Startups Prepare Next Steps in Globalization with Experienced Entrepreneurs' Advice on China
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Every startup entrepreneur planning to globalize needs a China strategy. But what, and how? Experienced entrepreneurs offered answers and advice for ten ambitious startups preparing for Venture Leaders China and an audience of supporters in Zurich.
Founders Sadik Hafizovic and Mark Forster shared the initial challenges they faced expanding into China. Both CEOs are alums of the Venture Leaders international roadshow program. Hafizovic drew on more than a decade leading of Zurich Instruments AG on its expansion from ETH-spinoff to global company. Forster, who successfully built and sold two mobile marketing businesses, highlights lessons from making Adello, his third startup, an international player.
"Internationalization is a big problem for small companies, because it requires a lot of management attention," said Hafizovic, whose lab hardware company has seen revenue from China has double over each of the past three years. "We went to China before we went to America, because China is growing and we had the opportunity with our team."
The need to invest time to understand Chinese customers, partners and employees is critical. "There are different social codes and norms that you need to respect. It took time to build connections – sharing information, going out for dinner, talking personally – until I felt confident that we could partners," said Forster. "It's not only the language, it's also understanding the culture and the associations that go with it."
The entrepreneurs' words of wisedom were timely advice for the Venture Leaders winners preparing to tour China in June and July. The leaders of each startup gave the audience lightning pitches to showcase their businesses and market opportunities.
?? for the winning pitch! #SUChamps audience votes @dorina_thiess to captain the #VLeadersChina team, which mingles with startup supporters at the apèro. pic.twitter.com/djkuFtCBz9
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) May 23, 2019
The public voted Piavita co-founder and CEO Dorina Thiess to captain the team. She'll lead Daniel Sztutwojner, Peter Ruff, Samir Bouabdallah, Dominik Trost, Simon Bachmann, Yannik Kopp, Marco Pisano, Alexis Steinmann, and Maurizio Migliore.
Thank you WTOIP Global for supporting the launch event. The ten-day Venture Leaders China 2019 roadshow is co-organised by Venturelab and swissnex China, and supported by: digitalswitzerland, EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, Canton Vaud, VISCHER, and Canton Zurich.
