Tuesday, December 29, 2015
What I Learned In 2015: Lawrence Ng, OnRamp Fund
As is the tradition at socaltech, over the holidays we publish contributions from some of the movers and shakers in the community, with their reflections on the past year and their thoughts on the upcoming year. Today's thoughts are from Lawrence Ng, who founded Oversee.net, and just launched the OnRamp Fund (onrampfund.com).
What was the biggest news for you or your firm this year?
Lawrence Ng: The big news for us was the launch of OnRamp Fund. Based in Los Angeles and Taipei, Taiwan, it's a $10 million incubator that invests in early stage startups. We enjoyed great success with our foray into using the power of online to drive awareness of an offline experience. While the vast majority of consumers now discover new brands online, these same consumers still enjoy the experience of touching a physical product and interacting with real people. We'll be making an announcement on this soon.
What was the biggest lesson you learned over the last year?
Lawrence Ng: We were reminded that the best solutions come from a team that is a combination of individuals who are veterans in traditional industries as well as those with proven track records as growth hackers and problem solvers.
Who or what do you think had the biggest impact on the technology industry in 2015?
Lawrence Ng: IoT is already big and will continue to grow in all facets of the business and consumer ecosystem in the future. We're watching IoT advancements in retail, medical and other B2B segments in particular.
What are the technologies or things you think people ought to watch in 2016?
Lawrence Ng: Mobile Browser usage vs. Mobile App usage – We think this is an important topic to watch for years to come. Most mobile conversations over the last couple years has involved the topic of the Mobile App. However, as the mobile browser gets more and more powerful and as users hit "App Overload", companies will need to reassess their Mobile strategies heavily.