Podcast highlights:
09:40 What makes Shanghai special? We listen to insights from Kapil Kane, Jasper Gill, Vincent Djen, Carmen Wang and Nishtha Mehta. We learn about the "Shanghai hump"? They say that if you live in Shanghai for four years, you'll stay forever
19:55 Shanghai is a maturing startup ecosystem so new accelerator models are emerging. We take a look into the world of XNode. XNode is a late stage accelerator, focused on scaling up startups. XNode mainly works with corporate like Intel
41:05 What advice would our entrepreneurs give to people from The West who want to be part of the Shanghai scene? Empathy and tolerance go a long way. Volunteer and work for value exchange, come committed and for the long haul. Learn and localise fast, drop the ego. Stay hungry and foolish
Podcast notes:
00:05 ATP620 - Asia Matters with Graham Brown
00:35 Introducing XNode Shanghai - a physical coworking space in the startup accelerator with Jasper Gill who moved to Shanghai from Vancouver 2 1/2 years ago
02:20 Vincent Djen from Hong Kong, cofounder of FashionEx which helps fashion startups to learn to grow and scale their business in the massive fashion scene in Shanghai
04:15 Carmen Wnag from Nanjing - studying in US, Spain, Italy, India. We learn it's typical of her generation to go out to the world and absorb different cultures
06:50 What is it about China that you see a lot of female entrepreneurs? 50% of coders at Le Wagon Shanghai are females - ahead of Marseille, Lisbon, Barcelona. Females now are free to do what they want to do and choose to work or start their own company
09:40 What makes Shanghai special? We listen to insights from Kapil Kane, Jasper Gill, Vincent Djen, Carmen Wang and Nishtha Mehta. We learn about the "Shanghai hump"? They say that if you live in Shanghai for four years, you'll stay forever
12:30 We listen to the story of Vincent Djen and FashionEx. Does the world need a fashion tech accelerator? Vincent shares the stories of how fashion brands are using AI to help find customers. We also hear an interesting case study about 3D printing customised bras for women
15:35 What brought Carmen back to Shanghai after traveling around the world? We hear Carmen's story of working on augmented reality software for a US company
17:00 Where did Jasper's scaleup accelerator idea come from? A backstory on Jasper's earlier work in Shanghai and a further insight into how things move at a pace here
19:55 Shanghai is a maturing startup ecosystem so new accelerator models are emerging. We take a look into the world of XNode. XNode is a late stage accelerator, focused on scaling up startups. XNode mainly works with corporate like Intel
23:01 Why did Vincent choose XNode as his startup's partner and what keeps him in Shanghai after 12 years of living there? We learn about the opportunities in Shanghai and how in areas such as fashion, it's emerging to be one of the major metropolitan cities of the world
25:20 What do they wish to change in Shanghai? Jasper is bugged about people not moving to the right-hand side of the escalator while Carmen complains about the price of housing!
28:25 Everything just happens fluidly in Shanghai where it's so open and easy to talk to people - Jasper's first week in Shanghai and Carmen's idea with a mixed-reality dining experience
33:30 Is Shanghai indicative of the rest of China? We learn about the talent and people in Shanghai and how that sets its vibe apart from the rest of China
34:40 35% of its population of Vancouver is of Chinese origin. Did this make it easier for Jasper (who is from Vancouver) to integrate with Shanghai?
37:45 How important is that "international element" in Shanghai?
38:40 Introducing Nishtha Mehta, lean innovation coach. We also talk about making the move from India to China.
