Summer Issue, 2013

Ka Chan 陳家英 (BSc(ActuarSc 2006) Louis Li 李迪 恒 (BBA(Acc&Fin) 2006) Nigel Yip 葉永基 (BEcon&Fin 2008) From dreams to reality Three former hall-mates of Simon K Y Lee Hall (Skyers) from different disciplines and now working in diverse industries, shared the same vision. As Nigel puts it: “Hong Kong needs a place that encourages people to pursue their passions without worrying too much about nancing.” With that in mind, in February 2012, Nigel and fellow ‘Skyers’ Louis and Ka co-founded Dreamna (www.dreamna.com ), a crowd-funding website where people can raise money from supporters who appreciate their causes. Fundraisers’ passions are diverse, including the arts, community service and business. “There are many creative ideas in the world that can make people's lives better,” Nigel explained. The results can sometimes outstrip expectations. For example, one fundraiser set a target of raising HK$10,000 for six orphans by walking 250 km – the equivalent of six marathons – across the Gobi desert in seven days. Through Dreamna the total amount raised was HK$18,830, 88% more than the target. Within a period of ten months, Dreamna engaged 15 passionate people and organisations to raise HK$55,000 from the public, and as of May 2013, 8,000 people have visited the Dreamna website. Helping people and organisations raise money has proven to be very satisfying, and the team is aiming for more contributions. Aiming high is not easy. “Louis is studying for an MBA at Berkeley and Ka is running a family business in Poland,” says Nigel. “We discuss most of the issues via teleconferencing at night. The good thing about having partners in various time zones is that we always have someone covering the ground 24 hours a day.” Every project posted on Dreamna is vetted for credibility, quality and feasibility, with only one in ve applicants successfully meeting the team’s strict criteria. “We conduct due diligence on project initiators’ backgrounds to minimise default risk and safeguard supporters’ contributions,” says Nigel. To raise the pro le of Dreamna, the team regularly gives talks in the community and has co-organised competitions with institutions, including their alma mater and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. At a talk to Simon K Y Lee Hall residents, Nigel invited a group of University students to initiate a project to build toilets and buy mosquito nets to be sent to Ghana. “I was responsible for fundraising when I was a committee member of the China Education Association, HKUSU,” says Nigel. His experiences in this post helped him understand people’s concerns about fundraising activities and how they should promote events. 50 “A shared vision enables others to pursue their passions” Class Notes