Can’t say it with words? Hong Kong’s Sensbeat nabs US$500k to help you say it with music

When you head to social media to tell the world what’s on your mind, sometimes words alone don’t cut it – music is best. But not every social network is suited for the melodious airings of one’s emotions. As much as I’d be happy to share my love for forgotten nineties pop-rock hits on Facebook and Twitter, my contacts on those networks wouldn’t be too interested. Spotify, meanwhile, for all its bright spots, hasn’t really ventured into social.

That’s where Sensbeat comes in. Available for iOS and Android, Sensbeat lets users take photos, add in lines of text, and then choose a song to accompany the graphic (the app draws from iTunes’ API). Users can also flip through posts made by members they follow, or can browse through themed categories (most of which center around a specific mood). The seven-man team from Hong Kong recently closed a US$500,000 funding from Big Bloom Investment, PradoSV, and four other undisclosed investors.

Leo Wong, Ben Chan, and Conrad Lo co-founded Sensbeat while studying at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Although they incorporated in January 2013, they didn’t release Sensbeat to app stores until this past August. Wong attributes the late launch to the difficulties balancing school with the project, along with team’s inexperience – Wong and his teammates aren’t just first-time founders, in some respects, they’re first-time app developers.

Ultimately though, early fumbles helped the team bide time as they entered startup competitions across Asia, through which they built a network of mentors who led them to investors. Wong projects a air of restrained excitement and modesty as he discusses how professors and other Hong Kong residents helped Sensbeat get to where it is today. “When we talked with the investors, we talked not because we were asking for funding. We talked because we want to learn from them because they are more experienced than us,” Wong says.

Sensbeat bears some resemblance to other apps that add an Instagram-esque touch to music sharing, most notably LuckyPennie. But Sensbeat is focused less on discovery and more on mood sharing. You’ll use it not to find latest cool band, but to tell your friends that today’s a Bob Marley kinda day.

Like most other early-stage social networks, Sensbeat will face a chicken-and-egg dilemma. Users will come if the content is compelling, but there’s no compelling content without the right users. Right now, Sensbeat posts are full of photos from the Occupy Central protests and Canto pop tunes – not this writer’s bag, but likely relevant to the Sensbeat’s target audience of Hong Kong university students. Wong tells Tech in Asia that part of the funding will be used for marketing initiatives around Hong Kong, where the team will continue to fine-tune Sensbeat before considering monetization or expansion.