A chance meeting led to the creation of one of Hong Kong’s leading sustainability companies. BEE founder Alessandro Bisagni tells us how
In 2010, Generation T honouree Alessandro Bisagni made a routine play straight out of the young entrepreneur’s handbook: he added a new contact on LinkedIn and arranged to meet them for coffee. Little did he know at the time, the project he pitched would change his life forever.
The contact was Grant Horsfield, co-founder of China-based resort brand Naked Retreats, and the pitch was to be sustainability consultant for the construction of Horsfield’s new resort, Naked Stables. The project was the first for what’s now known as BEE, Bisagni’s sustainability-focused engineering, consulting and tech company that specialises in green buildings.
“I had zero track record,” says Bisagni, whose strapping build, good looks and Italian moniker give him the aura of an AC Milan centre-half. It’s an impression belied only by his Americanised speech patterns—a product of the Italian-born entrepreneur’s international upbringing.
“I was still working for [British engineering company] Arup at the time. Arup was looking at the project and passed on it. I wanted to be involved, so I found Grant on LinkedIn and asked him for a coffee. I pitched him the idea, and halfway through the coffee he was like, ‘Wait a minute, I thought we were going to talk about green drinks or something—you’re pitching me your services? I love it!’ And he hired me. I owe a lot to them.”