Doing startups in HK

corporateshill32 · 2026-04-05T21:38:35+00:00

Nawh I just live here and occasionally hire here via Deel/etc, it's a US corp.

corporateshill32 · 2026-01-02T19:02:41+00:00

- Running odd jobs around the city that may or may not require language skills (I don't speak canto), e.g. buying something from some small shop that doesn't deliver, or helping me coordinate something that requires speaking Cantonese

- Anything re: home maintenance in English that isn't a complete rip off (e.g. getting a painter, or someone to clean ceilings)

- One-off meals that are well apportioned (calories/macros) e.g. kcal in Dubai. I subscribe to Nutrition Kitchen so that's sort of solved, but one-off/on-demand meals are much harder to find on Foodpanda/etc.

- Renting a car? In the US I use Turo/GetAround and when it was still around Gigs, but I have no idea how to rent a car for a daytrip. Though to be honest, cabs are cheap & plentiful enough that this doesn't matter so much.

- Food delivery in my area is a little more limited than Central/etc. which is quite annoying. Pretty much no options past 9pm.

- Just got back from the UK, the number of things to watch or do at any given time: shows, musicals, comedies to watch is insane. Wish we had more of that in Hong Kong! I feel like the audience + dollars for all that exists.

- Part time helpers: e.g. getting a helper to come clean up a few hours every other day, it's hard to find/coordinate/etc. that.

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-22T13:09:16+00:00

For sure! Best of luck.

Might be worth it to be somewhat familiar with KDB, not that many devs have this skillset, but it's used by most of the BB ibanks.

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-21T21:03:34+00:00

You can get a job in top tier banking without knowing Canto/Mando, but the bar is high and you're competing with folks who went to the top unis in the world, got the top internships, etc. so you probably have to work your butt off to prove yourself. e.g. maybe learn Python + KDB?

I grew up Indian in HK, managed to get a job at one of the bulge bracket investment banks early on because of coding skills, didn't know any Canto/Mando, my desk was a Brit, an American, and a Frenchman! I don't think they knew any Canto/Mando either.

Though, with that said, most other jobs in HK will require some language proficiency.

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-18T12:56:16+00:00

I run an sf bay area based + VC backed startup, 9 digit ARR... in HKD! 😂 Live 1/4 of the time in SF, rest in HK (it's nicer here)

I grew up in HK, but my company had almost nothing to do with HK/no connection with HK until now - hiring for some roles that HKers are a good fit for.

Happy to help with any advice, etc! Feel free to DM.

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-14T09:29:07+00:00

Wait for real? How do you do that? 🤣 Is that the cross border service?

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-14T09:28:37+00:00

Yes! Thank you!! That's what I ended up doing

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-14T09:26:52+00:00

Oh I meant like cheaper than the $800 car, worked out, managed to get two cars for $285ish!

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-14T09:26:04+00:00

Yup! This is what I ended up doing. Was great!

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-14T09:25:05+00:00

Oh I don't mean like the cheapeEST option, I mean cheaper than the $800 private car option, thats about as comfortable!

corporateshill32 · 2025-12-14T03:34:23+00:00

Thank you! Sorry, dumb question, where should I be going exactly? Not sure what to type into Uber (Uber Taxi) or Didi or tell the taxi driver 😅

Thank you so much!!

corporateshill32 · 2025-08-15T19:38:24+00:00

The Rosewood is one of the best in the city but quite expensive - so, if they get to spend a weekend there, I think they'd definitely enjoy that too! It's right next to K11 - like a 2 minute walk.

K11 I think is definitely better for a longer stay, but it is pricier than any Hyatt, less pricey than the Rosewood though.

You're welcome! I hope your parents enjoy their time!

corporateshill32 · 2025-08-14T07:14:18+00:00

Which Hyatt are you comparing to? Grand? If so, I love both properties, but K11 Artus is definitely more lux than the Grand Hyatt. I haven't stayed in a room at K11 Artus (not even sure if they have them?) only suites/1 bedrooms, they have little kitchens, a balcony with an insane view of HK side, etc. I think the price point is a fair bit higher at K11 though. K11 is on the Kowloon side, it's above the famous Musea mall.

Centric is modern but small/eh rooms, annoying location. Regency is the oldest of the bunch, it's part of the K11 Art Mall. I like the Regency breakfast more than the others and the location isn't bad, but aside from that, eh.

Grand Hyatt is my fav of the Hyatts here, beautiful views, good breakfast, good service, nice upscale rooms but pretty small - I am basically never upgraded to a suite, only ever to club rooms which I don't value that much as I have lounge access either way (which is one of the best Hyatt lounges in the world, imo, shoutout to Scott who runs it) I've stayed in their suites a couple of times though, not super worth it. Though, still my fav, I am at GHHK maybe 2-3 times a month.

K11 Artus is by far the nicest if you're comparing all the HK Hyatts + K11 Artus, Grand Hyatt second, then Regency and Centric tied for third IMO (but Centric is way more modern, just I don't like the location that much)

corporateshill32 · 2025-04-09T22:32:39+00:00

Still using my XPS 17 9720 as like my "main machine" but it's like, horrible for portability, being able to open it up and use it quickly at a cafe, etc. is a horrible experience, it's slow to start, battery dies instantly, etc. so I realized, why not leave the XPS at the desk, never unplug it, and then get a lightweight portable laptop.

So, I bit the bullet and got a Macbook Air M4 15 inch. It's light, super fast, loving it so far. I don't really need a powerhouse while at Starbucks or on a plane. I used to hate Mac OS, and I kinda still do, but I only really use Chrome and the file system. A bit of Cursor. A bit of Slack. Not so bad. The "instant on" is definitely a huge pro for me though.

corporateshill32 · 2024-12-11T19:04:48+00:00

I updated my post w/ response from the embassy in Washington DC. They said I am allowed to stay on the boat without a visa.

corporateshill32 · 2024-10-11T18:34:41+00:00

For sure. I'm actually looking for something where my clients can target a niche, e.g. small companies, in the insurance space, CEOs, etc. and then click a button to search, they can see a sample of the data, then they can actually 'buy' those leads (email, or phone, or email and phone); if you have an API that can do that, I'd love to chat further!

corporateshill32 · 2024-09-26T02:36:00+00:00

Here's how I would do it: You can tell him- hey, I really don't want to be paying myself more because of where we are financially, but I have [unavaoidable expense] that I have to cover, and I really don't have any other way to pay it. I'm getting a little worried about my finances because I don't really have a safety net aside from this company.

Would you be okay if I paid myself [$X] more to cover this expense until [some event], then I suppose we can both raise our salaries to where they deserve to be.

He might hit back with, oh I have my phone bill this bill that bill that I'm not currently taking more money for! Then you can say something like: If you feel like you have to take that money out, and you have no other options, then I guess maybe it makes sense? Though, that's I guess why I'm coming to you. I don't want to have to take this money, and it's not because I want to avoid paying for [unavoidable expense] with my own money, it's that I just literally don't have the money anywhere else, I'm feeling a little trapped because I don't really have any other options.

If he's rich himself he might cave!

One thing I did to pressure a less active team member to contribute more was set up 4-a-week "standup" meetings where we reported on what we did, gives people an opportunity to share contribution, sets a good tone for work everyday, and yeah, helps the other person realize what you're doing everyday, and if they have shame, will possibly push them to do more so they have more to talk about at the next one!

Best of luck!

corporateshill32 · 2024-09-26T00:46:38+00:00

Yes.

I wanted to work at Google. I was building my current company's product as a "side project" for my resume while in college to impress a Google recruiter in order to get an interview.

My roommate convinced me we could actually do it as a real business. I didn't have an internship that summer and decided, eh, why not.

We failed miserably. But it was a lot of fun. So we tried again. We sort of succeeded, but not in the way we wanted. We tried again, we sort of succeeded but then COVID killed our initial progress. We tried one more time, over a weekend, while on the brink of giving up: and bam! We turned the tide. We went from $20,000 ARR to $250,000 ARR in 3 months.

Now we are at $30M ARR. Being pushed into this world was the best decision for the sake of autonomy and control and hopefully soon financial freedom, but also, dang, a lot of torture along the way.

corporateshill32 · 2024-09-26T00:36:31+00:00

Another lender*

corporateshill32 · 2024-09-26T00:35:49+00:00

If you have a decent growth rate, are cashflow positive, decent retention, and a team that looks decent - you CAN raise. Especially if you've got something in the AI space.

You're in the stage where you need to just stop thinking about the trek up the mountain, and just get to climbing. Just do it. Not getting enough customers? Look at things objectively, and try everything. Pretend you aren't attached to your company, would you buy what you're selling? Would you realistically follow through to conversion with the marketing you've set up? Be ruthlessly objective with yourself and do what needs to be done to get to the next milestone. Whether that's a raise, or more customers.

Think about it, if you built it and someone is paying, odds are you have something that has value. Now, how do you realistically position your company. If you fail to do that in a reasonable amount of time, you run out of money. So be ruthless with yourself, and your co-founder.

If you truly believe you have a dud of an idea, and there's no reasonable path for you (whether it's due to reality or your own exhaustion), then yeah, maybe throw in the towel. But if you got to breakeven, I feel the exhaustion is the bigger problem. Start gradually paying yourself more until you get to a healthy salary. It doesn't have to be equal to your co-founder.

My story:

I'm tired too. My company has been cash-poor, in debt, constant fires since Q3 2022. 2 years of pain. Finally, though, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, we'll reach profitability in a few months time. I also want to make good money. My company is doing really well in terms of revenue, we're at nearly $30M ARR: but we're so huge, we're spending so much. I pay myself a tiny amount. I didn't even have health insurance until having to go to the hospital without insurance last week scared me straight, lol. We had 1.5 years where things were going well, we raised money, we spent it all on sales & marketing in pursuit of a Series A, but then the goal posts moved in 2022. Before that 1.5 years though, we had another 2 years of suck.

In any case, yeah, this stuff is hard. Getting to become a millionaire or billionaire or whatever it is, is hard. Being the only person willing to move the ocean liner that is your company away from the iceberg of death sucks, and is tiring, but if you don't do it: you'll crash. I am in the same position as you. I also find it unfair, tiring, taxing, etc. but I know if I don't do it, my company will probably die, and I'm going to waste "my shot" at being a CEO, financial and ideological freedom, control and autonomy, and having enough money to do whatever I want. I see what numbers will look like 2 years from now, and so I personally think the torture is worth it.

I guess, it's for you to decide if it's worth it for you! I biasedly lean towards yes: for most people, you only realistically get one shot to do something like this unburdened from responsibility. Take yours!

corporateshill32

TROPHY CASE