Hong Kong – Launched by the two founders Karen Contet Farzam and Karena Belin, the two sister companies AngelHub and WHub share the same vision and belief, that startups are the driving force behind innovation and economic growth. AngelHub and WHub have become fixtures on the Hong Kong startup scene.
AngelHub is the first and still only SFC (Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong’s regulator) Licensed Startup Investment platform for Professional Investors. AngelHub is revolutionising the way startups and investors interact by enabling Professional Investors to invest into worldwide vetted technology startups scaling in Asia. AngelHub democratizes startup investments and enables access to this very distinct asset class by combining the professionalism of Venture Capitalists, the flexibility of Angel investing and the power of key strategic partnerships.
AngelHub offers Professional Investors access to highly vetted and promising startups at an early stage in the investment cycle, while companies are still growing. Professional Investors on the AngelHub platform are efficiently onboarded through a digitised process, a strong KYC/AML process and a risk profile assessment. With a minimum investment ticket of USD $10,000, investors can invest through the platform across several opportunities and are able to select the companies they are interested in. Investors are encouraged to diversify their portfolio to include various industries and geographical locations to optimise their returns.
AngelHub’s startup selection criteria is sector agnostic and focuses on companies that have scalable businesses, have established a proof-of-concept / minimum viable product, are raising a Pre-Series A, Series A round or beyond and are scaling or operating in Asia Pacific. Professional Investors have access to the thorough due diligence performed by AngelHub rigorous vetting process. The process starts through sourcing deal flow from trusted sources including accelerator partners such as Brinc, Betatron, MOX/HAX and others, industry experts, venture capital funds and extends over several stages. Following the initial screening stage, potential companies are further evaluated by the AngelHub internal startup committee and are then finally vetted by an independent IC (Investment Committee), which consists of successful serial entrepreneurs, experienced investors and industry experts- both from the region and globally. Less than 5% of all companies which apply for funding on the AngelHub platform ultimately arrive at the final stages of the process and are featured on the platform and presented to investors.
Since the platform went live a few months ago, over 300 companies had already been vetted, in the area of Fintech, AI, IoT, hardware, regtech, traveltech, robotics, insurtech and healthtech sectors, and the first companies have been chosen for the initial round of fundraising. This includes a Traveltech company that previously has raised 11 million Euros, with user traction of over 550K users, and set for rapid growth in South-East Asia. It has already secured a USD 250K commitment to the upcoming round of funding that will be raised on AngeHub. Another campaign to be initially featured includes an earlier stage Singaporean robotics company (graduate of the Brinc accelerator program and also invested in by Brinc and Artesian VC) whose technology focuses on individually intelligent robots designed to provide operational and logistical efficiencies. Finally, AngelHub is also featuring a regtech company that offers a solution to automate 90 percent of the necessary routine compliance tasks. This fintech company has graduated from 5 accelerator programs including Alpha Labs and Accenture Innovation, has 30 clients in over 11 countries and has also secured USD 1 million committed by investors towards fundraising.
Hundreds of investors have registered on AngelHub and by joining the AngelHub community, investors will also have access to investor masterclasses, industry focused seminars, opportunities to expand their investor network and most importantly access to highly vetted deal flow and investment opportunities in promising tech focused startup companies.
WHub is Hong Kong’s biggest startup community and power connector, showcasing more than 75% of Hong Kong’s startups on its platform and helping them to connect to the resources they need to scale their business, as well as helping stakeholders to get access to the ecosystem. It also hosts an increasing number of HK subsidiaries from startups around the globe eager to expand to Asia. WHub provides a full service offer centered around three pillars: Showcasing, Connecting and Education:
● Showcasing: Showcasing Startups with their Mission and Passion, providing visibility on opportunities to connect and benefit from the tech & innovation ecosystem, reporting about the news via our media channels and reports.
● Connecting the Community – Connecting startups with other startups, corporations, universities, government, accelerators, incubators and investors through it’s sister platform AngelHub and helping ecosystem stakeholders to tap into the innovative power of the tech & innovation scene.
● Education: Providing insights through publishing our white papers on the HK Startup Ecosystemand HK Fintech Ecosystem, organising workshops, events, conference and acting as supporter of global conferences.
Founded in Hong Kong, the platform went live in 2014 with a jobs board to help startups recruit and gain visibility. The services quickly expanded and now offer a full range such as talent recruiting, corporate and startup co-innovation programs, university programs, a media platform, connecting startups and stakeholders to different ecosystems globally and support to governments in building thriving tech innovation ecosystems. Services are not only provided on-line, but also off-line and leverages a partner network of over 200 partners worldwide.
They support and host over 500 events per year. These include tailor made events for corporates, such as FinHack, or large scale conferences, such as our own Startup Impact Summit! This annual conference held in conjunction with InvestHK, brings together the local and international tech community to showcase and create startup history in HK and the wider GBA – all in one impactful day! Think immersive content with multiple tracks, stages, workshops and available resources to scale your business to the next level.
WHub also offers soft-landing packages to help overseas startups scaling in Asia to establish their presence and gain quick traction in Hong Kong, reduce the time for finding reliable local services (e.g. co-working spaces, local PR) and handpick key stakeholders and high-quality leads for them to connect, build and succeed.
Last, but not least, their media and education services are targeted to provide insights and easier access to the innovation ecosystem. Community stays informed through their social media channels, as well as their white papers on the HK Startup Ecosystem and HK Fintech Ecosystem.