We did things differently at Startup Saturday: Mobilliance 2013 – we handpicked the mobile startups that are from Hong Kong with a criteria instead of just putting anyone on the stage – the criteria was simple though, the startup had to have been funded, have great traction, launched within the past 12 months or showcase something truly amazing about Hong Kong – and I think we picked an amazing group and all their showcases (not pitches) were awesome.
So here is the rundown of the Top 10 startups that we featured on stage live on October 12, 2013 – we’re looking forward to seeing where they are this time in 2014 as well as to the dozens more that were inspired to launch that day.
1. Spottly - Amazing Travels Notes from the world’s most interesting people
Backed up by 500 Startups, Spottly is a social travel app which works like a Pinterest for interesting places. Based on Foursquare’s open API, users can easily add travel notes or mark interesting places by snapping photos. Though the check-in fashion is long gone, what else do people want for the location information? Spottly believe that those world travellers and foodies are the best location content curators. They find interesting places, mark down the notes in their travelling lists and, sharing with like-minded friends. Launched only two weeks ago, Spottly has already caught the attention of iTunes Appstore and has been featured on the iTunes Home Page in 13 countries.
2. Worthy- Gamify The Way You Make Friends Online
If you have been reading our blog you should have known about Worthy or maybe you have already made some good friends with it?Worthy is a social app that gamify the way people make friends. It allows users to set up 3 questions and answers that represent who you are, and if someone wants to add you as a friend, s/he will has to pick the correct answers for your questions.
3. CoachBase – Empowering Greatness in Coaching
There are 135 million kids participating in sports in the USA alone and each of them have a coach. Coachbase is what these people need for winning a game. The founder of Coachbase Keith Rumjahn revealed some facts about coaching on the event and shared its updates. This startup has already been used by an NBA team, featured in a movie, in WSJ and most recently in a Phil Jackson commercial. And they are now looking to raise 1 million.
4. Omnistream – Social CRM For Brands Connecting To Chinese Consumers
Chinese consumers are increasingly demanding personalised service and VIP treatment, even for accessible luxury goods. Omnistream focuses on this particular market by increasing frontline sales productivity and help companies sell more effectively to the Chinese customers. Omnistream empowers frontline staff, the face of your brand, to drive revenue by effectively communicating 1-to-1 with customers on mobile channels. Recommendations and product support from trusted sales representatives are much more powerful than mass marketing, resulting in higher sales and increased customer satisfaction.
5. Timable – Life is no longer in Beta
Timable aggregates all public events in town and make them searchable by date, time, category, location or a mix. There are so many events and activities happening around the city but by marking on your calendar you can never make sure that you go to the right ones on the right dates. Timable has the real-time data which is perfect for planning your day anytime and anywhere.
6. PhoneJoy - Turn your phone into a console!
PhoneJoy is trying to make a unique game controller that turns mobile phones into portable game consoles. For game junkies, the gaming experience on smart phones is not yet the optimal. Although we have gotten used to touching experience for long, in the gaming world the physical control experience is still the optimal. Currently this start up has won $75,000 from 1,200 supporters and 500+ pre-orders over kickstarter.
7. Emoji Pop – Viral Social Mobile Game With Zero Marketing
Emoji Pop was a mobile game developed by 6Waves which created several successful social games. Its English version reached top 5 Overall on iPhone (US) ranking and got profitable after 3 weeks. Its Chinese version 123猜猜猜 (for HK &TW) also hit the first game on iPhone for a month. The most surprising thing about these results is the company spent almost zero marketing cost on it! It just went viral with the easy and interesting contents. If you haven’t played it, beware that you might get addicted to it.
8. HotelQuickly – Last Minute Hotel, Quickly
HotelQuickly is our local hero and it has just closed its series A round after raising USD 1.13M (HKD 9M ). It’s a mobile-only, last-minute hotel booking application with the biggest inventory and best rates available across Asia. With the most exclusive hotels in the region on offer, users can enjoy the fastest and most convenient way to book the most attractive last minute hotel room. HotelQuickly is currently active in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau, Australia and New Zealand.
9. VISS - A Media x Commerce Platform built on Interest
Everyone has Interest and Influence, which assemble the new generation of digital media contents and everyone can be a digital media entrepreneur. The VISS aims to empower that by making a platform where everyone can share what they like, tell their stories, connect with the like-minded, and get rewarded. Content generators create contents in 20 seconds by just simply snap, tag and share. When users get inspired by any look when browsing, they can shop the look instantly.
10. Snaptee – Realize Your Creativity
Snaptee helps everyone to turn their mobile photos into beautiful and stylish t-shirts fast and easy, cultivate a community where users can create, buy, sell and share great tshirt designs and we turn it into real tshirt and ship worldwide. Just with this simple idea, Snaptee has successfully won the love of both users and investors.Currently the startup has raised US$600k see round with over 250k downloads and shipped orders to over 50 countries. They call themselves the new industrial revolution on T-shirts.
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