A Note from our President
Apologizes to all those who did not receive our April newsletter. We used a new email to send out the newsletters and was told it ended up in some of your spam email boxes. Hopefully it will not be the case this month. If any of you are still having trouble with this newsletter, please let me know.
Last month's speaker Kim Robinson was amazing. It was a real honor to have the celebrity hairstylist talking with us as he gets asked daily to speak and turns them all down. We are very pleased he chose to talk with us and turned out to be an amazing speaker. He was very humble and spoke candidly to us about his rise to fame only to end up bankrupt and on the streets of HK. This was attributed to his lack of business sense and taught him a great lesson. However, he pulled himself up and re-created his fame and fortunes again, now better than ever.
Since the Edge has been under renovations, we have been using Makumba, the African bar on Peel Street. The place is warmer, more friendly and they offer much better snacks. The feedback from you have been very favorable, so we will continue our monthly meetings there until further notice.
As our membership fees are so low we were running at a loss last year. So, with the rising cost of venues and other expenses, we have had to charge for our meetings like most other associations. We are doing what we can to keep the price as low as possible without having to raise the price of membership.
We welcome your suggestions on future speakers and any ideas you have on how to improve the club.
I look forward to seeing you at our May meeting on the 15th.
Best regards,
Alexandra Yung
The Entrepreneurs Club
May 2007 Monthly Gathering
Speaker - Rob Kushner
on Tuesday, 15th May 2007, 7.15-9.00pm
Gathering Information
What: The Entrepreneurs
Club 2007 May Gathering
When: Tuesday, 15th may, 2007, 7.15 - 9.00pm
Where: Makumba (previously known as Zingha Bar), G/F
Garley Building,
48 Peel Street, Central (Tel: 2522 0544)
http://www.entrepreneurs.com.hk/html-email/map.htm
(click here for a map)
Fee:
HK$100 for Members (payable at the door)
HK$150 for Non-Members (payable at the door)
Price includes 1 drink and delicious snacks
COME CHAT WITH OUR MAIN SPEAKER
This month we welcome
Rob Kushner
Topic:
Invent it, Make it & Mass Market it!
How to turn your ideas into gold
Join us to hear from a successful entrepreneur of how he made his fortunes by taking his ideas and turning them into sought after products sold at major US retailers.
We have all had ideas about creating some new product or fun gadget that we'd like to make. Getting it designed is pretty easy, and being so close to China, getting it manufactured is not too tough. In fact our very own Steven Book has run mini workshops on how to do that. But what about getting it patented and onto the shelves of a major store chain in the US. This is where the bubble bursts for most of us closeted inventors.
Ron Kushner will tell us his story of how he does this for a living, and continues to turn huge profits for his company year after year. This is an opportunity not to be missed.
Speaker - Rob Kushner
Robert Kushner is a former US lawyer who moved to Hong Kong in 1995 where he started a trading company designing and developing consumer products for the US and European markets. He has designed and developed gadgets and gifts for companies in the States such as Brookstone and The Sharper Image, as well as top-line retailers across Europe and Australia. With a staff of 25 in Hong Kong and a dozen more in two offices in China, he identifies categories and opportunities in the market place, designs products to exploit those opportunities and markets them worldwide.
To find out more about Rob and his company, go to www.urbantrendhk.com
Special Event Announcement
SPECIAL EVENT: All members of the
Entrepreneur Club are invited to a unique opportunity to attend an American
Chamber of Commerce Lunch with Guy Kawasaki, one of America's
leading entrepreneurs, and founder of Garage Technology Ventures, former
Fellow at Apple Computer, and author of numerous books on Entrepreneurship
and Innovation.
Two years ago he spoke to the Entrepreneur Club at a special session,
and his energy, wisdom, and insight were an inspiration to all of us.
He is eager to speak to us again, but cannot make it for our monthly meeting,
so we are fortunate to have the chance to attend his only speech in Hong
Kong this year, at the American Chamber lunch event.
Please make your booking directly with the American Chamber as a non-member
visitor. http://www.amcham.org.hk/events/notice.070509_kawasaki.html
Hot off the Press
Imagine climbing Mt Everest¡K without feet !!!
Met this incredible person, Mark Inglis, (yes a double amputee)
On Tue 8th May from 6:30 (18:30) for 7pm start, finish 9pm
Venue at Makumba in Soho
Entry to this amazing event is by donation
Please register by emailing Merrin Pearse via hongkong@resultsfoundation.com or phone 91549590.
Mark is donating his time to share his story and in doing so he is supporting 3 students from West Island school to raise funds for a trip to Kyrgyzstan through a World Challenge Expedition trip (http://www.world-challenge.co.uk/exped_lh_dest_asia_centralasia.asp)
Mark continues to lead an extraordinary life. Many thought that 25 years ago when he lost both his feet to frostbite he would stop his adventures. How wrong they were! Check out http://www.rescueoneverest.org/page/mark-inglis-ambassador to get an idea of how Mark continues to Step Up and Give Back.
The 3 female students are committed to making a difference in this world. They are looking for sponsorship and donations to make the trip a success for the local Kyrgyzstan schools they will visit. To show how committed they are, they are prepared to cut off their beautiful long hair at Mark's talk. You can be the principal sponsor of one of the girls and in return they will come to your business or social club after their trip to speak about their experience in Kyrgyzstan.
Surely to hear this world-class speaker alone is worth a donation of at least $200.
Thanks to
Mark Inglis (www.markinglis.co.nz),
XL Results Foundation (www.resultsfoundation.com) and
The Entrepreneurs Club (www.entrepreneurs.com.hk) for their support.
If you can not make the event though would still like to make a donation then please contact Merrin Pearse via hongkong@resultsfoundation.com or phone 91549590.
Steering Committee Members
W a n t e d
We are changing the face of the E-club and want to put together a brand new and powerful team to head the club. Looking for dynamic individuals who want to step up and be a member of the E-club steering committee. We meet once a month to determine the direction and activities of the club in a fun and relaxed environment. Anyone interested will need to be approved by the current committee members.
Please contact me or one of the committee members if you are interested.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
(in alphabetical order)
New Concept Mandarin Limited www.newconceptmandarin.com
Offshore2online (HK) Limited www.offshore2online.com
Oldham, Li & Nie www.oln-law.com
PricewaterhouseCoopers www.pwchk.com
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited www.hsbc.com.hk
Does your company want to become a Sponsor of The Entrepreneurs Club or one of its programs or one of its special events? Contact contact@entrepreneurs.com.hk