Playing the social (commerce) game right

“ONCE you’ve decided that you want to build a startup, you will never think of giving up,” says Henson Tsai, who has dreamed of being an entrepreneur since he was in high school.

Four years ago, the 24-year-old from Hong Kong left a cushy job as a management consultant at Ernst & Young to set up his first venture – a food takeaway platform that allowed office workers in the city to order takeouts at half price.

The venture lasted for less than 6 months. The Hong Kong market was oversaturated with similar platforms, and low margins from the food takeaway business model ultimately made the business unsustainable, Tsai tells The Business Times.