We speak with the digital entrepreneur about the challenges of starting your own business and why she’s proud to be a ‘Hong Kong-er’

Hong Kong has often been hailed as the epicenter of all things cool – whether it’s labeled as being a key financial hub, a shoppers paradise, or a cultural center, the ‘world city’ seems to be at the heart of all that’s happening throughout the region.

Enter Charlotte Chen, who is armed with a passion for travel and a long list of places to eat, shop, stay, and play – just under two years ago Charlotte co-founded Spottly, a travel app that’s taking the social media world by storm. Spottly encourages its travellers to track the places they’ve been or want to go, and encourages them to share their travel tips. We speak to Chen about the challenges of starting your own business and why she’s proud to be from Hong Kong:


Hong Kong is an island of energy.  If you can get used to its pace and not get distracted or whirled up by its frantic rhythm, this is perhaps one of the world’s best places to live.

I’m so proud to be a “Hong Konger” – I thrive in the energy and it makes me want to go get sh*t done everyday.

Spottly is a social travel app – a community passionate about finding, collecting and sharing the world’s best places.

My proudest accomplishment to date has got to be Spottly being featured as a Best New App on iTunes in 15 countries 6 times, and was one of the first travel apps in Asia available on the Apple Watch. We also launched Spottly Insider as a supplement to the app, a free quarterly print travel guide and an online magazine, generating influencer based travel content that addresses the needs of the new generation of travelers to Asia. 

I wish I didn't succumb to peer pressure and chase after a cookie cutter path that was clearly meant for someone else. When I was graduating university, we all looked up to people who got into finance and investment banking. I wish I had taken the time to explore other career paths that were more suitable for me, and didn't use dollar amount as a benchmark to success at that age.  

I’m very fortunate to have a circle of friends who are young entrepreneurs in different parts of the world who constantly inspire me. There are a handful of people who I look up to, that I can count on and that I trust. There is no single person who outweighs others as this collective energy inspires me everyday.

I really love learning new things and when you’re running your own business in a constantly changing industry like tech, you’re always learning. I really enjoy being able to meet and learn from people of different walks, and to wear many hats to solve a variety of problems. It’s challenging and exciting but also very tiring.

People nowadays are more and more likely to “pursue their dreams” and start their own businesses. Its super tempting to do that as its actually plausible and the idea has become sexy – thinking you can skip working for someone else all together and be your own boss.

The media glorifies the pros of being an entrepreneur, but shuns the darker side of it. It’s tough and no one talks about it. Having a “brilliant idea” should not be the reason for you to start a company.

Ideas are cheap – honestly, anyone can come up with a somewhat good idea if you think hard enough for an hour. You should only be inclined to act upon your idea if you truly care to solve the problem with all your might, and have the vision, tenacity, perseverance and dedication to keep trying, or else, please don’t do it. There is nothing wrong or uncool with working for someone else, in fact you might be happier, less stressed and earn more. You’ve been warned.  

There is never an end, just bigger and better goals to achieve.

In ten years, I hope to be able to own several more businesses in the digital and lifestyle space and have the opportunity to invest and advise on companies I believe in. 

Be curious, ask questions, fail fast, get up faster and never stop learning.


Photography by King Fung