More intense startup life here – after returning to Shenzhen from Echelon Hong Kong with Dan (which, was a VERY late night missing the Shenzhen Bay border crossing, taking Huanggong border and arriving back about 1:30am) – the rest of the week catching up in Shenzhen after travels in Singapore and Hong Kong! Also prepared for our 3rd public pitch …
Startup Weekend Mania! Hong Kong Apr 12, Shanghai Apr 19, Shenzhen May 10
The startup weekend phenomena has come in strong in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen really strong! Just had a nice call w/ Sheikh from USA headquarters yesterday, and there are now great teams in place in all of these cities. I’m so proud of the progress that the Startup Weekend team has made! Hong Kong Startup Weekend April 12 – …
Hosting a Seminar at General Assembly on Selling in China via Social Media
Continuing to educate and add value to the community of Western businesses to do business in China, I will be hosting a seminar with General Assembly in Hong Kong to help businesses learn how to more effectively enter the Chinese market and sell in China via social media. Also realize that is it possible to do so without a local …
Happy Chinese New Years, My plan for the “Year of the Snake”
For those of you at all interacting with the Chinese market, you are fully aware this week is the Chinese New Years (Lunar calendar) – the official day was on Feb 10th, and last weekend until this coming weekend all of China was basically on shut down. We left behind the year of the dragon, and are currently entering the …
Continuing to Build up the Shenzhen Startup community, launching Startup Digest!
A couple weeks ago my friend Peter Choi, the Hong Kong curator of Startup Digest HK sent me a facebook message mentioning he is getting more and more requests from Shenzhen startups and events to post their events and updates. So of course, Shenzhen Peter thinks of me, (I’m honored!). Obviously I’m totally slammed busy with my own startup Social …
Showing my Shanghai mentor around Shenzhen / Hong Kong startup scene!
For the past few days I have been traveling with Deverick McIntyre, an amazing business mentor and giving me priceless advice on Social Agent Limited . He is based in Shanghai, and I had first met him in June 2012 at a Lean Startup Machine weekend where he was a mentor and I was a team (Weibo Agent was born). …
Go Shenzhen! Generator 1.0 Product Maker Conference this Saturday Jan 26
So excited to see so many startup and entrepreneur events in the PRD (pearl river delta). seriously the past couple years I have witnessed co-working spaces, startup cafes, startup weekends, hackerspaces. Its awesome. I am more into the web / software rather than the hardware, but always support all entrepreneurship activities! My friends at Seeed Studio and Haxlr8r are pulling …
4th Shenzhen Startup Weekend Rocked! All about teamwork
Couple days have passed since this past weekend’s Shenzhen startup weekend, our 4th official in this city. Over 110 participants, amazing energy and passion, and keeping up with the mission of the Startup weekend NGO – inspiring entrepreneurship. We had mentors from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen – with experiences in tech + business, marketing, sales, and business model generation. …
Rockin’ into 2013! Startup Weekend Shenzhen, Jan 18-20
Lets kick off the Shenzhen startup scene with a bang! Startup weekend is gonna happen just before Chinese New Years on the weekend of Jan 18 to 20th here in Shenzhen, China! The last one was less than a couple months ago, but based on huge demand and some great venue choices, the guys at 3W startup cafe really want …
Looking to 2013
The start of a new year is exciting to everyone. Just like the beginning of a new day, a new week, its another chance. We think of the previous time, think of where we are in life, and make plans for our future year. For me, I think back to my 5 years in China / Asia / entrepreneurship, and …
Putting Everything I Got At It, Hardcore China Business during Christmas
Not sure if its aggression, unending pursuit, that feeling that if you can only go longer, faster, stronger than anyone else is willing to go. Something to prove. Just have to do it because you keep hearing over and over its not possible. To build a business in China, in the internet industry. So I took this trip up to …
Ready to Rock in Beijing!
Can’t wait to get back to Beijing, last time I was there I was following up potential investors from a overwhelming Chinaccelerator demo day. Can’t wait to show them all the updates and progress. I told many that I would return to Shenzhen, renew my work permit, work with my product development team, work with some core customers, and return …
The Odds of a Western Startup Succeeding in China (nevermind just a startup!)
After just reading Mark Suster’s post “Entrepreneurshit. The Blog Post on What It’s Really Like.”, it inspired me to finish a blog about something that’s really been on my mind the past couple weeks – the added complexity, and the added “odds against you” of a westerner (foreigner) doing a startup in China. I spent 3 awesome months in Chinaccelerator …
Successful 3rd Official Shenzhen Startup weekend! Community is forming!
Another amazing weekend for startups here in Shenzhen! So glad I made it back after Chinaccelerator for this Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) global battle and Shenzhen, China is representing! Our team has been great, and we’re getting sponsors earlier + more supportive, with Singtel Innov8 as our platinum sponsor, and Tencent Open platform , Qidian Cafe, and Shadstone (my consulting …
Back in Shenzhen – Chinese Work Permit Renewal, Product Development + Events
Been another exhausting week- day in the life of an overseas entrepreneur in China! After Chinaccelerator demo day in Beijing last week, this past week was following up with investors and high level businessmen about Weibo Agent startup, to return to Shenzhen mid-week for Chinese work permit renewal (its issued in Shenzhen, China so I have to return to Shenzhen …