We always get requests from startups to find designers – well here we go: tech startup meet design startup: a match made in heaven.
Sean Okihiro, founder of Kobo Design here in Hong Kong has always been an independent type, doing his own thing and making stuff. He’s been a web developer, a designer, a wine salesman, even a professional sake brewer in Japan. All throughout his professional life he’s always wanted to try building his own business so one day he quit my job and did it; how hard could it be right?
What is your startup?
We are a design agency specifically tailored for start-ups and small businesses. We make and deliver high quality brand designs at a price that people just starting out can afford. Not to say we are cheap but I feel most agencies charge a fortune just because they can.
How did you come up with this idea?
Most agencies in HK and across the world are either very expensive and geared toward the big brands or offer the cheapest cookie-cutter designs possible. We did an analysis of our clients a couple years ago and found that 70% of our revenue came from people starting new businesses. The quality of our work and the amount of fun we had was higher in working with this target market since we could engage directly with the owners so we started to pivot our company toward working with them exclusively. I also have not seen an agency with this slant as most other agencies are all out there trying to catch the “big fish”. It was an organic process that we tried to improve with every client.
Who are you targeting and how big is the market in HK/Asia?
We’re targeting people who want to start new businesses and need design work. Usually this would mean guidelines for the look and feel for their company; a logo, name cards, invoices, ppt template and a basic website. We are not sure how big this market is in HK/Asia as there is no real statistics on how much startups spend on design work but I’m sure if we can hit the sweet spot of quality and price it would be huge.
What are your future plans for your startup?
We’ve currently been doing fine using word of mouth and this year we’re going to start marketing our services. We’ll also continue to refine our offering and really tailor it to what startup companies need to look professional and confident when they launch. We’re also looking into launching our own, non-design-related-brands so we can see the challenges our clients face and find solutions to them using first hand experience.
1 Benefit and 1 Challenge in the HK startup scene?
Starting a business in HK is easy and there’s a can-do attitude that makes it feel like anything is possible. However once you get out there I find that people stumble on the “what’s next” part of business. Without a clear, focused idea of who you want to target it’s very difficult to get your message across. There are too many distractions out there both online and off.
Kobo Design
URL: kobodesign.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/KoboDesignLimited
Connect with Sean:
[email protected]
LinkedIN: http://hk.linkedin.com/pub/sean-okihiro/13/422/61a
