes & to submit free listings, please visit: jumpstartmag.com

JUMPSTART

JUMPSTART believed in why we do what we do. So Kickstarter was a way we could give those people the opportunity to be involved. We raised about $16,000 USD and it was spent before it even came in. It went into setting up the kitchen. The biggest key for our success on Kickstarter was the network of people we had grown during our NGO days. We sent out a newsletter letting people know what we were up to and asked them to help us out. The Kickstarter campaign ran for six weeks.

WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?

A Kickstarter Success Story

INTERVIEW WITH AWAKENING CAFE TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS Awakening Cafe is a neighborhood joint where we can all come together

Awakening Cafe is a place for positive change. We believe we can all play an active role in creating happiness.

We love being part of the growing community of Sai Ying Pun. It is one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the city with new people and businesses moving in all the time. Making new friends and having them feel they have found a gem in their new neighborhood is extremely rewarding. We also host Tuesday TED Talks where we discuss topics ranging

from rebellion to altruism to mental health.

WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR INGREDIENTS FROM? The cafe is an extension of who we are, and since we are American, our food needs to taste like it does in America. Because of this, the vast majority of our ingredients come from the U.S. Our beef is hormone free Angus beef from California. Our Buffalo Wing sauce, Ranch and Blue cheese salad dressings, and cheeses are also imported. We love the idea of sourcing as local as possible so we get all of our vegetables from our friends here at the Sai Ying Pun vegetable market. They deliver to us twice a day with the best and freshest that is available.

HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU HAVE? We currently have three full-time and three part -time staff.

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES? I don’t know if it is our biggest challenge but we really strive to keep our “Why” central in everything we do. Our why should be reflected not only in our service but in our menu as well.

WHO ARE YOUR GO-TO BUSINESS MENTORS IN HK? Our best cheerleaders have been Maik Freidrich at Empower Asia and Professor Danny Chau. We also discuss many issues with our friend Ariel Tang of Butao and sister Awill Yiu of Awakening Yuen Long.

G/F Shop 6 Ying Wa Terrrace, 63 Centre street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, Hong Kong | awakeningcafehk.com

as friends to share a great meal and a few drinks. A relaxed place without pretension where everyone can be who they are.

WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION TO LAUNCH AWAKENING CAFE?

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO SET UP YOUR BUSINESS?

Our doors opened in December 2012 and our inspiration to start this cafe is to love and be loved, to understand and be understood. Awakening Cafe is a place for positive change. We believe we can all play an active role in creating happiness. We can all take pride in serving everyone we see. We choose to make a difference in this world we all share, no matter how small.

It took us almost one year to open the doors. We knew we wanted to be near HKU so we did our market research in Sai Ying Pun and Kennedy Town, lots of sitting and watching and counting at other similar businesses. We also spent a lot of time on our business plan and raising capital through our Hong Kong network. We were able to take over a space that had previously been a restaurant so we were able to use much of what had been left behind i.e. plumbing, electrical, air con etc.

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

We mostly only needed to resurface the place and outfit the kitchen with new equipment.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE KICKSTARTER? TELL US ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE. Before we started Awakening Cafe we launched Love for the Poor. It’s a charitable organization established to assist underprivileged children. We provide housing, education and medical assistance in developing countries. Because of this we had a pretty good base of supporters who

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

JUMPSTART

A Gluten-free Bakery & Indoor Playground

INTERVIEW WITH CHOICE COOPERATIVE TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS Choice Cooperative Cafe & Bakery started out with a dream to be Hong Kong’s first Healthy Gluten-Free Bakery. We work closely with health professionals to make sure our range is nutrient dense and more importantly, ‘healthy, nutritious & delish’! Our venue is home to Hong Kong’s first large indoor playground, to promote healthy play whilst also relaxing with the family.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH CHOICE COOPERATIVE?

TELL US ABOUT THE INDOOR PLAYGROUND

We launched late 2013, and my inspiration came from not having enough healthy choices in Hong Kong. I found that a lot of the gluten -free selections weren’t in fact healthy or good for you, so I became intrigued as to how I could launch this within Hong Kong.

The kids area is really important, because as parents ourselves we were frustrated at not having a comfortable place to eat good healthy food whilst the children could move about, without any other diners getting fed up that the kids were loud, or really just being kids. We wanted to offer a place where it was perfectly acceptable to just let kids be … kids! The important thing was to mix the healthy foods with healthy play.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO SET UP YOUR BUSINESS? It took about two and half years of research along with development. The process of understanding licensing and business registrations within the food and beverage industry proved to be a lot of hard work. In hindsight we now know what we would do differently, in order to be more efficient.

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?

WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR INGREDIENTS FROM?

WHO ARE YOUR GO-TO BUSINESS MENTORS IN HK?

I get most of my ingredients from overseas as HK doesn’t have their own gluten free flour mills yet. However, wherever we can, we support local businesses, especially those with the same vision as Choice!

HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU HAVE?

I love: Peggy Chan from Grassroots Pantry & Prune; Chef Priscilla Soligo from Rawthentic and Chef Cali Goh from Anything But Salads; LantauMama and Louise Kane Buickley; these ladies inspire me and are always first to jump in and help with their great guidance. Also my business partner, who is Jeff Follick from Catering Depot!

We currently have 11 employees.

WHO DOES YOUR MARKETING?

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES?

In my previous life, as I like to call it, I worked in PR and Marketing, so I tend to do all in-house marketing and PR! As for design, I used ‘The Little Flying Studio’ to help create our logo and on an ongoing basis I work with Lisa Kate Ackerman from Isibini Design.

Getting through a quiet month, when you have to meet MOQs that suppliers have; it’s tough, but we are finding ways to get creative!

7/F BT Centre, 23 Wong Chuk Hang Road Aberdeen, Hong Kong theonlychoicehk.com

The fact that our customers, whether wholesale or at the café, are coming back and thanking us for what we have created. I always love getting back into the test kitchen and continuing to create amazing healthy, nutritious and delish recipes that provide real nourishment!

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

JUMPSTART

An Organic Produce Delivery Service

INTERVIEW WITH EAT FRESH TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS Eat FRESH is an organic fruit and vegetable home delivery service. We launched just over 2 years ago. We work closely with local organic farms to provide customers with the finest seasonal organic produce. Our produce comes from farms that are certified organic by the Hong Kong Organic Resource Center Certification Ltd., which is accredited by International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movements.

www.eatfresh.com.hk | delivery@eatfresh.com.hk

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH EAT FRESH?

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS?

The business was founded by some of our now shareholders - three moms who were concerned about food safety and wanted to eat vegetables that were fresher than the ones found in the local supermarkets. They started exploring farms in the New Territories to source our food locally. What they discovered was a whole new world of organic farmers here in Hong Kong! The three moms were thrilled when they first tried the vegetables direct from the local farms. Everything was FRESH and full of flavor. As they spent more time with the farmers, they learned how they grow and harvest their crops according to the unique characteristics of their own land and the local climate. Inspired by the new variety of vegetables they had found, they shared this discovery with friends, and began offering a vegetable delivery service straight from the farms. Eat FRESH was born to meet the increasing demand for safe and fresh food.

Setting up a business in Hong Kong is actually not very difficult –as long as you have a good advisor like an accountant, the paperwork and processes are quite straightforward. It’s getting the word out and building your brand that’s the hard part. Martina and I spent a lot of time networking and just making sure we did a good job with the logistics so that our customers were happy.

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

Our produce is such good quality, it marketed itself and we soon realized how powerful word-of-mouth could be. Because of this, we focused and continue to focus on quality in terms of produce, service and overall experience. Back to your question about how long it takes to set-up – the first part is only a few days, at most. Building Eat FRESH to a point where we could call it a business, however, took the best part of two years. And we’re still working on it!

HOW DO YOU ENSURE THE QUALITY OF YOUR PRODUCTS? Well, first we have vetted our farms very carefully and we taught ourselves to understand the organic system in Hong Kong before we even started to sell the veggies. We have been working with our 10 farms since the beginning. We know them well and we trust they will provide us with only the best of what they have. Is life always perfect? No, of course not because we’re working with vegetables and sometimes, of course, the weather will affect a veggie crop or maybe a bug crept into a pile of fruit! It’s organic food so these things do happen from time to time. However, rather have a few bugs here and there than eat chemicals! Eat FRESH has a great team in place, from our packers to our drivers, and we all work closely together to ensure that our high quality is maintained.

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT FROM YOUR COMPETITION? For us there are several things, which differentiate us: • We deliver organic fresh food from farm-to-table in the same day – and our quality is very high. • Every week, our in-house chef devises a new recipe based on the veggies in the bag so you always have new ideas on how to use the veggies to feed your family. • We are fairly priced and you can save money with our subscription plans. • We are well established - we have been doing this for a few years now, and our process is easy to use. • We sell more than just organic vegetables; you can also pick up your gluten-free bread, eggs, honey, juices and much more! • We’re still a small business and so you can pick up the phone or email me and Martina anytime with questions – it’s never a trouble and always a pleasure to help.

Setting-up a business in Hong Kong is actually not very difficult –as long as you have a good advisor like an accountant, the paperwork and processes are quite straightforward. It’s getting the wordout and building your brand that is the hard part.

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES? Getting the logistics in place was probably the biggest challenge – finding the right staff, drivers and making sure the process from order to delivery ran smoothly. We also spent a lot of time and money upgrading our website to make the experience and process run as smoothly as possible. As an online business, this was key as it’s very important that our customers enjoy shopping on our website. We’ve had many teething problems with this, but I think we’re finally in a good place!

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING IN THIS BUSINESS? Martina and I are both super passionate about health and food, and so to work in a job that allows us to share this passion with others is a dream come true and makes all the hard work worth it. Our customers are very loyal and will often provide really nice feedback - knowing that we help them feed their families

healthy, organic, fresh produce is truly rewarding. We love connecting with our customers on email, on our blog, at events and just generally. Oh, the other bit I love personally is that as the Director I get free veggies and they’re amazing!!! Even my puppy Zighy eats our organic carrots and loves them!

WHO ARE YOUR GO-TO BUSINESS MENTORS IN HK? Other small businesses we work with include Something FRESH, Rawthentic Food, Choice Cooperative, BaoBae, Stephen James Organics, Pure Swell and many more – we’re very close to all of our partners, ambassadors and suppliers - it’s a beautiful community and we love to support one another in any way we can. We’ve grown up together in the last few years, supporting one another’s campaigns, attending events and I’ve even designed recipes for some. It’s been such a rewarding journey to work with a nourishing group of like-minded small businesses. We’ve been each others’ mentors.

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

JUMPSTART

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS? It took a good 6-8 months to get the business off the ground, as we carefully explored all of our options. Once we determined that we would start off modestly, and not dive directly into having a retail establishment, it took about 3 months to build our ice pops factory in order to obtain our frozen confection manufacturer license.

TELL US ABOUT THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

A Healthy & Natural Treat

INTERVIEW WITH LOLA’S ICE POPS WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE LOLA’S ICE POPS?

Everything that goes into our ice pops is fresh and natural. We don’t use powdered mixes, artificial flavours, colouring, chemicals or preservatives. So that actually makes our manufacturing process quite simple. If we are making a “Watermelon Basil” ice pop, we blend up fresh watermelon and basil, then pour the mixture into popsicle molds and place them in our high-speed freezing machine. Although the process is simple, it can be very time consuming since we make everything from scratch. For example, we make our own brownies in our “Chocolate Fudge with Brownie Bites” popsicle, and hand-make the caramel in our “Green Apple Salted Caramel” popsicle. It’s a lot of work to make everything by hand and from scratch, but we think it’s worth it.

Lola’s Ice Pops was founded by two friends - Sandra Wong (originally from New York) and Julie Tuan (originally from San Francisco). Sandra and I were both working as lawyers when we moved to Hong Kong and continued to practice here for a number of years. Then we each had kids and decided we wanted to spend more time focusing on our families. We actually met through our kids who were then still babies– we formed our own little playgroup – and began making ice pops at home for them using fresh fruit, as there was nothing like that here in Hong Kong. From there, we decided to start Lola’s Ice Pops. We launched in April 2013 and made our debut at the Island East Markets.

Although the process is simple, it can be very time consuming since we make everything from scratch.

TELL US ABOUT DISTRIBUTION We have to carefully time our deliveries so that the ice pops are delivered from our workshop directly to our customers. In the summer months, in addition to regular foodgrade ice, we also pack our ice pops in dry ice to ensure that they stay frozen when delivered to customers.

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

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Harvey Nichols’ Exhibit K I.T/Kenzo’s new line launch Fujifilm’s product launch party, and most recently-J. Crew’s exhibition at IFC Mall

HOW BIG IS YOUR TEAM? It’s been mostly just the two of us. This year we have 2 additional parttime staff helping us.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR LOLA’S ICE POPS? Aside from markets and fairs, we are working to expand the number of retail outlets carrying Lola’s Ice Pops so that they can be available for enjoyment on a more regular basis. We are also working with event planning companies and brand managers, so look out for us again at additional product launches and events this year.

WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR INGREDIENTS FROM? We source our ingredients from all over really, but primarily from the markets in Hong Kong – the wet markets, wholesale fruit markets and supermarkets. For some specialty ingredients like pure vanilla extract or organic matcha, we obtain these from overseas. WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES? Right now our biggest challenges are having enough time to do everything we want for the business and finding the right staff needed to properly grow the business. HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR COMPANY? We promote our company primarily by participating in markets, fairs, festivals and various pop-ups throughout Hong Kong, which in the past have included: • • • • • • • • •

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Available at The Bottle Shop in Saikung, PMQ, select markets lolasicepops.com | info@lolasicepops.com

• • •

The Island East Markets The PMQ Night Markets Harbour Artisanal The Green Queen’s Made in HK Sassy’s Gourmet Evening Sassy Mama’s Marketplace Clockenflap Music Festival Homegrown Food’s Annual Harvest Feast This exposure has led to catering jobs for corporate events, fashion events and product launches, which have included: Lane Crawford’s Vogue Fashion’s Night Out

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

JUMPSTART

A Juice Detox Company

INTERVIEW WITH PUNCH DETOX TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS Punch Detox is Hong Kong’s first juice detox business, providing organic, vegan, coldpressed juices for Hong Kong people. Our goal is to fill your body with nutrients, give your body a rest, and as a result, help your liver, kidneys, lungs, skin and intestines naturally eliminate toxins.

JUMPSTART

Our biggest challenge was educating the public about our products. We were the first to bring not just the product, but the concept of juice detox and its health benefits to Hong Kong.

From the beginning when we were holding our own 10-day cleanse program, which included yoga with Leah Kim and Pilates with Tracy So, to running a fullylicensed food factory, three-day juice detox programs, and an interactive website with online shopping functionality – about three years. Research and development was the most important component. Relying on the knowledge from our nutrition classes in Hong Kong and Ann’s culinary prowess from her days as a fine-dining chef in Manhattan, we invested heavily in our R&D, creating different types of delicious juices and effective detox programs. We got the feedback of over 200 people to tweak and perfect the recipes, offerings, and experience, before fully launching for all of Hong Kong.

INTERVIEW WITH TAI TAI PIE PIES WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE TAI TAI PIE PIES?

Everywhere. Quality is one of our core values, and for ingredients, this means providing different types of ingredients to provide a rainbow of nutrients. They can’t always be found in one place, so we buy from organic farms such as Earthbound Farms in California and small family organic farms in Australia. We also source from farms in northern Thailand as well as local organic farms. Since produce can be affected by seasonality, we are always looking for new suppliers to improve our list of farms that we buy from.

Tai Tai Pie Pies was all based on my passion for pies and my friends who enjoyed them. They were constantly telling me I should sell them here in Hong Kong. My love of pies stems from a great upbringing with a mother and grandmother who made amazing, sweet pies for me when I was a child. After I left the corporate world I took some time off and relaxed. I was baking for fun and friends were calling me a Tai Tai – that is where is it all began with the name! My wife and I then did some market research and we realized there are not many pie places out here in Hong Kong. On June 28, 2010 we founded the company and we had our official launch in October. It was held at the AWA Holiday Bazaar and Thanksgiving 2010 was our first big Pie Week.

TELL US ABOUT THE DISTRIBITION PROCESS Distribution is daily. We ship either refrigerated or frozen. Wholesale is frozen, but not freezer-frozen, shock frozen! They are frozen in a very short amount of time to avoid the item from being damaged molecularly. It is amazing what these machines can do. The pies in our shops are kept refrigerated. This allows us to keep them fresh without adding preservatives. They have a good shelf life if you do this. In ambient temperatures they will only last a day or two max.

HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOURSELF? HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO GET THE BUSINESS OFF THE GROUND?

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES We have a core business team led by us – Ann and Angela – and an invaluable team of mothers that are part of the Aberdeen community where our kitchen resides; they contribute to the careful production of Punch Detox’s juices.

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES?

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

A Pie Company

WHERE DO YOU SOURCE INGREDIENTS FROM?

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS?

It started as a small business in our house, and not until we built the bakery in December 2011 did it really become more than a hobby. Making one pie at a time it is not really a business, it is a hobby. Once we built the bakery it was no longer a hobby but now a viable business. It really took another six months before we got it moving. By Thanksgiving 2012 we were fully operational and made 300 large pies and 100’s of small pies for the holiday. That is when it was on its way!

TELL US ABOUT MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Our biggest challenge was in educating the public about our products. We were the first to bring not just the product, but the concept of juice detox and its health benefits, to Hong Kong, so we took those three years to educate our customers, emphasizing health education as part of the service and the experience. As in many dynamic market environments, competitors quickly flooded the market, but we stay true to our brand – to quality, taste, education and experience – to stay connected with our customers. That’s why, we think, we have a lot of happy, loyal customers; many of them come back to us again and again.

We have a 2500 sq. ft. production bakery that we built and maintain to a very high level. I am a clean freak and maintain an exceptionally clean bakery. We have state of the art equipment that my business partner supplied (from Catering Depot), and we are baking in a production style that is extremely high level. We bake every item and then blast chill, or shock freeze it. It depends on the use of the items – if they are wholesale or retail. By doing this you are creating a pie that loses none of its taste or texture. We bake six days a week and make deliveries 7 days. We ship to our shops daily. Wholesale deliveries are Monday through Saturday.

www.punchdetox.com | info@punchdetox.com

taitaipiepies.com | info@taitaipiepies.com

Most of what we have done is via interviews with food writers and then the food markets that are out there. We have given away 1000’s of little pies to get people to try them. That is the best way if they have never tried a pie or our pies.

HOW BIG IS YOUR TEAM? Our current team is 11 Staff, with me, 12 in total. We have 6 working in our shops and 5 in the bakery.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR TAI TAI PIE PIES? We are hoping to launch a franchise in Singapore and maybe other places. Maybe Korea? If we can get our franchise model out there, that will help a lot. We also want a few more shops in Hong Kong and maybe a few other concepts like a gourmet food line. We definitely want to grow our wholesale line of business here in Hong Kong too.

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

JUMPSTART

Custom Made Desserts

INTERVIEW WITH ROSE PETAL CAKERY Solo Entrepreneur!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS The Rose Petal Cakery was launched to provide wholesome cakes, cupcakes, cookies and other yummy treats for any occasion. Over the last couple of years, we’ve have helped to make many occasions special with our customized creations.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START THIS BUSINESS? When looking for a cake for my two year old son’s birthday, I found that it was difficult to find great tasting cakes that were personalized. Thus, the Rose Petal Cakery was born.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO SET UP YOUR BUSINESS? Hong Kong is a great place to start a business and it is a surprisingly quick and easy process. After the original idea it took around 3 months to register and have The Rose Petal Cakery up and running. In fact, choosing the name and designing the logo took longer than the registration process. We had great support from friends and family and spent plenty of time tasting and perfecting recipes - our first big event was a christening for 50 guests.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS? The Rose Petal Cakery started in July 2012 and we’ve had an amazing journey, creating new flavors and designs personalized to our clients. We try to ensure that our cakes are unique and spend time understanding the needs of our clients and sketching ideas before the baking process even begins.

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES? Every day brings new enquiries and design challenges - and every day is a learning process. Challenges include balancing time between home and work life- ensuring quality and uniqueness of their products, as well as the challenges of administration that running a day-to-day business brings.

www.rosepetalcakery.com | sales@rosepetalcakery.com

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

JUMPSTART

All their cakes, cupcakes and cookies are made from scratch using the finest ingredients they can source from around the world.

Gluten-free Desserts

INTERVIEW WITH LITTLE MISS MACARONS Solo Entrepreneur!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS The business is focused on making gluten-free products that actually look and taste good. The business was only launched recently, although I’ve been baking for a few years now.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START THIS BUSINESS? I’ve been baking for family and friends for several years. My husband and a couple of friends are gluten intolerant and as my baking skills and knowledge improved I realized that it’s possible to prepare some fantastic tasting gluten free food. I’ve received a lot of very positive comments not just from them, but also from professionals that I’ve met over the last few years and that has given me the confidence to have a go at running it as a business.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS?

HOW ARE YOU FUNDED? Because I’ve been using the facilities at Kitchen Sync, I’ve not needed any real funding as such. However if things take off I’ll need to consider setting up a proper kitchen and that’s where the cost will be.

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES? To be honest, I’m still considering exactly which direction to take. I don’t have any formal training or a background in catering, so I’m trying to take it a small step at a time which will give me a chance to decide if I’d prefer to have a little shop, take private orders, give lessons, or try everything!

WHERE DO YOU MAKE YOUR DESSERTS? For family I’ve been working in my little kitchen at home, but lately I’ve been working at “Kitchen Sync”. They offer excellent facilities and charge by the hour. This means I have access to a professional set up without having to commit to renting and other set-up costs. Lori and Patrick who run Kitchen Sync have also been exceedingly friendly and helpful so things have not been as daunting as I expected.

WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR INGREDIENTS FROM?

The biggest challenge is deciding at what point I go from doing this almost as a hobby to taking on the financial commitment of setting up as a fulltime business with my own kitchen.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ABOUT THIS BUSINESS? I find experimenting with new recipes really enjoyable and obviously get a lot of pleasure when people tell me how good the food looks and tastes, especially if they’ve previously tried gluten-free and not enjoyed it.

HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS? As I’m trying to take things slow, it’s just recommendations at the moment. I do, however have a blog (www.littlemissmacarons.com) that I try to update when I do something new. Also, on June 15th, I was invited by the Butchers club to provide macarons and other gluten-free pastries at ‘The Southside Market Long Lunch’.

www.littlemissmacarons.com | info@littlemissmacarons.

My ingredients come from a variety of places. Sometimes I order online or from overseas suppliers if I can’t find things locally, although I do try to use

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

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We wanted to show people that it is possible to grow your own delicious and nutritious fruit, vegetables and herbs, right in the heart of the city.

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES?

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS BUSINESS?

One of our biggest challenges initially was the mindset that there is a lack of space in Hong Kong to grow food. Many people would agree that urban farming is a great idea in other countries, but that it is impossible in Hong Kong. However, once you know what a suitable space looks like, you can see them everywhere.

There is something about growing and eating your home grown food that is truly satisfying. With children especially, you can see they are curious about the natural world. As we were delivering one workshop, we saw a little girl disappear behind the audience. When the session ended, we found she had taken off her shoes, lifted one leg up onto a sack of soil almost as tall as she was and was rubbing her bare foot in the soil “just to see what it felt like”. At the heart of it, TTG is not just work, it’s lots of fun too!

WHO ARE YOUR GO-TO BUSINESS MENTORS IN HK?

Growing Edible Urban Landscapes

INTERVIEW WITH TIME TO GROW TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS Established in 2012, Time To Grow (TTG) is a responsible enterprise dedicated to promoting urban farming in Hong Kong. Through our bespoke farm installation services and educational workshops, we want to turn the city’s unused spaces into an edible urban landscape and reconnect city-dwellers with the food they eat. Our goal is not just to promote urban farming in Hong Kong, but to encourage conscious lifestyle choices that take into account our relationship to the environment and our community.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH THIS BUSINESS? We met at a gathering of people interested in social enterprise, where we also connected with Ah Pad, one of the pioneers of Hong Kong’s organic food movement. Although organic

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

farming has been taking place in Hong Kong for decades, it is mostly confined to the New Territories. We wanted to show people that it is possible to grow your own delicious and nutritious fruit, vegetables and herbs, right in the heart of the city.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO SET UP YOUR BUSINESS? Our first project was on the terrace of The Peak Galleria in the summer of 2012, which was a lucky break for us just a few months after TTG had been established. It was a great learning experience and such an iconic location gave us a lot of credibility; but I would say that it has taken at least 18 months for us to really get going. Earlier this year, we launched a rooftop farm on the Bank of America Tower in Central, in partnership with Jones Lang LaSalle and Bank of America Merrill Lynch; and since then we’ve been getting a lot more attention.

WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR SEEDS AND BOXES FROM? We source all of our organic seeds, soil and equipment from local suppliers.

While we don’t have a single mentor, we have been fortunate to have been supported by many experts in different fields. We’ve also been part of SOW Asia’s i2i programme and we’re members of The Good Lab, which has given us access to advisers and other entrepreneurs in the same boat.

WHO DOES YOUR MARKETING? Our PR is done in-house and through our partners like JLL. Our branding and website were designed by Gardens&co. - they are fantastic!

HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS? Facebook, email, giving presentations and talks that introduce what we do, networking and posting on websites like Ecozine.

www.timetogrow.hk

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES We have 4 employees.

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TOP FOOD BLOGGERS OF HK

JENNIE CRANHAM scarletscorchdroppers.com

SHARE THEIR VIEWS ON HONG KONG FOOD SCENE BONNIE CHU bonnie.chiba78.com

Tell us about your blog Well, first off, it’s awesome! Haha. Seriously, my blog is a place where I share with people my passion for cooking and for life. I enjoy cooking; Chinese food especially, but with my own twist and I think people appreciate the creativity. Additionally, the blog gives my readers a small window into different parts of my life, including being a new mother, investment advice and even how to name your baby so that it’s Feng Shui appropriate.

that have popped up in the last year. Whilst fusion is nothing new, we’re seeing the trend trickle down to street and fast food. And when I say influence, it ranges from décor, service and marketing, to how the food is prepared. For example; Taiwanese “Bao”s and Beijing pancakes being served in a chic, bar setting or clean, fast food style establishments. No more dirty street carts… which I personally think has its charms.

CELIA HU girlmeetscooking.com

Tell us about your blog

I started bout 5-6 years ago. But how I got into it was really to use the blog as a way for me to keep a diary of my recipes. I can pull up the articles if I forget the steps and my friends want to know how to cook the dishes I share on social media.

Is it possible to earn money as a food blogger in HK?

It’s definitely a hobby for me. I know some bloggers that can make a living writing about food, but mostly they use the blog as a marketing platform and they get paid writing for print publications. I do have a job as an investment manager, so I don’t rely on the blog for my income.

How has the food scene evolved in HK in the last year? I think there are a lot of new Chinese restaurants with a Western influence

Bloggers

How has the food scene evolved in HK in the last year? The food scene has really flourished in the past few years. When I first arrived in Hong Kong, the best restaurants were in the 5-star hotels. Today, restaurateurs are taking more risks, and stepping out of the conventional “box”. They are more daring with unique restaurant concepts and there’s also a sizable influx of investors streaming out of the banking sector to endorse new projects; as finance loses its lustre in the post-2008 era.

What are some of your favorite food businesses in HK? Girlmeetscooking.com is a personal blog, documenting my adventures with food. I develop my own step-by-step recipes, as well as give my personal opinions on restaurants I’ve visited. The most important criteria for my restaurant reviews is an honest voice, because I personally stand behind every comment I make.

How / when did you get into food writing?

writings and viewpoints. I hope one day, Hong Kong’s blogging scene will be sophisticated enough to rival those of North America and then we’ll be able to afford to give food bloggers the credit they deserve.

Food blogging paved the path to my job as a food journalist. Having said that, I think the HK blogging community is still too juvenile to fully comprehend the importance of reputable bloggers. A balanced voice should be encouraged, rather than cheaply executed fluff pieces that are written for promotional reasons. With Hong Kong’s high rent, I don’t think it’s possible to earn a living solely as a food blogger, but blogging is a great way to build up a portfolio of your

I like to support the small, grassroots vendors who are running a food business with passion and heart. The F&B industry is not for the fainthearted and can be brutal and highly competitive. Some of my favorite local food businesses include Twins Kitchen and Sook. I’m also working on a restaurant concept with a few friends, opening this summer, so I guess I can also say I’m dabbling in the restaurant business!

Your favorite cuisine / your view on food. My favorite cuisine has to be Chinese, because of its diversity and range. China spans a massive, diverse geography, reaching across various climate zones, with cooking techniques and ingredients specially adapted to each unique environment. Throw in the cultural diversity of the country’s 56 ethnic tribes and you’ve got a pretty interesting mix of cuisines. Also, I am in awe of how Chinese chefs can do the most intricate knife work with only a simple cleaver.

Tell us about your blog Scarletscorchdroppers is predominantly a baking blog, mostly filled with sweet treats and often far too much chocolate! If you’re looking for a recipe for Fererro Rocher Cupcakes, gin and tonic cake, or creme egg brownies, you’re in the right place! I started it several years ago on a whim, but I only really got into it when I settled down into Hong Kong life and found myself wanting to get more involved in the kitchen. Initially, it documented my struggles with a little oven and tracking down good quality, but reasonably priced baking ingredients. Now it’s more a space for me to try out new ideas; and sometimes share a little bit about my life in Hong Kong and travels around Asia too.

How has the food scene evolved in HK in the last year?

Is it possible to earn money as a food blogger in HK?

The Hong Kong food scene was already very international, it’s a place where you can track down cuisine from all over the world and if there’s something you’re craving, you’ll find it if you look hard enough. Over the past year I’d say it’s really become an even bigger player on the international dining scene. More and more big name chefs seem to want to come to the city. From a baking perspective too, I’m finding it increasingly easy to find the ingredients I need. It seems more people are interested in making use of their kitchens, no matter how tiny!

I’m sure it’s possible to earn money as a blogger through advertising, associate links and other means, but I really just do this just for fun. Of course, I wouldn’t say no to it! But within reason - credibility is important to me and I rarely accept offers from restaurants to sample their cuisine. If I do, it is stated clearly. I want to be known for writing honestly about my experiences.

What are some of your favorite food businesses in HK? Aside from many fantastic restaurants, I love the emergence of more and more food and farmers markets in Hong Kong, such as Island East Markets. In terms of baking products, I find I Love Cake has a fantastic selection of bakeware and ingredients and Shanghai Street is a great place to track down any hard to find kitchen equipment and pick up some cheap yet good quality baking accessories.

Who have you written for? I write for Foodie magazine in their blogger panel, giving my opinion on a wide range of food topics; from childhood memories and food influences, to fad diets and the city’s best ramen.

JENNY OF LOVEBITES

Where are you from? I’m originally from the UK. I lived in a little village in the south of England, so coming to Hong Kong was quite a change of scenery! I’ve been here 3 and a half years now.

Where are you from? I am Eurasian (Chinese/English) and was born in Indonesia but have lived here for 18 years and counting! As such, I call it home and will forever be bound to Hong Kong.

How has the food scene evolved in HK in the last year? It had evolved massively! Hong Kong catches onto food trends very quickly, although we do tend to overdo it sometimes with certain trends one can only eat so many foie gras mini-burgers! As a city, it’s really starting to gain credibility as a foodie haven on an international level. The increasing presence of international chefs and their restaurants here is testament to that.

hklovebites.com

What are some of your favorite food businesses in HK?

Is it possible to earn money as a food blogger in HK? It is still very much a hobby for me. I earn a very tiny amount of money from advertising. Food blogs do appear to be playing an increasing role in the Hong Kong food scene, so there’s definite potential there, but I’m not sure if it’s established enough yet to be a full time job.

Tell us about your blog LoveBites food blog was born out of a passion for the simple pleasures of eating, traveling and writing. I wanted to share these experiences with friends (and now also my readers) so that they too could enjoy! I also travel quite a bit and it is a good way to keep a list of my favorite international restaurants.

I love private kitchens in general - in a perfect world I would start one myself, so I always admire the tenacity and bravery of those who start their own it’s not the easiest of businesses. I am also happy to see more organic farms and weekend food markets popping up - for example, my friend Green Queen’s pop up market is excellent and I am so proud of her!

For full-length interviews, visit Jumpstartmag.com

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SHARON MALONEY jasmine-ginger.com

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born. I was on a very long maternity leave and feeling quite isolated and lonely in the UK. Now I write for a few magazines and websites, both in HK and abroad. Food-related? Well, I cook every night for my son and I, if that counts. I throw great kids’ parties too!

Who have you written for? Foodie, Sassy Mama HK, All Abroad Baby, Malt-O-Meal and PlayTimes.

Is it possible to earn money as a food blogger in HK?

Tell us about your blog Jasmine & Ginger is a recipe blog, with family-friendly recipes from both the East and West. I try to make local Chinese food a little more friendly and recognizable to people unfamiliar with the more eclectic, local items; like snow fungus and pickled mustard greens! I also have a market guide to things found in the wet market or dry goods shops here, with a phonetic pronunciation guide. Occasionally, I also review restaurants or products.

How / when did you get into food writing? I began my blog as a way of combating homesickness and new motherhood when my son was just

Bloggers

It is very definitely a hobby. If I could earn money blogging, I would! I would quit my day job and do this full-time. Sadly, I think the market is very saturated. I’ve noticed that everyone is a food blogger here in HK and a critic! It is very definitely a labor of love.

Where are you from? I was born and raised in HK and have lived here for most of my life.

How has the food scene evolved in HK in the last year? In the last few years, there has been a real rise in “celebrity” chefs from abroad opening restaurants here, which has made for some interesting restaurants. There has also been a huge wave in creativity from home-grown entrepreneurs; lots of small businesses with great vision for clean-eating, locally-sourced

produce, ethically sound restaurants, delis and markets; which makes me very proud to be a Hong-Konger!

How are you promoting your blog? I don’t really. I have a Facebook page and Twitter account, but that’s it.

What are some of your favorite food businesses in HK? Small delis like Pata Negra House and Food for Foodies, who are bringing in artisanal food from abroad, so I don’t go without my fix for chorizo and cheese! Also, people like Happy Cow ice cream, who are doing amazing and healthy ice-cream. Island East Markets is wonderful for the small businesses. Grassroots Pantry for yummy, nutritious, exciting healthy food. And the small mom and pop shops selling traditional food items that have been going year in and out for decades. All of them!

Your favorite cuisine / your view on food. I really like that saying; “Don’t eat C.R.A.P. - carbonated, refined, artificial, or processed.” I don’t feed it to my kid, why would I eat it? That said; I’d be a BIG liar if I didn’t admit I need my pizzas and chocolate biscuits too. Just a little bit now and then is all you need, though. As for cuisine, there are too many to name. I just like food made with love.

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FOOD TRENDS AROUND THE WORLD Healthy mass-market chips made of insects could solve a world food crisis The meat industry contributes almost one-fifth of all greenhouse gases, takes up vast quantities of land, resources and energy, and relies on techniques that contribute to animal cruelty. Not only this, but demand for meat is set to increase with global population rises and higher incomes in developing countries, which could create problems for world food security. The recent unveiling of the world’s first lab-grown beefburger is testament to the efforts scientists are taking to ween consumers off of farmed animal produce, and now Six Foods has created a brand of chips made from crickets that could make insect meat palatable for the western world. The brainchild of three Harvard graduates — Laura D’Asaro, Rose Wang and Meryl Natow — the startup’s first product is Chirps, a gluten-free, natural, low fat chip. Instead of the usual potato or corn, Chirps are created from a mix of ground beans, rice and cricket powder that’s baked rather than fried. The result is a bag of chips that contains 7g of protein — more than an egg. This comes from the fact that 200 calories of cricket meat provides 31g of protein, compared to 22g in beef. Additionally, it requires 1/2000th of the amount of water to farm, and 100 times less greenhouse gas is emitted. Insects are for the most part absent from western diets, but around 2 billion of the rest of the world population enjoy them as a delicacy. By packaging them as chips in three flavors — Sea Salt, Hickory BBQ and Aged Cheddar — Six Foods could help replace their meat consumption with a more efficient and environmentally-friendly method to get their protein.

Re-printed with permission from springwise.com

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

faster Automated Sustainabile healthy Social

Sensor can tell if food is safe to eat Lithuania-based startup Peres is looking to crowdfund a new system that checks if food is still healthy to eat using a portable sensor and smartphone. Consumers can often be especially fussy when it comes to the food they eat. A Lithuania-based startup called Peres is looking to crowdfund a new system that checks if food is still healthy to eat using a portable sensor and smartphone. The Peres device acts as an electronic nose, using sensors that can detect temperature, humidity, amonia levels and the presence of volatile organic compounds released when food begins to decompose. Users simply place the handheld device next to the food they want to check and press a button. It then sends the results to a smartphone, using color-coded graphics to show how fresh the food is. The device offers a more accurate reading than simply relying on the nose or eyes, and can be used in the home or in commercial kitchens to check if food is still fine to use, reducing food waste.

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Restaurant lets diners get the perfect lighting for their foodstagrams South Africa’s El Burro restaurant has installed a device that enables customers to take professional-style Instagrams of their meals. Social platforms such as Instagram have brought out the budding photographer in amateurs, and now South Africa’s El Burro restaurant has installed a device that enables customers to take professionalstyle Instagrams of their meals. Developed by wifi network MWEB, a small, portable lighting studio has been placed inside the restaurant as part of its #dinnercam campaign. Aimed at demonstrating the possibilities of ubiquitous wifi, the machine lets diners place their meal inside and then select various lighting options using the buttons on the front. Once they’ve picked the perfect ambient lighting, they can take a photo with their smartphone and upload it onto Instagram. Those who tag their image with the #dinnercam hashtag also get a free physical print of their photo. Although a slightly tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that foodstagrams often take over the experience of enjoying the food itself, the popularity of the phenomenon could see such a device succeed as an extra offered by restaurants.

Device lets anyone cook from their smartphone Mellow is a device that takes orders via smartphones, cooking customized meals while owners go about their daily routine. The internet of things is slowly turning homes into smart devices themselves, and now Mellow is a device that takes orders via smartphones, cooking customized meals while owners go about their daily routine. Created by Portugal-based FNV Labs, the sous-vide machine connects to users’ smartphones, enabling them to control the device from anywhere. Users first put the food they want cooking in a plastic bag, and then place it into the water-filled container. The food can be loaded at any time — the water bath keeps food refrigerated until it’s time to begin cooking. Mellow weighs the food to determine cooking time, and using the companion app, owners simply let the device know what they’re cooking, what time they want it to be ready for, and how they’d like it to be cooked. The device can prepare almost any type of food — cooked meat, poached eggs, or boiled vegetables. As users continue to cook with Mellow, it learns their taste, enabling them to tweak its cooking settings and receive recommendations for dinner.

An edible water blob could replace plastic bottles

Coffee cup sharing in NY aims to cut paper waste Initiated by the Sustainable Cup Challenge, Good To Go works by storing a number of reusable, durable coffee cups that feature the shape and lids that come with the usual to-go receptacles at coffee vendors around the city. Customers take the cup with them to their office, but are able to drop it off again at any other venue that is part of the scheme. The cups are then sanitized and redistributed around the city. The team of students behind the idea is still working to find the most sustainable and taste-friendly material to use for the cups, but began trialling the scheme in April. At the moment, Brooklyn Roasting Company customers get a discount if they hand in a Good To Go cup, and the project could be rolled out to the whole city if successful.

Vending machine salads are organic and made fresh each day

Ooho! is a spherical membrane for carying water, which can be eaten when it’s finished with.

Farmer’s Fridge is a vending machine that delivers healthy, gourmet meals made from fresh, high quality ingredients each morning.

Plastic water bottles have long been recognized as a big problem for the environment, so much so that San Francisco recently banned the sale of bottled water on city property. But a new invention from a group of UK students could offer a solution. Ooho! is a spherical membrane for carrying water, which can be eaten when it’s finished with. Designed by London-based Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez along with fellow designers Guillaume Couche and Pierre Paslier, the packaging is created using a combination of brown algae and calcium chloride. The ingredients are cooked up and then spread onto a rock of frozen water. When the ice melts, the globule maintains its shape and can be held in the hand. To drink, users simply suck on the membrane to break it, pouring the water into their mouth. The packaging is both edible and biodegradable, meaning it can be either eaten or thrown away with little environmental impact. The design of the packaging is even simple enough that users can cook up the material at home, with each Ooho! bag costing just USD 0.02 to make.

The Chicago-based startup collects fresh produce direct from local farms each morning and begins making the day’s salads, breakfast pots and health snacks at 5am. By 10am, the meals are ready and loaded into the touchscreen-enabled kiosk, with any leftovers from the previous day packed up and donated to a foodbank. Ranging from the superfood Detox Salad to the bodybuilding High Protein Salad, each meal is packed into a 100 percent recyclable plastic jar which can be returned to the kiosk once it’s empty.

Food Entrepreneurs of HK

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KITCHEN SYNC THE FOOD INCUBATOR OF HK By Sharon Maloney Hong Kong’s vibrant F&B scene has seen an upsurge in new and exciting small businesses, running the gamut from artisan bakeries, specialty diet deliveries and make-your- own restaurant meal services, to more conventional restaurant and dining start-ups. But local food entrepreneurs face considerable challenges when setting up their businesses.

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Lori believes starting a business in HK is very easy; “The actual process of starting up a business in HK, means that you can be up and running in three days.” Finding capital proves no problem either. “It’s fun money for some (investors).” Aside from running Kitchen Sync, Lori and Patrick are involved in an impressive number of food businesses in Hong Kong. Enter Kitchen Sync, the ‘culinary incubator’, a term that most likely did not exist before being coined by founders Lori and Patrick Granito. In essence, they are to the food industry what angel investors are to tech start ups. A kickstarter with a difference; providing everything from business planning and development advice, to capital investment and providing a physical space necessary for small F&B businesses to get off the ground. Lori likens it to a benevolent hand-holding service, “to give them the tools to help them grow,” as Patrick says. The inspiration for Kitchen Sync came from the couple’s combined years of experience within the HK F&B industry, with Patrick working in an executive chef role within the Cafe Deco group and Excelsior Hotel, and Lori running The Bayou, Magnolia and Go Gourmet. Lori was not trained as a chef, nor previously had any experience in running a food business prior to The Bayou. She jokes “Patrick is the chef, while I am the cook”, which speaks volumes about his careful, considered manner and her hands-on approach to business.

They are founders of Go Gourmet and Magnolia Private Kitchen and co-founders of Little Burro. They also manage La Petite Epicerie, and are partners at TLC Aroha (“clean” food delivery service). Their next project called Nola will be a New Orleans Deli and Po-Boy shop. They can be reached at: kitchensynchk@gmail.com

In addition to supplying the expertise, Kitchen Sync provides the use of an affordable, safe, and fully licensed catering kitchen for companies to make and test products. Lori cites Hong Kong’s high property rentals and notoriously difficult licensing laws as the biggest hindrance to startups. “Who’s going to test their product and build them a million dollar kitchen? It’s too prohibitive,” she concludes. Lori hopes to pass on their experience of setting up a business by “being able to get people who really want to do something and to just remove that barrier.” Having watched their own companies hatch, grow and flourish,

with some inevitably folding, the Granitos are well-placed to help fledgling businesses. Their own approach to Kitchen Sync was an organic process, initially just providing the space. As more people approached them, requesting help in other areas, they began to add other services as the requirement grew. Lori believes starting a business in HK is very easy; “the actual process of starting up a business in HK, means that you can be up and running in three days.” Finding capital proves no problem either. “It’s fun money for some (investors),” as she found out when sourcing capital for The Bayou and Magnolia.

Patrick says the company has faced only a few challenges, mainly at its inception, when the company was unknown and demand was low. The Granitos were laid-back and relaxed, knowing that demand would follow. Promotion and marketing have been low-key, indeed, as Lori laughs, they did really did nothing, only relying on word-of-mouth from the businesses they have helped. This includes Little Burro, whom they have helped from concept to operations less than a year ago. Little Burro is now thriving, with two permanent locations and a popup about to open. Other businesses include New York-style bagel makers who started in their kitchen but are currently building their own food factory in Kowloon, a clean eating delivery business and a macaroon company. Kitchen Sync’s services are now in considerable demand, with as many as “30 people approaching us (recently) with ideas.” With space at a premium, Kitchen Sync believes that they are the only incubator on the scene for the moment, but that there is room for all. The HK food scene is now “definitely moving very fast, much more international, with some big chefs coming to HK like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver,” says Patrick. Small food businesses are similarly enjoying a moment, with the increase in foodpreneurs as fertile ground for competition. “It is what you see in Europe and the US, finally coming here.” “It’s really quite an interesting time in HK for food,” agrees Lori, “I think now particularly, people are very passionate about food and think, ‘Oh maybe I can actually do it.” Indeed, she speaks with happiness at the number of local markets and pop-up bazaars being indicative of “people producing something that they’re really proud of.” And what if new businesses encounter difficulties? Her advice is typically relaxed, “Bring out the wine! You go through a lot of tough times and you just have to roll with it.” Take it from one who knows.

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WHAT’S MISSING

FROM HK FOOD SCENE? This is a huge question! I guess what we don’t lack in Hong Kong are food entrepreneurs with great ideas, however, we do need some structural facilitation. We need landlords that care about the quality and type of business that goes on in their properties, not only how much rent they can afford. We need better, more up-to-date, and easier licensing for food startups in order to create a more vibrant cottage industry of locally made products. Finally, food and tech worlds [should] work together, especially in the startup space. Usually it’s the food-people initiating food tech, which is silly, because most food people don’t know anything about tech, and tech people don’t know much about food! If we had a platform to work together we could do great things!

Island East Markets

The biggest hole in the food industry here is the lack of competitive quality supermarkets. Travel to the USA or Europe; the supermarkets here wouldn’t survive there. Where are the big European supermarket chains, where is Walmart even? The vast majority of supermarket brands in Hong Kong are all ultimately owned by two companies...[there’s a] lack of real competition...

I think it’s a shame that there are so many cigar bars, but nobody in Hong Kong can name a Cuban dish. These so-called Cigar Aficionados seems pretty one-dimensional in their appreciation of what Cuba has to offer. Where can I get some Lechon Asado, black beans and rice? Or a good Cuban sandwich? Oh, and while there are Mexican restaurants in HK, are they really safe for consumption? Bonnie Chu bonnie.chiba78.com

Food trucks and authentic Northern Chinese food! In North America, gourmet food trucks have become an integral part of our lifestyles. And being a Beijinger, I miss all the savory pastries and robust meats that we have in the North. It’d be a dream come true to have a food truck that sells hipster Beijing duck “tacos” in Hong Kong! girlmeetscooking.com

Greg Hunt, Sunday Saikung Market

While Hong Kong has a thriving food industry, we feel that there is still opportunity for a lot more. For starters, we feel that apart from the 4-5 main cuisines in Hong Kong there is not too much in terms of variety and quality on offer as there is in other financial capitals of the world (for example: Ethiopian Cuisine). Additionally, the concept of food trucks is something that we feel will be a very welcome addition to the Hong Kong food industry. Hidden Truffles

The concept of food trucks is something that we feel will be a very welcome addition to the Hong Kong food industry.

Homemade puff pastry, homemade pizza dough, homemade bread crumbs. These items are so easy to find in Canada and the US in the higher-end supermarkets. Jessica Bruser

Hong Kong has pretty much everything, doesn’t it?! Although, I did try looking for a Caribbean restaurant a while ago and there are none that I know of. I lived in the Cayman Islands when I was younger and occasionally get cravings for beef patties! hklovebites.com

Note: Stay tuned for the first Caribbean Restaurant opening this summer, Mandy’s Caribbean Restaurant & Bar in Saikung.

Not really. I think we have been slower than other places in getting on trends like good coffee, food markets, pop-ups, eating clean, etc., but we’re getting there, and there really is room for everyone.

HK needs a good organic market with bulk bins. I know the wet market sells dried foods in bulk but would prefer organic. There are many small shops selling organic products in HK but their prices are so expensive! Also, donut shops! Jen Hartley

What Hong Kong needs is a great one-stop shop like Amazon for everything so you don’t have to schlep around for 8 hours in hot sticky weather with one billion people as your company. Mary Totin Schaus

jasmine-ginger.com

With such a broad food scene, it’s really hard to find something lacking. That said, I really miss the beer gardens you find back in English pubs. It would be wonderful if Hong Kong had more outdoor spaces to sit and eat. Jennie Cranham, blogger, scarletscorchdroppers.com

The trouble is you have to go to three different supermarkets, markets or specialist shops to find the ingredients for one dish!

Most things can be found, just at higher cost. The trouble is you have to go to three different supermarkets, markets or specialist shops to find the ingredients for one dish! The first year I was in HK I wanted to make Christmas cakes. 4 supermarkets and three weeks of searching later I gave up. Fiona Rawlinson

What Hong Kong needs is a great one-stop shop like Amazon for everything...

BUILDING A STARTUP IN HONG KONG? Paul Orlando, Hong Kong's ﬁrst startup accelerator co-founder, writes about succeeding in challenging environments.

STARTU SACRIL P E FOR TH GE UNDER E ENTRE DOG PRENE UR PAUL O RLAND O

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FOOD DELIVERY COMPETITION

HEATS UP

Delivery services as a whole in Hong Kong are getting some very mixed reviews.

SHOULD MY FOOD BUSINESS TRY GROUPON? A short case study from Carpaccio restaurant (carpaccio.com.hk) Which of Carpaccio participate in Group? 2012, 2013 and 2014 (launching soon)

By Jennie Cranham

What was the offer? Tea set for two $99 (original $218+10%)

The Hong Kong food delivery market is rapidly expanding, with more and more services promising to deliver you top quality restaurant food straight to your desk or door, but are they any good? Which company would best cater your event, or satisfy your late night pizza cravings? If you spend any length of time around Central, you’re likely to have seen Cuisine Courier motorbikes zipping around. An established name in Hong Kong, the company delivers to locations across Hong Kong Island.

Delivery charges are reasonably low, at only 10%, however minimum orders will vary according to location. The website is wordy, and a little clunky, making it harder to navigate than its competitors. In the smart phone age, it seems like the website may need to update if it is to continue to compete. The restaurant range is impressive, but a close look shows several are now closed down or unavailable, prompting the question why list them at all. Another long standing favourite, Dial A Dinner, has been established in Hong Kong for over 10 years. Boasting a wide array of restaurants, Dial a Dinner is one of the few companies that deliver to Kowloon, as well as offering a wider range of options to the South Side. Recently acquired by koziness.com, the services now share drivers, in theory making deliveries quicker and more efficient. Partner business Koziness.com gives you a choice of over 40 restaurants. They claim ‘we are everywhere you are, at home in the office and beyond’, but currently only deliver to addresses on Hong Kong Island. The website is user friendly and costs are transparent; a clearly visible shopping cart updates your total including service charge as you order. For those looking for something a little more than a quick at-desk lunch, recent arrival from the US, Delivery. com, offers a more refined service, catering exclusively to business clients. This is reflected in the list of merchants, which includes organic suppliers, specialist confectionary companies, and detox plans. Currently the service is only available during

peak office hours, but there are indications the service could expand. Foodpanda, self-described as ‘the best address for your laziness’, is one of the new comers to the Hong Kong delivery scene, launched in May this year. They’re no strangers to the market though. As the world’s largest food delivery company they operate in over 50 countries. The website is probably the easiest to navigate, offering search filters and picture menus, and is my pick for ease and accessibility. Foodpanda, like several of the other food delivery services, also has an easy to navigate app, available for IOS, Android and windows for ordering on the move. With a wide range of services, there is increasingly a provider to meet every need and craving, yet it seems users aren’t fully happy with any of the services on offer. Delivery services as a whole in Hong Kong are getting some very mixed reviews. Some users I spoke to were very happy with the service; a Cuisine Courier customer, for example, regularly uses the service, finding it reliable and the staff friendly. The main problem for many however, it seems, is delivery times. For some sites offering such small delivery areas, users seem baffled how delivery can take so long. One user of Koziness. com says she stopped using the service after an order took over three hours to arrive. It seems as though these services, while offering easy and efficient ordering, need to work on ensuring fast and efficient delivery time before their customers see them as a reliable, regular option.

Have you participated in a Groupon program in the past? No

Can you share some metrics with us? We sold over 6,000 units at the first time, over 3,000 units at the second and third time, so total we had sold over 12k units.

Are you able to tell if these were new or repeat customers? Most of them are new customers.

What % of the deals were redeemed (and what % expired) Over 90% were redeemed

Did you promote ths deal through any Social Media Channels? Just Facebook

What was your overall experience? It is the best way to grab a bunch of customers within a short period of time when the business is slow. It is very important that the front staff has to be well prepared to maintain a smooth operation and make sure the operation can manage the great amount of customers at the same time. Otherwise, the restaurant will fall into a reputation crisis.

Would you participate in Groupon again? Yes, the new deal will be launched soon. It would be again a tea set for two but the menu will be slightly tuned.

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EMERGING FOOD MARKETS By Sharon Maloney

If you had asked any visiting tourist a few years ago what Hong Kong’s markets were like, chances were most replies probably went something like ‘the mouthplace to Hell’ or ‘Satan’s Zoo!’. They wouldn’t have been far wrong. Hong Kong’s ubiquitous, traditional wet markets are no place for the squeamish, with the violence and dirt and noise that accompanies butchers and fishmongers and anyone else plying their trade with a cleaver. Yet, despite sharing a daily habit of buying fresh food, Hong Kong’s markets have long been behind European, Australian and American counterparts in terms of offering customers more than the most basic of meat and veg. In fact, a few years ago, you would have been very hard pressed to find something more genteel, offering high-end, quality, gourmet foods and beverages together with handmade arts and crafts, similar to those found in farmers’ and artisan markets abroad. This has recently begun to change for the better as creative entrepreneurs like Janice Leung Hayes (the brains and founder of Island East Markets), Sudha and Anasua (founders of Hidden Truffles), Greg Hunt (founder and market organiser of Sai Kung Market) and Elisa Dal Farra (of Italian Chamber of Commerce Italian Market) taking up the mantle and beginning to flourish. In addition to offering the public new and exciting products, they are helping to provide a much-needed platform, and guidance, for start-up and fledgling businesses to showcase their products and ideas to a receptive audience. Janice explains, “I love buying from local producers and spending weekends exploring them. That sort of atmosphere just didn’t really exist in HK, so instead of whining, I decided I would do something about it.” Her idea for the market grew as she discovered that the people were creative but had no outlet. “We think of Hong Kong as a malloriented, chain- store city, but the market provides a platform for people

doing all sorts of unique things, and encourages them to have a go and try out how feasible their business is.” For Sudha and Anasua, both share a common passion for trying out products and services that are lesser-known but have a higher artisanal quotient. They agree that “Hong Kong is a city that celebrates the spirit of entrepreneurship and has many such high quality small businesses that cater to a wide range of products and services. However, most businesses rely solely on wordof-mouth marketing to advertise themselves to their target audience.” From a customer’s perspective they realized that it is very difficult to keep track of all these businesses through their individual websites and Facebook pages, and thus the idea of Hidden Truffles was born. Sai Kung Market came about from Greg’s personal experience of having to search for somewhere to sell his own gourmet foods. After having no luck, he decided to start a small market as an outlet for his goods, wanting the market to be locally driven with a community spirit, eco-friendly and fun. “My original idea was for 20 vendors. The first one had over 40 and December already has over 80 bookings.” For foreign companies hoping to launch in Hong Kong, the Italian Market provides a much needed spring board for SMEs to launch their products onto the local scene. Elisa explains the need for the market to give a bird’s eye view to Italian companies trying to understand the complexities of the local population. The biggest challenges for the

In addition to offering the public new and exciting products, they are helping to provide a much-needed platform, and guidance, for startup and fledgling businesses to showcase their products and ideas to a receptive audience.

markets and bazaars range from the setting up process and obtaining licensing from the Food and Environmental Health Department to getting people in the market. As Janice puts so succintly, “the licensing experience is gruelling. I have experienced inconsistencies in final decision-making, lack of transparency and general incompetence in all levels of the FEHD. Not to mention that the rules and application structure are archaic and not applicable to modern life!” She goes on to say that what Hong Kong does not lack are food entrepreneurs with great ideas, but “as hardy as entrepreneurs are, we need some structural facilitation: landlords that care about the quality and type of business that goes on in their properties, not only how much rent they can afford; better, more up to date, and easier licensing for food startups in order to create a more vibrant cottage industry of locally made products.” Greg echoes the same sentiment and maintains that the biggest challenge

for “any market is getting people through the door; anyone that tells you something different is not being honest with themselves. We are in the retail business just like a department store.” And what is missing from the local scene? Sudha and Anasua say that while Hong Kong has a thriving food industry, they feel that there is still opportunity for a lot more. “Apart from the four or five main cuisines in Hong Kong, there is not too much in terms of variety and quality on offer as there is in other financial capitals of the world, such as Ethiopian cuisine. The concept of food trucks is something that we feel will be a very welcome addition to the Hong Kong food industry.” Janice also feels there is room for the food and tech worlds to collaborate more. “Usually food people are the ones initiating food tech, which is silly, because most food people don’t know anything about tech, and tech people don’t know much about food- if we had a platform to work together we could do great things!”

Hong Kong is emerging from its cocoon of the mall-driven shopping habit as people look for uniqueness and quality, and while the ground is fertile for all to bloom, Hong Kong’s bureaucracy in legal areas needs to be simplified and made transparent before true growth can be achieved. What is heartening and inspiring is the entrepreneurial spirit and vision of those few who forge the way ahead for the many. We salute you.

Island East Markets hkmarkets.org Sai Kung Sunday Market saikungmarkets.com Hidden Truffles hiddentruffles.com

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FOUR WAYS to Kill Your Startup

There are at least four not-so-obvious mistakes that most startups and entrepreneurs make, which have the most significant impact on their success.

1. STICK TO THE DREAM Mush Panjwani

After spending time with hundreds of entrepreneurs and startups in Hong Kong during the last 14 months, I am beginning to see a clear pattern. Most of them are struggling to survive; many quit and either jump to another idea or go back to a ‘job’ and very few are actually successful: i.e. happy with the results and consistently growing. Some of the obvious reasons for most startup failures are: •

• • •

Lack of a great product or idea – something that really solves a problem Lack of passion – ‘is that what you really want to do with your life?’ Lack of skills or resources – selling, marketing, product Lack of focus – doing too many things at the same time

But there are at least four not-soobvious mistakes that most startups and entrepreneurs make, which have the most significant impact on their success. So if you want to kill your startup, or fail at your next big project, do one or more of the following:

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You have dreams to build a successful business, make lots of money, travel the world, retire early, make a difference and create something that changes lives… We all do. And that’s where all achievements begin, but only if you progress to the next step and convert your dreams into goals. A dream is a general wish, but a goal is a specific target with a clear deadline. The first question I ask when I am helping a startup is: ‘What’s your financial goal for this year?’ And hardly anyone can give me a straight answer; for example, ‘I want to earn $50,000 in profits by the end of 2014’, or ‘I want to start making monthly profits of $30,000 a month by October 2014’. Who do you think has a better chance of success? The guy with just a dream of ‘I want to travel the world one day’, or the guy with a goal of ‘I am going to take two weeks off in Nepal in April 2015’? It’s the same with business. So, either just stick to the dreams, or move to the next step and convert your dreams for the business into goals that are specific and time-bound.

2. NO NEED TO PLAN Create a great product or service, show it to lots of people, stay focused, be passionate, don’t give up and be flexible… That’s all good, but not practical without a detailed plan. Proper planning is only possible when you have goals. If you only have a dream of getting healthier and fitter, you can’t make a plan. But once you set a goal - for example, ‘I want to lose 6kg in six weeks’ - then you can move on the next step and plan for the diet and exercise required to lose a kilo per week. It’s the same with your startup. You need to have a precise financial goal, backed up with a plan. For example, if your goal is to make $50,000 profit a month, your plan will include:

• • • • • •

Monthly expenses? Revenue goal? (profit plus expenses) Number of clients needed? Number of proposals to be sent? Number of presentations to be given? Number of people to meet?

One of the most important skills you need to develop as a startup is time management. I’ve been following the “4-D Principle” for years; to work less and get more done and to focus on what really matters.

Then, of course, you need a sales and marketing plan to figure out how to reach that many people every month, a solid concept of how to present your product/service to them, how to convert at least 30% of them into clients and how to price, etc. This is important regardless of the type of product or service that you are offering.

3. MAKE MARKETING THE PRIORITY

4. DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF

Yes, marketing is essential. But many entrepreneurs spend so much time, energy and money on creating the best websites, great social media, amazing presentations and proposals, that they don’t have any time left for selling. Successful startups know that they need to reach out to prospective clients instead of waiting to be found, that phone calls are better than emails and that personal meetings are far more effective than phone calls. Marketing alone won’t help you achieve your goals. You must ‘sell’ your products/services actively. And you must do it yourself, with lots of passion. Organizing database and sending newsletters is not selling. Calling up potential clients, setting up meetings, presenting your products, services and proposals face-to-face is selling. If that’s outside your comfort zone, then get some customized sales training. Get help in developing an effective sales script and do some roleplaying to build confidence before facing real clients. If your goal is just to survive or die, then stick to marketing alone.

As an entrepreneur, you have to do everything yourself: selling, marketing, accounting, product development… right? Wrong. Even if you had all those skills, there’s only so much time in a day/week. So you are sure to compromise on one or more of the areas and find yourself stressed, drained or guilty. OK, so what’s the answer? Non-paid interns. There are lots of students in Hong Kong who would love to get some work experience whilst studying. Established corporates won’t hire them because of their lack of experience and the effort it takes to train them. You should. Start with university students in your own family or friends’ network; check out university websites for internship programs and advertise on student forums. There are also special summer internship programs that bring hundreds of students or graduates to Hong Kong every year to work without pay.

•

DROP IT. It’s not important, so don’t do it all. E.g. picking up a friend from the airport. DELAY IT. It’s important, but it’s not urgent; so do it later. E.g. doing emails once or twice a day, checking web traffic once a week or checking accounting statements once a month. DELEGATE IT. It’s important and urgent, but you don’t have to do it yourself. So delegate. E.g. admin, marketing, accounting, social media, car wash… DO IT. It’s important, urgent and you must do it yourself. So do it. E.g. networking, selling, product development, reading, learning, exercise, relationships…

Doing the above will help you follow your plans and achieve your goals, but trying to do everything yourself will seriously hurt your startup. So what’s it going to be? Barely surviving, or really going after your dream through goal-setting, planning and effective time management?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mush Panjwani has been a successful sales trainer and motivational speaker for over 28 years. Mush has worked with corporates, entrepreneurs, managers and sales teams in 17 countries across Asia Pacific. Mush is also the author of “Dhinchak Life” and the founder of “Dinchack” – a company that provides corporate training, business consulting to entrepreneurs and startups and personal coaching to professionals. Find out more at www.Dinchack.com

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Point your startup in

THE RIGHT DIRECTION

by asking the right questions Mark Altosaar

Carefully interviewing your potential market can lead to valuable insights that can really help your product to stand out

THE TWO QUESTIONS TO ASK While a customer interview might cover many topics, I suggest starting with these two open-ended questions.

“As a _______, what keeps you up at night?” For example, you might ask: “As a single-parent, what keeps you up at night?” This type of question works well, no matter who your potential customers might be. By asking this question, the potential customer will describe, in their own words, what their biggest worries are. The responses can be surprising and can lead to a great number of insights. If they have talked about an interesting area, you can say “tell me more about that,” or “I’m not sure I totally understand, can you describe that in more detail?” Asking a potential customer what keeps them up at night is a great question, and can give you real understanding of their lives and the context in which to frame your potential solution.

Enjoy our exclusive privileges like meeting rooms, access to the lastest toys (Mac, PCs, large format photocopier/scanner) registered office and post boxes, internet/fax, and hot beverages.

So become a BizBox member and get started!

A Whole NEW experience!

THE HOME AND SMALL BUSINESS PEOPLE!

The next crucial question that I ask:

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CREATE SOMETHING REMARKABLE

SOLUTIONS NEED TO FIT INTO LIVES

The purpose of any startup is to create something remarkable. I believe that it’s very easy to create something remarkable – all you need to do is bring happiness to your customers. Customer happiness isn’t a nebulous concept. The simplest way to bring happiness to your customers is to solve a valuable problem for them. The challenge lies with knowing that you’re solving a valuable problem. For that, you need to make sure that you’re asking your potential customers the right questions. Once you have identified the problems, pains and frustrations that your potential customers face, your life as a startup gets easier. You can save time and effort by only focusing on the features that are valued by customers. You’ll start to find that your team is more passionate, dedicated and excited about their mission and, in time, you’ll be able to start attracting people to join your cause. Many startups begin life chasing a perceived business opportunity, but I believe that what gets people really excited is the prospect of innovating and creating a solution, providing a practical resolution to problems and improving people’s lives.

If you’re in the business of solving problems for people, it’s crucial to develop a deep understanding of their lives. No products are ever used in isolation. You need to be able to frame your solution so that it fits in the larger context of their lives. The way to get this information is to go out, find your users, observe them and interview them in person.

“What are your biggest frustrations or challenges when trying to accomplish ______?”

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For example, you might ask, “What are your biggest frustrations when trying to give directions to a friend who is meeting you at a new restaurant that has just opened up in your neighborhood?” With this question, you’ll find out their pain points related to the task they want to accomplish. As with the earlier question, it’s a good idea to use it as a start and dive deeper into what they tell you. Why I also like these questions is that they are not asking the potential customer to think about a solution. (That’s your job!) These questions and their answers are providing you with the raw data from which you can create insights.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark is happiest when he’s leading the creation of products and services that improve the lives of people. He’s managed the product and user experience strategy for websites and software used by millions around the world. www.markaltosaar.com

LATHER. RINSE. REPEAT. The process of discovering your customer’s pain points through inperson interviewing is continual throughout the life cycle of your startup. After each interview session, share the knowledge with your team. When the team knows that they are solving a valuable problem, this empowers them to participate with a deeper sense of meaning. As you go through the cycle of interviewing, developing, launching and learning, you’ll find that starting each cycle with a deep understanding of your customer’s problems helps guide and focus the work. You and your team will be inspired to create something remarkable, that people will truly value and appreciate. And isn’t that what keeps startups up at night?

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SEO: HOW TO FEED

the Panda & Penguin with your content in 2014 Why exactly did Google do that and what is the aim of these updates?

•

Penguin Updates specifically target:

Michael Wolczyk

• • • • •

You’ve had a great business idea, created a promising business plan, found some partners and investors and started your business. Now you need new customers! There’s no better way to get new customers than from organic online searches. In fact, there are many potential customers out there, searching right now for your product or your service and you need to ensure that they immediately find your business as one of the first search results! The competition in most industries is getting tougher. In the past, many people have tried to find ways to rank easily on the top of the results pages on the search engines. However, this soon caused problems, because so many spammy sites appeared in the search results. As a result of these problems, Google embarked upon a series of massive search algorithm updates, all of which which caused a big outcry in the SEO scene. The most famous Google Updates were Panda (Panda 1.0 was launched in February 2011) and Penguin (Google Penguin 1.0 was launched in April 2012). Since that time, Google has produced many more updates, sometimes more than three per month.

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•

Low quality links Aggressive internal linking High number of links from low quality sites (link networks) High number of links from low quality business directories Very low anchor text diversity (what’s the name of the link which links to you?)

Panda Updates specifically target: • • • • • •

Low quality content High bounce rates Duplicate content Huge ad/content ratio Bad html/content ratio Keyword stuffing within the content

What does this mean for your new business? Quite simply, forget everything you heard about “the old way” of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)! Here are some examples of “old ways” of doing SEO: •

•

Sections of text designed specifically for search engines, below the relevant content (mostly irrelevant content produced to focus on specific keywords) Producing as many links as possible (wherever they might come from: comments links, linknetworks, or wherever links can be generated!) One-to-one link exchanges

•

Stuffing your content with relevant keywords (adding a bunch of keywords somewhere on the site) Stuffing your meta-tags with relevant keywords Creating a huge amount of content

In previous years, it would have been quite easy to rank well with these techniques. However, times have changed and now, it’s important to reevaluate your approach. How can I start with my content marketing? How do you optimize your pages in 2014? How can I help the search engines to find my valuable content and my products? Content Marketing is key – and in recent months, this has become more important then ever. Let us divide this into the different process steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Create a content schedule Create your content Work on content presentation Market your content Update your content frequently

There’s no better way to get new customers than from organic online searches.

1. CREATE A CONTENT SCHEDULE Content is important and for the production of high quality content, you need time and available resources. As a first step, you should make a plan based on the most important topics that might bring you customers. In the beginning it can be impractical, not to mention overwhelming, to attempt to write unique product descriptions for every single product that you sell. An effective schedule will help you to focus on the most important pages first and prioritize them. It makes sense to choose your best-selling category, and focus initially on the area that brings you the most revenue. Once you are done with these category pages, you can delve deeper, focusing on your most valuable products and creating unique product descriptions. Also keep in mind to refresh your sites from time to time. If you created a page a few months ago, it makes good business sense to keep this page on your schedule to update the content with new information, add more details and so forth. This will show the search engines that your content is reviewed and updated regularly.

2. CONTENT PRESENTATION Once you have some useful questions/topics, it’s up to you how you want to help your customers. You might just want to keep it as basic, informative text, or add an interesting infographic or short video.

3. CREATION OF YOUR CONTENT Once you have chosen a category, start creating a category page. On this page you can, for example, provide more useful information about your products. Think about: • • •

What will be relevant information for your customers if they want to choose one of your products? What are the newest products? Which of these products would you recommend to your customers?

Try to imagine: “What would my customers ask me, if they were standing in front of me?” If you struggle with this, visit an “offline” store, which offers similar products to you and observe the customers. Which kind of questions do they ask the staff in the stores?

4. CONTENT MARKETING Make your content easy to share. Make sure you have all relevant social media platforms included and that the shared content will appear in an appropriate format on each platform. I’ve seen a lot of shared content in the past where only a link was visible and the image was not. Inform bloggers about your content and invite them to use your findings, images, and video on their blogs. Again this makes only sense for them if this specific content brings value to their blogs as well. That’s why it is so important to produce good content.

5. UPDATE YOUR CONTENT As mentioned in the section on scheduling above, the search engines are checking the topicality of your content. That’s why it’s important to keep your pages, once created, on your schedule. Check every few months to see whether the content is still up to date and consider whether there is more media available to support your topics, or whether you can produce new images or videos to accompany the existing content. If it makes sense and adds value to your site, do it! Be creative, diverse and always keep in mind that you should help your customers and not only search engines.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: With 10 years experience in the digital space Michael worked for one of the biggest publishing groups in Europe, one of the biggest mobile telecommunication companies in Germany and a Hotel Group in Hong Kong. In these roles he managed P&L targets with xxx-million budgets. He specialised in developing international digital strategies, relaunch websites, Search Engine Optimisation, Conversion Rate Optimisation, Customer Relationship Management, Customer Value.

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WHAT’S MISSING FROM HONG KONG’S COWORKING SCENE? By Yana Robbins

If you are running a coworking space or thinking of opening a new one, you need to ask yourself this one important question – what can you offer that makes you different? NICHE COWORKING SPACES

As Hong Kong’s coworking scene continues to grow (it grew to nearly 30 new spaces in 2 years, wow!), old and new spaces alike will face greater competition and will need to look for ways to innovate. Innovating is about rethinking all the existing rules of work, combining old and new in unexpected ways, and about being aware of the changing needs of workers in the 21st century. If you are running a coworking space or thinking of opening a new one, you need ask yourself this one important question – what can you offer that makes you different? Here are some of the most interesting coworking trends happening at the moment, across the globe.

COWORKING SPACES WITH DAYCARE “Being at work means being away from your toddler, unless that is you combine the office and childcare.” Fast Company, Jan 2014 In recent years, considerable importance has been placed on achieving harmony between raising a

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family and having a career. Coworking spaces with childcare areas are, as a result, proving to be increasingly popular, not least because they help improve the work/life balance of busy parent-entrepreneurs. There are now a number of such places around the world that popped up in recent years. • Officreche.com, UK • Third Door, UK • Rockzipfel, Germany • 47Ronin, Japan • NextSpace, US

COWORKING SPACES WITH ON-SITE ACCOMMODATION While most business can be managed online, there will inevitably be occasions where travel is necessary. Coworking spaces that provide on-site accommodation offer a wonderful perk for entrepreneurs who don’t want to commute far after a long day at the office. • 47Ronin, Japan

One of the most exciting trends that the world is seeing at the moment is the rise of entrepreneurs who are turning their hobbies and unique skills into businesses. Often, however, these workers don’t have a large startup budget, and will be actively seeking space where they can develop their business without investing in working space of their own. Crafties and Dim Sum Labs definitely have the right idea! Here are some examples niche coworking models around the world: • Eco-friendly and sustainable coworking spaces – GreenSpaces, New York, Denver, Colorado. • Women-only coworking spaces – InGoodCompany, New York. HeraHub, San Diego. • 3-D coworking Space – Mak3d is a a coworking space for 3-d designers. • Coworking space with religious flair, run by a pastor in Minnesota, called Lydia’s Place. Their tagline is “god works in collaborative ways” – brilliant! Pastor Scott Simmons “sees a unique alignment between this emerging cooperative work culture and the mission and goals of people of faith.”

COWORKING SPACES WITH INCREDIBLE PERKS Many entrepreneurs will agree that wanting a better quality of life is why they went into entrepreneurship in the first place. Here are some examples of coworking spaces that are adding incredible ‘extras’ to improve the quality of life for their members.

• Fitness + coworking. Brooklyn Boulders - this space in Massachusetts, USA, has an on-site gym and a climbing wall. • Video blogging studio, dry cleaning services, massage day. Free Range, Chicago. Wonder if they got these ideas from Google? • Height-adjustable desks from Awesome HQ, New Zealand. • Coworking + yoga? Both are hot items at the moment, so why not combine them? Bread and Yoga, Manhattan. • Highly-exclusive (read expensive!), luxury coworking space with on-site restaurant and posh environment. $1,600 USD. Neuehouse, New York. They plan to open 20 locations around the world by 2020. • On-site infinity pool. Pack your bags and move to Singapore to join HiredTurf. • Organic garden with vegetables in Brussels, Belgium at Factory Forty. • Meditation and massage room, at CityCoHo, Philadelphia.

PET-FRIENDLY COWORKING SPACES Many workers don’t like leaving their four-legged friends alone at home while they go out to work, a fact that is definitely being recognized by coworking spaces. Wouldn’t it be nice to bring your pet to work with you? “I really think more offices should be petfriendly as it really improves the vibe of the place—gives the place more life and a fun attitude!” David Walker, Conjunctured. “In June, Trupanion launched a survey to find out what people think about pets in the workplace. Of the 134 survey respondents, of which 97% owned at least one pet, almost half (43%) said a pet-friendly workplace is a factor in choosing where they would like to work. 86% said that they think more highly of a company if it’s petfriendly. ” Office Today Bring your pet to work: • Citizen Space, San Francisco • Conjunctured, Austin, Texas

FREE COWORKING SPACES For workers on a tight budget, free coworking spaces are incredibly appealing. Free coworking spaces, we hear you say? Believe it or not, we found a few and it looks likely that free coworking spaces will soon start popping up in Hong Kong. Although space is expensive, companies will do it for exposure. • Wix Lounge in New York offers free desk and event space for

entrepreneurs. They’ve been opened since 2010, and no doubt this has been an excellent platform for them to promote their product. • Also, in New York, SoTechie provides free coworking on Fridays. • In Seattle Washington, there’s a free home-based coworking space (on Wednesdays only) run by 2 artists and their cats, called, Collective Self.

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