Celebrating East-Asian culture with AI Events

Meet Angie and Irene, founders of AI Events, a UK-based event company that creates markets with a special focus on East-Asian traders.

Both originally from Hong Kong, Angie and Irene saw an opportunity to bring authentic East-Asian food, crafts and culture to the UK market.

Read their story and how Grow London Local has helped them on their mission to provide a platform for East-Asian entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses in London and connect with the wider community.

Can you start by telling us about your business – who you are and how it all began?

Our official business name is AI Events, which comes from our names – Angie and Irene.

Publicly, we're known for organising the Urban Garden Fair. We run markets featuring food, crafts and art, but with a unique difference: our traders are mainly from East Asia.

Both of us are from Hong Kong and moved to the UK around three years ago. We first met while working in the same company, but after it changed direction, we decided to start our own project.

We realised the potential of a Hong Kong and East Asian-focused market because it gives small entrepreneurs a platform that's otherwise hard to access in central London.

Over time, we've expanded beyond Hong Kong traders to include Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese stallholders.

We feel it's a great way to share real food, art and culture from our home countries with people in the UK, especially as East Asian culture is becoming more popular here.

What gave you the idea or motivation to launch it?

Our own experiences inspired us. I (Angie) lived in Taiwan for three years and worked as a trader, joining many different markets. That gave me insight into how events work and the challenges traders face.

We're also grateful to our former boss, who originally had the idea of supporting Hong Kong communities in the UK. We built on that and used our experience to create a market that works from the trader's perspective.

For us, it's about giving stallholders exposure, helping them with things like displays and pricing, and creating a supportive environment where we can all grow together.

What's been the biggest challenge you've faced since starting out?

Definitely the cultural differences. We were new to the UK and had to learn quickly.

For example, communicating with venues has been difficult. We sometimes send over 100 emails and only get a handful of replies. The pace and processes here are very different from what we were used to in Asia.

We've also had to navigate the UK's complex tax system and the high operating costs. But it's been a learning curve, and we've found support from both stallholders and some kind venue managers who understand our background and language challenges.

How did you come across Grow London Local and what kind of support have you received?

We were introduced to Winnie, a Business Support Manager, through one of our stallholders Talk To You Later (TTYL), who had received support from her.

Winnie has been amazing – she listens to our challenges and connects us with the right support.

As our business grew, she linked us with several providers we really needed. For example, she introduced us to professional accountants Co-Accounting to help with tax, which we had struggled to navigate on our own.

She also connected us with IT specialists 93 INC to improve our booking system, and digital designers to build a more professional website – which has reduced our admin time and streamlined operations.

Winnie also suggested the Coventry Internship Programme. We'd never thought about hiring interns before, but it gave us the chance to interview young people, gain fresh ideas and even build recruitment experience.

On top of that, Winnie helps us think about community-building, suggesting initiatives like afternoon tea events for traders.

Her guidance has been incredibly valuable and we'd definitely recommend her support to other small businesses.

Why would you recommend Grow London Local to other small businesses?

For us, Grow London Local has helped connect us with reliable experts and reassured us that we're not alone.

Their Business Support Managers can introduce you to trusted professionals, which has saved us from going in the wrong direction – especially on legal or technical matters that are essential to get right from the start.

Looking ahead, what's your vision for AI Events?

In the short term, we're adding more East Asian elements to our market: Japanese, Chinese and Korean traders – and moving to more professional venues.

In the long term, we'd love to host festivals, like the Thai or Japanese festivals in the UK, showcasing cultural performances and authentic food.

It will be tough without government sponsorship, but our goal is to start small and gradually build towards larger cultural festivals that really celebrate East Asia in the UK.

As you've grown and planned bigger events, what challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?

Marketing is the hardest and most important part. In Hong Kong, digital marketing is very effective, but in the UK you also need offline tools, like flyers and posters, to connect with local communities.

The first year was very tough, but now we've built a strong local following on Instagram, which has made things easier.

We were lucky to have support from the Hong Kong community early on, but building awareness locally takes time and effort.

Finally, what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs or those looking to start a business?

If you have an idea, go for it – don't wait for everything to be perfect. Be open to feedback, because it can really help you grow. We really appreciate the traders who are open-minded and eager to improve.

It also helps to seek opinions from different people – not just business partners, but friends, customers, and community members. Fresh perspectives can make a big difference. 

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