BizSpark Night: Tips for Venturing Into China (Part 2) by Celine Lim

BizSparkChina2

For December’s BizSpark Night, we were privileged to have Gary Gan as one of our guest speakers. Gary is the Business Development Director for TradeHero, a mobile stock market stimulation app. TradeHero recently made headlines for raising $10 million in series A funding from KPCB China and IPV Capital, a Chinese-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage high-growth technology firms. He gave us some practical tips to startups starting their first ventures into China.

China has obvious potential, with a massive domestic market hungry for tech

With a population 1.35 billion strong and over 700 million users with internet access, China is a lucrative market to be tapped. Gary strongly encouraged more tech companies to enter China where the consumption demand for tech – be it mobile, social or web – is massive. This can be demonstrated by the android store exceeding its available 500 applications, which also justifies the intense competition.

Many factors fall under the big umbrella of business strategy. However, the main idea is to weigh the costs and benefits. Gary encourages startups to locate their firms near to partners, clients and customers. This enables startups to have easier accessibility to more opportunities and undiscovered markets, save on transport costs and expose themselves to a larger diverse pool of manpower. Startups should travel down personally, preferably with a local team to do an on-site inspection to before launching their new firm there.

Be well-versed in local infrastructure and regulations

Awareness of the local government regulations and incentives must be at your finger tips. This can really assist or sabotage the company. Government expenditure to boost trade is very generous in China, and there are many incentive schemes cater to new startup films. Examples include the taxation relief system and Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE). Equity and Cooperative Joint Ventures are also strongly encouraged. Support from the government will mean lesser restrictions and more incentives, which can maximise profits margins for startups.

Do your homework, get assistance from industry experts

Government agencies such as IE Singapore, Spring Singapore, IDA and NUS Enterprise help startups to boost their overseas marketing presence, branding consultancy and reducing headhunting costs. More often than not, these agencies support the setting up and staffing of marketing offices overseas. They also subsidise third party consultancy costs for branding activities. Therefore, seeking help from these organisations be a great help in help you introduce your first office locally or in China.

Link to Gary Gan’s Slides https://www.dropbox.com/s/4rdh9xce3mftrph/BizSpark%20Gary.pptx

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