8 March 2025 marked an important transition for some ethnically diverse entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. To congratulate the mentee entrepreneurs of our 2024-25 Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs for completing their six-month journeys, a total of eight mentees, seven mentors, and nine coaches from ICF Hong Kong Charter Chapter gathered at the finale networking event at the Hive Poho.
The final session of the 2024-25 program was designed to help our mentee entrepreneurs reflect on their progress and gauge their achievements relative to their initial goals. By doing so, we hoped that participants could clarify their direction and purpose, so that they could continue to build knowledge, experience, and resilience as their entrepreneurial journeys continue to evolve towards success.
After a brief introduction and recap of the previous sessions by Vivian Seo, the Executive Director and Community Business Support Program Manager at Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI), the finale session officially kicked off with a 15-minute reflection session in breakout groups, each including at least one mentee, one mentor, and one coach.
Transformative Journeys Enabled by Resilience, Determination, and Ceaseless Support
Immediately following the reflection session was the sharing session by the 10 mentees, including Sneha Roy and Emeline Sandt, Co-founders of a collective space, who could not attend the session in person and communicated through a video recording. Each mentee was asked to present their unique journey with the Mentorship Program, capturing the audience with their respective transformational stories. Take a deep dive into the mentees’ respective journeys of learning, courage, and success.
Yulia Kim, Founder of Blooms Forever
Yulia set the tone for the entire sharing session with her positive and warm introduction, saying, “It’s been an enjoyable journey. I was ready to take on any opportunity, but soon realized that I didn’t see the whole picture of being an entrepreneur.”
However, throughout the program, Yulia discovered the flexibility and challenges of being an entrepreneur compared to working in corporate environments. She said, “I gradually realized I’m the only person who needs to take responsibility for Blooms Forever”. While challenging at times, the program helped her discover various paths to achieve her goals, whether establishing a flower atelier or catering to B2B and B2C markets.
“Before, I had zero leads, and now I have four to five leads. I feel like I’m on the right track!”
Yulia expressed gratitude to her mentor and coach, noting, “They provided a great opportunity to help me build my brand identity.” While she felt a sense of accomplishment, she added, “There’s still a lot to do.” Her biggest achievement has been creating her brand identity and negotiating a contract for wedding sales. “Before, I had zero leads, and now I have four to five leads. I feel like I’m on the right track!”
Ruchi Bhave, Founder of The Mind Talk
Ruchi expressed her heartfelt gratitude for participating in the program:
“Every day, I’m so grateful that I got to join this program.” She further noted that these six months felt incredibly short but were packed with valuable insights.
The program brought her attention to essential business planning steps, including budgeting, funding, and marketing, rather than just focusing on her business vision. She mentioned her coach, Daniel Chan: “He made me think about scaling, something I was initially adamant against.” Next, Ruchi proudly highlighted the improved visibility of The Mind Talk: “People now recognize my business whenever I go to events.” She also briefly mentioned her plans for monetizing her business while crediting her mentor, Wilson Tai, for helping her explore this idea.
“Every day, I’m so grateful that I got to join this program.”
She concluded by emphasizing her newfound flexibility and openness to new ideas: “I’m not just thinking about mental health magazines anymore; I’m considering add-ons as well.”
Wendy Zhuang, Co-founder of Curiouslyoga
Wendy shared reflections on her venture’s steady progress. While growth has been gradual, she expressed pride in their achievements so far. Her immediate priorities include refining the target market, securing NGO funding, and improving pricing and marketing strategies, all of which showed gradual progress throughout the program.
“The FSI Mentorship Program encouraged us to slow down and grow sustainably.”
For the long term, Wendy emphasized a patient, intentional approach—a mindset reinforced by her program experience. “The FSI Mentorship Program encouraged us to slow down and grow sustainably,” she noted, highlighting how this shift has brought comfort and clarity to their journey.
Senchu Chemjong, Founder of Nepcha
Senchu reflected warmly on her transformative experience with the Mentorship Program and FSI. She described the journey as a collective learning process where “everyone became a guide in their own way”, highlighting the program’s collaborative nature. Particularly meaningful was her synergistic working relationship with Vivian, which exemplified the program’s spirit of mutual growth.
“I wonder what the FSI team is up to, do they even sleep?”
Senchu acknowledged the unwavering dedication of FSI members with a playful remark, saying: “I wonder what the FSI team is up to, do they even sleep?”, a lighthearted joke about their constant availability and support whenever she needs them. She then emphasized the non-linear nature of entrepreneurial growth, noting how roles naturally interchanged throughout the process.
In closing, Senchu expressed profound gratitude to both the FSI network and program structure, acknowledging how this support system had been instrumental in her development journey.
Ayeisha Shafana, Founder of CreativiT
Ayeisha began by acknowledging the unpredictable nature of her entrepreneurial journey: “To reach this stage, it’s been an adventurous journey.”
She credited her fellow entrepreneurs in the Mentorship Program for inspiring her along the way, while admitting that she also felt intimidated sometimes due to impostor syndrome. As a full-time student, Ayeisha joined the Mentorship Program to evaluate whether her academic learning was relevant and to identify which of her skills were practically executable to fulfil her entrepreneurial aspirations.
“This FSI community has nurtured our growth while giving people like me the space to discover if entrepreneurship truly fits us.”
Reflecting on her experience, Ayeisha noticed the discrepancy between ideation and execution: “I have a really idealistic mindset; I can create ideas, I can build them—but the amount of work that’s required to actually build one… wow, it’s been phenomenal.”
She further expressed deep gratitude to her support network, thanking Vivian, Dani, and the FSI team for keeping her motivated and accountable. She acknowledged Mona Lee, the ICF Hong Kong Charter Chapter coach she was paired with, for consistently believing in her and offering encouragement during moments of self-doubt.
Ayeisha reserved special appreciation for her mentor, Naman Tekriwal, praising his patient guidance despite his limited time, “He had given me a lot of guiding questions and suggestions that helped me develop my problem-solving skills.”
Finally, her closing remarks captured the program’s essence: “I’m still working on my prototype but we’re getting there! This FSI community has nurtured our growth while giving people like me the space to discover if entrepreneurship truly fits us.”
Tinotenda Muzariri, Business Development & Marketing Manager at Africa Center Hong Kong
Tinotenda proudly shared his achievements, stating he had achieved most of his goals, including diversifying the consumer base and becoming more sustainable, although the latter goal needs more progress. Throughout the sharing session, he delved deeper into volatility, which is the reality every entrepreneur has to embrace.
In particular, he underscored the importance of flexibility rather than fixating on initial goals in such a volatile environment. “Of course, having the ability to execute—or at least a plan to follow through—is great and commendable. But being able to steer the ship out of a storm? That’s another skill entirely. As entrepreneurs, especially when starting out, it’s something we all need to develop.”
Tinotenda encouraged his fellow entrepreneurs to avoid following the rigid path by adding, “You have to keep going—no matter what. It’s probably the hardest thing you’ll ever do, because you’re not just following a structure, you’re creating your own. You’re not just chasing a dream, you’re creating your own dream, and you’re the one bringing it together”.
“Of course, Robin and I discuss strategy—but what I really admire is how he pushes me to take that first step and adapt as we go.”
As a full-time student himself, he acknowledged the unique value of gaining entrepreneurial experience early, emphasizing how making mistakes now would serve them better than later. He expressed particular gratitude to his mentor, Robin Wong, whom he considered exceptional for his action-oriented approach.
“Of course, Robin and I discuss strategy—but what I really admire is how he pushes me to take that first step and adapt as we go. It’s not about rushing in blindly; it’s about moving from talk to action. That’s when you realize that execution isn’t as safe or easy as planning. But that’s also where the real work begins.”
Sneha Roy and Emeline Sandt, Co-founders of a collective space
Sneha and Emeline, despite not being present in person, were eager to share their reflections via a video recording.
“Thanks to Henry, our mentor, we increased our pricing by around 20% on average, 25% in some cases, and that pricing has been working out really well for us.”
In the video, Sneha highlighted a collective space’s achievement of three immediate milestones: pricing strategy, policies, and team expansion. In particular, she expressed her gratitude towards their refined pricing strategy, as recommended by their mentor, Henry Yeung. “Thanks to Henry, we increased our pricing by around 20% on average, 25% in some cases, and that pricing has been working out really well for us.” She later added that they also hit another immediate milestone thanks to the legal clinic offered by FSI’s corporate partners, Linklaters and JSM, which helped them sort out all policies and procedures.
Emeline added that they are still working towards their medium goal regarding the establishment of their brand identity: “We have decided that we are going to update and refine our brand before we go ahead with the process of trying to protect it.”
The co-founders highlighted a significant shift in their priority related to their six-month goal. “Originally, we were focused on growing our social media numbers, but we’ve decided to prioritize deeper connections with people, building meaningful partnerships and collaborations instead.” They reflected on the importance of fulfilling these long-term goals rather than focusing on the social media following. “It’s kind of like quality over quantity”, remarked Sneha.
Celebrating Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Collaboration
Following the sharing session, Vivian celebrated the outstanding performance of program participants by giving them special awards, including:
The “Present” Award to those dedicated participants who attended every session, demonstrating strong commitment:
- Ruchi Bhave, Founder of The Mind Talk, Mentee
- Yulia Kim, Founder of Blooms Forever, Mentee
- Pamela Vuyisile Moyo, Program Manager at Africa Center Hong Kong, Mentee
- Tinotenda Muzariri, Business Development and Marketing Manager at Africa Center Hong Kong, Mentee
- Wilson Tai, Co-founder and COO at FundFluent, Mentor
- Belinda Wong, Founder and Director at Leader Corporate Services Limited, Mentor
The “Maximizers” Award to those resourceful participants who made the best out of the Mentorship Program to maximize their entrepreneurial journey:
- Ruchi Bhave, Founder of The Mind Talk, Mentee
- Yulia Kim, Founder of Blooms Forever, Mentee
- Senchu Chemjong, Founder of Nepcha, Mentee
- Eeshaanee Shandilya and Wendy Zhuang, Co-founders of Curiouslyoga
- Sneha Roy and Emeline Sandt, Co-founders of a collective space
Top Responders Award to those active participants who consistently gave feedback after each session:
- Ruchi Bhave, Founder of The Mind Talk, Mentee
- Eeshaanee Shandilya, Co-founder of Curiouslyoga
- Yulia Kim, Founder of Blooms Forever, Mentee
- Philbert Chin, Founder and Managing Director at Atomic Wave Coaching & Advisory, Coach
An extra shoutout was given to Ruchi and Yulia for sweeping all award categories. Congratulations to both!
Voices of the Program: Participant Feedback and Takeaways
Towards the end of the session, participants were presented with an opportunity to share their holistic evaluation and insights for the program.
When asked to describe their journey in one word, participants responded with these keywords:
- Supportive
- Inspiring
- Enlightening
- Rewarding
- Impactful
To the question, “What was one surprise from the program that you didn’t expect?”, top responses included:
- The diversity of participants in the program
- The consistent support and resources from the FSI team
When asked about the most enjoyable and helpful session”, there was a tie between:
- Goals & Objective Setting
- Get Funding Ready Workshop with FundFluent
For future iterations of the Mentorship Program, participants expressed that they hoped to see a balance of soft and hard skill training sessions on leadership, management, and presentation.
Support FSI’s Work to Empower Under-resourced Entrepreneurs in Hong Kong
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our mentees, mentors, coaches at the ICF Hong Kong Charter Chapter, FundFluent, Africa Center Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Club Foundation, and the Hive Poho for making this program a remarkable success for another year. This celebration wouldn’t have been possible without the long-time, dedicated support from these individuals and organizations who share our mission in magnifying shared impact through broad cross-sector collaboration and free sharing of knowledge, resources, and information.
We also extend our sincere gratitude to our committed Impact Lab Course interns, particularly our three FSI interns from the Spring 2025 cohort, Mohammad Abdul Rehman, Kabita K. Sahteli, and Hsu Latt Shwe Yi, for their invaluable contributions to workshop planning, coordination, and media coverage.
If you would like to be part of FSI’s collaborative network to support our work in uplifting under-resourced ethnically diverse entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, get in touch with us at cbs@shared-impact.com or visit our website to find out how you can get involved!
*This blog post was drafted by Hsu Latt Shwe Yi, Communications and Marketing Intern at the Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) during the Spring 2025 semester of the Impact Lab Course.
