Alumni Kaleidoscope: Ronald Kwok - BBA(IS)

After graduating from HKUST, Ronald worked for two years in one of the Big Four Accounting firms where he gained in-depth knowledge and experience in providing professional advice to Hong Kong-listed companies and overseas corporations. However Ronald's passion for entrepreneurship – which was already evident during his university years when he and a friend formed their own start-up – soon led him to leave his position to establish his own company.

Ronald and his co-founders hit it off at a start-up event in Hong Kong and later partnered together on various independent projects. Eventually they came up with AlikeAudience, an advertising technology start-up which applies big data to digital marketing to help advertisers reach their target audiences in Southeast Asia via mobile ads. It is the first mobile data management platform in Hong Kong and is unique in that it analyzes both online and offline data to deliver reliable and accurate audience profiles to clients. The company is seeded by Cyberport, incubated in the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, and has already successfully secured venture capital from investors in Silicon Valley and Hong Kong. Ronald's key responsibilities in the company include financing, accounting, fundraising, and internal operations such as HR and legal issues.

One of his biggest challenges, Ronald admits, is his youth which makes it difficult for potential partners to take him seriously. Thankfully his prior work experience has helped him with this regard. His participation in a start-up accelerator in Silicon Valley also helped him perfect his elevator pitch, something he finds immensely useful in his role as CFO of the company. Finding the right employees for his company is another obstacle, as what AlikeAudience is doing is so new that it is nearly impossible to find experienced candidates. Instead, they look for team players with passion, a willingness to learn and a desire to fit in with the company culture. 

Ronald recently pitched at the inaugural HKUST Alumni Association Start-up Awards, where he successfully swept three out of six awards, including the Gold Award, Best Management Award and Most Innovative Award.