How one UK graduate entrepreneur aims to improve Hong Kong’s mental health system

For a long time, mental health is a topic that rarely sees the light. That’s changing in recent years, but not fast enough in Asian societies.

MSc Strategic Marketing graduate Victor Lui is doing something about this in his home region, where mental health is still highly stigmatised and misunderstood.

According to a study by Asian Development Bank, more adults are reporting a diagnosable mental illness in any given year across Asia.

In Hong Kong, one in seven people has developed a common mental disorder in their lifetime.

In Malaysia, a national survey by the Ministry of Health found that one in three Malaysian adults aged 16 years and above have a mental health condition. 

As someone who witnessed friends struggling with mental health, Victor Lui was determined to normalise and de-stigmatise conversations around mental health in Hong Kong. 

This led to the birth of SolaceTree, a mental health-focused start-up that offers low-cost and professional online counselling.  He is also a recent MSc Strategic Marketing graduate from Imperial College Business School. 

We spoke to Victor to learn more about his international education and how starting SolaceTree fuelled his passion for entrepreneurship:

Victor Lui is an MSc Strategic Marketing graduate from Imperial College Business School and founder of SolaceTree, a mental health-focused start-up in Hong Kong. Source: Victor Lui

You pursued an MSc Strategic Marketing degree at Imperial College Business School. Tell us more about your degree and what it entails.

The MSc in Strategic Marketing at Imperial College Business School is a one-year programme that covers both theory and practicality of marketing.

The programme equips students with both the knowledge of marketing as well as highly sought-after skills such as data analytics and programming skills. 

There is a strong emphasis on learning by doing rather than just a focus on theories and lectures. This means that we get to get involved in different projects and simulations that help us to learn better.

Besides that, the course is taught by professors, guest speakers and guest lecturers who are often the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Fortune 500 companies, or even start-up founders. 

 Victor Lui is using his MSc Strategic Marketing degree to remove financial barriers and destigmatise access to mental health services — helped greatly by all the diverse views he was surrounded with at his UK university. Source: Victor Lui

Why Imperial College Business School and why the UK specifically?

I chose to pursue my MSc Strategic Marketing degree at Imperial College Business School as it is very well-balanced.

As mentioned, the course is as theoretical as it is practical. Imperial also has a strong focus on entrepreneurship. In fact, there are a number of start-up founders in our cohort this year.

Student backgrounds are diverse, which means I have plenty of opportunities to network and collaborate to brainstorm more ideas.

The university’s strong alumni network has also provided me with strong connections that will help shape my career progression. 

Having studied in the UK since the age of 16, I’m very familiar with the education system here as Hong Kong was a former British colony during the war.

Of course, career prospects in the UK are very good. It also helps that Imperial College is a highly reputable uni, giving me an extra advantage.

I feel like the environment in UK unis is encouraging where our lecturers highly motivate us to think outside the box and are very tolerant about making mistakes.

They believe that trial and error is a part of the journey as well.

What inspired you to start SolaceTree, a mental health-focused start-up that offers affordable and professional online counselling?

The main reason why we started SolaceTree was that we wanted to do something to help the people around us and Hong Kong society as a whole who struggled with their mental health.

Essentially, SolaceTree came about to address two major hurdles which prevented people from seeking professional help – financial barriers and the stigma surrounding mental health. 

So we thought about how we can use technology. With tech, people can seek professional help from the comfort of their homes.

At the same time, counsellors can lower their costs where they no longer need to rent a space to do consultations. This then, also makes professional help more accessible to the wider public.

SolaceTree acts like a platform that offers low-cost and accessible online counselling sessions while ensuring we educate the public through webinars about mental health as well as normalising the idea that it’s okay to seek help if needed.

What are some things you wish you knew before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey?

I wished someone told me that having a strong mentality was so important. It’s not just learning how to cope with stress but it’s also learning how to persevere through rejections. 

There will be a lot of self-learning especially if you don’t have the money to spend or hire someone.

Most of the time you will be the one to handle everything from marketing sales to software development, since it is the cheapest way around it. 

And I feel like the startup journey doesn’t have to be lonely. There are many opportunities out there where you can find like-minded individuals who are on the same journey as you.

In Hong Kong, entrepreneurs join this funding by the government where we get to mingle with investors and entrepreneurs.

That’s how we expand our network and relate our startup journey with others who are also going through it.

Also, don’t be shy to talk about your ideas and throw yourself out to talk to those who are working in the industry. I feel like having a support system helps a lot in dealing with your loneliness.