For this WyB special edition, co‑founder Casey Lau brought three intense months in Silicon Valley back to Hong Kong and turned it into a brutally honest field-guide for founders. In 45 minutes he painted a clear picture: AI dominates every conversation, demo-days and hackathons run non‑stop, capital is abundant but impatient, and Asian founders now visibly outnumber locals in many rooms.
His core recommendation: every serious HK/SG/IN/CH startup should spend at least one week a year in San Francisco to feel the tempo, build warm intros, and decide whether to transplant or double down at home.
“If you want to be in tech and startups, you have to be in San Francisco at least once. It’s the Hollywood of tech.”
The question everyone brought into the room was simple: “What is actually happening on the ground in the Bay Area right now?” Casey had just come off a run that included Web Summit Vancouver, Lisbon, and four straight months criss‑crossing San Francisco and the South Bay, and he framed this talk as reconnaissance specifically for Hong Kong founders. Over 45 minutes he unpacked events, fundraising dynamics, cultural shifts, and the subtle hacks and land‑mines you only notice by living there for a season.
The story wasn’t abstract: his slides were full of on‑the‑ground details—overpriced pastries, robots ferrying food down the street, merch for GPU‑obsessed devs—that illustrated just how all‑in the Bay has gone on AI and developer tooling. The effect was less “tourist slideshow” and more “operator briefing”: if you land at SFO next month, here’s exactly how to spend your time.
One of the most tactical sections answered a deceptively basic question: “I land at SFO—where do I stay?” Casey’s advice for early‑stage teams was clear: live in San Francisco proper, not the suburbs. Most of the interesting gravity—meetups, hacker houses, pop‑up demo days, late‑night founder dinners—happens in neighbourhoods like SoMa, the Mission, and Hayes Valley. The South Bay still matters for big‑company HQs and partnerships, but it’s not where serendipity lives.
He described a weekly rhythm where founders ride the train down to Palo Alto or Menlo Park when they need to see VCs, then snap back into the city for actual community and speed. Even the billboards along the freeway tell a story: mile after mile of SaaS and dev‑tool ads, a reminder that the Bay’s “background radiation” is enterprise software and infrastructure, not consumer lifestyle.
Founders in the audience were especially tuned into how Casey managed to stack his own schedule: multiple investor and founder meetings a day, seven days in a row. He walked through how dense the calendar can get during moments like SF Tech Week, where hundreds of side‑events turn the city into an open‑plan conference. Community‑curated calendars and corporate event spaces make it surprisingly easy to drop into high‑quality rooms if you’re willing to move fast and DM your way in.
On fundraising, his message was energising but sobering. The Bay is flush with capital, but expectations have shifted to “AI speed”: teams are now expected to show meaningful revenue traction in months, not years, and small, sharp teams are routinely hitting milestones that used to require much larger organisations. Geography matters far less than it once did—what counts is what you’ve shipped—but many cheques still come with strings attached around legal structure and physical presence. The practical translation for founders here: treat a Valley trip as a focused sprint for signal, intros, and truth‑testing your story, not a magic button.
Casey closed by zooming back out to the room in Hong Kong. His thesis wasn’t “everyone move to SF,” but “everyone should experience SF at least once with founder eyes.” For WyB’s community, the message landed in three parts: use the Valley as a calibration tool for pace and ambition, build systems at home that can operate at those expectations, and be intentional about whether your long‑term advantage is rooted here or there.
In true WyB fashion, the best part came after the talk: a long Q&A where founders compared notes on visas, entity structures, AI go‑to‑market strategies, and how to bring a slice of that “Hollywood of tech” tempo back to Hong Kong without burning out their teams. It was a reminder of why these special editions exist—to give local builders a clear window into the world’s most intense ecosystems, then turn that insight into better decisions at home.
WYB returns to its regular sessions on the last Tuesday of the month. To hear about the next special edition and keep these conversations going, make sure you’re in the WhatsApp group so you don’t miss the next “field report.”
A massive thank you to Anson Bailey and the KPMG team for sharing their fantastic newly renovated offices.
InnoX Entrepreneurship Winter Camp 2026 (10th Edition)
Dates: 3–30 January 2026
Location: HKSTP, Shatin
A month‑long intensive bootcamp for hard‑tech builders, startup founders, and innovators, combining training, GBA immersion, prototyping, and a final pitch day on 30 January at HKSTP.Hong Kong Biggest Business, Tech & Entrepreneur Networking Soiree
Date: 7 January 2026, 6:00–8:00 pm
Location: The Social Den HK, 9/F Wellington Street, Central
Large in‑person mixer bringing together tech startups, entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals for networking and potential co‑founder or partner matching.CPCECPR Conference 2026 – Transforming Education Through Technology, Equity, and Human‑Centered Innovation
Date: 6 January 2026
Location: Hong Kong (Kowloon-based PolyU CPCE venues)
Full‑day conference exploring EdTech, equity, and human‑centred innovation—relevant for founders in education, learning platforms, and impact tech.Hong Kong Techathon+ 10th Edition – Finale Phase
Key Date: By 6 January 2026 (final competition stage)
City‑wide startup competition where university teams and early founders build and pitch tech ventures across multiple verticals, culminating in January deliverables and judging.
What is WyB? WyB is a no BS community, built by builders for builders. We aim to unite the start up community to share unique insights and news for the betterment of Hong Kong entrepreneurs.
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This newsletter is put together by Jason, Casey, Phil, Gene and Naman.
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