Leo knew that fetching this dream would
not be a one-man effort. He found the
HKUST campus to be an excellent platform
allowing people with different insights and
expertise to meet and collaborate. Six of the
founders of Sensbeat are either alumni or
current students at HKUST.
At the initial stage of the startup, Leo met
Ben, a Technology and Management
Dual Degree student. Leo later came to
know Conrad, a fellow BBA student, at
a Putonghua course. The like-minded
trio soon became the founding team of
Sensbeat, a unique mobile app for sharing
music and emotions. “The journey from zero
to one was simply… amazing,” said Leo.
Don’t follow the norm – create a new one
University education nurtures independent
thinking. All of them had job offers from big
and reputable companies promising secure
career paths, but they also had the option of
braving murky waters of entrepreneurship.
They chose the latter eventually. Unlike
many other fresh graduates, Leo’s team did
not have bosses’ orders to follow but many
vital business decisions to make. The sheer
amount of courage and commitment it took
to follow through was overwhelming to say
the least. But to Leo and his team, you
wouldn’t know if you did not try. Leo said,
“as a team we really cherished one another.
And we were thrilled about the countless
opportunities that came along with being
entrepreneurs.”
Of course, it is not all sunshine and roses
every step of the way. Roy, a Year 4
Engineering student, received little support
from his peers who worried that a startup
would hurt his studies before it could bring
in profit. But the happiness and satisfaction
he received from working with Sensbeat
makes him persevered. As for balancing
academic and the business, he laughed, “I’ll
just sleep less.”
The team understood that they live in a
culture where entrepreneurship is not the
norm. Opinions and attitudes from friends
and families can often influence young
entrepreneurs as they make decisions about
their future. Conrad believed that having a
clear goal is fundamental to entrepreneurial
success. Leo agreed. “Do what you love
and do not just follow what everyone is
doing,” he said.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Starting is always the hardest part. Like
everyone else in their class, the Sensbeat
founders had homework assignments and
exams, making it more challenging to work
on the new business. Leo remembered
calling on his friends and classmates to
take turns reserving the same library study
room so that the Sensbeat team could
have an “office.” When it came to securing
funds, they had to pick up on whole new
vocabulary so that they could communicate
with investors. Every day was a learning
process. It was tough, but as Leo put it,
“these are the experiences that make our
lives special and worth living.”
Just as a seed can only thrive in the perfect
combination of soil and climate, fledgling
businesses can only grow in a nurturing
Leo WONG
//
BBA inMarketingand
BBA in InformationSystems, 2014
environment and amidst the right resources.
Leo is grateful to HKUST for providing these
in the form of advice from professors,
marketing and promotional support and
a startup-friendly vibe in the campus. But
the most valuable asset for Sensbeat, Leo
believed, is a strong team spirit with the
same vision.
There really are no limits
In spite of all the challenges, the team
successfully appealed to investors,
subsequently earning a US$1 million seed
fund to promote and develop Sensbeat in
Hong Kong and overseas. But to the team,
there’s no price tag to success: “Success
is defined by how many difficulties we can
overcome in the process,” Leo said. He
urges other aspiring student entrepreneurs
to break down the invisible wall of limitations.
Dream big and be brave to discover the
endless possibilities in the journey of
fetching your dream.
Launch a business before graduation? Why not?
09
2015
