Episode 75 with David Cameron, Syed Musheer Ahmed and Joshua Chu  🎧

This episode of Regulatory Ramblings takes a deep dive into the current state of Hong Kong’s startup environment - exploring how conducive the city’s legal, commercial, and policy infrastructure is for startups to not only launch, but also to scale.

We begin with a spotlight conversation featuring David Cameron, a veteran American lawyer and founder of the Hong Kong-based firm DCLO. Drawing on over 16 years of experience - including stints at global firms like Linklaters and Allen & Overy - David offers a candid view of the legal and compliance challenges that early-stage startups in Hong Kong face. While it’s relatively easy to incorporate a company, he warns that many founders underestimate the value of early legal guidance. Legal services are often seen as costly overhead rather than strategic investment, creating risks that only surface when it’s too late. He highlights a gap in the legal services market - between large international firms that price out startups, and local firms that may lack cross-border expertise - leaving founders without adequate support during critical growth phases.

The discussion then broadens with guests Syed Musheer Ahmed, Managing Director of FinStep Asia, and Joshua Chu, a prominent fintech and Web3 lawyer in Hong Kong. Together, they unpack the broader structural issues that hinder Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem. They argue that while Hong Kong has built impressive infrastructure - such as Science Park, Cyberport, and startup grant schemes - what’s missing is a centralized support platform that can connect founders to mentors, business advisors, and practical operational resources. Musheer and Joshua call for a public-private partnership that could act as a coordination hub - bridging fragmented initiatives and helping startups access capital, advice, and networks more efficiently.

The conversation also touches on the cultural and mindset gaps within the ecosystem. Drawing comparisons to innovation hubs like Singapore, Bangalore, and Silicon Valley, the guests reflect on Hong Kong’s more risk-averse, academic-driven approach to entrepreneurship. Joshua notes that founders often stay in echo chambers, delaying commercialization in pursuit of perfection, while Musheer emphasizes the need to build founder communities with strong peer-to-peer support and mentorship.

Ultimately, the episode explores a central question: What kind of startup hub does Hong Kong want to be? Rather than chasing the Silicon Valley model, the speakers suggest Hong Kong should play to its strengths - finance, deal structuring, cross-border access - and cultivate a culture of execution, business acumen, and founder-driven collaboration.

The Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Faculty of Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani. 

For more details about the authors and links, please visit: hkufintech.com/rr

HKU FinTech is the leading fintech research and education in Asia. Learn more at www.hkufintech.com.