After starting his career as a journalist, Anthony Sar spent years interviewing founders, CEOs and industry leaders.
Until one day, he realised he didn’t want to just tell their stories anymore, he wanted to build.
In this episode, we talk about what it takes to move from observing to building, pivot across industries and stay relevant over time.
Anthony shares how he built Finoverse, the company behind Hong Kong FinTech Week, one of the leading fintech events globally and how he’s now entering a new chapter in AI.
We also explore something deeper: why, in a world increasingly shaped by AI, human connection might become your biggest advantage.
In this episode, we cover:
– The shift from observer to builder
– Leaving journalism to start from scratch
– Building Hong Kong FinTech Week With Finoverse
– Why most founders misunderstand “staying relevant”
– How AI is changing the way we connect
– Why human relationships matter more than ever
Timestamps:
(00:00) Welcome to Asian Business Owners
(00:31) Meet Anthony Sar
(01:38) Journalism Roots
(02:45) From observer to Builder
(03:36) Entrepreneurship MBA
(05:34) Risk and Curiosity
(08:18) Moving to Asia
(10:06) First Startup in HK
(12:37) Founding Finoverse
(13:38) Reinventing Conferences
(16:06) Hong Kong Fintech Week
(16:58) Scaling with Storytelling
(18:43) Beyond Events Community
(20:04) Challenges and Trust
(22:47) Earning Trust Early
(23:26) Co-CEO Dynamics
(24:54) Why Pivot to AI
(26:52) Events Need Better Matches
(28:53) Samantha AI Explained
(31:44) Voice Calls and LLMs
(32:57) Business Model Insights
(34:00) AI for Real Connection
(37:34) Ethics of Humanising AI
(39:43) Relevance Through Values
(43:46) Stay in the Game
(47:10) Closing and Outro
👉 To find out more:
Check out Anthony on LinkedIn
To follow my journey:
💬 abo.pod
📲 Find me on LinkedIn
🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!
","author_name":"Carmen Salameh"}