In It for the Long Run

Building a Global AI Startup Without a Tech Background

How do you take the step from corporate to founder? Not in theory - in practice.
- How do you build the first version of your app without a technical background?
- How do you find your first customers with no marketing budget?
- How do you scale AI while keeping the "human touch" to ensure accuracy?

We're excited to welcome Thomas Butter, Founder & CEO of Movaia, to this Startup Grind Hong Kong event. After 15 years in corporate roles, Thomas founded Movaia — an AI-powered sportstech startup in Hong Kong.

Movaia uses computer vision to analyze running form from a smartphone video, helping runners get faster and avoid injuries — without expensive lab visits. In this fireside chat, Thomas will share what he learned making the leap — from finding first customers to scaling AI with humans in the loop.

📅 Date: Thursday, 20 August
⏰ Time: 7:00 PM HKT / 1:00 PM CET
📍 Location: Online (Virtual Event)

🎤 Meet the Speaker

Thomas Butter is the Founder and CEO of Movaia, a Hong Kong-based sportstech startup that uses AI to analyze and improve running form. A veteran of the corporate world, Thomas spent 15 years leading global business lines and award-winning product launches before a personal running injury exposed a critical gap in the market: professional biomechanics analysis was inaccessible to the average runner.

Breaking the mold of the typical AI founder, Thomas is a non-technical solo entrepreneur. He combined his background as an athlete and certified running coach with a vision for accessible tech to solve the injury crisis that affects 65% of runners annually.

He built Movaia from a concept into an AI-powered platform serving over 4,000 users across the US, UK, and Hong Kong—achieved almost entirely without paid marketing. The company is part of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP) incubation programme.

Thomas is passionate about making performance analysis accessible to every runner, not just elite athletes. His approach — combining computer vision with human verification — reflects a founder who values getting it right over moving fast.

💡 What You'll Learn

✅ How to transition from a corporate career to startup founder
✅ Why launching an alpha version early beats waiting for perfection
✅ How to use human-in-the-loop validation to build trust in your AI
✅ What it takes to find your first customers with no marketing budget
✅ The value of building local — even when your ambition is global

🎯 Who Should Attend?

🚀 Startup founders building AI-powered products or services
📈 Corporate professionals considering the leap to entrepreneurship
🧠 Founders navigating early-stage growth with limited resources and no technical co-founder
🎤 Anyone curious about how AI startups actually work behind the scenes

🚀 Don't miss this opportunity to learn how one founder turned a personal injury into an AI startup.

📌 RSVP now to secure your spot