Ep 180 | Paolo Lising Startup Taiwan Author: Shares His Knowledge on Starting a Business in Taiwan

Apr 25, 2022

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Paolo Lising shares his knowledge on starting a business in Taiwan.

In February, I did a follow up interview with Paolo Lising, who I’ve had on as a guest previously along with Ramon Ray in episode 168, which was about solopreneurship. Paolo is the author of Startup Taiwan: Foreigners Business Guide, and the founder of MillionDC.com. Startup Taiwan is the second book written to help foreigners wanting to start a business in Taiwan after How to Start a Business in Taiwan, which was written by Elias Ek in 2013. Elias has also been a guest on Talking Taiwan.

I spoke in depth with Paolo about his early interest in entrepreneurship, what brought him to Taiwan, and how he transitioned from journalism to corporate life and the startup scene. We had an in-depth conversation about what went into his book Startup Taiwan. For those wanting the most up-to-date information they should subscribe to a digital version of Startup Taiwan, which Paolo regularly updates on his website StartupInTaiwan.com. He also has a podcast by the same name Startup Taiwan, that I’d recommend you check out.

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

Paolo’s background and upbringing
Paolo’s career as a journalist covering the Philippines energy sector and banking
When and how Paolo became an entrepreneur
Paolo’s first business, which was an antique shop in the Philippines
How Paolo decided to go from being a journalist to pursing an MBA
How Paolo decided to go Taiwan to purse an MBA degree
How the MBA program at NTU (National Taiwan University) is taught in English
Paolo worked at ASUS and Rayliant Global Advisors in Taiwan before getting into the startup scene
Paolo’s current startup in Taiwan, MillionDC.com, which is a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries
The special needs of entrepreneurs from developing countries
Where the name MillionDC comes from
How his bosses at ASUS and Rayliant Global Advisors were supportive of Paolo’s interest in starting his own company on his own time outside of his work hours
How one of the problems for people in the Philippines is having stable internet connection and access to information
What led Paolo to write Startup Taiwan
How to Start a Business in Taiwanby Elias Ek
How so much has changed since 2013 when How to Start a Business in Taiwanby Elias Ek was published and Paolo felt a need to write a book with up dated information
How Taiwan has changed it policies towards accepting foreigners and allowing them to open up businesses
The two ways that foreigners can enter Taiwan and start a business: entrepreneur visa and Gold Card visa
The requirements for an entrepreneur visa include submitting a plan of what you will to do in Taiwan, and the growth potential of your business
Incubators in Taiwan and the support they provide to entrepreneurs
The Gold Card visa is for those with expertise in their fields, similar to an APRC (lien Permanent Resident Certificate)
The requirements for a Gold Card
The process of writing and doing research for Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan
There are six steps to starting a business in Taiwan
How Paolo’s book includes interviews with entrepreneurs and case studies
The KPIs (key performance indicator) for grants given by the government of Taiwan
The difference and added value of Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan compared to Elias’ book, How to Start a Business in Taiwan
How the interviews in Paolo’s book, Startup Taiwan offer some real life examples of what people go through in the process of trying to start a business in Taiwan
How Taiwan is in general very technologically advanced, but its banking system is not
Why there aren’t many venture capitalists setting up in Taiwan
How a chop aka seal aka stamp is still commonly used by Taiwan’s banks as form of identification
The inspiration behind the book cover art for Startup Taiwan
The challenges that Paolo has experienced in doing business in Taiwan
Common misperceptions that people have about Taiwan or doing business in Taiwan
If any of the case studies from the book Startup Taiwanhave been translated into Chinese
How Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s digital minister has received a copy of the book and thought the recommendations were helpful informing policies to make Taiwan a startup hub in Asia
How Paolo wanted the first version of the print version of Startup Taiwanto look like a coffee table art book with grey paper vs. white or off-white
How there are three versions of the book, Startup Taiwan 1)the print book released in 2020, 2) the online version available at StartupInTaiwan.com which is regularly updated 3) the 2022 version which is available on Amazon Kindle and print (updated up to January 31, 2022)
If you go to StartupInTaiwan.com you can get a digital version of the book with real time updates based on current events and news
How it is more challenging for foreign entrepreneurs in Taiwan to get access to funding than local Taiwanese entrepreneurs
How helpful it is for startups in Taiwan to have at Taiwanese co-founder
How Startup Taiwan includes both failed and successful case studies
How Taiwan is a welcoming place for foreigners
How foreigners need to do research to make sure they are prepared with realistic expectations before coming to Taiwan
9 out of 10 startups in Taiwan fail
What opportunities there are for people who want to do business with Taiwan rather than to do business in Taiwan