3 ms·

What's a fishing story? I haven't heard that phrase. Anyway, yeah, it's funny how often you meet experts on Chinese business who haven't actually done business

by IsaacL 10y ago

What's a fishing story? I haven't heard that phrase. Anyway, yeah, it's funny how often you meet experts on Chinese business who haven't actually done business in China but can go into elaborate detail about why it's a bad idea. I met lots of Western entrepreneurs out there - there are tons of foreigners running bars, restaurants, outsourcing firms , language schools, etc without much hassle from the government. You can even get around the minority ownership rule by incorporating in HK, or at least you used to be able to. I wouldn't start a big internet company out there, or a factory, but small companies in certain sectors seem to get left alone. It's probably more anarchic than the West, actually, which was one reason I liked it out there, though I've never seen myself settling there long term.

mapt 10y ago
"I wouldn't start a big internet company out there" We're not talking about bars and restaurants. Small internet companies in Silicon Valley all want to be big internet companies. To do that they need investment, ownership, freedom to transact contracts and appoint employees at will. You can set up a small startup in somebody's garage anywhere in the USA, but you are unlikely to scale to a billion dollar company. Few get to be unicorns, but those that do drive the cycle for everybody. They're enabled at the early stage by having near-zero regulatory compliance requirements, and nearly zero people that they have to convince that they have a genuinely good idea. This is not the way business is done by foreigners in mainland China.
- IsaacL 10y ago
  I can't figure out what you're saying. Yes, China's legal environment is unfriendly to building a large business as a foreigner. But no, foreigners in China can start tech businesses with "near-zero regulatory compliance requirements" - I knew 3 white guys in Chengdu who started a mobile marketing consultancy in their apartment. China is basically anarchistic in some areas, authoritarian in others, is what I'm getting at.
dputtick 10y ago
I'm guessing fishing story == a huge exaggeration. As in, when you catch a normal sized fish and then go home and tell your friends about the massive fish you caught and how it put up a fight for two hours.

by IsaacL 10y ago

mapt 10y ago

"I wouldn't start a big internet company out there" We're not talking about bars and restaurants. Small internet companies in Silicon Valley all want to be big internet companies. To do that they need investment, ownership, freedom to transact contracts and appoint employees at will. You can set up a small startup in somebody's garage anywhere in the USA, but you are unlikely to scale to a billion dollar company. Few get to be unicorns, but those that do drive the cycle for everybody. They're enabled at the early stage by having near-zero regulatory compliance requirements, and nearly zero people that they have to convince that they have a genuinely good idea. This is not the way business is done by foreigners in mainland China.

IsaacL 10y ago
I can't figure out what you're saying. Yes, China's legal environment is unfriendly to building a large business as a foreigner. But no, foreigners in China can start tech businesses with "near-zero regulatory compliance requirements" - I knew 3 white guys in Chengdu who started a mobile marketing consultancy in their apartment. China is basically anarchistic in some areas, authoritarian in others, is what I'm getting at.

dputtick 10y ago

I'm guessing fishing story == a huge exaggeration. As in, when you catch a normal sized fish and then go home and tell your friends about the massive fish you caught and how it put up a fight for two hours.