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I'm curious, why would a Chinese citizen feel compelled to apply for a Visa 8 times, to start a business? Surely it is far easier and faster for a Chinese citiz

I'm curious, why would a Chinese citizen feel compelled to apply for a Visa 8 times, to start a business? Surely it is far easier and faster for a Chinese citizen to start a company in China? I would imagine that capital would be almost as easily available, as would labor. As for market access, surely just opening branch office in Silicon Valley would have served the purpose? If high quality American engineers, were needed, that too could be achieved by opening a branch office. Why go to all the trouble of emigrating from China? Am I missing significant context here, was the visa granted the 8th time an investor visa?

asdfasgasdgasdg 8y ago
I have a sense (perhaps unfounded) that it's difficult for Chinese tech companies to make inroads outside of China. This is because of the Chinese government's role as a kingmaker within its own tech industry, and because of concerns of IP theft, surveillance, and state-backed hacking from the Chinese government. Big firms outside of China do not trust Chinese software firms with their data. As a big time software company in China, you can only really sell to Chinese buyers, with a few rare exceptions. On the other hand, a US company can operate essentially anywhere but China. Maybe he thought he had a better shot on his own merits outside China. Maybe he didn't want to get in bed with the party, or maybe he was just a guy who was enamored of the dream that was Silicon Valley in the 80s through the 00s.
thetechlead 8y ago
That was in the 90s. He was rejected visa b/c he didn't speak any English. Almost all VC and Internet businesses located in the US at that time. Things are dramatically different now.