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ISSUE 12 July/August 2016
CONTENTS
It’s no longer enough to create a website, solicit e-mail addresses, and turn on a Facebook “like” campaign. Growth comes from data-driven process that requires creativity, perseverance and collaboration with others. These are key elements of what is called “growth hacking,” which is the focus of the current issue. For those unfamiliar with the term, growth hacking was coined in 2010 and has become the new “it” technique in startup circles. Wikipedia defines growth hacking as “a process of rapid experimentation across marketing channels and product development to identify the most effective, efficient ways to grow a business.” Growth hackers are marketers, engineers and product managers that specifically focus on building and engaging the user base of a business. Large organizations are also applying these techniques, but startups, being more agile, are able to do so more rapidly - which is crucial. New growth hacking roles are being created within organizations of all sizes, and the strategy is replacing traditional methods gaining traction, which are often slow, expensive, and ineffective. Inside this issue you will find the framework for incorporating growth hacking into your overall strategy. You’ll need to adapt what you learn here for your own business, but hopefully the seeds will be sown for possible ways to “hack” your way to success. Enjoy this issue and happy growth hacking! Yana Robbins Editor-in-Chief
The cover image contains graphics from freepik.com
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
CLASSIFIEDS...........................2 Community shoutouts
NEWS BRIEFS..........................3 Startup happenings in Hong Kong
CONFESSIONS.....................4-5 Inside the job of Grana's growth hacker
DIRECTORY..............................7 Do you recognize these HK entrepreneurs?
GROWTH HACKING ASIA......8-9 5 Things every growth hacker should know
MEET OUR TEAM Editor-In-Chief: Yana Robbins Contributors: Yoonji Roh Iris Leung Greg Patti Rachel Lam Amanda Cook Paul Orlando Oscar Venhius Cover Designer: Joyce Ngo Special Thanks: James Kwan Stefanie Myers Ludivine Taverne Regina Larkö General Inquiries: info@jumpstartmag.com Editorial: editors@jumpstartmag.com Advertising: advertise@jumpstartmag.com
Jumpstart is available at over 350
EYE PROGRAM.......................10
locations, including:
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Airport Lounges: CNAC Lounge Dynasty Lounge Royal Orchid Lounge Emirates Lounge United Lounge Plaza Premium Lounge EAST Plaza Premium Lounge WEST Morning Calm (Korean Air) SQ Lounge
FINTECH............................14-15 Growth hacking tips for Fintech startups
VENUE GUIDE....................16-17 Check out these spaces for your next event
DREAMS................................20 What happens when they don't work out?
MOST INNOVATIVE ..........22-24 www.jumpstartmag.com facebook.com/jumpstartmag twitter.com/jumpstarthk
Innovative marketing campaigns
MEET THE MAKERS.........26-27 Creative Entrepreneurs share their stories
CAPTION CONTEST................ 29 Win a basket of goodies from Honestbee
Copyright © 2016 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. Published articles do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Jumpstart Magazine. Printed by Magnum Print Company Limited. 11B E-Tat Factory Building, 4 Heung Yip Road, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong.
Classifieds Phoenix Studios can help achieve your media goals, be it through film, photography or aerial imaging. We handle events, promotional videos, weddings and much more. www.phoenix-hk.com Acting Up offers child and adult acting classes, corporate events and parties. We also offer LAMDA and Speech Festival private tuition. www.actinguphk.com Certified Transformational Holistic Health Coach can transform your relationship with food - stop dieting, build sustainable and flexible healthy habits, get healthy, lose weight, gain life. www.yourwellnesspath.co
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City Hydroponics takes farming into the city. Turn your rooftop, balcony, or even indoor space such as a bay window into a productive urban farm. www.cityhydroponics.hk info@cityhydroponics.hk Join Countryside Adventure Tours to see the country parks and the Geopark. Get out of the urban jungle, see the other side of Hong Kong! www.adventuretours.hk info@adventuretours.hk We bring new educational board games and handmade designer toys to Hong Kong. www.zoomkids.hk
Grapevine Daily is the solution for financial recruiters to find the latest available professional candidates in Hong Kong. You can sign up here: www.grapevinedaily.com Reduce drunkeness, avoid hangovers and support your liver with #UrbalStory. We carry all natural supplements from superfood and herb extracts we use ourselves. www.urbal.co Berkeley Master-Math and Science Tutor For IB and IGCSE Exam. Over 5 years of tutoring experience. Please contact Cyrus Wong. Whatsapp: 6686.0889 cyruswongtutor@gmail.com www.BerkeleyMathTutoring.com
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Made in Hong Kong! Kidswear for Slow Living. Certified natural plant dyes and organic cotton. www.city-goats.com
Have an announcement to share? Inquire about print or weekly newsletter classified inclusion: info@jumpstartmag.com
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JUMPSTART July/August 2016
HKTDC Electronics Fair OCT 13 -16
Community News Briefs Social-Tech Incubation Program Launches
Jumpstart Kids Launches
Jockey Club's Social-Tech Incubation & Youth Entrepreneurship Programme presents So In So Good, a new incubation programme at Science Park. Apply by August 15th to join their first cohort of 12 startups. More info: soin-sogood.co
Jumpstart Magazine launched a summer program to inspire entrepreneurship in kids. The program is run in partnership with Bookazine from July 11 - July 22 at Paperclip Startup Campus in Sheung Wan. For more info and to follow the blog for updates, visit: www.jumpstartkids.hk
Infiniti 2.0 Launches The Infiniti Accelerator 2.0 has chosen 9 start-ups from 4 countries for their second program. Startups include Kazoo Technology and Visionaries 777 both local startups in the connectivity technologies space. More info: infiniti.com.hk
Google EYE Program 2016 Top 15 teams have been chosen for Google’s Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Program. www.eyeprogram.org
WeWork Establishes in HK WeWork, the global workspace, with 109 locations announced the opening of their Wanchai and Causeway Bay locations which can house over 2,000 members.
HK’s First Crowdfunding Concept Store launches at K11 The first-of-its-kind crowdfunding concept store will be giving support to crowdfunded projects and products that attribute to innovative lifestyle. www.backerstores.com
Accelerator for Retail Tech The Lane Crawford Joyce Group announced the launch of their accelerator program called The Cage, a 12-week, full-time program offering intensive mentorship to startups developing technologies and/or services that apply to fashion and lifestyle retail. thecage.io
Screw Work Break Free: Release Date: August 4, 2016 One of the biggest hurdles people encounter when they want to break free from the 9-5 is what to do instead. Screw Work, Break Free! specifically focuses on getting readers past this obstacle by overturning the myth that you have to have a perfect business idea to start off with. The tools in the book will get you started with ANY idea, and by working through the programme you will learn how to test, alter and refine your first idea, which will lead to more ideas, and ultimately one you really do want to run with.
Available at:
3
CONFESSIONS
of a growth hacker by Yoonji Roh, Growth Hacker at Grana
indications that the brand had identified a It’s been over a year since Pieter (COO product-market fit. and Co-Founder of Grana) approached me to join Grana as a growth hacker. I In the beginning, my role was broadly had no idea what he meant but the title defined as increasing Grana brand was intriguing (and cool!). Even afawareness, acquiring new customers ter several Google searches and and developing the cusnumerous articles later, I had “Being a growth tomer retention strategy. no concrete definition, and the concept of a Growth Hacker hacker at a startup Having come from an online seemed relatively vague. means that you are marketing background, the day-to-day tasks were not so in an environment unfamiliar. However, the main Wikipedia defines growth where a lot of what differences between a Growth hacking as “a process of rapid Hacker and my former role experimentation across maryou do is unknown keting channels and product territory; no one can are applying data and logic to everything, and being able to development to identify the most effective, efficient ways to grow a tell you what’s right analyse the customer journey or wrong until you funnel as a whole. While business.” Through my experionline marketers are similarly ence at Grana over the past test it out. ” responsible for user acquisiyear, I would define growth hacktion, and to optimise convering as a data-focused approach sion and ROI, there are often to marketing that involves constant restrictions in terms of channels or tactics testing and experimentation, optimising you can implement. each stage of the acquisition funnel from conversion to retention, with the ultimate Being a growth hacker at a startup means objective of sustainable growth rates at a that you are in an environment where a relatively low-cost. lot of what you do is unknown territory; no one can tell you what’s right or wrong until If you Google ‘growth hacking examples’ you test it out. Throughout the past year you will see how Airbnb ‘hacked’ Craigat Grana, there have been several times slist listings by asking users to post on where I have been proven wrong when their platform instead, how Dropbox implementing many of the conventional incentivised users to share the applicamarketing tactics and best practices. The tion with their friends to gain more storage best part about being a growth hacker space, and how Hotmail placed links at at a startup filled with passionate, likethe bottom of every email sent out from minded and highly-talented people is that their users. People associate growth they are always open to new ideas and hacking with achieving rapid growth methods, and encourage and support at early-stage startups with little to no your experiments. marketing spend – in my opinion, this isn’t always the case. Data Driven Decisions. What differentiates a Growth Hacker Even though ‘online marketing’ as a from an Online Marketer? whole is a very broad field involving everything from social media community When I started at Grana, the company management, content marketing, email had been operating for around 8 months marketing, SEO, SEM, display marketing, and was in the early stages of developonline partnerships to affiliate marketing, ing a marketing strategy. The plus side I’m very lucky to work with various team was that Grana’s solid base of customers members who are highly specialised in loved the brand, were repeat customers, their focus within the online marketing and helped to spread awareness among field. My main responsibility as a growth the Hong Kong community in an organic, hacker (sitting in the marketing team) is to word-of-mouth way. The pop-up shop communicate data for each channel and in Sheung Wan was also a great way to make sure the conversations and deciattract people walking past (big blue balsions are data-driven. loons, anyone?). These were all positive
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JUMPSTART July/August 2016
The most rewarding aspect of my job (sometimes referred to as a hybrid of a marketer with technical skillsets) is being involved in various cross-team efforts and collaborations. The tech team speaks a different language to the marketing team, and the product development team may have a different focus to the customer service team. This is where data comes in to help, and can facilitate conversations between teams with very different focuses and priorities. This process allows all team members to understand the data and to be able to make informed decisions. Challenges and Optimisation. As straight-forward as it sounds, achieving sustainable growth rates at a low-cost is not without constant challenges. Working at an online fashion startup based in Hong Kong but shipping to different countries around the world, my main challenges have been around acquiring customers in remote locations. Australia and the US are our second largest markets outside of Hong Kong, but the tactics that have proven efficient on our home ground do not always work in other locations. For example, Facebook ads may work well here for new customer acquisition, but not so much for the US. Maybe SEM drives higher volume in Australia than in Hong Kong.
locations, covering buses with your logos, or creating viral advertising campaigns. Customers have become smarter, more informed, digitally savvy and inundated with options from all over the world, on multiple platforms. Marketers spend more time creating engaging snapchat stories, working with bloggers and Instagrammers, and placing the right utm tracking on each link. It is crucial to be on the right platform, at the right time, with the right objectives in mind. This brings me back to my opinion is that being a ‘Growth Hacker’ doesn’t always mean you have to come up with a brand new strategy for explosive growth with no marketing budget. The key to ‘hacking growth’ is being able to separate your tactics and use different channels for different objectives. It is about being open to new ways of thinking and making sure you’re able to create an agile environment where you are not only testing new platforms, but also being decisive enough to move away from non-performing channels quickly. It is imperative to identify the objective for each channel and campaign, separate your tactics for acquisition and retention, always look to optimise performance, and to make sure that data is your first language. The experimentation and optimisation of acquisition channels for every market has to be thought of in different ways. This involves a close look into the web analytics, narrowing down the segments and geographical targets, working closely with other members of the marketing team, and making sure that data is communicated to the appropriate stakeholders for crossteam collaboration.
journey almost needs to be thought of as separate objectives and the performance is indicated via different metrics. Clickthrough rates of ads show which creatives drive people to the website, whereas the conversion rate from clicks to purchase shows how optimised your website may be for purchase, and the percentage of customers who have bought more than once would be an indicator of how well your retention strategy is working.
What drives people to the website (top of the funnel lead acquisition) is different from what makes them purchase (conversion), and different to what incentivises them come back for a repeat purchase (retention). The conversion throughout this
To this day, I still have difficulty when explaining my role to my parents. Marketing itself has changed drastically throughout the years - it is no longer limited to plastering billboards at high-traffic
by Yoonji Roh Growth Hacker. Marketeer. Internet fiend. Instagram stalker. She has an unhealthy addiction for famous dogs’ Instagrams, Casey Neistat’s YouTube channel, and Tom Hiddleston’s dayto-day activities. But most importantly: she hacks growth.
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Jerry McLean CEO of ChewsWize, a healthy snack delivery company. www.chewswize.com
Sarah Garner Founder of Retykle, an online platform for buying and selling outgrown high-end kids fashion. retykle.com
Lucas Ngoo Co-founder of Carousell, a lifestyle marketplace that makes buying and selling experience simple. www.carousell.com
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Yosha Gupta CEO & Founder of LafaLafa, a cashback, coupons, and bank Offers site. lafalafa.com
Dipti Narang Co-Founder of Lazysuitcase, a travel planning site. www.lazysuitcase.com
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7
Growth Hacking Asia
5 Essential Components that a Growth Hacker has to Understand by Oscar Venhuis “Growth hacking, what’s that?!” This is typically the first response when people hear the term “growth hacking.” The word “hacking” has a negative connotation and, I admit, it is does sound a bit misleading. There’s nothing illegal about growth hacking so I prefer to use the term “growth marketing,” which makes it more palatable and easier to understand what hacking in this context really means. I will skip a long historic overview but the term “growth hacking” was first mentioned in 2010 by American startup marketing specialist Sean Ellis, who was also behind the success of Dropbox. The way we approach marketing has dramatically changed. Why? The introduction of unlimited internet access has transformed the way we think about growth. Nowadays, setting up a business is easier than ever before. The result is an extremely competitive environment, and businesses expect more growth in a shorter period. Owing to the latest technology and the expectation of super fast business returns, marketing needed a rethink to meet today’s fast startup demands. Traditionally marketing has a very broad approach, from increasing brand awareness to supporting sales. This is still important for some businesses, but for early startups this is not top priority; exponential growth is. Traditional marketers care about growth as well, but for growth hackers it is the only objective. To really understand what growth hacking entails, you need to understand what a product is. What a product was a decade ago isn’t the same as today’s product. The definition and the product itself has evolved. Software and applications have become products themselves. In the early days, software was not seen as a physical product like a car, furniture,
clothes or flowers. But now, Google, Dropbox and Facebook are products. They are virtual products that can be shared with other friends through the Internet. New products such as Dropbox offer free cloud storage when you refer a friend. This is not possible with a car or a TV. This approach to product promotion is at the core of growth hacking. Not only has the product changed, the arrival of the digital highway has transformed the way we look for information. Not too long ago, people browsed phone books, ask their neighbour or consulted their yellow pages to find local businesses and services. Nowadays, people search the Internet on Google, Tripadvisor, Linkedin or YouTube to find what they are looking for. To drive people and grow your business, digital skills such as SEO, content marketing, PPC, email marketing and social media are needed. Growth hackers recognise this. Growth hackers have a deep understanding of coding, analytics AND marketing. Technology and metrics come first but growth hackers seamlessly intertwine this with building awareness. Here are five essential components that a growth hacker has to understand.
1. A/B Testing Metrics and A/B testing keeps growth hackers real. If you have a hunch, analytics is the only way to proof your hypothesis. Simply test it and never take things for granted. What works for one business doesn’t mean it will work for you. What has worked last year doesn’t mean it will work this year. It may, but always always and always test it yourself. Find the Table 1
Table 2
best possible solution for your business based on your own data and not on other people’s data. An experienced growth hacker will test the hypothesis, and the data results guide the next decision. Make sure you have sufficient data to make an informed decision. There’s not a standard timeframe but if you’re a startup I would recommend to test it at least for 4 weeks with a control group. The benefit of testing and analytics is that you know what to stop and what to do more. This is needed to make growth repeatable and sustainable. Focus on one specific component during each test to avoid analysis paralysis. Don’t get discouraged because the best lessons are learned from failure (but also from success). The best free tool to measure your business performance is Google Analytics.
2. Setting Objectives Before you start any kind of test, take time to think about what you want to achieve, what you’re going to measure and how you’re going to measure success. Let’s say you want to increase your daily sales conversion and conduct an A/B test to find out the effect of a specific button colour on your signup banner. To measure this you may want to measure DAU (Daily Active Users), returning vs unique visitors and CTR (click through rate). Simultaneously you will need to ask yourself how much percentage difference warrants a change; i.e. 2%, 13%, or more? For a mature business a single percentage difference could be worth tens of thousands of dollars. For a startup the percentage maybe a lot higher to see an increase at their bottom line. But be aware, change takes time so you will need to decide at what point the change is making money and is not a cost.
3. AARR! Growth doesn’t just happen. There is a simple funnel structure to it, however by simple it doesn’t mean it is simple to execute. Dave McClure came up with a great acronym A.A.R.R which stands for: Aquisition > Activation > Retention > Referral. See table 1 That sounds fantastic and very logical but
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JUMPSTART July/August 2016
One of the top reasons why people stop following brands is repetitive content. Brands often make the mistake of using their digital and social media channels solely as announcement platforms for incentives and offers. Especially in Asia, people love discounts and offers. There is nothing wrong with promoting discounts and incentives, but it will be hard to build engagement and a community with promotions alone. Consider the following content types:
Personas how do you do it? How do you get new users? Or how do you retain users? This is where innovation, creativity and outside-thebox thinking really contributes to exponential growth. See table 2. Growth hacking isn’t for the faint-hearted. Courage is required and that is why startups are typically more successful with growth hacking than businesses who are risk averse. To think beyond the ordinary requires support from decision makers at the highest level which in most cases is a lot easier and faster in startups than in a corporate environment. One method I use is to think the opposite of, or reverse engineer, what other business typically offer. Have a go and try. What would you do to fast track your growth?
4 . Content Marketing The concept of content marketing is that you attract and engage prospects and existing customers with high value content. Again, this sounds easier than it is so before you even start thinking about content it is good to know why people follow brands. • • • •
Obtain information about products and services on social media Look for latest deals and promotions Participate in contests and giveaways Share information about products and services
Before you start creating content ask yourself who are you writing for? Every product and service will be used by several people and not by one target audience. For example if you sell USB sticks you have male, female, professionals, students, travellers from 18 to 55 years old. They are all customers but looking for different types of content. If you create one piece of content to reach everyone the chance is very high you will not engage with anyone. The more you understand each individual the more engaging the content will be and the more likely an acquisition and conversion is.
Content Planning The next step is to plan your content. Most business have multiple digital and social channels like email marketing, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, a website, or a blog. Some companies repeat the exact same content across all their digital assets. Please stop doing that. Readers notice this and there is also a danger that if they figure this out they stop reading the content. Besides the fact that it looks lazy, it is better to adapt the content to the specific channel based on your persona. Another reason why it's better not to post the same content is that you want to spread and distribute your content more evenly. Whether you have one or multiple digital assets, a content planner is needed. This is necessary to avoid repetition of content and to plan content that requires more time such as interviews, lists and videos. A planner not only allows you to plan and schedule in advance; it also avoids repetitive content and ensures the right content mix because each piece of content needs to have a purpose. Each type of content needs to contribute to sales so consider categorising your content into the following: • • •
5. SEO Last but not least. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is intertwined with content marketing. They are not the same but they can’t exist without each other. When people search online they look for content and without content there is nothing to look for. WordPress is the most popular open source language and is great for SEO. There are other open source solutions, so if you do not use this you at least need to have a clear index and include your SEO title, meta tags and description properly. There is a lot more such as keyword research, web hosting speed, responsiveness, coding syntax and many more requirements that affects search ranking.
User Experience (UX) Focus on high quality content and user experience (UX). Websites that have no SEO but are easy to use with amazing content will drive a lot of traffic and conversions. The other way around does not work. If you have a website that is ‘perfect’ for SEO but with terrible content and user experience, it is unlikely visitors can be converted into sales. These are two extremes. Over the last few years, search has changed dramatically. Google is the largest search engine and nobody knows the exact search ranking requirements - don’t be fooled by SEO companies who say they do - but always start with this: user first. People will always look for high quality content. When people love what you do and you keep creating great content they will come back. This engagement and experience is not achieved with a few keywords. Google has many metrics to decide how your page ranks but they also understand that people want relevancy. So create the best possible user experience. Oscar Venhuis is helping brands in Asia to grow their businesses with digital marketing. He is an expert digital marketing instructor for Google and General Assembly. Other clients include Guggenheim, UBS, Nike, Star Wars, 7 Eleven, Asia Society, Prudential, and theDesk. Need growth advice? oscar@oscarvenhuis.com
Awareness: push content. Paid advertising Engagement: pull content. high quality content like tips, white papers, advice Commerce: product-focused content, incentives, promotions
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Top 15 EYE Program Teams Announced The EYE Program, powered by Google and supported by leading corporations, announced the top 15 teams who will work closely with the program’s Corporate Partners, including Asia Miles, HKT, and New World Development Company Limited, to co-create products and solutions related to lifestyle loyalty programs, information and communications technology (ICT), and smart living. Themed “Innovation in Everyday Life,” the EYE Program aims to drive “Collaborative Innovation” across industries by connecting leading corporations and startups. This year, the program received over 250 applications. Thirty teams were invited to the Pitching Day hosted at HKT on June 25, and they each presented their business ideas to the judging panel composed of 17 professionals, executives and entrepreneurs. The top 15 teams were selected and will receive dedicated mentorship, participation in Innovation Boost workshop and training, as well as Insight Nights hosted by the program’s Corporate Partners. The teams will also pitch for the top six spots on August 20, and receive opportunities to shadow innovative leaders and showcase their business solutions during a visit to Singapore in September and Gala Event in October.
www.eyeprogram.org facebook.com/eyeprogramhk twitter.com/eye_program
What is EYE Program? The Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Program (EYE Program),powered by Google, aims to drive “Collaborative Innovation” by connecting corporates and entrepreneurs. This year, innovative leaders including Asia Miles, HKT, and New World Development Company Limited work with participating startups and entrepreneurs to co-create ideas and solutions related to lifestyle loyalty programs, information and communications technology (ICT), and smart living.
And the participants are: 1. 36Link improves the transparency in the trading industry by providing a marketplace linking the shipper and the service providers together.
6. GreenAct is a mobile application platform that inspires and motivates people to perform green actions by rewarding simply using their smartphones on-the-go.
2. Bonnect HK Limited empowers parents with tools and professional knowledge to facilitate healthy growth of baby with the aid of innovative technology.
7. HomeTaste connects travelers with local citizens through local cuisine while enabling participating locals to earn extra income.
3. Chears Technology Company provides better listening experience for hearing impaired people through advanced technology.
8. iSTYLEUP connects independent fashion designers from fragmented, local markets to customers and fashion influencers in the global market.
4. Control Free Limited simplifies and promotes home automation through its “Cloud-Based Automation System.”
9. Lifespan is a medical device startup that creates novel orthopaedic implants for elderly patients.
5. FeedMe Guru offers personalized restaurant recommendations for young professionals around the world using big data.
10. Palapal provides personalized group tour experience for millennial travellers with shared interests, aspirations and cost.
10 JUMPSTART July/August 2016
11. Poplet solves the problem of pop-up store planning and launch through innovative strategies and analytics. 12. Preface Holdings Limited encourages active learning by combining textbook materials with interactive learning videos on its platform. 13. Room3 Limited overturns the traditional way of house hunting through virtual reality technology. 14. Shop Easy Logistics Limited removes retail shopping boundaries by establishing parcels networks between different countries. 15. Yolo Lifestyle Limited makes travel planning one click away, from research and planning to purchasing, and additional premium onsite services and support.
#SuccessfullyCrowdfundedHK Building a Shelter for Female Artisans Over $8,000 USD has been crowdfunded for the constructions of a safe building for female artisans in Sri Lanka. The permanent 2-story building will be able to withstand the severity of the semi-annual monsoon rain and storms which have displaced thousands of families in the region. Thanks to Sharon Vipond, Next Chapter and all the contributors!
Educational eWaste 3D Printer Over $5,000 USD were crowdfunded for Curiosity, an easy-to-assemble educational 3D printer which offers a super low-cost platform for educational purposes. Congrats to Marc Rogivue, and kudos to Spark Raise team and everyone who supported.
A SmartWatch for Kids Congrats to the dokiWatch team for raising over 300K USD on Kickstarter. “dokiWatch is the world’s most advanced smartwatch for kids 6 to 12 years old that’s also a wearable phone and locator.” You can follow their latest developments on Kickstarter.
The Deadline for September/October Issue of Jumpstart - August 20, 2016
11
The Growth Hacking Framework FORMULAS YOU MAY WANT TO MEMORIZE
I regard Growth Hacking as understanding business fundamentals and then being able to make informed decisions using data, centered around orders-ofmagnitude growth. Growth Hackers love data, are creative, and curious. Some are developers, some are designers, some are business oriented. Let’s dive into a way of looking at the world as a giant opportunity for growth.
Framework I call the framework I use to guide my thoughts CCARR: Collect, Clean, Analyze, Run, Repeat. That is, as a starting point, Collect data that is helpful, Clean up the data, Analyze the data to pull out insights, Run new experiments based on what you have learned, and Repeat the whole process as long as it makes sense.
Analyze the data to pull out insights. This is business plus creativity. For this I use an expert level of Excel, which is just easier for me than using a database. This step is guided by knowing what business fundamental we want to impact. It all comes back to fundamentals like Life Time Value, Customer Acquisition Cost, and cycle time (see next section). However, you may want to focus on one specific element of those. Run new experiments based on what you have learned. Here you might use ads on Facebook or Google, experiment with referrals, go to social platforms like Reddit, Product Hunt, or Twitter, or try something more guerilla. Just make sure you track what you are doing and your predictions for what will happen. Repeat the process as long as it makes sense. There are many tools that do these things. These above just happen to be the ones I’m using now.
Tools
Fundamentals
For this framework, I use the following tools:
Adding more customers if you lose money on each one doesn’t make sense, at least in the long-run. Eventually, all of your work has to come back to the fundamentals. That means if you’re trying to growth hack a business, you work on increasing Life Time Value (LTV), decreasing Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and speeding up cycle time. Let’s take those one by one. Simple to remember, but figuring out how to do it is the hard part.
Collect data that is helpful. This could be internal data you control, even using something as universal as Google Analytics. Data collection could also come from external sources, perhaps by web scraping other sites to save effort. I use Outwit Hub and SEOTools for Excel for basic off-the-shelf web scrapers, and Tamper Monkey’s Chrome extension for making and finding user scripts to save time. I’m also experimenting with building a chatbot (because everyone else is) using Pandorabots as a way to collect data. Clean up the data. The data you want, especially if it is from external sources, may not be in a format that you can easily use. I use Google Refine if there is a significant amount of work to do. Otherwise, I might just live with it and open up Excel.
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I use a simple LTV formula: LTV = Price ($) * Margin (%) * Repeat Purchases (#). Those are the three triggers you have to increase monetary value to the business. As a growth hacker, the factors you can usually impact the most are Repeat Purchases and, to a lesser degree, Price. CAC is another area of focus for growth hackers. If you can figure out how to decrease your CAC, then you have more budget available to acquire more
customers. The difficult thing about CAC is that different channels for customer acquisition constantly change in their efficacy. What worked yesterday may not work today, or may be too expensive to be worthwhile. That’s why many of the historical growth hacks you hear about are good for ideas, but may not be repeatable. This also means that another difficult thing is realizing that what’s working for you right now may stop working. To keep yourself honest, remember that there is no single CAC – every business has multiple channels to reach customers, each of them with their own associated cost and LTV. To make it easier to focus on growth, think of what will happen to each channel when you try to increase your numbers by 10 times. Some of the channels will not scale at all, some will scale, and some will only scale at a much higher cost. Rule of thumb: keep a healthy distance between your LTV and CAC, perhaps 3X or 4X, unless you are trying to take market share and have the reserves to play that game for a while. Cycle time is the delay between when you acquire customers and when you see the impact in the form of initial purchases. If this cycle is too long, even if you can decrease CAC and increase LTV, you’ll be out of business before you can benefit. The best tip is also the hardest: build a great product that your customers love. If you can do that, then growth hacking becomes a lot easier. Growth usually does not just happen all by itself or in a sustainable way. Keep the above CCARR framework in mind when you growth hack. Paul Orlando is Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California (USC) and is also Director of USC’s Incubator program. He is teaching the first class in Growth Hacking at USC in Fall 2016. Maybe you met him back when he lived in Hong Kong and was running AcceleratorHK, the city’s first startup accelerator. You can read about Paul’s experiences at startupsunplugged.com/book
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Electronics Trade Event
Powerful Connections for Dynamic Business As a major trading hub for electronics, Hong Kong is the ideal host for the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition). The 36th edition of the fair is scheduled for 13–16 October at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Autumn Electronics Fair’s position as the world’s leading electronics trade event was evident in its scale. In its 2016 edition, the fair will welcome around 3,500 exhibitors from 25 countries to meet the international buyers.
New zones • new experiences
NE W
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Specialised zones accommodate all-round needs • Hall of Fame features top quality products of more than 500 global brands • Smart Tech Zone showcases innovative consumer electronics for modern living, including branded electronics devices which are app- and IoT-enabled. • Robotics & Unmanned Tech offers a futuristic look of technologies including aerial cameras, remote-controlled drones, electric scooters, humanoids, and more. • 3D Printing showcases everything from 3D printers to all its related materials and technologies. • Other popular zones include Audio Visual, Electronic Accessories, Healthcare Electronics, Home Appliances, i-World, Wearable Electronics, and more.
Value-added activities Series of top-notch seminars covering topics such as regulatory updates on electronics products, market outlooks and technology trends. Various networking events for industry players to build business relationships. Product Demo & Launch Pad sessions provide an interactive platform at which exhibitors can demonstrate their new products in action to buyers.
Concurrent exhibition: electronicAsia The 20th edition of electronicAsia will also run concurrently with the Autumn Electronics Fair. electronicAsia will provide an unrivalled trading platform for buyers to source electronic components, production technologies, assemblies, display technologies and solar photovoltaic technologies.
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GROWTH HACKING For FinTech Startups by Rachel Lam
2. Customer Expectations Growth hacking has become the buzzword of the startup circles. After It is daunting for early adopters to entrust the market-product fit is established, their personal and financial data, as well growth is the true north of any startup. as their assets, with an unknown comGrowth hacking differs from conventional pany. Being professional, trustworthy, marketing in several aspects, such as a transparent, efficient and consistent will lower budget, shorter timeline, constant help ease the doubt. While you need a testing in lean style, involvement sleek and informative UX of programmatic efforts, etc. There are tons of “It is daunting for early that is repeatedly tested fascinating stories about adopters to entrust their to ensure seamlessness, being too playful may how growth hacking may personal and financial make users question your help achieve eye-popping credibility. After all, finance increment such as the story data, as well as their of Airbnb/Craigslist integra- assets, with an unknown is serious. Remember, tion. However, in FinTech, company. Being profes- one negative comment is more powerful than 100 many of the growth stratesional, trustworthy, positive ones. Only make gies may backfire if you transparent, efficient claims that are deliverable. borrow them directly. and consistent will help If possible, over deliver. Only then can you make Considerations before ease the doubt. ” early customers your growth hacking FinTech evangelists. is not your average ecommerce business. It requires a huge capital investment, is a highly regulated 3. Culture and Language market, and the key to success boils down to credibility. Here are some areas Although people in Taiwan, China, Hong you should take note of when you do Kong, Singapore all speak Chinese, fintech growth hacking in Hong Kong: there are drastic differences in culture and language preference. In Hong Kong, despite the common use of English, 1. Compliance and Regulations traditional Chinese (Cantonese) is the effective language to direct conversions. Unlike Singapore, who introduced a Thus, copy writing in a local style is essandbox to exempt fintech startups sential. Employing mainland copy writers from hefty regulations and requirements and translating simplified Chinese into until they are big enough to comply, traditional Chinese, for example, is a the Hong Kong government has yet to cheaper option, but may not be the best come up with any such facilitation to move. encourage innovation. Until then, you are highly recommended to put compliance into consideration when you grow. 4. Industry fellows Do know how the respective laws works, e.g. Banking Ordinance, Securities and Obviously you are disrupting the financial Futures Ordinance, Money Changers status-quo in the city, but banks and fiOrdinance, Money Lenders Ordinance, nancial institutions are not your enemies. Retail Systems and Stored Value FaciliInstead, they are very valuable potential ties Ordinance, Anti-Money Laundering partners that can help bring your busiand Counter-Terrorist Financing (Finanness to the next level. Extreme growth cial Institutions) Ordinance, and, last but tactics may signal red flags to them and not least, the Personal Data (Privacy) impact future collaborations. Ordinance. I would draw special attention to KYC, AML, and personal data Start formulating the growth plan handling (e.g. opting-in for marketing Here are some standard steps you can message, instead of opting-out). follow to kick off your growth hacking:
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Understand your Company, Product and Market What is your company trying to achieve? Which is your target segment? Is your business consumer- or business-facing? Understand your target group’s demographics and how you fit into their daily lives. Estimate the size of your market and major competitors’ market share. Understand their strategies and what set you apart from them. Construct a memorable statement you can own, and a few unique selling points (USP) to help you develop your value propositions. For example, we can easily associate “Cutting out the Middleman” to Zopa, “Micro Investing” with Acorn and “Home Away from Home” with Airbnb.
2. Goal and Timeline Setting Is it the traffic, download figures, number of registrations, active users, conversions or transaction volume that you are growing? Sometimes, tactics for growing different attributes can be hugely different or contradicting; knowing the right area to work on saves a lot of reiterations. Set clear growth goals and a timeline, then optimize the limited resources accordingly. The numbers should be realistic because setting an overly ambitious target that is doomed to fail may hurt morale and disappoint investors.
3. Brainstorming and Prioritizing Exhaust all possible growth hacking techniques and eliminate those that are not applicable to your model, not a good fit to your positioning, or too complicated
7 Ways to ACCELERATE Growth in a Startup There is no “real” magic in the world. Things are pretty simple really, even in a startup. It’s a lot like making cookies. If you follow the recipe for cookies, you get …… Anyway, listed below are what I believe are some main ingredients for a fast-growing startup. These come from my 30 years in the business, having been involved in a number of successful exits and quite a few startup investments. There are some basics, and if you get them right, life will be more fun.
1. Flexibility beats Quality
5. Hire Experience
Follow the 80% Rule; Good enough is, well, good enough!
Startups often hire the cheaper eager-young-wanna-be rather than the more expensive experienced talent.
Every successful startup I have worked with ended up making money from things that were not even on the radar at the start.
to execute. Then, prioritize according the timeline, cost and effectiveness. To shorten the development cycle, external SaaS such as Mailchimp and Optimizely might come in handy.
4. Constant Validation and Reiteration Do not wait until you have a perfect campaign ready to go. Instead, select the right segment and the right time to launch a MVP and re-iterate. It is very common for startups to employ several tactics at the same time, but make sure that you segregate the testing groups so that the impact of a particular change is measurable. Once your assumption is validated, run it through the entire user base. If the impact is not positive, go back to the MVP and fine-tune it or switch to other strategies until you come up with the best result. There is no universal winning formula for all startups, but I hope the above prepares you to start your own growth plan. After all, people are the key to success and finding the right growth hacker is the first step. Good luck. As a veteran in consumer banking as well as a growth hacker and strategist in fintech B2B/B2C startups, Rachel aspires to promote Fintech and other innovations in Asia. She can be reached at: rachel.wclam@gmail.com.
Make sure you build for flexibility and change. Fix it in the next revision. The goal is to generate sales and gather feedback. Customers will tell you what they need and want. But they have to see it first.
2. Think Interface, not Integrate Streamline and cost reduce, and make it pretty later. Outsource everything; there is no such thing as NIH (not invented here) in a startup. Tape, glue, or staple it together. If it works, push it out the door. If it sells, you can cost reduce, fix, and improve in V2.0.
3. Decision Making Velocity Make fast decisions! Your Mom called it “Pull the bandage off quickly!” Making many corrective adjustments is more productive than slow highly analytical movements. You can always change your mind. (Exception to the rule: If your start/stop/re-start time is significant– i.e. the penalty for change is high– then slow it down a bit). Example: Stock traders that readily admit errors and take action perform better than those who hold too long (decision paralysis) Action with corrections beats “plan on shelf.”
4. Shoot the Wounded Know when to quit. Word on the street is “never never never give up”. This is just bad advice. Ask anyone who is divorced. Face Reality my friend. If it ain’t working, or its high maintenance, get it out of your life. This learning is so important that I titled my next book Shoot the Wounded.
Analogy: a restaurant should hire an experienced cook who “knows the recipe” over the young cook who will “figure it out.” How will the young people get experience, you ask? Not your problem. Focus on solving problems for your company.
6. Sell First A company runs on sales. If you can’t sell it, something is wrong. If you can sell it, you are on the right track. Now you have a “delivery problem.” That’s much easier to solve than a sales problem. Even if you have to give their money back for missing a delivery, at least you know you are on the right track.
7. Find the Fastest Path to Cash Especially recurring revenue: you pay your bills in cash. As a venture capitalist, if you’re operating on my money, I want to have a say in how it is spent. When you get to cash flow positive, my power diminishes quickly. You have much more freedom. Find your fastest path, even if it is not your “big idea.” Being able to pay the bills is a good thing. Greg Patti is the Managing Partner for Agave Venture Partners (founded 2009). He is on the Board of Director for various companies; Mojo Mobility, (wireless charging); Marque Makers (an Adidas International Sports License holder); Affordable Film Edit (video editing for action camera market, think GoPro). www.AgavePartners.com
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Kwai Chung
Kowloon
15
The Loft +852.3905.1000 host@theloft.com.hk theloft.com.hk
200 sq ft
Block B, 3/F, Tontex Industrial Building, 2-4 Sheung Hei Street, Kowloon
The Loft coworking space occupies a sprawling 8,000 sqare feet, providing a relaxed atmosphere for people in creative industries. The interior is designed to be comfortable and inspiring for our loft members. m Amenities: Projector, screen, white board, wifi, air-conditioner, reception service, kitchen amenities. Price: $500/HKD per hour. Discount for members. et erat quis
Metropolitan Workshop +852.3955.8550 enquiry@metroworkshop.com.hk www.metroworkshop.com.hk Workshop 301, 313 Castle Peak Road, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong
60 10,000 sq ft
Metropolitan Workshop is a venue with 10,000 sq ft across ground which offers coworking space, private rooms, virtual workshop and mailbox services to address different needs for our clients. Amenities: Gym facilities, pantry, projector & screen, meeting rooms, Wifi, reception service, secretarial service, desks & chairs, shared fax, printing service, outdoor leisure area and balcony, private shuttle bus, shower room, stage with stadium seating (Opening soon) Best Used For: Networking Events, seminars, creative workshops, team building events Price: From $100 HKD per hour
Sheung Wan
playground.work Conveniently located in the heart of Sheung Wan CBD, playground.work is proudly Hong Kong’s pioneer coworking space that promotes the attitude of work-life balance. Our space is flexibly designed to enable multi-dimensional functionalities that suit events of different natures and capacities: business networking, seminars, mini concerts, recreational workshops and private parties, just as you wish.
Price: From $1,500 HKD an hour
120
1150 sq ft
Amenities: +852 3897 9666 www.playground.work hello@playground.work 11/F, 244-248 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong (MTR Sheung Wan Station Exit A1)
Projector, LED monitor, superb audio-visual and lighting system, shower, inhouse food and beverages, catering services available.
Best Used For:
Launch party, workshop, recreational activity, press conference, mini concert, training.
VENUE GUIDE Chai Wan
Three Keys Craft Space +852.2682.8102 www.threekeyshk.com hello@threekeyshk.com 906-907 Paramount Building 12 Ka Yip Street Chai Wan, Hong Kong
Three Keys Craft Space is a hub for individuals and small groups built by makers, for makers. A maker is anyone who creates, ranging from a woodworker to an illustrator to a website designer. In our 3,500 square foot coworking space, our staff, technicians, multiple workshops and open studio area encourage members to bring their ideas to life.
3,500 sq ft Amenities: • Outdoor balcony • Kitchen • Shower • Wifi • Meeting room
The space was created with the goal of having people from different creative backgrounds work together under one roof. Three Keys hopes their members are able to improve their own craft and in turn cultivate the creative community by providing a place for people to connect, collaborate, and work.
Central
Press Start Hong Kong +852.9283.2312 www.pressstart.com.hk events@pressstart.com.hk 3/F, 18 Gilman’s Bazaar, Central, Hong Kong
25
350 sq ft
Situated at the heart of Central, Press Start Hong Kong is an event space with a collection of over 130 board games of all shapes and sizes and a flexible venue configuration that can be customized to meet your event needs. Our 350 square-foot space hosts 25 people comfortably, and the projector and chalkboard wall make this a perfect space to organize team-building social events.
Amenities:
The Press Start team can offer our event planning services to create a games-centric event to best suit your group, with various event formats available, and we are on site to introduce, teach and facilitate. Our network of catering partners also provides food and drink to augment your event experience. For enquiries on event formats, detailed price guide and catering options, please write to us at events@pressstart.com.hk.
Best Used For:
Projector and screen, magnetic chalkboard wall, refrigerator, movable and foldable furniture, custom lighting, 130+ board games.
Team-building events and offsites, private parties, game nights, board game socials.
LEARNING FROM THE GIANTS The Growth Hacking Strategies used by BuzzFeed, Slack and Tinder by Iris Leung Growth hacking is a commonly used buzzword in the tech startup world, but how exactly does it work? While a growth hacker’s objective is to create viral growth for a product, it’s actually a cross-functional role that collaborates with other departments such as marketing, sales, product, finance and even HR. It’s important to debunk the common misconception that growth hacking is simply a marketing function. If you can recall, there are many products that have gone from zero to millions of users with barely any marketing dollars spent. While large corporations have the budget to hire teams of user acquisition specialists, startups generally don’t have the same luxury and will have to rely on their product or marketing guys to get the job done. To help founders, we dove deep into the growth hacking case studies (via growthhackers.com) of media giant BuzzFeed, software unicorn Slack and the most unavoidable of all dating apps, Tinder.
BuzzFeed, experts in Internetnative trends As one of the Internet’s most beloved sources of viral content, BuzzFeed grew from 600,000 unique visitors a month in 2008 to 30 million in 2012. But its growth in 2013 was evidence of its growth hacking prowess -- as it leapt from 85 million to 130 million users in the span of four months. Today, the site pulls in 200 million uniques per month. According to Founder Jonah Peretti, digging into the psychology behind shareability and content that inspires people was the secret sauce. Understanding why people share things and the mechanism behind virality was a part of BuzzFeed’s growth hacking strategy from day one. By capitalizing on Internet-native trends such as the love for cute
18 JUMPSTART July/August 2016
animals and formats like gifs, pins, tweets and lists, BuzzFeed focused on catering to the “Bored at Work” network of readers. Coming up with Internet-native content that has the potential to go viral is one thing, but knowing how to distribute it throughout the web is another. Learning how to leverage social media, and make the humans that use them feel good when reading their content, was also a key component of BuzzFeed’s growth strategy.
Slack, the chat app that inspires FOMO The team communication chat app that is indispensable to companies all across the globe is one of the best examples of growth hacking for an enterprise software business. Since launching in early 2014, Slack has grown from 15,000 to 285,000 daily users by November of that year. Within a year of launch, they had hit half a million daily users and also reported incredible engagement metrics -- Slack users were sending 300 million messages every month and spending more than two hours a day on the app. What foundations did they lay down to ensure future success? Slack defined their market space and identified user
pain points very early on. They also delivered a top notch product experience by focusing efforts on only a few features, ensuring that they implemented those very well. Finally, they used a freemium model that ignited bottom-up word of mouth growth. Although there have been other office chat apps out there, such as HipChat and Skype, Slack achieved exponential growth by doing a few things. One was taking customer feedback very seriously, and they responded to approximately 8,000 Zendesk help tickets and 10,000 tweets per month. More importantly, they tapped into the psychology behind “fear of missing out” on work-related information to increase the stickiness of their app. Similar to Facebook and Twitter, Slack users receive rewards in unpredictable intervals in the form of “new tidbits of information and approval from peers.” Because of these habit-forming rewards, users grow quite addicted to the app. The case study points out that people using Slack became “hooked” after sending 2,000 messages, and the app is designed to get new users to that point. They do this by holding nothing back from users during free trial periods, which maximizes usage and creates opportunities to form an addiction to Slack.
7B+ MONTHLY VIEWS 200M UNIQUE VISITORS (MO) 18 OFFICES / 1,300 EMPLOYEES PUBLISHED ON 30 SOCIAL NETWORKS 6 LANGUAGES 7.78M LIKES Source: BuzzFeed.com / July 3, 2016
3.0M ACTIVE USERS 800K PAID USERS 430 EMPLOYEES 35K LIKES Source: Slack.com / July 3, 2016
Tinder, creating a gamified online dating experience The location-based dating app that quickly grew into a global phenomenon launched in September 2012 and in little more than a year, picked up 10 million users. By the end of 2014, the app had been downloaded more than 40 million times and reported 100% year-over-year growth in active users per month. With all the dating app options on the market, how did Tinder manage its explosive growth? From the very start, Tinder had built a wildly-addictive app by gamifying the user experience with its “swipe right to connect” function. It was seen as a fun and novel way to meet people in the same city as you that “capitalized on new social norms towards casual dating.” And what better way to fuel the trends of casual dating than within the collegiate greek system? Sororities and fraternities were a dense network of target users for Tinder, and the app’s growth was fueled by word of mouth between all the campus houses. A location-based app like Tinder only works if there are constantly new potential matches to choose from in one area. In the case of the college greeks, it was drawing from a deep well of users that were motivated to spread the word. Besides nailing down a dense network of users that was constantly feeding into the app, Tinder also incorporated gamifi-
cation into its product. It used “variable rewards,” a psychological concept used in casino games, which has users using the swipe function as a lever (like the lever on slot machines) to see if they’ll be presented with potential reward. The reward is then heightened when there’s the possibility of “a match,” when someone you like has also swiped right on you. Ultimately, Tinder capitalizes on the gambling nature, egos of users and the strength of its network and has made a killing doing so.
Growth hacking your startup Whether you’ve decided to hire a growth hacker or assign those tasks to your product team, it’s practical to come up with a short- and long-term strategy. Besides winning users, it’s essential to create a product that people don’t just want -- but one that they can’t live without. Based on BuzzFeed, Slack and Tinder’s growth studies, you can see three startup-turned-giants that have cornered the market in their respective spaces. Anyone who reads content online, needs an efficient way to collaborate with colleagues, or dabbles in online dating, will find these three products indispensable to their lives. And that’s the result of clever growth hacking, the foundation of which is a deep understanding of user behaviors and the psychology behind it.
1.4B SWIPES PER DAY 26M MATCHES PER DAY 10B+ TOTAL MATCHES 196 COUNTRIES 688K LIKES Source: Tinder.com / July 3, 2016
Growth Hacking Airbnb Airbnb is often used as an industry case study. For those hiding under a rock, it’s an online service where people rent out their spare bedroom or house to complete strangers. For several years they were struggling to get traction. One day they came up with a clever idea to hack growth. To increase Airbnb’s user database and drive traffic to their own website, Airbnb used Craigslist’s platform with millions of users. They developed an API that gave Airbnb users the option to list and share their bedroom on Craiglist as well. By doing so Airbnb created inbound traffic from Craigslist to people’s posting but also to their own website. It was a simple and brilliant idea. So why didn’t anyone else do this before? The idea may be simple, the execution isn’t straightforward. Craigslist did not offer a public API. Airbnb had to reverse engineer and make it compatible without knowing Craigslist’ code. And that is not simple. Airbnb’s is a technology based company and to hack growth you will need to understand modern technology. You do not to be a coder yourself to be a growth hacker but you do need to grasp the principles of technology to explain your ideas to someone else who can code it for you. by Oscar Venhuis
600M+ GUESTS 34K+ CITIES 191 COUNTRIES 2M+ LISTINGS 3.3M LIKES Source: Airbnb.com / July 3, 2016
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When Following Your Dream Doesnt Work out by Amanda Cook
You’ve taken the leap. Told everyone you’re starting a business. Launched a website. Printed business cards. Maybe even quit your corporate job. No longer a “cog in the machine” you’re following your dream of building a business that matters! It’s what you were meant to do! And then … that sinking feeling appears. You know, that sinking feeling of discontent in your gut, the one that pushed you to “follow your passion” in the first place! It’s back. But this time it’s happening in what’s supposed to be your dream life. Feeling discontent in a corporate job is kind of normal. Lots of people feel that way. Many dream of starting their own business - and some do. You did. But when you’ve taken that leap and then you still feel discontent - it can be disorienting and embarrassing. Where do you go next? This happened to me in 2012. Finally, after several years of reading, scheming, naval gazing and blogging, I’d decided the ultimate path to my life happiness was to quit my corporate job and become a health coach.
I invested in a training program. I studied nights and weekends in addition to my demanding day job. I tailored my blog posts to my new ‘target audience’. I read entrepreneurship books and listened to relevant podcasts in every free moment. And then, I finally started health coaching! And I hated it. It’s hard to describe the cruel mix of emotions this caused. Of course there were the normal emotions that come up when you’ve publicly declared you’re going to do something, and then you quit: embarrassment, feeling immature and unprofessional and fickle. But this time it was even worse, because it was combined with an intense sense of loss and confusion. You see, this was my PASSION. I was FOLLOWING IT, just like everyone says to do — and if this didn’t work out, then what?! Looking back on this experience now, it’s easy for me to see how I made it harder for myself. In my head, I had decided that working as a health coach would make me happy and fulfill all my professional
goals. But I was focusing on the wrong goal. What if, instead of focusing on “being a health coach” as the ultimate outcome , I’d decided that my goal was to make an impact in the world through spreading wellness? That simple mindset shift would have opened up numerous possibilities for me, allowing me to see my stint as a health coach as what it really was: an experiment. Health Coaching was simply one type of wellness work that I tried, and then eliminated from my list. It wasn’t the ultimate goal that would make or break my happiness. Here’s a key truth I’ve learned about finding fulfillment in your work: Focus on the direction, not the specific outcome. When you launch a startup, do you know exactly what your ultimate product or service will look like? Of course not. Your offerings will evolve and change with customer feedback. Your branding will change. Your target customer might change. Even the product you’re selling might change. There’s no way to predict all of this when you begin. So, rather than being attached to that one specific outcome, focus on the Big Idea instead. What is the bigger problem you’re trying to solve? How is this business helping to make change in the world? Then you have flexibility to change the specific “how” and “what” to evolve with the business, while staying true to your original goals.
20 JUMPSTART July/August 2016
Entrepreneurs Club Launches in LKF Interview with Tony Verb, Managing Partner of Mettā How did Mettā come about?
So here’s how I approach following your passion now: Use your feelings of attraction and inspiration — your passion — as a compass. And what do you do with a compass? You head in that direction. Yes, hold a vision and a dream for yourself (and your business), but always be open to bigger or better possibilities by reminding yourself: “I will create/do/have/ be this, or something better…” You don’t need to have everything planned out through the ultimate end goal. You just need to take the next step in that direction, consistently, and be open to what appears. For me, personally, I did end up working in wellness in a way that fits me, my background, lifestyle and personality. I’ve been able to combine my business experience with my love of wellbeing to help wellness entrepreneurs with digital marketing. No, my “wellness career” doesn’t look at all like I’d planned it to — but in the end, it’s even better than I’d imagined because it’s uniquely mine. And if that’s not the purpose of following your passion, then I don’t know what is. So if following your passion hasn’t played out exactly like you’d planned, remember — your passion is a compass, not your final destination. Just take the next step forward. And stay open to the possibilities.
Mettā formed from the realisation that there wasn’t a platform that brought together the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. Yes there was Silicon Valley in California and the Silicon Roundabout in London but what about helping these community connect and collaborate? About 18 months ago I started talking to Nest, a business that builds platforms to support entrepreneurs, and we felt there was a need to build a global ecosystem from Hong Kong so that people could gain access to the people and resources they need to succeed. Tell us about crowdsourcing the name and logo. Mettā is built by the community for the community, and it was necessary to install that DNA in the very beginning. We had a global competition for the name– 500 submissions were received from 50 countries and the name was selected by the people who sent their suggestions. As soon as we heard the name we realised it was the perfect fit. It means “the strong mental union of like-minded people.” The logo was also voted by the first Mettā members after we received over 1,800 submissions from around the world. What’s the long term vision for Mettā? If our thesis is proven, there is need for a universal connectivity platform for all innovators and so we are looking to grow into a number of new markets in 2016 to ensure that distance is no barrier when it comes to meaningful collaboration. We are also developing several digital products to support these objectives.
Tell us about your recent expansion to Nairobi. Given the dynamic and rapidly growing startup scene in Africa, one which has strong ties to Asia and especially China, it is an organic and exciting next step to open in Nairobi. If Mettā can deliver value in two such varied ecosystems as those which exist in Hong Kong and Kenya, our model will be proven. In addition, we’ve got a great local partner who understands our vision and philosophy. There have been so many developments in the HK startup ecosystem. Is anything missing in the HK startup ecosystem? It’s a special time to be in Hong Kong. Slowly but surely, resources are coming together and there is great momentum and anticipation right now. Opportunities are abundant, so we just need talented and dedicated entrepreneurs with creative ideas from Hong Kong and overseas to capitalise on them. What are some exciting things we can expect in coming months? Coming months! More like days. Things move very rapidly at Mettā. We have stimulating and relevant events being run out of Mettā daily, based around themed months (ie. F&B Tech, Fintech, Social Entrepreneurship etc). We’re particularly excited by the Crowd Innovation Exchange in October, revolving around Hong Kong’s first Formula E - one of the many firsts we’re hoping to see in the city this year.
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Top 10 Innovative Marketing Ideas from 2016 Around the world Marketing & Advertising ideas designed to provide you with plenty of fresh inspiration for the future. 1 In Brazil, coffee wrapped in daily newspaper shows off its freshness Many shoppers want to buy the freshest produce, but knowing how long your food takes to get to your plate or cup has been almost impossible with big brand products. But now, Brazilian coffee company Café Pelé has teamed up with the local daily newspaper to show just how fresh their coffee is. The coffee producers wrap their products in pages from that morning’s Estado de São Paulo newspaper before putting them on display in supermarkets.
By Janos Barberis
www.cafepele.com © hirschandmann.com
© Photo originally apeared on Springwise.com
2 Billboard evolves based on passerby reaction With advancements in image recognition technology, adverts are now able to adapt to consumers in real-time. M&C Saatchi created the world's first artificially intelligent poster campaign, inspired by Darwinian natural selection. The responsive poster changes its font, layout and copy depending on each passerby's length of engagement. www.mcsaatchi.com/london
3 Platform helps optimize emotion in web content
4 Ad-supported stations offer EV drivers free charging
Digital analysts are increasingly examining content from a more human perspective. Now, UK-based Toneapi is enabling brands and businesses to maximize impact, by understanding the emotion and tone of their content.
Electric vehicle use has risen from 750k to 1.3m globally in the past year, and EV charging stations provide prime locations for visibility. Volta makes use of this opportunity with their electric vehicle charging terminals, which host advertising and sponsorship to enable drivers to charge their cars for free.
Toneapi provides detailed feedback of the types of emotional impact content is likely to elicit based on word analysis algorithms. Users receive information about positive, negative, or neutral associations with certain keywords and sentences. These then build up an overall tone score for the document — are users seeking to drive action, or provide neutral, passive information? Using a Chrome extension, users can also analyze their own — or competitors’ — preexisting web content. www.toneapi.com
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There are 110 free charging stations in Hawaii, California and Phoenix, Arizona. Currently the stations are predominantly at shopping malls and centers sponsored by partners including Macy’s and Whole Foods Market, as well as a number of national real estate companies. Volta pay for installation, service and maintenance. The startup recently secured USD 7.5 million in new venture funding which will enable them to expand their operation at a fast pace, hopefully helping make EV a more appealing option. www.voltacharging.com
© hirschandmann.com
5 Smart spoon remembers which flavors consumers enjoyed most Any connoisseur of specialty food or drink will know the risks involved in picking the wrong product for your own palate — it is a costly and unpleasant mistake. There are now apps that allow users to profile indie alcohol before they buy. Maille, purveyors of French mustard for centuries, are going a step further and embracing smart technology to help users choose their favorite mustard. In their showroom in Piccadilly, Maille teamed up with Hirsch and Mann and creative agency Mr. President to develop the Discovery Spoon tasting experience. Consumers were invited to try various mustard flavours, using the spoon to tap on sensors placed in front of the mustards that they enjoyed most. The Discovery Spoons remember where they were tapped, saving the various data to build up a unique flavor profile for the user. The information is then downloaded from the spoon, after which consumers are sent emails with Maille mustard-based recipes tailored to their particular palate. Consumers spend time physically tasting mustards, receiving a physical experience that Maille can then use to promote its mustard to individuals based entirely on their own preferences. www.hirschandmann.com
Tiredness behind the wheel is one of the major causes of road accidents globally. Sodimac — a homecentre in Peru — has launched a campaign to tackle the problem. The Sodimac Resting House billboard doubles as an advertisement and a temporary sanctuary for tired drivers traveling on the Panamericana Sur Highway. Rather than simply advertise the store, the Sodimac billboard features a lit up arrow that points travellers towards the temporary reststop. Drivers simply have to pull off the road and drive into the temporary single-car garages, which have been decorated to resemble the interior of a bedroom. There is free wifi and security around the clock, and visitors are even given eye-masks and hot drinks.
© Photo originally apeared on Springwise.com
6 Billboard rest-stop provides temporary bedroom for tired drivers
© Photo originally apeared on Springwise.com
www.sodimac.com.pe
7 In Brazil, lawn mower test drives clean up city parks Brazilian lawn mower brand Tramontina have been combining advertising with public service by offering consumers the chance to test drive their new mower Trotter around Sao Paulo’s city parks — many of which are in need of a bit of care and attention. The “Test Drive For Good” campaign, which was masterminded by creative agency JWT Brazil, took place over three weekends. During that time hundreds of people helped to tidy up 10 city parks, while also test driving Tramontina’s lawnmower. The campaign mowed three tonnes of grass in the city, and potentially boosted the company’s public image. www.jwt.com/brazil
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8 Using blockchain to tell a product’s story Transparency of where products come from is something many companies preach about, and they are quick to promote their CSR initiatives. But now a new network is using blockchain to help companies share information on their supply chains. Provenance is a data platform that enables brands to introduce greater transparency by showing the history of a product. Using blockchain, companies can easily tell their products’ stories, verify their supply chain and use this data to show their brand’s transparency and authenticity. For the GBP 7 per month starter pack, businesses can create profiles on the Provenance platform, and input information about the materials, people and processes behind their products. For the GBP 25 per month plan, companies can generate labels and unique product IDs to prove product authenticity, as well as add manufacturing stories to their e-receipts.
9 Biometrics tool measures audience response to The Revenant Whether positive or negative, cinema inevitably elicits emotional responses from its audience. Movie-makers have always played to these emotional reactions but have never had a reliable tool for measuring how successful they have been, since the feelings of the viewer tend to evaporate as soon as the lights come up. Now, Lightwave is a bioanalytics technology company that can enable film companies to monitor the emotions of audience members in the midst of their viewing experience. www.lightwave.io
www.provenance.org
10 Commitment rings prevent Netflix cheating
© seriescommitment.com
Though Netflix is said to be the glue that holds many modern relationships together, it can also be the source of irreconcilable conflict — one partner could make the ultimate betrayal by watching an extra episode of House of Cards without the other. To prevent such deception, Cornetto has create Series Commitment Rings, a pair of NFC bands that stop Netflix viewers from watching ahead without their partner.
To begin, Netflix partners download the Series Commitment app and select the series they want to watch. Then, they put both rings close the their phone to unlock the app. If either person tries to watch the show without their partner, the series will be blocked, preventing them from watching ahead. www.seriescommitment.com
Originally published on Springwise.com. Contents have been lighly edited.
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watercolors & STAMPS Roong Suchinunkul, Bymamalaterre “I was an architect before. I quit my job to take care of my daughter, and started to find many kinds of art to play with her since she was 2 years old...it’s so much fun for both of us, and even more fun when I mixed stamp art with watercolor painting. I studied and practiced almost every day, and have run a small art business called “Bymamalaterre” for the past three years.
Meet the Makers
Collaborations are Essential to Entrepreneurship. How can your Business Collaborate with these Creative Entrepreneurs? Parisian Influence Celine Marie, Paname Shelter . “My passion for artisanal knowledges lead me to create Paname Shelter label, an arty brand covering a range of accessories, objects and print artworks inspired from vintage wallpapers (with the stories they tell). I use raw yet refined fabrics, like genuine leather or cotton/linen canvas, combined with wood metal details or beads finishings. Items are ethically produced in small series in partnership with amazing artisans from places I loves to work with - Bali, India and France.”
Eggcelent gifts Lady Johana Medina, Big Surprise Eggs Hong Kong “I was inspired by watching my kids enjoy the Kinder egg surprise videos on Youtube.” Since April 2016, Lady Johana Medina has been making different theme giant eggs of themes like Kinder, Buzz Lightyear, McQueen, and Frozen. You can find them on Facebook under BIG Surprise Eggs Hong Kong.
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Flower Power Julie Siu, Paper Play Designs
Upcycled & Personalized Vincci Ching, Dodo Island “My love for textile started early with memories of my brother and me playing hide and seek in mountains of fabrics at my family’s garment factory located in the Shek Kip Mei factory building in the 1980s. Unfortunately, it is because of the same upbringing that I saw first-hand the pre-consumer waste that garments manufacturing can generate. As a clutch designer, I aim to work sustainably, making as little waste as possible.”
“I first fell in love with the art of paper floristry when I created flowers for my mum for Mother’s Day in 2015. From there, I started receiving custom order requests. Moving to HK was the catalyst for me to try something different, so I decided to take up the challenge of turning my passion of creating into a full time career and started Paper Play Design. I would love to share my passion for creating things with those around me by either creating flower arrangements for customers or by sharing my skills at workshops.”
Vincci runs two Etsy shops: ANGEE W. is her bridal line of personalized and customized clutches, and Heritage ReFashioned, where she offers eco-friendly clutches that repurpose and up-cycle vintage and underappreciated fabrics into one of a kind purses and accessories.
Inspired by travel Katie Heeks Purell, Ship Street Studio
“My designs are inspired by my love of
travel, which has been with me since I was a child. When my uncle used to be in the Navy, he would send postcards from every port and my father and I would plot the route on a world map guessing at where Uncle Jack would stop next. Even now one of my favourite parts of travel is the excitement you feel while planning your journey. I think my work reflects this.” Ship Street Studio is a small independent company that produces travel-inspired gifts and artwork. The designs are hand drawn and produced using a laser cutter, all materials are ethically sourced, and some are even made from recycled paper and card. Custom-made pieces and personalisation are available.
Textile designer
Jemima Callaghan, Lost Property It began 3 years ago as a little idea when Jemima first visited the textile district in Hong Kong. “I was instantly wowed by the amazing range of textile-related products that are available right here in Hong Kong, like nothing I have ever seen before”. So she started up her Etsy shop to see what would happen. She now works with a number of fashion brands, designers, crafting stores and individuals all over the globe to source and supply textile items and a range of DIY crafting kits.
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