Mapxus Case
Mapxus Case
os
HBP# HK1321
rP
BANIEL CHEUNG
CHUN HUI
INGRID PIPER
yo
Six years after it was founded in Hong Kong, Mapxus, an innovative start-up, established new
headquarters in Singapore, as clients in the Asia Pacific region rapidly adopted the award-
winning company’s navigation system. The company used a combination of artificial
intelligence (AI), algorithms, and digital technology to create high-quality digital maps for the
interior of buildings. Since 2019, the company had mapped a few hundred buildings in Hong
Kong and won a competition in Japan for a proof-of-concept project that digitalized Osaka’s
op
main railway station.
Those large-scale projects proved Mapxus’s smart technology could be used citywide,
anywhere in the world. It also provided an important social benefit since visually impaired
people in Hong Kong used its data to help them find their way safely through urban buildings.
Even though digital technology had transformed workplaces, both navigation inside buildings
tC
and stored information about internal structures within a building still relied on outdated paper-
based records. That material was often difficult to comprehend, especially when records were
revised a number of times [see Exhibit 1]. Mapxus’s technology solved a critical problem
experienced by building managers, corporations, and government departments––how to record,
revise, and update non-digitized floor plans and blueprints.
Mapxus’s digital data collection and smart technology effectively replaced inefficient and
No
frequently incomplete paper records, which were expensive to replace or correct. Its software
simplified the mapmaking process, was cost effective and easy to install or update, and made
buildings safer for emergency workers.
Customers included building owners, government agencies and software developers that paid
to use the start-up’s technology. Mapxus regarded its users as people required to navigate their
Ingrid Piper prepared this case under the supervision of Baniel Cheung and Professor Chun Hui for class discussion. This case is
Do
not intended to show effective or ineffective handling of decision or business processes. The authors might have disguised certain
information to protect confidentiality. Cases are written in the past tense, this is not meant to imply that all practices, organizations,
people, places or fact mentioned in the case no longer occur, exist or apply.
© 2021 by The Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong. No part of this publication may be digitized, photocopied
or otherwise reproduced, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission of The University of Hong
Kong.
Ref. 21/706C
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
way through the interior of a building, e.g., emergency workers, building owners, and the
t
asset’s managers.
os
The venture’s success relied on a unique partnership between its two cofounders––serial
entrepreneur and academic Dr. John Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Mapxus, and Ocean Ng,
the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
The pair used their engaging leadership style to inspire and encourage their team of researchers
rP
to find innovative solutions to technological issues. But with a sizable B round of investment
imminent, John and Ocean wondered whether their leadership style needed to change. John
knew they needed to hold their valuable team together because of their exceptional skills and
knowledge. He realized that if another organization poached one of his team, it would not be
easy to replace that skilled employee, and there was also a danger that vital information would
be passed to a new employer.
In such a highly competitive market, John kept applications for patents related to Mapxus
yo
technology to a minimum. He believed that if he filed too many patents, there was a danger that
these revealed valuable corporate information to competitors.
Although indoor navigation systems for military use existed, John decided that the system for
the general public did not need to be as accurate as those systems, because such precision was
not required for navigation in an urban environment. His idea to create the start-up resulted
from two key observations from his student days.
tC
When John was a university student, he worked as an intern for Hong Kong’s Mass Transit
Railway (MTR). He was struck by the MTR’s poor storage of safety and navigational
information. He also noticed that senior managers did not have access to up-to-date data.
Instead, they relied on junior staff to search or locate essential data, which wasted considerable
time. As he often worked at night, John noticed that it was much harder to find his way around
each station if some lights were turned off.
No
John also recalled a tragic event that occurred when he was an engineering graduate. His friends
were firefighters who fought the Garley Building fire 1 in Hong Kong’s Yau Ma Tei district.
The historic fire in 1996 was regarded as one of the city’s worst peacetime disasters. Unable to
find their way to safety in thick smoke, 41 people, including a firefighter, were killed, and a
further 81 citizens were injured.
The start-up’s smart technology aimed to help prevent such a disaster. In emergency situations
where Wi-Fi and networks were no longer available, building managers and first responders
were still able to access Mapxus’s latest stored data to locate critical infrastructure and identify
Do
1 C. Wood, “Remembering the Garley Building fire 20 years on,” South China Morning Post, 20 November 2016,
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2046923/remembering-garley-building-fire-20-years,
accessed 7 May 2021.
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
John hoped his start-up would also reduce the costs associated with traditional methods of
t
holding information about the interiors of commercial buildings, such as microfiche
os
photographic records. He also wanted Mapxus to make it safer for everyone who entered
commercial buildings, from emergency workers such as firefighters to anyone who used those
spaces every day.
Finding a Market
rP
Based on his experience as a young engineering student, John decided to change the way data
about buildings and urban infrastructure, such as Hong Kong’s MTR, were both created and
stored. He believed building owners, corporations renting offices, and government agencies
would benefit from Mapxus technology. John felt that his technology also offered social
benefits and supported those who wanted to be recognized for their corporate social
responsibility, such as the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which donated the profits from its
monopoly on sports betting in Hong Kong to charitable causes. 2
yo
He predicted that those who used Mapxus’s innovation to update their building’s data would
become paying customers.
John also wanted to make indoor mapping and data quickly available. He decided that the start-
up would be an infrastructure provider only. Whether clients offered their navigation service
free of charge to the general public would be up to that client.
op
When John launched the start-up, he faced tough competition from well-established smart-tech
mapping corporations like Google Maps, which was launched in 2005. 3 John decided that
Mapxus, like Google Maps, needed to focus on a combination of visual data collection, artificial
intelligence (AI), and algorithms.
Mapxus technology differed from others, such as Google Maps, because it focused on the
internal structures of a building. It created highly detailed data about building interiors. That
tC
information helped building managers and emergency workers locate essential utilities, at speed.
Up-to-date data about emergency exits, stairs, power supply, water, and other potential hazards
could be accessed electronically via a well-digitized map with an indoor street view, in real
time.
While most shoppers were familiar with information touch screens to find a specific destination
and to navigate their way around a multistory shopping mall, that technology was limited.
People often found it difficult to use the screens or did not understand their instructions. They
No
also did not help people with a visual impairment or those who used white canes. People who
were visually impaired needed to know what obstacles impeded their progress in a general area,
i.e., a set of stairs. Mapxus technology provided that navigational information, which allowed
them to locate those obstacles with their cane. This meant Mapxus technology only needed to
have an accuracy of three to five meters, unlike military-grade technology.
John realized that to succeed, a map provider needed to be cost effective, accurate, and easy to
update, since the internal architecture of buildings changed rapidly as refurbishments were
added. Key issues that Mapxus addressed effectively included:
Do
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
t
• Cost of updating data
os
Mapxus smart technology was easy to use since only minimal equipment was needed to create
a new client’s digital map. A Mapxus technician visited each new client’s building and used a
smartphone and a 360º camera to collect images. This was combined with map drawing
software based on AI, which was specifically developed by the start-up’s research team. This
indoor map geographic information system (GIS) drawing software created both street views
rP
and positioning surveys [see Exhibit 3]. One key advantage of this software over that of
competitors was that it allowed clients to draw their own indoor maps.
Clients who paid for its services were offered two payment options. First, they were offered an
indoor map software development kit (SDK) subscription for which a client “paid-as-they-
grew.” Alternatively, clients could choose an indoor mapping and maintenance package. 4
While building owners paid Mapxus for indoor mapping, citizens who passed through a
yo
Mapxus enhanced building simply used mobile applications, i.e., travelers who passed through
the railway station navigated their way through building interiors, free of change.
Mapxus did not work in isolation to deliver its navigation data. As one of the partners in the
Apple Indoor Map Program (IMDF), Mapxus produced Apple IMDF digital maps that enabled
positioning inside buildings. This allowed users to navigate if they used iOS devices.
His interest in environmental chemistry led him to move to the US to undertake postdoctoral
research at the University of California. While there, John was involved with several research
projects for NASA under the direction of 1995 Nobel laureate and chemistry professor Frank
Sherwood “Sherry” Rowland, 5 a renowned scientist who discovered the link between
chlorofluorocarbons and ozone depletion in the atmosphere.
No
When he returned to Hong Kong, John asked his mother for advice about his career, as he had
been offered a position at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) in Guangzhou, China. “She said,
‘Why not? China is booming!’ Even then, I thought about start-ups. I knew from my previous
academic study that the crucial thing about a start-up was the team behind it. I realized that if
you work with a good team, you can create something very good,” John said.
nonviable. Prior to Mapxus, he ended a partnership with a family office because its individual
4 Mapxus, “Make indoor mapping smart and simple,” https://www.mapxus.com, accessed 1 June 2021.
5 B. J. Finlayson-Pitts, “F. Sherwood Rowland: A man of science, vision, integrity and kindness,” Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 28 August 2012, https://www.pnas.org/content/109/35/13881, accessed 7
May 2021.
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
partners avoided making crucial decisions in a timely fashion, when they were most needed.
t
This meant that the start-up wasted money while he waited for his partners to make crucial
os
decisions.
John’s extensive background in technology and his understanding of the strategies needed for
a start-up to survive beyond development to commercialization complement his cofounder
Ocean Ng’s industry and product creation expertise.
rP
John formed a shareholding partnership with Ocean Ng, Mapxus cofounder and COO, in 2015.
The duo also cofounded the smart logistics tech company Locision Technology. John described
the difference between the two founders: “I am more macroscopic and Ocean is more
microscopic. We complement each other.”
“Ocean has the courage to go into a new field, and he learns very quickly. He’s a good
communicator, and he’s also good with colleagues. When we had a financial crisis in 2018, he
was willing to go to the bank to borrow money to pay our staff,” said John.
yo
Although the fledgling start-up was saved by an injection of USD2mn, it was Ocean who
realized that the company had grown too quickly. Rented office space and salaries for its 80
staff created a considerable cost. Going forward, he decided the company needed to operate
more nimbly. He reduced the company’s core team to around 40 members––a move that helped
to relieve the high cost of wages and rent.
No matter how hard life is, we need to go forward, we can’t look back
op
- Ocean Ng, Cofounder, Mapxus
Born in Hong Kong, Ocean said he learned to be independent at an early age because his parents
worked long hours. When his father was unable to find work due to an economic downturn in
the city, his mother struggled to support the entire family. Ocean originally wanted to become
a teacher, like his father, and he also considered a career in fine arts. Eventually, inspired by
tC
his mother’s efforts to support the family, he decided to study industrial engineering at Hong
Kong Polytechnic University. “Engineering was much easier to get into,” Ocean said. “If I
studied fine arts, I’m pretty sure I would not be an entrepreneur now.” After completing his
master’s degree, his first job was at the same university. It combined management with sourcing
funds and finance for his team––skills he also used to support Mapxus.
Ocean believed his leadership style at Mapxus was inspired by one of his university supervisors.
“He inspired me to become a good businessman, and a good engineer. He taught me to do the
No
Like John, Ocean also had previously created a start-up. After he decided to leave his position
at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he established his first enterprise—a children’s
education start-up based on an app.
Because of the risk of failure involving start-ups, both John and Ocean separated their
entrepreneurial efforts from their own family finances, a move that ensured their families were
protected from risks and bankruptcy. Ocean also had his family’s welfare in mind when he
Do
turned down an invitation to join a logistics start-up that moved from Hong Kong to Silicon
Valley. He felt the venture was too risky for his family’s financial well-being. Since then, that
company has become a major success in the US.
While the two cofounders worked collaboratively, there was one significant area where Ocean
influenced John’s approach to success. Ocean encouraged John to look beyond the development
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
t
be successful, he also needed to consider his clients, and how his technology fulfilled a client’s
os
needs.
One of a Kind
Although a number of companies globally had similar technology, Mapxus was the only one in
Asia.
rP
Mapxus combined technology in the form of AI, algorithms, and machine learning with digital
photographic images to update or enrich an internal map of a building. This was then made
available for navigation or route finding together with an indoor positioning system in iOS
(powered by Apple) and in Android (via algorithms developed by Mapxus) to users via an
existing Wi-Fi infrastructure.
yo
Clients who used Mapxus received architectural and government standard maps within two to
three days of a site visit––considerably faster than its competitors. Since no additional hardware
was required, as clients were already connected to Wi-Fi, the company produced digital maps
that were created around 90% more cheaply than previous techniques used to map internal
structures within buildings.
In 2019, just after it was launched, the start-up entered into a project to provide indoor mapping
and positioning technology for a mobile app that included both graphics, audio, and text
op
navigational instructions for outdoor and indoor venues. The Jockey Club Smart City Walk
Project was funded as a philanthropic initiative of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Charities
Trust together with the Hong Kong Blind Union.
The project involved the indoor mapping of Hong Kong city buildings so that visually impaired
users could safely traverse through linked sidewalks, covered walkways, and internal areas that
were commonly used by citizens and an individual building’s employees. The successful
tC
project was the first barrier-free indoor mapping system worldwide to collect data and internally
map buildings on a massive scale.
The project was so successful that Mapxus received several awards for smart mobility at the
2020 Hong Kong Information and Communications Technology (ICT) competition. 6 The
annual competition acknowledged local businesses whose creative solutions and innovation
provided innovative answers to both business and social needs in the city.
No
The company gained further recognition for its smart-tech navigation after it won a competition
in Japan to map the Osaka railway station for JR West and Hankyu Corporation buildings. The
trial demonstrated Mapxus technology could be used for indoor mapping and positioning within
the station, in addition to providing barrier-free navigation for tourists who visited the JR West
Kyoto Railway museum. JR West, the company that operated the Osaka station, became one of
the first corporations globally to adopt Mapxus’s digital system.
Those notable successes in Hong Kong and Japan led to Mapxus’s expansion. Both John and
Ocean decided to focus on business growth in Japan. They expanded their operations to Taiwan
Do
and Singapore. They planned to only train their Southeast Asian partners in the use of Mapxus
technology, rather than have their partners involved in the company’s research and development.
They wondered if this strategy would help, or hinder, the company’s plans to expand globally.
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
t
os
If you work with a good team, you can create something very good
- Dr. John Chan, Mapxus
As a professor at SYSU in China’s southern province of Guangdong, John had students who
were some of China’s highest-achieving young graduates. John decided to offer a number of
these students the opportunity to work on his start-up and to join Mapxus’s research and
rP
development team. Many of these former graduates continued to work within the company’s
core research and development team.
Early in the start-up’s development, John insisted that he wanted the team to build a system that
was robust and stable, and that provided high-quality data. John said his stringent requirements
caused some employees to leave the company because they found it difficult to meet his
demands. But he maintained pressure on the team, as his goal was to be the largest indoor
mapping provider within two years.
yo
Ocean said John’s consensus style of leadership and management of the team helped to build
initiative and creativity among its members. “We trust our team. We allow our people to work
together in small teams. John doesn't order teams to do anything, he respected young talent,”
Ocean said, adding that John also encouraged each team member to have a say about technical
applications––a move that inspired individual members to solve problems within their team.
op
Apart from being highly skilled, John and Ocean wanted employees to be team players who
worked together to solve problems. Employees who were team players were better suited to
Mapxus’s cohesive workplace culture. John’s leadership style actively encouraged workers to
seek new and innovative solutions to the technical problems they encountered. He believed that
even if employees failed to resolve a problem, that experience helped to build creative thinking
within the team.
tC
Employees also showed a high degree of loyalty. Many continued to work for the company
even after being asked to defer the payment of their salaries when the company experienced a
serious financial crisis in 2018. Over a five-year span, around 40% of the original team
remained with the start-up.
Both cofounders believed the team performed best as a unit of 40 people who formed the core
of Mapxus in Hong Kong. With such a small number of team members, each individual within
the core team was vital to Mapxus’s development, so John and Ocean were keen to retain their
No
employees.
To stimulate team members’ sense of pride and ownership in the company, Ocean encouraged
the public acknowledgment of expertise by an individual. If a team member made a significant
technological breakthrough, Ocean encouraged that person to discuss their breakthrough with
interested media, rather than the company CEO or Ocean taking ownership of a technological
innovation. This public relations exercise raised the company’s profile and also led to the
spokesperson becoming known for their expertise in a particular field.
Do
If a team member left to work elsewhere, John admitted, finding a replacement was difficult.
New hires needed to be highly skilled and had to fit into the team’s dynamics as team players.
After Mapxus successfully demonstrated its smart-tech navigation indoor mapping of city
buildings in Hong Kong and won a competition involving the Osaka railway station and
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
museum, the company expanded its Japanese operations. Two key partnerships were formed
t
between Mapxus and the industrial corporation Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and one of that
os
country’s leading human resources corporations, the Pasona Group.
The cofounders also shared their company’s technology with their regional partners. They
allowed their partners to use the smart digital technology to create their own positioning data
and indoor maps. Partners who subscribed to the Mapxus service were given all the functions
they needed to create their own indoor maps.
rP
John and Ocean were also keen to find partners in Taiwan, where they planned to establish their
business-to-business operation, and an indoor mapping center. However, those plans were
disrupted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
While the company’s core team in Hong Kong remained focused on research and development,
John and Ocean felt that in each country where the business was established, it was essential to
have locally employed trainers for Mapxus technology to be adopted by partners in the region.
yo
In Japan, trainers (known as sales staff) were local hires, because Ocean felt they were better
able to understand the local business culture.
Ocean believed the market potential for digital mapping was enormous. For example, in Hong
Kong, Mapxus’s market penetration was less than 0.1%. Funding was critical to the company’s
growth.
tC
Originally, John funded the company with support from a seed funder. Later Ocean joined and
also helped to fund the start-up, and an angel investor injected USD2mn into the venture in
2018. A series investors provided a further USD5mn. By early 2021, the company had raised
additional A+ series funds in USD3mn. Ocean said Mapxus would seek a much larger B series
round of funds late in 2021 or early in 2022, which would be used for significant expansion.
The cofounders wondered what would happen to their existing business and leadership model
No
if the company expanded further into Asia. Would they need to reconsider their “pay-as-you
grow” model?
Do
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
t
os
The University of Hong Kong Libraries – Main Library
Before
- In PDF
- Limited POI information
- No other functions / interactions
rP
yo
op
tC
No
Do
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
t
After (with Mapxus Map)
os
- Indoor and outdoor map integration
- Cross-platform (web, iOS, Android)
rP
yo
op
- Support zoom in/out
- Context rich digital map with more information esp. POIs
- Support viewing of all floors
- Support tilting, rotating and custom map styles
tC
No
Do
10
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
t
os
rP
-
yo
Support cross-floor wayfinding
op
o Of shortest path and accessible path
o With turn-by-turn instructions
tC
No
Do
11
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860
Mapxus: How Complementary Partners Created the
21/706C Leadership Needed To Build a Successful Innovation Start-Up
t
os
Using Mapxus Map by the Visually-Impaired Person in YM2 Shopping Mall
rP
yo
op
Using Mapxus Map by Normal User in K11 MUSEA Shopping Mall
tC
No
Do
12
This document is authorized for educator review use only by Shirish Rangnekar, Singapore Management University until Sep 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
[email protected] or 617.783.7860