Skateboard creator sets the pace for young people seeking wider opportunities

As one of the youngest teams to receive two Red Dot Design Awards, an international prize for product design and communication design, intelligent skateboard creator Walnut Technology Ltd sees itself as a "resources integrator" in the region.

WALNUTT is based in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Spectra, a portable electric skateboard equipped with the world's first smart e-board posture control system, was initially born in the Robotic Lab of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology when WALNUTT founder Henri Pang Yik-hang and his friends got exposure to robotics competitions in Dongguan and Shenzhen. It is worth noting that Robotic Lab is where DJI, the Chinese mainland's leading drone company, was founded.

It took WALNUTT nearly a year conducting original research at HKUST before moving to Dongguan Songshan Lake Xbot Park which specializes in entrepreneurial incubation in the field of robotics and smart hardware in 2016.

"With the help of our entrepreneurship mentor Professor Li Zexiang, we got to turn ideas into reality," said Pang. Xbot Park was co-established by HKUST professor Li Zexiang, who is also known as the "godfather of drones" due to the fact that it was he who incubated DJI.

"Xbot Park has the advantages of integrated supply chains and adequate space for hardware factories," Pang said. The park occupies 24,000 square meters with more than 200 local supply chain partners providing goods like raw materials and electrical components, plus services.

When Professor Li set up the industrial base in 2014, he saw a promising future for the growth model, which is the combination of young hopefuls, the industrial resources in the Pearl River Delta and the guidance of mentors from prestigious universities in the region. As the Bay Area project was raised to the national level last year, the links between cities in the region have become even closer.

WALNUTT has expanded from five people doing machinery, hardware, drive system, algorithm and graphic design each to 50 staff at present. Apart from Hong Kong's rigorous intellectual property protection, an internationally compatible market and world-leading research labs, WALNUTT has the advantage of having complete supply chains in Guangdong province, as well as the geographic location that attracts a great number of talents from all around the world. "Meanwhile, our Shenzhen team is in charge of after-sales services, management and market development," Pang said.

"What we do is simple - integrating the advantages of each place in the Bay Area to make WALNUTT grow stronger," Pang said.

Growing up in Shenzhen, studying in HKUST and setting up the business in the Bay Area, Pang can be considered as an observer of the region's development. He believes that young people would see more brand new opportunities with a wider horizon.

"Youths from Hong Kong should be more familiar with the development situation on the mainland, while young people from the mainland should get to know more about the Bay Area and take a broader view worldwide," said Pang.

In May last year, WALNUTT launched Spectra on Indiegogo, an international crowdfunding platform where new and groundbreaking products are unveiled. It happened that some products on the platform might be delayed or were unable to be launched. However, Spectra had a successful kick-off, raising more than $600,000. The orders could be shipped in two months after crowdfunding.

Pang believes that it is significant for startups to set up a business by drawing on their strengths. WALNUTT has the edge of research and development and media design. In addition to winning the Red Dot Design Awards, WALNUTT has a glut of followers in the social media.

HK an ideal place

Casey Neistat, the popular lifestyle and tech YouTuber with 10 million subscribers, made an unboxing video of Spectra right after the e-board was officially launched in May last year. Besides, Spectra has accumulated 30 million short-video views online, including 13 million views on Tik Tok, a leading short video platform in Asia.

"Our marketing network was built up in Hong Kong via the social media. Hong Kong is an ideal place to dock with international markets," Pang said. Having full access to various social media platforms in Hong Kong, WALNUTT is able to open up overseas market with free information flows.

During the two months after Spectra was officially released, WALNUTT has gained 23,000 followers on Facebook, and 2,900 followers on Instagram. Pang said Hong Kong's talents have more experience in international marketing in terms of social media habits and language advantage.

To maintain the strengths and go global, WALNUTT chose crowdfunding overseas at first before returning to the domestic market.

"Our products belong to the means of transportation to which the markets have a huge number of alternatives," Pang said. "The overseas markets are more receptive to electric skateboards psychologically or in terms of pricing," he added.

In 2017, WALNUTT sold most of its electric skateboards to the United States, which took up 30 percent of the sales volume, followed by Japan, Canada and Australia.

"Backers overseas on most crowdfunding platforms love clever and unconventional things. Supporting ideas on the platform is like supporting a charity," Pang explained. "But they can't represent most consumers, eventually the products should be promoted among the masses," he added.

In May this year, WALNUTT landed on China's biggest crowdfunding platform, JD crowdfunding by JD.com, Inc, together with the latest e-board Spectra Mini Plus weighing 4 kilograms that allows three operation modes and lasts an hour in full charge.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council is collaborating with Our Hong Kong Foundation to organize a startup program named "Start-up Express". To show its determination to reach larger consumers, WALNUTT made it to the 10 finalists of startups in the program. The program targets startups that want to expand their market to the mainland and Asia to help them build networks, market business and attract investment.

During IFA Berlin 2018 - the world's leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances from Aug 31 to Sept 5 - Spectra was demonstrated in the Hong Kong pavilion staged at the startup zone, namely IFA NEXT. The pavilion was co-organized by HKTDC and Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, bringing cutting-edge digital products from Hong Kong startups.

To date, WALNUTT has five kinds of electric skateboards - Spectra Mini, Mini Plus, Pro, Silver and Advanced. Featuring the built-in pressure and gyro sensors that can learn one's body movement and riding style, the e-boards can understand one's body behavior to adjust the speed accordingly.

In future, WALNUTT will continue focusing on the development and research of its products and provide better product experience. At the same time, it aims to expand to global markets.

Pang said they will attend the Consumer Electronics Show next year. The event is regarded as the global stage of innovation in consumer electronics, showcasing new products with improved technology and upgraded products.

"In the long term, we would like to turn WALNUTT into a high-end outdoor technology brand," Pang said. "That's why we also have products like backpacks and accessories. Later, we will step into various innovative and interesting gadgets."

pamelalin@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 10/19/2018 page22)