Following our series of profiles about Hong Kong’s movers and shakers, we’d like to introduce Felix Lam – serial entrepreneur, angel investor, startup mentor and managing director of Red Chapel Advisors.
As a Hong Kong native, Felix has always considered it his home base. After spending some time studying in Australia and developing software for various telecom vendors, Felix plunged into the entrepreneurial realm. One venture in particular, Felix transformed a traditional Mainland Chinese factory into a global manufacturing operation.
With his strong telecom background, Felix gives credit to the iPhone for launching the smartphone revolution which in turn, spawned a generation of data-addicted people. “Before the iPhone, we were wondering how to get people to use data since people were only using their phones to call – it was very tough,” he said. “Now it’s the other way around, there’s not enough data to go around. Technology has changed the entire domain – everything is mature now.”
As a self-professed geek, Felix wanted to pursue his passion for technology and so when he met fellow tech-enthusiast Jon Buford back in 2011 – the two created Makible. Two years in, Felix says that Makible is now undergoing crunch time to ship the Makibox, an extremely affordable 3D printer, out to backers.
Although he says that becoming a co-founder came first, Felix is also a dedicated angel investor and advisor within the Hong Kong ecosystem. Having backed and mentored a number of companies including Snaptee, Coachbase, Insight Robotics, Frenzoo, Felix is keen on offering up his time and expertise to a variety of tech ventures – the latest being Launchpilots.
Although he says there’s no “one size fits all” formula for the ideal startup to invest in, Felix says that his main interest points starts with an idea, followed by great execution. “When it comes to execution, the most important thing is the team. I want to be able to establish a working relationship with the team,” he said. “[The idea and team] would be the main criteria, but you also look at the technology, the market, the timing and a business that we can scale globally. That’s pretty much what I look for on my end.”
Despite lack of funding being cited as the Hong Kong ecosystem’s areas of improvement, Felix says that the onus is on both the investors and startups. “It’s a two-sided thing: startups have to focus on building value and the quality of their team, and investors should work on being more active and proactive to understand what the startups are doing – to try to deliver that value and build that great venture.”
Felix Lam on Startbase.HK: Felix Lam
Red Chapel Advisors on Startbase.HK: Red Chapel Advisors
