Entrepreneur Stories

Jay Khan is the mastermind behind CÓA and The Savory Project, two multi-award winning bars that have had a profound impact on the Hong Kong bar industry. In this intimate conversation with Rasheed, Jay opens up about his humble beginnings, his determination and passion, and how his single-minded focus has led him to extraordinary levels of success.

Highlights:

•⁠ ⁠How growing up in Hong Kong shaped Jay's path to success

•⁠ ⁠Unveiling Jay's love for mixology and agave spirits

•⁠ ⁠The highs and lows of launching COA in a tough market

•⁠ ⁠Why focusing on a unique product is key

•⁠ ⁠Jay's pro tips on trends and building a killer team

Meet Jay Khan:

With over 15 years in the industry, Jay Khan is a cocktail bar veteran renowned for his dedication to agave spirits. His ventures, COA and The Savory Project, have garnered international acclaim, cementing his status as a leading figure in the mixology world. Jay's commitment to ethical entrepreneurship shines through initiatives like Mezcal Mission, reflecting his belief in giving back to the community.

** This discussion was recorded in front of a live audience in the library at Banyan Workspace in Hong Kong and includes audience Q&A. Thank you to our beverage sponsors, Spiritu HK and Neon Tiger Real Fruit Sodas, for providing pre- and post-event drinks, allowing for a fun and productive networking opportunity!

TWO massive exits and a business scaled with almost NO upfront investment: Listen to the remarkable stories of Trilby White and Diego Dultzin Lacoste, founders who defied the odds, scaling businesses in veterinary care and luxury flash sales from just an idea, a laptop and a whole lot of belief and determination.

Discover how they transformed Creature Comforts, Vetopia, and OnTheList into household names while working alongside their co-founding spouses.

Join our founder Rasheed Shroff as he uncovers the strategies, challenges, and invaluable lessons learned by these incredibly successful entrepreneurs who dared to leave secure jobs for the thrill of building their brand(s) and scaling their businesses.

Specifically:

• How they went from idea to execution
• When and how they knew they were onto something scaleable
• How they went about the challenges of financing growth
• The importance of building trust with their customers and business partners
• The difficulties of recruiting a team and growing it as their businesses scaled
• Their customer acquisition & retention strategies and the lessons learned
• Why Hong Kong is a great place to run their business from

Guest Speakers

Trilby White

In 2002, Trilby and her veterinarian husband David launched the Creature Comforts housecall service, which they expanded over the years to include 2 clinics, a 24-hour animal hospital and the online pet product and prescription service, Vetopia.com. Having sold both Creature Comforts and Vetopia last year to major international conglomerates, Trilby was recently awarded the HK American Chamber’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2024.

Diego Dultzin Lacoste

Diego founded Asia’s first members-only flash-sales platform OnTheList in 2016, alongside his wife Delphine. The concept revolutionised how luxury retailers managed their old inventory in a sustainable, profitable and consumer-friendly way, and it has since exploded to a 500K+ community across seven different Asian markets, with more planned over the coming months.

This discussion was recorded in front of a live audience in the library at Banyan Workspace in Hong Kong and includes an audience Q&A. Thank you to our beverage sponsors, Spiritu HK and Neon Tiger Real Fruit Sodas, for providing pre- and post-event drinks, allowing for a fun and productive networking opportunity for all who attended!