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Many founders believe an IPO is the only option for an exit. Today, we sit down with Bruno Bensaid, co-founder of Shanghaivest, mentor at Chinaccelerator, and long-term player in China’s startup ecosystem to share his insights on early exits and acquisitions by corporate bodies. Here’s a short quote: “All options should be on the table from very early on”.

Shanghaivest helps build and execute investment, expansion, fundraising and exit strategies for companies in China and Overseas.

Show Notes:

01:10 Introduce Bruno

01:52 How Bruno made transitions from engineering to business

03:48 Is go public the only ultimate goal?

8:19 All options should be on the table from the very early on

10:40 How’s the acquisition market in China and how it involves

11:55 More transactions in gaming and healthcare industry

12:33 What are those Chinese buyers? What acquisitions are they looking for?

17:35 Local corporate VCs are more active than Google – they have a large range of investment possibilities

19:13 The early exit doesn’t mean that founders get less return. Do you see early exit is good for founders in China?

22:30 You need to think about your exit early.
Check out the article: “Why founders need to prepare for exits” https://medium.com/sosv-accelerator-vc/why-founders-need-to-prepare-for-exits-97766d865410

25:01 Example of App Annie

29:03 Why does it make sense to consider an early acquisition in China and what’s the criteria for corporates to decide on acquisition

36:06 Contact Bruno

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we’ll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Bruno Bensaid, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Slush is one of the fastest growing events and communities for startups globally, bringing together both local and international companies to help inspire and support youth to pursue their dreams of entrepreneurship.

Today, we welcome Chen Wang, the person who helped the event break into the Chinese market, starting with Beijing in 2015. With Slush Shanghai coming up next month (September 7 to 8), Chen talks to us about the challenges of entrepreneurship, including maintaining good relationships with the government, protecting intellectual property and other essential tips to prospering in China.

Listen to the end for a special surprise for our dedicated listeners, on behalf of Slush China!

Show Notes:
01:30 Introduce Chen
02:23 What’s so special about Slush
06:15 Finding support and security in Finland
08:40 Global Community in Shanghai
11:05 The Chinese roots of Slush
13:03 The importance of government relations in China
15:31 Advice to organizations coming to China
18:58 Intellectual property concerns
19:51 The Chinese presence at Slush
24:25 Contact Info

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we’ll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Chen Wang, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

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Fintech has come a long way in China, from barely being recognized to one of the fastest growing markets in the region. As the world’s leader in Fintech technology, China is a breeding ground for Internet finance companies, and accordingly, investment in the industry. With millions of users and an ever-growing number of fintech unicorns, the future of Internet finance looks exceedingly bright in China.

Today, we present to another special episode recorded live at RISE Conference 2018, where Oscar Ramos sat down with venture capitalist and fintech investor Wei Hopeman. After beginning her career in financial services and investment banking, Wei co-founded Arbor Ventures in 2013, the first VC fund specialized in fintech in the Asian ecosystem. She talks to us about the growth of fintech, the benefits of corporate VCs, and how founders and corporate VCs can improve their interactions with each other, as well as many other topics.

Many thanks to RISE Conference 2018 for gathering global elites in Hong Kong and supporting China Startup Pulse to present good quality content for our listeners.

Show notes:
1:02 Intro 1:40 How Wei got into financial services 5:20 Going into investment banking 7:04 The growth of fintech in Asia 9:06 The lack of infrastructure in financial services 11:52 Launching fintech in China 14:52 Benefits of corporate VCs 16:42 Key questions a founder should ask corporate VCs 18:05 Key difference between types of VCs 20:36 Educating corporates in working with startups 22:51 Women in VC 29:51 The future of Arbor Ventures

As always, thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Wei Hopeman, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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On this day 2 years ago, China’s ride-hailing industry experienced a major turning point – Didi purchased Uber’s China operations and Uber took a 20% stake in Didi. So far Uber has expanded in more than 449 cities and 66 countries. Today, many companies are still trying to elbow into this crowded industry.

In this episode, we are lucky to have Sam Gellman as our guest, the first international Uber employee that took care of the company’s expansion in Asia and China. Sam shared his past experience in redesigning Uber’s playbook to adjust to China’s unique ecosystem, channels for communication and user acquisition. Despite knowing only a bit of Chinese, Sam was assigned to create a Chinese name for Uber. Fortunately, the Chinese name 优步 turned out to be one of the most well-received foreign company names. As the person who worked on market localization for Uber, Sam also shared how they took the company from nothing to a massive exit within 3 years.

Many thanks to RISE Conference 2018 for gathering global elites in Hong Kong and supporting China Startup Pulse to present good quality content for our listeners.

Show notes:
Intro 21:44 Coming to Hong Kong with Goldman Sachs 2:40 Scaling Uber to Europe 8:30 The most surprising part of launching in Asia 10:08 Choosing a Chinese name for Uber 12:35 The key lesson learned from Uber 17:31 Having a global footprint while still improving your product 23:31 What’s keeping Sam busy 25:30

As always, thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Sam Gellman, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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China is obsessed with data. But how can you access it, and leverage it to your benefit? Kenneth Cheung shines a light on how you should be using data to market yourself or your company, and shares with us the “golden rule of WeChat marketing”. From initially acquiring data to actually learning how to use it properly, Kenneth walks this integral process while talking about his work in consulting on brand management and KOL influencer marketing in China. He also talks about the power of mini-apps, the first principals of market, and much, much more! If you want to market your brand on WeChat to its maximum potential, this is a can’t-miss episode.

Show Notes
1:42 Introduction 3:02 Describing China’s business ecosystem 5:11 China’s obsession with data 7:45 The process of doing a data search 11:00 Getting around closed systems 14:00 WeChat as a future platform for e-commerce 18:27 The power of mini apps 22:50 A crash course on KOLs 27:18 Lightning round questions

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we’ll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Kenneth Cheung, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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What do investors look for in startups? This week, we have invited Jörn Helms, Senior Advisor at the Bank of Taizhou and Country Director for China with Portier Technologies. Portier is a smartphone platform for luxury hotels allowing guests to access the internet as well as order hotel services thereby increasing hotel revenues. With an extensive background in small business landing (as the former VP of Bank of Taizhou) and angel investing, Jörn is experienced with both large companies and small startups entering China.

From his first days in Taizhou, when he had to re-learn Chinese because of the local dialect, to his time as a mentor for Chinaccelerator, Jörn has personally crossed borders and found success in a new environment. Hear what he has to say about succeeding in the China startup scene from the perspective of an investor!

Show Notes: Jörn’s background 1:44 Banking Career in China 3:16 The principal of “see and touch” 12:39 Being a mentor 15:29 Breaking the China barrier as a foreign investor 21:03 Lightning round questions 23:20

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we’ll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Jörn Helms, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.

from The China Startup Pulse https://ift.tt/2Jx4Ori

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Both new startup founders and veteran business owners may often find themselves confronted by conflict, whether they’re personal, familial, or business-related complications. This week, our mentors share some of their own personal experiences in conquering these obstacles and their words of wisdom on what helps a company succeed.

Join us for our 8×8 Series Finale, where our final three speakers emphasize the value in venturing out into the unknown to revive passion and to crush fear, stress the importance in organizing a proper IP strategy for a business in China’s vast market, and offer strategic advice to help better the life of a startup. We hope you enjoy!

Show Notes
2:53 Nishtha’s talk on committing to the uncomfortable
12:22 Ziv’s talk on intellectual property
19:55 James’ talk on the Tao of startups

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we’ll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, speakers Nishtha Mehta, Ziv Rotenberg, and James Lalonde, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

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Being a good entrepreneur is a multi-faceted skill. Proficiency in one aspect does not guarantee overall success, but failure or inefficiency in one discipline could cost you your business. Our guests this week provide sage advice on topics ranging from securing funding to proper networking.

With years of experience in the China Startup scene, this week’s guests speak from the heart on their mistakes and lessons learned: how they sought the wrong advice, pursued the wrong business ideas, and how you should deal with the problems you will inevitably face while building your business. Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur or someone struggling with their first start-up, this episode is worth a listen!

Show Notes
2:07 Trevor’s talk
12:33 Rich’s talk
19:46 Kenneth’s talk

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we’ll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, speakers Trevor Owens, Rich Bishop, and Kenneth Cheung, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

from The China Startup Pulse https://ift.tt/2z9xvLd

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Being a good entrepreneur is a multi-faceted skill. Proficiency in one aspect does not guarantee overall success, but failure or inefficiency in one discipline could cost you your business. Our guests this week provide sage advice on topics ranging from securing funding to proper networking.

With years of experience in the China Startup scene, this week’s guests speak from the heart on their mistakes and lessons learned: how they sought the wrong advice, pursued the wrong business ideas, and how you should deal with the problems you will inevitably face while building your business. Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur or someone struggling with their first start-up, this episode is worth a listen!

Show Notes
2:07 Trevor’s talk
12:33 Rich’s talk
19:46 Kenneth’s talk

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we’ll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, speakers Trevor Owens, Rich Bishop, and Kenneth Cheung, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

from The China Startup Pulse https://ift.tt/2z9xvLd

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Being a good entrepreneur is a multi-faceted skill. Proficiency in one aspect does not guarantee overall success, but failure or inefficiency in one discipline could cost you your business. Our guests this week provide sage advice on topics ranging from securing funding to proper networking.

With years of experience in the China Startup scene, this week’s guests speak from the heart on their mistakes and lessons learned: how they sought the wrong advice, pursued the wrong business ideas, and how you should deal with the problems you will inevitably face while building your business. Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur or someone struggling with their first start-up, this episode is worth a listen!

Show Notes
2:07 Trevor’s talk
12:33 Rich’s talk
19:46 Kenneth’s talk

Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we’ll do our best to realize it!

Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, speakers Trevor Owens, Rich Bishop, and Kenneth Cheung, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at chinaccelerator.com!

from The China Startup Pulse https://ift.tt/2z9xvLd