TechCrunch -the leading technology media platform, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups and reviewing new Internet and tech news. What better way than to pick the brains of Ned Desmond, COO of TechCrunch, who joined us Live! at Shanghai's TechCrunch 2016 Conference! Ned chats to us about the hottest cross-border startups, the $6billion USD which TechCrunch companies raised, and also looks back on the biggest challenges TechCrunch faced. We also discuss the cultural phenomenon of Silicon Valley, its representation in popular media, and the impact this image has had on global startups. It doesn't matter whether you're in Silicon Valley or Silicon Alley in Beijing, this episode has something for every curious entrepreneur, investor or listener!

Start-ups aren't all tech nerds and T-shirts; some evolve into elegant and classy enterprises, paid to essentially throw glitzy parties from the rooftops of China's hottest cities. This weeks guest, Stephane de Montgros, shares how he uprooted from France, moved to China, and co-founded China’s leading luxury hospitality events management company, Riviera Events, and The Hotelier Awards!

Hindsight is 20/20. This week, Kevin Chen, tells us the hard lessons learned since ‘committing career suicide’; quitting his corporate life with Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, to building multiple start-ups before co-founding Italki, a leading language learning social network that connects students and teachers for language exchange and paid tutoring, which recently closed a US$3million round of funding.

Disruptors within the manufacturing space are forcing a change to the old adage 'Made in China'. This week’s guest, Jacob Rothman, Founding Partner of Platform88, tells us exactly how technology has caused manufacturing in China to pivot. Platform88, a manufacturing network that brings ideas to life, is at the forefront of this movement.

Blockchain isn’t entirely synonymous with bitcoin. Want to know how to differentiate Blockchain vs. Bitcoin in under 30 seconds? Then tune in with Remington Ong, Partner of Fenbushi, a $50million fund, that is headquartered in Shanghai and specifically invests in early-stage Blockchain technology startups.

Known for amazing bagels and craft lattes in Shanghai, David Seminsky tells us about his whirlwind China adventures including his early days at Apple and sharing an office with Steve Jobs, to accidental China jail time, to founding a string of successful brick-and-mortar businesses: Sumerian Coffee, Boom-Boom Bagel and everyone's favorite curbside pub Dogtown!

Ever wondered who operates the internet? This week, Tudou’s first foreigner CTO, Steve Mushero, tells us how he uprooted from the Valley, moved to China, and co-founded China’s 1st and leading cloud service, ChinaNet Cloud - essentially running the backend to the World’s largest internet user base!

Building a startup is hard enough but going solo in China, without a Chinese co-founder, is exactly what Ronan Berder, CEO and Founder of Wiredcraft, did. This week we talk about how he bootstrapped his company from the ashes of a failed startup into a global DevOps company, with huge international clients such as the UN, CNN, Starbucks and the Worldbank.

Failing in China’s harsh start-up climate is an all too common occurrence for those foreigners with the guts to chase middle kingdom success. If success is met however, one must then begin the arduous task of then just keeping the door open. Successfully exiting? Folklore. This week’s guest, TR Harrington shares with us the hard things he learned along the way: breaking up with business partners, optimising deal terms with stakeholders, raising money just before the financial crisis, and how he managed to complete his journey on a high by being acquired by iProspects!

Entrepreneurs worldwide have a set of common values. Do work you love. Embrace change and risk. Build things that matter. Make a positive impact. This week’s guest, Lucio Pentagna Guimaraes Neto, tells us how he pivoted from his Brazillian legal, MBA and corporate CEO background, to sailing the world, end up in China, self-learn 3D modelling, and go onto founding Shanghai’s first collaborative maker space, XinFab.