Welcome to our brand new series of #MeetTheATeam! Curious about the faces behind AQUMON? How did it all come together? Meet Kelvin Lei - AQUMON’s CEO and Co-Founder. Let’s take a sneak peek into his busy #AQUMONLife as the CEO of Hong Kong’s leading FinTech company! 

 

 

1) RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS!

 

Fun fact about you? 

Watching UFC and cooking shows on YouTube are my guilty pleasures. 

 

WOW! Who is your favorite youtuber?

Torres! He is the only one in the world who took my CEO seat. (Click HERE to watch the video)

 

Craziest thing you did?

This is a funny question, but it is definitely to start this company with no funding and no money. 

 

If you had to choose one Superpower?

Spiderman - flying from buildings to buildings all over Hong Kong. On a side note, it is also my son’s favorite character.

 

2) Why AQUMON? How did you come up with the idea?

 

There was a major problem that I could not shake off during my time in the corporate world of banking and finance back in 2015 --- “Were banks serving in the best interests of their clients?” With that thought planted in mind, I started AQUMON with one goal: To empower those underserved by traditional banks by bringing the power of investing back into the hands of everyday people. This is still the same core value of the company today. 

 

That is why in 2015 I pulled in my good friend and former bank colleague Dr. Don Huang on this new venture, while he was teaching financial engineering at HKUST.  Our combined “YES!” started AQUMON on its journey to reshape the wealth management sector. 

 

 

3) What is the AQUMON Spirit?

 

We are motivated by AQUMON’s motto “Do more. Do Better. Create Value.” As a technology-driven company, we aim to make wealth management services smarter, simpler, and affordable. We strive to become the first Asian unicorn of digital wealth management. Our clients are the foundation of what we do, therefore our services are highly transparent and we are committed to democratizing the wealth management industry. We actively listen to user suggestions and feedback as valuable guidance in providing better services.
 

AQUMON has a very fast-paced working environment, the team is always innovating to come up with new solutions to meet the constantly changing needs of society. We give a lot of creative freedom and our talents are very proactive in executing new ideas since they know their voices are valued. Oftentimes, we have several projects on the line, so being able to multitask and prioritize duties are really important attributes here at AQUMON. You would think that we only look at stock markets and financial news, but in fact, our team is very on-trend too. It is essential to resonate with our clients through things that interest them, just look at our latest social media post (Instagram: @aqumonhk) on #squidgame to see how we communicate our vision through trending topics.

 

That being said, I’m grateful to all 150 amazing talents that make up AQUMON and I am always astounded by their ability to deliver beyond expectation every time! 

 

 

 

4) Describe your favorite work memories!

 

One of my favorite memories would definitely be the start of my first 2 years at AQUMON, those were my happy times as it was just thrilling to wake up every day, overflowing with new ideas for the company’s developments. It was a time when only a handful of people were executing crazy ideas, everyone was passionately building towards the same start-up goal and eager in designing fundraising strategies. 

 

In the beginning, we had no office and no funding, so we were in the HKUST library for 9 months. I remembered students would have this curious look on their faces and wondered “Who are these daydreamers occupying their public resources?”, we were in the same corner using the same table. It was very difficult to hire the first staff, in fact, one candidate literally said “You must be kidding me.” and left when they visited our “office”. That was why we only hired interns on campus, and several of them are still working with us to this day (they of course have graduated from interns and are now all capable leaders of their own teams). 

 

 

Our team of 2 soon became a team of 10 over the months and we felt that we needed more space. We then moved and rented a village house in Tai Po Tsai Village in Clear Water Bay not far from the university. When I had meetings, people would take a long time to find the place since it was quite isolated and were quite surprised when they saw our working space. 

 

Despite such an unusual office setup, our first investor, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, was actually very impressed; they saw past the humble setup to our unrealized potential and our keen determination. 

 

 

5) Name a role model who has inspired you in your career!

 

Steve Jobs! I always remember one of his famous quotes: ​​"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." Not only was he very sharp with developing the breakthrough technology of Apple, but he also had well-thought-out designs in his products. 

 

Products should not just be about the technology itself, the aesthetics and UIUX are equally important. That is why AQUMON is striving to continuously improve our APP and bring better experiences to our users! So be ready for the launch of AQUMON 2.0 very soon! 

 

 

 

6) What does investment mean to you? 

 

Well to me, investment equals responsibility.

 

Being responsible to myself: Investing now is actually the best gift to your future self.  When I am investing financially, the growth in wealth actually allows me to live more comfortably in retirement or meet other financial goals. It is also about the sense of security that I have, the money acts as a safeguard towards future life challenges. 

 

Being responsible to my family: This would also mean I am able to provide for my family in the long run: a roof over their heads, my children’s education, and their future. Of course, this also means more spiderman figures for my son. 

 

 

7) Share the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

 

I tell this to everyone, it’s the 20-hour rule. When you want to fully understand someone, you should spend 20 hours with them. Our advisor and friend Fritz Demopoulos gave this invaluable advice to me when we first started out with AQUMON and I have followed it ever since. 

 

 

8) Tips for starting your own business? Any words for potential AQUMON candidates? 

 

To those who are starting your own business, always stay curious! Make sure you have researched thoroughly and have a deep understanding of the industry before starting out. See things in the long term, you’ve got to have insights about the industry to offer value, and not just creating a startup for the sake of it. 

 

Be mentally ready. Make sure this is the path you want and you are dedicated to focus on it. Lots of people think startup life is cool and dive into it hastily, if you are not mentally strong, you might become easily intimidated, which can cause a lot of setbacks in your business’s development. 

 

This also applies to candidates who might want to join our AQUMON team. Make sure you understand what startup life entails and know what you are getting yourself into. We want our employees to be aligned with our core values and working culture, oftentimes that means hard but rewarding work. If you consider yourself a diligent, proactive game-changer and want to work in a dynamic and energetic environment, you should definitely connect with us. 

 

 

 

If you are interested in working with AQUMON and would like to join our mission to revolutionize the financial industry, check out our vacancies HERE. 

 

Talents define the essence of AQUMON and what we stand for. That’s why we treasure the uniqueness of each individual. Eager to learn more about the working culture of AQUMON? Stay tuned for our next #MeetTheATeam interview and follow AQUMON’s Linkedin for more exciting updates!

 

 

 

 

 

About us

AQUMON is a Hong Kong based award-winning financial technology company. Our mission is to leverage smart technology to make next-generation investment services affordable, transparent and accessible to both institutional clients and the general public. Through its proprietary algorithms and scalable, technical infrastructure, AQUMON’s automated platform empowers anyone to invest and maximise their returns. AQUMON has partnered with more than 100 financial institutions in Hong Kong and beyond, including AIA, CMB Wing Lung Bank, ChinaAMC, and Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, affiliate of BOC International Holdings Limited, Zheng He Capital Management and Cyberport are among AQUMON's investors. 

 

The brand is held under Magnum Research Limited and is licensed with Type 1, 4 and 9 under the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. AQUMON is also licensed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC).

 

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