Thoughts about China from startups and mentors

Jemma Xu – CEO, Tripalocal

As an Australian – Chinese team fluent in Mandarin doing a startup in online travel, focusing on the Chinese outbound travel market makes a lot of sense for us. This was validated by the Chinese partnerships we signed and the discussions we had with Chinese investors ahead of the muru-D China trip in March. Although we were more familiar with the Chinese market than most of the other muru-D startups, the muru-D China trip provided us with an opportunity to interact with a broader range of Chinese investors and a deeper insight into the general startup ecosystem in the key hubs of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The muru-D mentors provided incredible assistance in helping us reach our goals, in particular we worked closely with Terry Hilsberg to leverage his previous China experiences.

Even for a Mandarin speaker, entering into the Chinese market is not easy. Its complexity and challenges are both a source of pain and excitement. The market opportunities and available capital are simply too big to ignore. But it requires complete focus – there is no fence sitting with China. That focus should start with getting the right support from the right people – we have been fortunate to have a group of very dedicated Chinese advisers whose networks have made our initial entry less bumpy.

Opportunities and competition come hand in hand. Everything moves fast in China – Chinese startups move at an even faster pace. Sitting in Australia means startups are shielded from this phenomenon which is not a positive outcome if one is competing for a slice of the China action.

What is the best way to tackle the Chinese market? A quote from the great reformist Deng Xiaoping perhaps provides the most appropriate answer: ‘Crossing the river by feeling the stones’.

Check out the Tripalocal travel journal blog to see some amazing photos of travellers’ local experiences!

 

Eitan Bienstock – Mentor

Spending ten days as part of the Muru-D (Telstra’s Incubator) delegation to China last month blew my mind. For everything I knew and heard about China in terms of the size and scale, once on the ground, I realised it was 10X bigger, faster and more exciting. We visited Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing and in each city met with founders, incubators, investors and government officials. The delegation included 10 of Muru-D’s startups, 5 mentors and 3 of the Muru-D staff.

Since coming back, the question I get asked most often, by Australian founders wanting to expand to bigger markets, is: Should we target China?

Now, before I answer I must confess that prior to the trip I was a strong advocate of choosing China over the US for early stage Australian startups. My main reason was the fact that the US is extremely competitive from both product and funding perspectives. I formed this view based on the four years I spent in San Francisco and New York working for corporates and startups in the technology space. I also believed that given Australia’s proximity to China and the trade relations between the two countries, it would be easier for Australian startups to setup, operate and sell in China.

Coming back from the trip, my impression is that plunging into the Chinese startup ecosystem is indeed possible. Especially with the help of the expatriates and many Chinese that studied and worked overseas who are now back in China leading the  innovation revolution. It seems that the ambition to succeed has created an environment where foreigners with knowledge and experience are highly welcomed.

However, as often is the case the answer to the above question is not so straight forward: It depends.

Read further here.

More coming soon from other startups and mentors!