“By a show of hands, how many of you have started a business here in Taipei?” Elias Ek, host of the Foreign Entrepreneur Workshop and author of How to Start a Business in Taiwan, asked a room full of budding entrepreneurs. Up went a smattering of arms. “How many of you have gotten any subsidies from the Taipei City Government for your business?” No one raised their hands.
“Why don’t we change that,” an excited Ek said while introducing Gasper Chen (陳聖豐), a senior consultant for Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute.
Chen, who spoke for 45 minutes and answered questions for over an hour, had participants salivating at the prospect of getting matching grants from the government for up to NT$5 million, especially since his company has a 45 percent approval rate. He said new startups, innovation incubators and research and development are key industries.
Photo courtesy of Foreign Entrepreneur Workshop
WORKSHOP
Chen’s talk was the big draw of the day because most companies could use cash injections from the government.
Taipei Department of Economic Development Commissioner Lin Chong-chieh (林崇傑) also spoke, as well as TX Accelerator CEO Steve Hsu (徐竹先), who discussed the plethora of accelerators and incubators in Taipei. Carrie Kellenberger, head of Reach to Teach, a company that places teachers all around the world, discussed her experience of making her company fully legal in Taiwan.
MAKING TAIPEI BUSINESS FRIENDLY
One of the most refreshing parts of the workshop was when everyone had 30 seconds to introduce themselves. Of the over 100 entrepreneurs — soccer coaches, bike messengers, app developers, Brazilian cheese bread makers — there were very few people that had the same ideas, but lots of people who might be the right person to talk to or partner up with. One attendee was scoping out whether or not Taiwan is a good place for an Uber-like service for chartered jets.
Another helpful aspect of the workshop involved ways in which Taipei could be friendlier to foreign entrepreneurs. Many people discussed the headache of trying to get a local credit card, and the difficulty of banks providing loans to foreigners.
Ek says that he plans to pass on suggestions made by participants to the Taipei City Government. When asked why he offered the course for free, Ek said he wanted to share his own experiences opening a business and in the process make it easier for others to do so.
“Starting a business is hard. Starting a business in a foreign country is really hard. I’m just doing my part to make it a little easier for everyone,” he said.
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