The growing popularity of their events also opened up opportunities for Siu, who was working as a consultant at the digital agency IBM iX, to monetise this project. “We met many people doing cool things, like entrepreneurs and educators. And once you’re in a room with folks like that, ideas start to fly,” he says. For instance, teachers asked if they had ever considered organising programmes for classrooms, while HR professionals wondered if they could host communication training sessions.

As a curious person, Siu and his partner Wes Mui saw these as possibilities to explore—and they did. The earnings allowed them to rent a cosy space and enhance their game nights. Eventually, they founded Press Start Hong Kong in October 2015. This venture was a side project before it evolved into Press Start Academy in 2019 and, later, Press Start Studios in 2023. 

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Within two years, Siu gained valuable experience hosting workshops to train clients in design thinking and fostering digital innovation. While he enjoyed these projects, he felt something was off. “Innovation is supposed to be fun, but [it’s not fun to sit through] a traditional 3-hour workshop conducted by one person teaching you what innovation is,” he says. 

As he looked for new ways to make corporate training more engaging, he joined a team to create a storytelling game focused on entrepreneurship. This project showed him the potential to help people learn new skills through creative and interactive gameplay, spurring him to leave his consulting job to focus on building up Press Start.

When 2019 started, business was doing well and Siu had plans to move Press Start into a larger office space that would serve as a venue to host its training sessions for corporate clients. But the onset of citywide anti-extradition law protests that March quickly dashed his hopes.

Over the next few months, Press Start only secured one deal—a stark contrast from before—and it was already paying for the new office’s rent, which was three times what it paid before. The company’s capital was depleting—fast. 

“I started looking for a job because I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” recounts Siu. “But the market was so bad, I couldn’t find one.”

With no other choice, Siu took a leap of faith and pursued one of his initial goals for the company: kids’ education.

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Siu did not formally train as an educator, but in high school, he honed his teaching chops while volunteering with the non-profit organisation Summerbridge Hong Kong for three summers. He taught underprivileged students a few years younger than him subjects including media studies, music and journalism.

He found the stint rewarding and memorable, particularly appreciating the innocence and honesty that kids brought to the experience. “Kids are very transparent. When you do something they enjoy and can learn from, it shows on their face and that’s the most immediate feedback that you have. Whether it’s working directly with kids, making them happy, inspiring them or working with teachers so they can do the same for the kids, that’s why I do it,” he says.

Combining his skills in gamifying learning and interest in kids’ education, Siu launched Press Start Academy in November 2019—this time without his co-founder.

“One weekend, I just sat down and designed the logo, and wrote the [game] synopsis, curriculum and titles. I put it out as a social media post and shared it with my friends and parents I knew,” he recalls. He managed to sell several programmes and taught each one of them himself.

Press Start Academy has since developed over 50 game-based learning programmes and curricula spanning subjects such as entrepreneurship, creative writing and language skills. Its courses and partnerships with schools have reached more than 2,000 students. It has also conducted workshops outside of Hong Kong, including in Singapore, Australia, the US and the UK.

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Reflecting on his journey, Siu admits that being a solo founder can be lonely at times. “The worst thing is not having a sparring partner who is equally invested in what you’re doing together,” he says. He does sometimes wish things were different but isn’t rushed to find a co-founder—unless the right person comes along. 

While this role has meant he has had to meet a lot of people, share about his company and teach many of the classes himself, he admits that he isn’t actually a people person. “I’m a huge introvert and being around a lot of people for too long can make me a little bit uncomfortable. It actually drains a lot of my energy,” he says. But he adds that he thinks about people first every day, which he finds both fascinating and surprising.

He finds himself relishing the moments when he gets questions from people attending his sessions. “When they want your time, it means that you are offering some sort of value to them. Why would I not derive energy from that?”

With his team, he’s also often thinking about ways to help them grow and develop. “If our mission is to inspire and help develop students and learners, we must start with our own team,” he says.

Now, Siu is working to address Press Start Academy’s challenges in scaling its impact. Most of its programmes are conducted in person, which limits the number of courses it can offer, resulting in high costs.

“It never sat right with me that the after-school programme we would offer to international and private schools was thousands of [Hong Kong] dollars. We need the four-figure sums to survive, but it’s not affordable to many people,” he says. 

In 2023, Siu launched Press Start Studios, a sister brand of Press Start Academy that designs affordable educational games. Its first retail product, Fiero!, will be released next year after raising approximately US$6,400 on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. “The idea behind building Press Start Studios is to productise some aspects of our curriculum and lower the barrier of entry from four figures down to three, maybe even down to two. Hopefully, then, more people can experience what fun learning can be,” he says.

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We asked Siu some quickfire questions to learn more about his journey and sources of inspiration.

You grew up playing games with your family. What kind of games did you usually play? 

Vince Siu (VS): Scrabble. 

What is your favourite game?

VS: SimCity. 

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? 

VS: My hero is Jurgen Klopp. Until May, he was the head coach of Liverpool, my favourite team. I look up to him for all sorts of leadership and life lessons. He seems to be a hugely empathetic and great leader.

He spends a lot of time talking about surrounding himself with the best people because he doesn’t know everything and shouldn’t be expected to know everything. If people think they know everything, that is a dangerous path to take. 

As an introverted CEO of a people business, how do you manage having to be around people a lot?

VS: I’m better at knowing where to show up, but most importantly, how to show up. I think a lot of that has been held over the years to learn how to manage myself and carry myself better. When I return to my introvert mode, I relax and gain my energy back that way.

This article is part of Founder Stories, a series dedicated to discovering the untold stories and challenges of today’s entrepreneurs on their climb to the top.

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