World’s First Wearable Metronome from Hong Kong

With the support from a local IoT accelerator, Germany’s startup Soundbrenner has created and unveiled the world’s first smart wearable device for musicians in just one and a half year

Soundbrenner is an IoT wearable startup originated from Berlin, where the first prototype of its wearable metronome for musicians was developed in 2014. Its ultimate goal is to enable every single musician on the planet to use its product to master their rhythm. In order to achieve this goal, the company looked for components and expertise outside Europe to strive for mass production opportunity. Brinc, Hong Kong’s first IoT accelerator specialising on hardware, invited Soundbrenner to participate in its 12-week accelerator programme. Upon completion of the programme, Soundbrenner decided to settle in Brinc’s office at PMQ in Hong Kong in 2015.

Soundbrenner received almost US$300,000 in pre-order value, followed by product launch in the market and music shops. “After working with Brinc for four months, we realised Hong Kong is really a great place to start an IoT company. We decided to stay here and make it our headquarters,” Florian Simmendinger, CEO, Soundbrenner, said.

“We are very excited that we made the choice to partner with Brinc. Even though we started only in July 2014, today we are selling our products all over the world. This only took one and a half years,” he added.

Excellent Funding Platform and Talent Pool for Startups

According to Simmendinger, Hong Kong offers access to the whole supply chain of Mainland China – the suppliers, the know-how and the manufacturers, etc. The city is also a large shipping hub of the world with robust rule of law, economic freedom, a business-friendly environment and quality of life suitable for foreigners. Hong Kong has also proven to be a good fund raising platform for startups.

Most of Soundbrenner’s funding came from local investors. “Up to several millions dollars in funding – it’s something you can get locally,” Simmendinger said. “In terms of hiring staff, Hong Kong has the talent pool as there are many universities. The cosmopolitan city also attracts international talent from all over the world who can easily come and live here.”

Simmendinger enjoys working and living in Hong Kong for many reasons, especially the diversity of life and its accessible nature. “It takes only 30 minutes from your apartment to the nature. You can go to beaches, forests or mountains. This kind of diversity cannot be found elsewhere in the world,” he enthused.