The tech boss with designs on the global fashion industry

As the movers and shakers of the global fashion industry mix and mingle, Josie Tam is on a mission to attract customers.
It is Hong Kong fashion week, and nearly 20,000 buyers and sellers from 65 countries are in town to swap opinions on what trends are in, or out.
For 32-year-old Ms Tam it is a perfect opportunity to pitch a software application developed by her start-up company.
The website and app is called Techpacker, and it aims to simplify how fashion designers communicate with distant factories that make their clothes.
"Are you a fashion designer?" Ms Tam asks a young woman who walks past her booth. "Where do you work with factories? Local or overseas?"
Ms Tam, whose name is Tan Huiji in Mandarin Chinese, is keen to sign up as many people as possible.
Such is her confidence in Techpacker (which is also the name of the business), that last year she quit her full-time IT job to launch the start-up with someone she hardly knew.
Her business partner is Saral Kochar, a 31-year-old fellow Hongkonger.
They met at a gathering of young technology developers, where Mr Kochar told Ms Tam about his idea for Techpacker.
Thanks to his experience working as a sourcing manager in the garment industry he had recognised a gap in the market.
As most of Ms Tam's IT work had been in the fashion industry she immediately recognised that such a product could be successful.
She says: "I thought, 'hey that's great!'."
After they had talked more, and realised they had complementary skills, they decided to go into business together. He has experience of dealing with clothing factories, while she brings the technological know-how.
Ms Tam admit that initially she was "apprehensive", but after checking out Mr Kochar's career past, she was confident enough to quit her day job last summer.
Techpacker now has 500 customers, and although its app is currently free, it is due to launch a paid-for version later this year.
Backed by grant of 333,000 Hong Kong dollars ($42,580; £27,339) from the Hong Kong government, it is soon to pitch to investors.
Despite currently only having seven members of staff, Ms Tam has global growth plans for the business, which already has an office in New York in addition to its Hong Kong headquarters.
'Looked after me'
Ms Tam commands her space so effectively that it is easy to forget she is only 3 foot 11 inches (1.2m) tall.
"I was born with a form of dwarfism," he says.
"To this day, my mother worries about me, whether I will be alright."
Born in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, when Ms Tam was still a baby her family was able to move to Hong Kong, which was then a British colony.
Growing up in a slum area where many recent immigrants lived, Ms Tam says she can only remember one time at school where she was probably bullied because of her short stature.
Instead she thrived at school, and backed by her ambitious "Tiger mother", she always did well in her studies.
She eventually earned a degree in computer science, and a masters in IT management.
"My parents were not well educated," says Ms Tam. "They grew up in China. In those days it was very poor. They only had a primary school education.
"So after coming to Hong Kong my mother really emphasised education, as that's the only route to a better life."
She adds: "In Hong Kong I have very rarely experienced discrimination. I am very lucky in that my teachers and other people have always looked after me."
'Keep trying'
The Techpacker app has been built to enable a clothing designer to send a detailed blueprint, containing all the crucial specifications and measurements, to a manufacturer.
It aims to be remove the miscommunications than can occur with some existing rival software programmes, and to enable clothing companies to reduce product development times.
Ms Tam says: "It's a chance to do something really different, to maybe transform the fashion industry.
"This application provides a platform for designers and factories to work together.
"It allows the designer to communicate what they want clearly to the factory. And so the factory can deliver what the designer wants."
Ms Tam's ultimate aim is to expand Techpacker into other manufacturing industries, which she believes will be possible.
"If there is something I care about, or I am targeting, I will try whatever ways to achieve it," she says.
"Because I do believe that nothing is impossible. It is just a matter of time and lessons learned.
"I read an article a long time ago in Fortune [magazine]. It said that geniuses actually spend 80% of their time practising, or doing the same thing repeatedly.

"That's what I strongly believe in - as long as we keep trying we will succeed one day."