08/07/2020
香港IT界的先驅之一（文： #藝姚）
Animoca Animoca Brands
「第三文化」香港人
素有「神奇小子」之美譽的蕭逸，臉容年輕儒雅，衣著樸素，舉手投足間一派閑逸，一如其名。
蕭逸生於一個音樂世家，他的父親是來自香港的小提琴家，而母親則是來自台灣的歌劇演員及導演。蕭逸父母移居「音樂之都」維也納發展事業，所以他便在當地出生。蕭逸成長時以德文為母語，他在維也納國際學校學懂英文，但並沒有學習中文。為了迎合雙親的期望，蕭逸自小便修讀古典音樂。他雖然是一個有才華的音樂家，但他對音樂的熱情，從未足夠去驅使他把音樂當成他的全職事業。由細開始，蕭逸真正由衷熱愛的，是科技。
在蕭逸父母送給他人生中第一部電腦後，他便自學編程，開發了一個他自己的MIDI軟件而作編曲之用。他更於開放平台上分享此軟件（共享軟件）。蕭逸的傑作引起了電玩和電腦巨商Atari的注意，並資助他到美國修讀計算機科學。那時，年少的蕭逸還沒有「IT可以改變世界」如此宏大的信念，他僅僅是單純地熱愛著電腦。在美國的期間，蕭逸曾創立一間硬件公司，及在世界知名的SGI公司任職了一段時間。他曾到日本、台灣、香港公幹。在1994年，蕭逸被派遣到香港工作。此時，他才發現原來自己是有居港權的。因為父親是香港永久居民，他便可自動領取三粒星的身份證，無需工作簽證便可在港工作。
90年代中期的香港只有少量電子郵件及ISP服務。蕭逸馬上意識到這是一個巨大的商機，於是便着手創辦了Hong Kong Online，成為香港首間互聯網及電子郵件服務供應商之一。不過，Hong Kong Online並不成功。在1995年，年約廿二歲的蕭逸，再次創業，成立了亞洲首間免費網頁供應商 ── Hong Kong Cybercity。由於Hong Kong Cybercity並沒有盈利，他便在AT&T打工，以支援Hong Kong Cybercity的運作。及後一間美國公司收購了Hong Kong Cybercity，而蕭逸隨即創辦了Outblaze。Outblaze是香港首個本土科技取得國際性的成功的案例，它的通訊業務發展成全球最大型白標供應商之一。而此通訊業務更於2009年被IBM收購，成為首次有巨型科技企業收購港產科技的大型交易。在2014年，蕭逸有感手機遊戲能把歡樂帶給人們，便把目光放到手遊的世界市場上，並成立了Animoca Brands，而Animoca Brands稍後成為了全港最大型的遊戲開發商。自2018年開始，蕭逸著手把區塊鏈的好處帶到遊戲當中，並將Animoca Brands轉型，開發各個區塊鏈項目，旨在將「真實數碼擁有權」（true digital ownership）的概念帶進遊戲世界中。
香港IT專才的優勢
作為業界中的先驅，蕭逸對IT界有以下的看法。「其實香港在IT界的發展潛力絕對是亞洲上數一數二的，因為香港人的教育程度和英語水平都較好，而英語是『科技的語言』，故港人在這方面會有優勢。」此外，IT專才的目光要放眼世界，學習矽谷的精英 ── 他們較會彼此分享知識，一同快速進步。這樣，他們便能開發出世界級的軟件。蕭逸亦建議政府可以加強推廣本地IT的力度，及投放更多資源在研發方面。
不步別人後塵 培育新領域
作為創業的佼佼者，蕭逸亦有一番心得分享給各個想創業的年輕人。雖然現今市場上各行各業也發展得很成熟，但他認為不必要跟隨主流，而應該思考一些市面上沒有或較新的點子。或許你不是市場上第一個創新者，但你也可以成為一個早期採用者（early adopters），拓展市場上新的領域。
目的與影響
蕭逸說：「另外，做每一個商業決定時，都要考慮其目的與影響。」最重要的不是為自己設下限制、未來要走哪些路，反而思考每一個行為的目的及其後續的影響才更為重要。例如他們現在著力開發區塊鏈遊戲和促進大眾採用區塊鏈技術，其原因是因為他們覺得區塊鏈能為遊戲玩家帶來價值和方便。因為區塊鏈的保密程度高以及所有記錄齊備，其技術可應用在不同行業和情況中。例如，區塊鏈可應用於議會的選舉投票上，省卻排隊投票等麻煩及解決身處海外等問題。
蕭逸在IT界上驕人的成就自是不用多說，但其親和的態度及簡樸的打扮亦相當值得別人學習。年少有為的他，從來沒有驕傲或四處炫耀，他保持着一顆謙卑的心，生活中亦盡力低調。或許我們在思考如何成功創業時，也應擁有一顆像蕭逸般謙卑的心。
One of the pioneers in Hong Kong’s IT industry
The “third-culture” Hong Konger
Yat Siu, the “Magic Kid”, looks surprisingly youthful. He dresses in a simple way and acts in a relaxed and elegant manner befitting his Chinese name.
Yat Siu was born into a family of music: his father is a violinist from Hong Kong, and his mother is an opera singer and director from Taiwan. His parents moved to Vienna (Austria), one of the world’s music capitals, for career development, and that is where Yat was born. Yat grew up speaking the local language German and learned English at the Vienna International School, but he did not learn to speak Chinese. To meet his parents’ expectations, Yat studied classical music since early childhood, however - although he is a skilled musician - Yat never quite felt the passion necessary to take up music full-time. His real passion, he discovered from an early age, was technology.
When his family bought him his first computer, Yat taught himself programming and developed his own MIDI software to arrange music, which he shared on the open platforms available back then (shareware). Yat’s works caught the attention of videogame and computer giant Atari, who subsidized him to study computer science in the US. At the time, Yat did not yet have a vision of how technology could change the world, he simply liked computers. While in the US, he set up a hardware business and took a job with SGI, a globally famous company. He went on business trips to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In 1994, he was deployed to Hong Kong, where he discovered that he had the right of abode: since his father was a permanent resident of Hong Kong, Yat automatically qualified for a permanent HKID card that allowed him to work in Hong Kong without the need for a working visa.
In the mid-1990s, Hong Kong had few email and ISP services. Yat quickly realized that this was a major business opportunity and set up Hong Kong Online, one of the first internet and email service providers in the city, but the business was not successful. In 1995, when he was around 22 years old, Yat set up Hong Kong Cybercity, the first free web page provider in Asia. He took a job at AT&T in order to continue supporting the users of Hong Kong Cybercity, which was not generating revenue, and he later sold it to a US company. Shortly after, he set up Outblaze, which became the first Hong Kong-based technology global success story. The messaging division of Outblaze grew into one of the largest white label outsourced providers in the world, and that business unit was bought by IBM in 2009 - the first time that a global tech company acquired mission critical technology from Hong Kong. In 2014, seeing that mobile games could bring happiness to people, he focused on the global mobile game market and set up Animoca Brands, which became the largest game developer in Hong Kong. Since 2018, Yat has worked to leverage the benefits of blockchain for gaming, steering Animoca Brands to develop blockchain products that will introduce the concept of true digital ownership into the world of gaming.
The advantages of Hong Kong IT professionals
As a pioneer in the industry, Yat has the following insights: “Hong Kong has one of the highest potentials for IT development in Asia because Hong Kong people have good levels of education and a high standard of English, which is the language of technology. So, Hong Kong people have an advantage in this aspect.” He suggests that the local IT community should look at the field with a global perspective and learn from the elite in Silicon Valley who tend to share knowledge and improve together at a fast pace. In this way they are able to develop world-class software. He also suggested that the government could further promote IT locally and put more resources into R&D.
Do not follow the others; foster new dimensions
As a classical example of a start-up founder, Yat is keen to share a few tips with youths who want to start their own business. Although most industries are already quite well developed, he suggests that young entrepreneurs should not follow the mainstream, but they should think of ideas that are new or fairly new to the market. Even though you might not be the first innovator in the market, you can still be an early adopter and foster new dimensions in the market.
Purpose and impact
Yat says: “Another tip is to consider the purpose and impact whenever you make a business move.” He maintains that it is important to avoid setting a limit on which paths to choose. Instead, it is more important to think about the purpose of each action and its potential impact. For example, Animoca Brands now focuses on the development of blockchain gaming and fostering a mass adoption of the technology, because the company believes that blockchain can bring value and convenience to gamers. Because of the high security and traceable records of blockchain, it can be adapted across many different industries and situations. For example, blockchain can be used to vote in council elections to solve queuing or problems such as being physically out of town.
Yat Siu has accomplished various prominent achievements in the IT industry. Yet, his easy-going manner and simple fashion style are worthy of comment. As a young achiever, Yat has never been prideful or a show-off; he has led a low-profile life and kept a humble heart. Perhaps, when we think of how to start a successful business, we should learn from Yat and also strive to keep a humble heart.
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