Blog

Having worked in industry, professional education, academic teaching and now co-leading the Hong Kong chapter of Founder Institute, I am constantly reflecting on what it takes to make a start-up successful. There are, of course, many things and they vary with each situation. But I believe the ‘core competencies’ and time in both development and, also, go to market are critical issues that I want to address here.

In my forty-five years in industry, I have spent 33 of it in industry and the other 12 in academic and professional education. I enjoy both sides of the street and think there is value in having both perspectives.

I have heard the word ‘bot’ for a long time now and had a vague idea of what they were – at least I thought so. More recently, I attended a pitch event in Hong Kong with a delegation of ‘tech companies’ from the UK presenting. One of the companies was led by a Founder, Nigel Bridges, a company involved with cyber security. We later met up and talked in more depth about his work and this article draws mainly from that meeting.

It has been a long and winding road for me, investment banking in Toronto, NY and London for over 20 years. Then, university teaching of investment management in UK and China. And for the last 8 years, working with early-stage companies in Asia. But there has been one constant, always having one leg in industry and one in education/training.

We have gone through over a dozen years of very high economic growth and massive market appreciation; some would argue, largely debt-fueled. But with several big ‘shocks to the system’, zero-COVID policies, Russian invasion of Ukraine, Brexit and, now, Fed tightening, could it be that we are entering a sustained period of recession? Time to revisit ‘the bezzle’.

On the 20th February I participated in a Webinar on COVID-19 as shown in the title slide above. Thanks to the host Felix Moesener, Science Consul, Swissnex and the two guest speakers, Dr Christian Althaus (University of Bern) and Dr Pietro Vernazza (Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen). It was very informative.

Working with SMEs in many industries, healthcare, ‘smart manufacturing’, automotive, I am seeing how technology is dramatically changing those industries. Participating in a recent conference in Frankfurt, Germany gave me real insights into Industry 4.0 there and the potential for its application here in China.

This is our fifteenth Article and the third of five of a ‘mini-series’ on bond markets. In China, individual…

This is our fourteenth Article and the second of five of a ‘mini-series’ on bond markets. In China, individual…

This is our thirteenth Article and the first of five of a ‘mini-series’ on bond markets. In China, individual…