香港城市大学激发创新创业火花，Marco的生物科技奇迹

在香港城市大学，一个名为“HK Tech 300”的大型创新创业计划正在酿造梦想。这个计划旨在帮助有志于创业的学生、校友和年轻人将他们的创意转化为初创企业。故事中的英雄人物是90后生物科技企业家Marco。

26岁的Marco与三位香港城市大学同学共同建立了生物科技公司Hands Life Science Limited（联手生命科技有限公司，简称HANDS）。他们先后获得了香港城市大学的“创意孵化器计划”以及“大学科技初创企业资助计划”，并于2017年进入香港科学园，并获得了该园区提供的资助。在2019年，HANDS从天使投资者Soul Capital那里获得了200万港元的融资。

HANDS推出了以科研实证为核心理念的护肤品牌Factiv，以反对市场上高价且透明度低的情形而闻名。每种产品都以活性成分和浓度命名，以确保消费者可以了解产品背后的科学原理。短短一年内，HANDS就实现了盈亏平衡，而2020年的营业额超过了一千万港元。Factiv正筹备进入国际市场，预计将在2022年初正式登陆，并逐步扩展到东南亚市场。

除了护肤品项目外，HANDS还开发利用微藻提取物制作的人类护肤产品，为湿疹患者提供新的治疗方案。此项技术目前正申请专利，并准备进行临床测试，以期两年内推出产品。而另一个项目则涉及情绪舒缓相关个人护理用品。

Marco曾经在香港城市大学理学院学习，是一位既具科学素养又具有艺术才华的人。他与几位同伴一起创建的手表公司已经取得显著成果，他希望通过自己的事业来证明自己是一名艺术家，同时也是一位成功商人的结合体。

Marco自言自语，他小时候过于乖巧，但随着年龄增长，他开始寻找自己的方式来反抗规则，这也是他不愿意随波逐流、勇于打破常规的一部分，也体现在他的企业理念和运作模式中。

坚持科学，不卖幻想

Factiv作为品牌标签，“No fairy-tales”，强调的是科学研究支持，每个产品都要经过严格测试，让消费者拥有选择优质商品权利，而不是依赖虚假承诺或夸张宣传。

Marco更希望做的是普及科研知识，让普通人能够理解复杂概念。他打算未来与皮肤科医生合作，使得每一种产品都能有学术论文作为依据，从而进一步践行以科学为基础的事业目标。

他的职业生涯起始于他三年级时参与改良大肠杆菌基因，将其用来吸收脂肪酸减少肥胖问题。这次尝试赢得美国麻省理工学院举办的一个国际遗传工程机器设计竞赛(iGEM)奖项，并赚到了第一笔钱，为他未来的工作奠定基础。

比赛结束后，他们继续使用转基因大肠杆菌开发二十二碳六烯酸(DHA)，但由于成本较高，最终放弃。但他们转向研究深海微藻发现其中含有一种抗炎止痒有效成分，这成为新项目线索之一。

青春校园 创新摇篮

Hong Kong City University 是 HANDS 的起点所在地，是实验室萌芽的地方，它如同肥沃土壤让 HANDS茁壮成长。 Marco 看待这片土地充满期待，就像恩师江润章教授一样给予无尽指导。

Simple yet pure campus life also inspired Marco to find like-minded partners, today's team is a combination of old friends and new colleagues. Whether it's entrepreneurial development or personal growth, Hong Kong City University has always been by Marco's side. "I plan to get married before I'm 30 and will definitely return to the university for my wedding photos," he said with a smile.

The first two years of entrepreneurship, Marco and his team devoted themselves to research without earning any income, relying on tutoring and teaching piano for a living. "After taking the DSE exam one day, my parents stopped giving me pocket money," Marco recalled his parents' strict but loving upbringing that influenced HAND'S business blueprint.

Their first step was to launch Factiv using existing scientific evidence-based materials, producing high-quality products without investing in too much research. The second step is to use their own technology for non-steroidal options for eczema patients. They hope the company can be self-sufficient, gradually accumulating capital support for research while expanding their horizons towards more ambitious goals.

The path of entrepreneurship is full of twists and turns; how did Marco and his team overcome each challenge? "It's most important to have a clear understanding of your initial intentions and goals; measure risks and potential failures." Even when faced with difficulties, they won't complain or regret it.

Piano music still fills Marcus' life as he once planned to study music at university but fate led him down the path of biological technology startups instead. He views his art as creating quality experiences through science; building an enterprise culture that makes teamwork enjoyable - all part of being an artist.

Join us online on May 4th (Tuesday) from 6 pm - 7 pm (Cantonese) or May 6th (Thursday) from 1 pm - 2 pm (English), as we present HK Tech 300: Cultivating Project Line-up! Learn about seed funding up to $100k HKD ($84k RMB), incubation projects supported by Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation & Cyberport together with four major trade associations' supporting projects including business matching opportunities provided co-working spaces mentorship programs etc., date:2021/05/04 time:18:00-19:00 language:Cantonese date:2021/05/06 time:13:00-14:00 language:English