After we learned about Sensbeat, the team of HKUST students that built a startup while juggling full-time studies (and still managed to graduate), we were floored by the talent and passion of Hong Kong’s young entrepreneurs. To date, Sensbeat has picked up US $500,000 – the largest first round of funding raised by a student-founded startup.

Another student startup that got on our radar was Umbrella Here – the happy-go-lucky team of interaction designers that decided to become entrepreneurs via a series of fortunate events. Made up of four PolyU students majoring in ‘Interaction Design,’ the Umbrella Here team created a Bluetooth light umbrella attachment controlled by a mobile app just as a side project – initially in response to the ‘Connect’ theme of the Interaction Awards. Just like a taxi ‘hired’ sign, the light indicates that the umbrella is available for sharing when switched on.

With no concrete plan, the four friends decided to enter Umbrella Here into a number of competitions in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. After winning a few (including the Hong Kong ICT ‘Interaction Design Gold Winner,’ the China University Business Challenge Winner), the team realized that they had a great product on their hands – but as they were all design-oriented, they struggled with the business side of things.

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