ABOUT ABACUS Startup Academy, Hong Kong
Who Are We?
If someone has an idea, they deserve to share it.
Founded in early 2016 by a group of enthusiasts, ABACUS is an entrepreneurship community providing incubation, training, and exposure to under-resourced youths who do not have the resources to professionally conceive and develop their dream startup ideas.
Why the Need For ABACUS Startup Academy?
Noticing the breadth of local Hongkong schools that do not present the opportunity for aspiring, under-resourced young entrepreneurs to engage in accessible + rewarding startup programs, ABACUS is a pioneering community initiative that provides these aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to professionally conceive, develop, and pitch their own startup during ABACUS's professionally-judged "Pitch Day", where student teams compete for a $6000 HKD funding prize and sponsored CoCoon work memberships.
Run in CoCoon, Hong Kong's premier coworking hub that has raised over $240 million HKD for local startups, ABACUS programs - comprised of seminars, workshops, bootcamps and "Pitch Day" - are facilitated by a home-grown team of coach mentors, guest speakers, and judges.
Coach mentors are business graduates of top world universities such as Oxford, LSE and Imperial, some of whom were CEOs of their own startup firms. They advise, mentor, and develop students' ideas, using their unique role to educate and inspire.
ABACUS develops important competitive skills such as leadership, critical thinking, character-building, and communication.
我們是誰？
ABACUS公司成立於2015年末，是一個創業社區行動計劃，通過我們的“教練導師”，主講嘉賓講座，提供貧困青年創業的機會，啟動workshopping，啟動引導和發展，並通過成功的企業家判斷的評審團間距啟動較量。我們充當的寬敞和自由空間啟動的孵化器。
為什麼需要ABACUS？為什麼它確實存在？
注意到香港大部分學校提供不到創業的機會而影響學生得到的機會，算盤小子想給年輕的企業家 一個事創業計劃機會，啟動他們的創作力。Yew San 和 Dominic 決定開辦一個青年企業家計劃，希望從中開發學生的想法和言論自由。寬敞的空間內推銷自己的想法在一個專業，判斷比賽的差距並通過我校研究生“教練導師”團隊指導。 ABACUS的董事會希望用他們不同的教育經驗（合作夥伴一直在香港國際學校，國際基督教學校，DBS和CIS）以及他們獨特的想法，激發學校當它開始8月1日操作加入他們的計劃-12，2016年的夏天。
Leadership Team
Yew San Cheah 謝耀新
Executive Director and Co-Founder
E-mail: cheahyewsan@gmail.com
Linkedin: hk.linkedin.com/in/yewsancheahref
Yew San is always thinking about how new ideas and conversation can make the world be experienced even better.
A junior at the Chinese International School, Yew San was the youngest among 67 Hongkongers named a Those Who Inspire: Hong Kong "Inspiring Person" in 2016. In November 2016, Yew San was invited to be a guest speaker at the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong. His talk discussed a variety of topics including his devotion and commitment to equality in startup access and education, youth in Hong Kong, writing, and his experiences in sustainable farming.
Yew San is an internationally published poet, fiction writer, and essayist, having been published in various international literary magazines in the United States and Hong Kong. His nonfiction journalism has been published in Hong Kong.
In April 2016, Yew San was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily on the topics of his published work and his personal literary background. The interview also profiled Yew San's fiction and poetry and translated selected parts of his work into Chinese. In September 2016 Yew San was interviewed by the South China Morning Post "Young Post" on two separate occasions about ABACUS Startup Academy and his experiences with sustainable farming in Hong Kong.
In 2016, Yew San was one of 67 Hongkongers named in the Those Who Inspire 2016 Hong Kong edition as an "Inspiring Person". He was listed alongside the likes of Goods of Desire (G.O.D.) founder Douglas Young. He was interviewed and profiled by international journalist Delphine Barets. At the age of 16, Yew San was the youngest person listed.
Yew San is an alumnus of the highly selective Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, a high school writing program with a historical acceptance rate of as low as 10%. His work has received solicited praise from local Hong Kong novelist Raymond F.L. Wong, as well as abroad from American editor, magazine owner, and poet John Gosslee. In 2016, Yew San was the winner of Yellow Chair Review, USA's poetry contest, week of July 31 2016.
A high school junior Hong Kong, Dominic was a former student at Diocesan Boys School for 8 years, where he was nominated as a prefect for 3.He was also the winner of his school's Humanities Prize during his last year of secondary. During his time at DBS, Dominic won the HK 75th and 77th Hong Kong Choral Speaking Festivals.
Dominic has represented CIS at the TedX Hangzhou Conference this year where he gave a speech regarding educational differences in HK and China. He has also been invited to coordinate and lead another TedX event for local secondary school students in Mongkok. He has participated in numerous Model United Nations Debate events such as the Concordia International School Shanghai’s 15th Conference, the Dulwich College Shanghai Model United Nations Conference and SEOUL MUN. Both times Dominic was placed in EcoSoc where he debated about economics, business, and political issues. In September 2016, Dominic followed through as an investment research intern at Phoenix Investors, a multi national real estate cooperation with projects ranging from cities in Seoul, Korea to Washington DC. He will be conducting research regarding future real estate development growth in greater China and Hong Kong in 2016, as well as a new project in Gangnam, Seoul.
In 2016, Dominic was chosen to sit as the chairperson of the 2016 AISMUN conference, making him one of the youngest to lead the conference since the establishment of the AISMUN. He has also volunteered as an English in an AIDS village in La Wu Village, Yunnan, China for Teach for China organization.
Previous partners' non-profit involvement include VIET VISION, China Grassroots Football NGO, ChickenSoup Foundation, ZUCH and TeachforChina.
A rising junior at the Chinese International School, Jacky was a former student at Wah Yan College Hong Kong , a selective and prestigious Band 1 local school. During his time in Wah Yan, Jacky excelled academically and is the Founder of the school’s English Debate Team, in which he is a leading figure participating in numerous debate matches across Hong Kong. The team is still actively competing in Hong Kong’s top debate tournaments.
He transferred to Chinese International School in 2014, choosing to attend the optional one year academic program in CIS Hangzhou, China during his entrance year. Co-founding the Model United Nations Club, Jacky participated in countless Model United Nations Conferences all across Asia, Including the Concordia International School Shanghai’s 15th Conference, the Concordia International School Shanghai’s 16th Conference, the 19th Seoul Model United Nations (SEOMUN) conference in Seoul, South Korea and was, together with Dominic Law, among the first ever participants at the Dulwich College Shanghai Model United Nations Conference. He was frequently placed at the conferences’ Security Council in which he debated about ongoing military and political obstacles faced by the United Nations.
From 2014-2015, Jacky volunteered for China Grassroots Football, a China based NGO focused on educating and inspiring migrant youth of rural China through introducing and promoting football, where he assumed the role of a team coach in Fu Chun Village, located in rural Zhejiang 20 miles from the City of Hangzhou. Jacky is also an active member of Habitat For Humanity Hong Kong, a well established NGO devoted to addressing issues of poverty housing worldwide.
As a film student in CIS, Jacky has a devout interest in the study of film and media. He is currently in the process of producing an indie history documentary film focused on the history of Hong Kong during the second world war. He will be taking the IB diploma Program starting from August 2016, choosing English, History and Film Studies as his Higher Level choices.
Contact Us
Contact ABACUS through our Q&A system.
All inquiries and comments are welcome.
For donations, please directly e-mail: dominic.law2012@gmail.com