A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In this episode of Talking Taiwan I spoke with Crystal Tang, TAP-NY's Professional Chair and Jacqui Wu, TAP-NY's Co-President about the second annual Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC). The ECC is organized by the Taiwanese American Professionals - NY (TAP-NY) and the Taiwan Merchants Association. Crystal and Jacqui talked about the ECC's selection process and the impressive lineup of judges who are successful, prominent Taiwanese American entrepreneurs and business leaders.

The ECC is an opportunity to showcase the Taiwanese American entrepreneurial spirit. This year the organizers have added a nonprofit category. Eight finalists will be chosen for the final event, which will be open to the public. At the final event, there will be cash prizes of up to $10,000 for winners, and an audience favorite will be chosen.

Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

• What the Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) is- the competition opens June 1, with business plans due on July 31
• How written proposals are selected for the second round
• The third round, which consists of eight proposals selected in the second round will be open to the public
• There will be cash prizes for contestants of up to $10,000
• The two organizations organizing the ECC, the Taiwan Merchants Association and Taiwanese American Professionals - NY (TAP-NY)
• How the ECC was created by Bob Wu, the founder of TAP-NY
• The ECC judges, which include prominent Taiwanese American entrepreneurs and business leaders: Andrew Yang (Venture for America) Will Peng, Yao Huang, Dorothy Jean, Benny Wang (Timehop)
• The changes and improvements they've made to ECC for this second year of the competition, including the addition of a separate category for nonprofits
• On September 14th the top eight finalists will present to the judges and the audience
• There will be an audience favorite who will be awarded $1,000
• Last year's ECC winner, Elena Liao

Related Links:

Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) website: www.competition.tap-ny.org

Entrepreneur Challenge and Competition (ECC) Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/435405363234006/

Taiwanese American Young Professionals – NY website: http://www.tap-ny.org

Jacqui Wu was born in Hawaii and grew up in Taiwan. After graduating from Taipei American School, she moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, where she earned her Bachelors of Business Administration. Jacqui began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the Dispute Analysis & Investigations group, which focused on the accounting aspects in litigation and fraud investigation. She recently moved into investment banking and joined Sevara Partners LLC, a start-up boutique investment bank focused in mergers & acquisitions, restructuring advisory and capital raising. Jacqui is excited to be working with TAP to build a community of "expatriate" Taiwan-folk to pay homage to their Taiwanese roots and meet other foodies who appreciate delicacies like stinky tofu and chicken gizzard.

Crystal Tang was born in New Jersey and lived there until moving abroad to Hong Kong in 8th grade. While she was abroad she had the opportunity to visit family in Taiwan multiple times a year and has come to think of it as home. After finishing high school, Crystal moved to New York where she attended Barnard College, studying Art History and Visual Arts. During undergrad, she was involved with the Taiwanese American Students Association and also participated in the Formosa Foundation's Ambassador Program. Crystal currently works as a Regional Director at Teach For America where she oversees recruitment and outreach efforts in New York.