RISEConf Hong Kong 2015

The negative side of start-up exhibitions

As always, you have to be there at least one day before the exhibition starts in order to register. That is already the first drawback because it also means that, even when you only exhibit on the second day, you will have unnecessary costs. It also felt more like a fair than an exhibition but this fell in line with the other exhibitions. A lot of start-up booths, one right after another and all of them were very small. There was no possibility of drawing attention to you since the visitors were driven through the narrow hallways like cattle in San Fermin. There are not many opportunities to speak with potential investors or partners.
The next annoying matter was the fact that, on the second day, the lights were just turned off 1 hour earlier than we were told. The reason was “there will be a party soon therefore 1 hour earlier than yesterday”… Well, that would have been ok, but if you consider that you only exhibit for ONE day, and we did so on said second day, then you start to wonder a little. Basically, it’s just like every other start-up exhibition. In the end, it’s not about the start-ups, it’s about using them as “gap filling program”. That sounds harsh but it is a fact, unfortunately.

Small (and maybe great :-) ) successes for alugha

That was the negative side of these shows, which was deliberately presented first. But now to the positive things because we also had those. On that day, we had over 80 presentations and even broke sweat. The interest in alugha was so strong in some cases that several people came twice but the second time they brought along business partners in order to see alugha in action and ask questions. We really made the best of it and did not let the circumstances distract us. In fact, there were two appointments which we would describe as “high-caliber” and with which we were, and still are, in talks. Seen from a business perspective, maybe it was a success for us.

Hong Kong: gate to the Asian world

Personally, one can say that Hong Kong is worth a visit. There are so many different people and places to get to know. However, Hong Kong is more than just a city; it is a true gate to the Asian world combined with the merits of the Western World. At RISEConf, we met people from every adjacent country and region, for example, India, Philippines, Japan, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and several more. So, if you have a tool for global communication in your portfolio like we do (in our case multilingual videos) then you will be doing VERY well in this spot of the earth.