Opinion | The great Hong Kong hustle is why I came – and why it’s still the choice for me
- The mixture of dreams, hustles, finance, work ethic, transport and infrastructure makes Hong Kong stand out, even when compared with Silicon Valley
- Like the dotcom boom, Web3 will be big in Asia and there is no better gateway to that potential
My father left Hong Kong when he was 21 for a better life in Canada. Ironically, when I turned 21, I left Canada for a better life in Hong Kong.
I love telling that story as it showcases the circle of life and opportunity. It was also pretty unique when I arrived in Hong Kong, but probably not so much over the past few years. I think we are going to hear this story starting to happen again now.
I moved to Hong Kong because it felt like everyone from Hong Kong was escaping to Canada pre-1997.
The opportunities left by that gigantic crater were unbelievable for a kid who was used to two pages of job listings in the newspaper, compared to the phone-book-sized Saturday edition known as Classified Post.
As my career flourished in Hong Kong with the advent of the internet, things really went crazy. Within a few years of arriving, I was the co-founder of one of the hottest dotcoms in Asia.
I wondered: was it my brilliant mind, or was it because I was in Hong Kong with all the amazing people that helped me make the website a reality? Obviously, the latter.