The first Startup Grind Hong Kong event will feature the co-founders of
StartupsHK, the foremost grassroots organization for entrepreneurs and startups in Hong Kong.
StartupsHK was founded in 2009 by
Casey Lau, Jon Buford, Gene Soo and
Daniel Cheng to promote entrepreneurship and to grow Hong Kong as a tech-hub in Asia. It has now grown into one of the most influential startup organisations locally and regionally with its number of members growing daily.
Gene Soo
Soo is a serial entrepreneur and has launched businesses in tech and fashion space. He is a computer engineer by training and has worked in Silicon Valley as an engineer at SanDisk and also at Accenture as a management consultant. Gene has been active in pushing for a better startup ecosystem in Hong Kong and has been involved in technology, mobile, gaming and fashion start-ups space. Gene received his BS and MS in Electrical and Computer Engineer from Carnegie Mellon University as well as a MBA from Columbia University.
Casey Lau
In addition to being a founding member of StartupsHK and a successful entrepreneur, Lau is currently the Community Development Manager for SoftLayer's
Catalyst Startup Program in Asia-Pacific, providing virtual incubator services for startups across the region working with startups in supercharging their efforts from China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.
Jon Buford
Buford is the founder of Makible, attempting to change the way products come to market with adaptive manufacturing. In 2010, he also founded BootHK, the first co-work space in Hong Kong. Prior to that, he has a background in robotics, bio-medical, toys, consumer products, and online software where he handled design, development, sales, marketing, and manufacturing.