Media

HKU DreamCatchers 100K Entrepreneurship Seed Fund –
a million dollars awarded to support young students and alumni

02 Apr 2017

The Final Pitch of HKU’s first Entrepreneurship Seed Fund, “DreamCatchers 100K” was held on April 2. Amongst the 104 participating teams, 10 Finalists of HKU students and young alumni each won a seed fund award of HK$100,000.

The scheme commenced in November 2016 -- over 300 students and young alumni applied. After months of Preliminary Pitch and mentors’ guidance, 20 teams were selected to the Final Pitch, where finalists presented their business idea and prototypes.

The six judges for the competition, who are industry experts and academics, praised the teams for their performance. CEO of Cyberport Mr Herman Lam encouraged all finalists to continuously enhance their business models and products regardless of the Final Pitch results. Mr Albert Wong, CEO of Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation, emphasised the three cores elements: Technology, Market and People, that the startups should observe when pitching to their investors, because investors "bet on the jockey rather than the horse" for most of the time. Professor Andy Hor, HKU Vice-President and (Research), said: “I don’t know anybody who have succeeded without having gone through many failures. For those of you did not win today, the only message is that you will succeed tomorrow.”

Judges:

• Professor Guanhua Chen Co-founder, Hong Kong X Technology Startup Platform; Professor, Department of Chemistry, HKU
• Professor Andy Hor Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), HKU
• Dr SC Kim Director, Technology Transfer Office, HKU
• Herman Lam Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Ltd
• Ricky Lei Founding Partner, Hong Kong Beijing Co-Create Fund
• Albert Wong Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Details of the 10 winning teams are as follows:

1. WriteZap: GistNote
Intelligent research and writing tool for students and researchers.  
2. Marketeer
An image-recognition mobile app that helps people make healthier food choices in a snap
3. Capheart
A brand new emergency rescue network channel for sudden cardiac arrest patients
4. Novus
Bone degenerative diseases? Early treatment to change the life of your pet and YOU!
5. Trip'O
A one-stop online platform that automates travel planning and memory keeping with AI and UI innovations
6. Electrifying our bikes!
An extraordinary online platform that redefines electric mountain biking experiences and promotes exchanges among enthusiasts with the provision of advanced mechanical hardware support
7. Project Raphael
A Hong Kong-based social enterprise that uses research-based curriculums to promote family bonding through early literacy
8. Stories of Us
A Hong Kong-based social enterprise that uses research-based curriculums to promote family bonding through early literacy
9. BioCap: Real-time influenza indicator
A portable and inexpensive chip that provides an easy and real-time diagnosis of influenza. The analyzed results are shown by capturing colour information on the chip
10. Peacify
A smart sock designed to keep track of a baby's vital signs, alerting parents if there are any abnormalities

For the event detail and information of all teams, please visit https://goo.gl/s2Lgyy. We welcome interview invitations from media targeting specific teams concerning their business ideas, and would make immediate arrangement upon request.

Enquiry: Technology Transfer Office Mr Taurus Yip (Tel: 3917 1743/ 9359 4229; Email: taurus.yip@hku.hk) OR Technology Transfer Office Mr Laurence Tang (Tel: 3917 1714/ 6076 9413; Email: laurence.tang@hku.hk)