How Hong Kong Gen Z talent agency WPM aims to change city’s ‘stubborn’ creative mindset
The founders of Wasted Potentials Management talk about growing their youth-driven talent agency and give one surprising piece of advice
In a city obsessed with efficiency, stock tickers and a rigidly defined path to success, calling your company “Wasted Potentials Management” (WPM) is either an act of self-sabotage or a stroke of genius.
For founders Harry Leung, Venus Fan and Jasper Chung it is a tongue-in-cheek reclamation, turning their authenticity into a business model.
Founded in 2025, WPM is a youth-driven talent agency that connects Hong Kong’s young underground creatives – ranging from videographers and models to tattoo artists and DJs – with brands hunting for an edge. Its projects include collaborations with Drmers Club, Bape Japan and GQ Hong Kong.
WPM currently represents eight creators, with an average age of 22. Besides matchmaking, it also organises pop-ups and events, offers brand consulting and more.
The blueprint for the company can be traced to when Leung began to see his home city’s divided culture. Born and raised inside the Cantonese-speaking local school system, he had rarely spoken English in his daily life, let alone immersed himself in Western media or its creative codes.
“Growing up like that, it puts you in a box,” he says. “Asian culture kind of always encourages you to be part of the crowd. Be normal like everyone else. But what is normal? In these schools, they want everybody to look the same, act the same, and I was always a bad kid, but I also knew the system was bad for me. I wanted to escape.”