Seedstars World, a global startup competition in support of emerging markets and fast growing startup scenes, is rounding up its world tour in Switzerland on February 4th. It’ll be set in Geneva where top entrepreneurs will compete for bragging rights and an equity investment of up to $500k.
After making pitching event stops throughout Asia in Banglore, Bangkok, Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo, Seedstars has selected Vimantra to represent Hong Kong in the grand final and conference. As a cloud video platform compatible with all internet connected devices, Vimantra offers interactive and real-time experiences for video broadcasting.
We had a chat with founder Arun Prasad and he told us what the Seedstars World pitching event in Hong Kong was like, what he hopes to achieve in Geneva and his thoughts on Hong Kong as a tech startup hub.
“The pitching event was packed with a fantastic audience and the best startups in Hong Kong,” he said. “Being in the startup scene for some time now, I could see some familiar faces – but what really struck me were new faces and brilliant products. The energy was palpable.”
When asked what the competition in Geneva could do for a startup like Vimantra, Arun said that the recognition through Seedstars has been instrumental to securing customers. “[Since] Switzerland is at the heart of banking and investment in Europe, I will be trying to leverage the ecosystem there to contact potential investors,” he said. “I’m also hoping to use the week out there to find resellers for our product.”
As an active member of Hong Kong’s startup scene, Arun is proud of the local ecosystem despite some of the barriers it might face. “The biggest challenge in Hong Kong for a tech startup is funding – it’s not uncommon to see a Silicon Valley seed funding range from US $1M – 2M while in Hong Kong it’ll range from $50k – 300k,” he said. “In spite of this, I am confident of Hong Kong as a hub for tech startups. We are positioned in the middle of economies like China, South East Asia region and Australia. The city has a brand name for being vibrant and entrepreneurial – investors are realizing the potential we offer. Our best days are ahead of us.”
Vimantra on Startbase.HK: Vimantra
Arun Prasad on Startbase.HK: Arun Prasad
