Learn to build a startup from a founder who is building one now.

A free mentorship circle at HKU iDendron — your idea, real methods, and a HK$100,000 target to aim at.

I am Jacky Liang, founder of Katellen. I build full-time with AI as my engineering team: two shipped products, HKU DeepTech 100+ Cohort 7 awardee. Before this, 15+ years in telecom, AI and AR. Helping the next founder start is part of why I build.

HKU’s SEED programme (tec.hku.hk/seed) backs student founders with up to HK$100,000, training and coaching, twice a year — application deadlines fall on the last Sunday of February and August. Many students who could win it have the idea and the energy, but turning both into an application that survives judging is a learnable skill. This circle teaches it.

The circle

Two or three students — alone, or as a small team.

Three months, October to December 2026. One two-hour session each month at iDendron, and office hours in between when you are stuck. Small on purpose: every idea gets real attention. You do not need to call yourself a founder yet — that is what the circle is for. And no idea is too small: an idea for your own estate, your hall, your family is exactly the right size to start.

You leave with three things.

A problem you have validated with real users. A working prototype — I will show you how to build one with AI tools, the same way I build Katellen. You do not need to know how to code. And an application ready for the February SEED deadline, or whichever programme fits your venture.

Your idea stays yours. All of it.

This programme is free, and you work on your venture — never on Katellen’s. If you want paid work on Katellen, that is a different door: our research internships.

Any discipline, any faculty — open to HKU students.

What matters is that there is something you already want to build.

Terms

Eligibility: Current HKU students
Dates: October – December 2026
Sessions: One evening per month · office hours between
Cost: Free
Seats: Two or three students, or two small teams
Place: HKU iDendron

How to apply

Two steps.

Show us your idea: what you want to build · why you are the person to build it · what you have already tried. A page or two, a short video, slides, a demo — whatever shows it best. A CV is optional; the idea is what we read.
Send it to join@katellen.org with the subject line “Mentorship” — or click that link and the subject fills itself in.

What happens next: we reply to every application. We choose two to three founders — or two small teams — and the circle starts at iDendron in October 2026.