f.ounders is an invitation-only gathering of 200 people (private tech company founders). Macao played host to splendid response, as the meeting of tech luminaries reinforces the purpose of meetings, proving that the global meetings industry will continue to be relevant despite technological advancements.
Inspired by the fact that entrepreneurs are often too busy to have the chance to get together with each other, the event has been bringing together the founders of some of the most incredible technology companies from all over the world since 2010. In fact, the first person to accept an invitation to the inaugural f.ounders was Skype founder Nicholas Zennstrom; Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Chad Hurley of YouTube also came on board. f.ounders had gathered together 30 tech company founders from China, about 30 from the rest of Asia, and others from India, Europe and the United States. The event took place on 12–13 July 2018, at Casa Garden and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, and Macao provided the conducive environment for these entrepreneurs to meet and learn from each other, and to build relationships and lasting friendships. Labelled ‘Davos for Geeks’ by the media, this event is the brainchild of Paddy Cosgrave, CEO of Connected Intelligence. It had brought him to Macao for the very first time, recounting on his new experience, he shared: “Well, for me it was seeing Macao for the first time. It’s very magical at night. For such a small place, it’s an amazing destination. Many people wouldn’t come to a place so small, unless for big reasons and Macao has all of those reasons.”
According to Paddy, Macao was chosen not only because it met their criteria. Macao’s wealth of experience and seasoned expertise in holding events of all sizes make event planners’ job easy, to the point where the biggest challenge for them is being spoilt for choice - the abundance of incredible venues, hotels, and dining hotspots make decision making an inevitably arduous task.
He further shared: “Macao is incredible because of the people. When you choose a destination for an event, what matters most is the people, and everyone that my team and I have worked with are incredible. The hospitality is second to none.” Paddy has recently held the successful RISE event in Hong Kong, and having experienced Macao, he is confident of Macao as a wonderful destination for events not just for 200 people, but 2,000 or even 20,000 participants as well. He also believes that Macao’s strength in tourism could play a significant role for start-ups in the tourism or travel sector.
