Before creating her own company, Nausheen Ishtiaq-Chen never thought of starting her own business. She's from Pakistan and studied media at The New School in New York. After graduating, she joined Procter & Gamble as a brand manager. She first moved to Shenzhen with her husband in 2015. Despite knowing in her heart that she wanted to do something related to filmmaking, she was new to her surroundings and so did not have any specific plans for what to do next. Initially, Nausheen simply operated as a "one-person team" and began taking small assignments, assuming multiple roles such as scriptwriting, directing, cinematography, editing and others all by herself. In early 2016, Nausheen felt that she needed to have a deeper understanding of the film industry in Shenzhen, and the demands of users there for film and television

production. And with her passion for community events, she came up with a brilliant plan: start her own filmmaking workshops. She would organize workshops on topics

related to film production and visual marketing, and gather participants involved in these areas to learn and have discussions together. Since community events like this

had been few and far between, Nausheen's workshops became an instant success and received a lot of positive feedback.

This brought two things for Nausheen: 1. Building up a network of people in the filmmaking industry which could potentially be the employees of her company she 

would later come to set up; 2. Establishing for Nausheen a "foreign filmmaker" brand image, Which helped her company's preliminary marketing. In the summer of 2016, 

Nausheen took on a client who was working on a crowdfunding project. After finding out more about it, she learned that there was a huge demand for videos relating 

to such projects in Shenzhen's hardware industry. With that she began to focus on this segment of the market. After a year, Nausheen was starting to have a stable 

source of clients, and had established a good reputation for herself in the industry. She formed strategic relationships with crowdfunding agencies and digital marketing 

companies, and her company was finally getting on track.

When she first came to Shenzhen, Nausheen faced two challenges. The first is the start-up culture. As she had always held a nine-to-five job since graduating from

college, the start-up culture was a brand-new experience for her, different from the more closed-off nature of conventional office culture. For an entrepreneur, she

says, it is important to keep close contact with the community, and have in-depth communications with your partners, employees, customers and people from different

lines of work or industries. The second aspect is Shenzhen's pace. Having lived in Shenzhen for five years, Nausheen says the pace of living in Shenzhen is even faster than in New York.

Communication can sometimes be a difficult experience in a city like Shenzhen that is filled with opportunities.

Jeff J. Brown, 64 years old, and his wife Florence L. Brown, 62 years old, first arrived in Shenzhen to teach at an international school. but eventually they decided to start

their own school – Professor Brown. Different from most foreign entrepreneurs in Shenzhen, Jeff had had decades of experience in teaching and senior company

management. He had founded two companies in France and the US, and had corporate management experiences in many different countries around the world.

He also loves writing and has published an English learning book "Doctor WriteRead" and books on China such as "China Rising - Capitalist Roads, Socialist Destinations"

and "44 Days Backpacking in China". When it comes to starting a business, Jeff is no stranger since he was made from a very young age by his parents to go out and make money for himself and learn how to do business. To narrow their focus down to the right target users, Jeff and his wife

avoided popular office locations such as the Shenzhen High-Tech Industry Park and the Nanshan Software Industry Base which were highly tech-oriented, and chose Longzhu Boulevard instead, which is located a mere 500 meters away from the Taoyuancun metro station. This was considered a prime location for them because they were starting a tuition school targeted at high school students. Their location

faces Longzhu Middle School to the west and the International School of Nanshan to the east, while also being surrounded by residential areas. Everyday after school,

hundreds of students passed by his school's front door. Jeff also designed the school facade as a transparent floor-to-ceiling glass window, with a floor lamp lit 24 hours a day. This essentially worked as a live "billboard". Hence Jeff said his marketing costs were close to zero.

Company registration is usually one of the first hurdles for any foreigner forming a company. Many foreigners simply appoint an agency to do it for them because

they do not understand Chinese and are usually at a loss about what the correct registration procedures and required application documents are. As a writer and

blogger who frequently writes about China, Jeff decided to go the other way and put himself through the full experience of how to register a company, from handling

business registration, opening business accounts to applying for work permits and visas. And so in the next four months, a tall foreigner speaking an accented

Mandarin would often appear in the administrative halls of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, the Taxation Bureau, the bank and the Public Security Bureau,

asking for details on how things should be done. Jeff said that he was usually the only foreigner in the hall, and everyone would be wondering "what is this person

up to?" But after they had understood what his intentions were, Jeff was able to complete all the necessary procedures.

In 2016, John Rood and his partner were studying at the Peking University HSBC Business School, where they met an Amazon seller of camera equipment from

Shenzhen. At the time, John had no idea how huge the cross-border e-commerce community was in Shenzhen. The seller later added them into five WeChat seller

groups with about 500 people each, and this made John realize how enormous the market was, and that only very few professional companies were around providing

supporting services to this market segment.

One of the core services needed by cross-border e-commerce merchants were digital marketing, particularly international digital marketing which includes aspects

such as company websites, marketing videos and social media management. To meet this demand, John founded a company Somos Digital with a Chinese partner

Alicia. Due to her many years of experience in Shenzhen's cross-border e-commerce industry, Alicia knew very well who the target customers were, and was able to maintain good customer relationships. Meanwhile, John and his other partner from France were also familiar with nationalized marketing strategies. Such a team combination is not common in the Shenzhen start-up scene.

The company started out in the spirit of "bootstrapping", essentially a start-up model that does not rely on external help. Without taking any capital or leasing any

office space, John and his partners were staying in the international students hostel at Peking University. They started by taking jobs such as product descriptions or

translation and management of social media content. After two months, they found a co-working space that was free, but with extremely basic facilities and located far

away in Longhua. When the three of them first moved in, they even doubted whether they were making the right choice starting the company.

But as things turned out, it was. In the beginning, they tried as much as possible to save costs and grow their user base. The three partners, all of different nationalities, shared an apartment for six months and took salaries that were much lower than the market pay. But it was due to their relentless attention to cost control and professional

ethos for service, that Somos Digital began growing steadily from August 2016, and secured more long-time clients from major brands in 2017. In 2018, they were finally

convinced that they were able to afford better office space. They moved to the Mindray Building in Nanshan, and expanded their team to 8 people.

Looking back on their start-up journey over the last two years, John says the key to his company's success was that some of the founders had already had numerous years

of experience in China, which made it relatively easier for them to understand the preferences and needs of their customers.

(4) ShenzhenParty: Shenzhen's portal to the world

The challenges faced by Brent in his start-up journey reflect the key characteristic of Shenzhen's start-up culture: The only constant is change. Firstly, it is the rapid emergence and constant change of the online industry. When Brent first started ShenzhenParty, Shenzhen's online scene was still in its infancy. Various infrastructure, such as broadband, server hosting and filing policies, was not fully in place yet. Brent once had a situation where the server hosting company contacted him saying they would start maintenance in three days, which meant he had to relocate his website as quickly as possible to keep it accessible for users. Secondly, it is about changes in business models. When ShenzhenParty was first running, Brent was focused on offline marketing in order to feature more restaurants.

However, he quickly realized that this was not very profitable. After discussing with his team, he turned the site into an integrated platform. Users and companies could now upload and share information themselves and look for resources, and even get recommendations by paying a fee. Altogether, this created a business marketing channel that encompasses Instagram, WeChat, Facebook, official sites and other social media platforms.
Understanding change is the key to understanding Shenzhen. With the speed at which Shenzhen is growing, many nascent business models and areas may find themselves being reshuffled and eliminated very quickly. After running ShenzhenParty for 12 years, Brent understands this on a deep level. He made decisions at key moments that leveraged change for his company, and that has kept it on a healthy path of growth to this day.

(5) Firm creates multifunction 'bricks'

InnoSpace (of Chuangpai (Shenzhen) Tech Incubator Co., Ltd.) - Brickspower
InnoSpace is an incubator established in 2012, and is one of the earliest batch of incubators in China, as well as a "national-level collective innovation space" certified by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Their services include business incubator, industry accelerator, a college for innovation, a community for start-up investments, and the INNOSPACE+Venture angel funds, which together form a comprehensive and vibrant start-up services ecosystem, having incubated and served nearly 400 start-ups to date. In 2018, the InnoSpace services system expanded into five main product lines: Business incubator, industry accelerator, college for innovation, community for start-up investments, and the INNOSPACE-Venture angel funds, which together form a comprehensive and vibrant start-up service ecosystem, upgrading themselves into a start-up community that focuses on early-stage project investment and incubation as well as big enterprise and industry innovation.



InnoSpace incubators now include the InnoSpace flagship in Yangpu, Shanghai, InnoSpace Shenzhen Bay, and InnoSpace Xuanwu, Nanjing, providing a full range of entrepreneurial services to start-up teams.
In an age when almost everything relies on something electronic, a new type of anxiety occurs as people find their devices are running out of power. Against this backdrop, a series of electronic devices, such as portable and wireless chargers, have been launched to save people from this predicament.


Brickspower's wireless charger is one of these products currently available on the market. However, Alex Au, founder and CEO of the company, said that Brickspower is not just a wireless charger. In fact, it is a multifunctional device that can be used with a portable fan and LED lamp. Au explained that the key for this design is the structure, which can be split into two detachable parts, namely the battery and the charger. "A wireless charger is only one of the devices, or 'bricks.' Other 'bricks' can also be combined with the battery. We intend to offer more devices and combine them with the battery brick to create several new portable devices. This is also how we came up with the name, Brickspower," said Au.
Asked about the "Aha!" moment for the design, Au said that he wanted to build a brand not just a product. "I actually first had the idea of using different 'bricks' to form an array of devices for outdoor activities. The wireless charger is just the first step before putting the whole idea into practice," said Au, adding that "although we have only launched the wireless charger so far, we are planning something big and we will unveil new bricks very soon. "I always describe myself as a stubborn person." This might be a hint to his reason for starting his own business. Au said he began his entrepreneurship by establishing a design company. "No one believed me or was willing to wait for profits to come in step by step when I introduced some of my ideas to them. So, I did it on my own," said Au, adding that "If you are easily swayed by others, you will not be able to do something big. It is true for many big figures." Au said that he prefers Shenzhen over Guangzhou and Dongguan because of its business environment. "I really appreciate all the help that we received from InnoSpace Shenzhen," said Au. InnoSpace Shenzhen focuses on offering high-quality resources to start-ups in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

(6) Firm dedicated to revitalizing urban settings

We Young Maker Space – MLA+
We Young Maker Space is the base of the biggest entrepreneurship competition in China - the Nanshan "Entrepreneurship Star" Contest. We Young advocates the principle of "industry innovation and acceleration", by adopting an acceleration and incubation model centered on the industry chain layout of leading enterprises, and connecting innovation start-ups with the industry resources of leading enterprises, facilitating their growth and innovation. It works with major leading corporations of their respective fields such as ZTE, Foxconn, TCL, Midea, BGI, Sany and Kingdee, in laying out the future roadmaps for industries, and helping small and microenterprises create and innovate.


For architectural firm MLA+, their biggest goal is to make life amazing! Working as architects, urban planners and strategic consultants, the Netherlands-based company has more than 25 years of experience in facing the challenges posed by urbanization. "We set up our Shenzhen office in 2017 after we completed several architectural projects in the city. Shenzhen is a young city and we see vast potential in the market," said Cao Ruizhi, deputy director of MLA+'s China division. According to Cao, the company has been very active in engaging in the city's urban development for years and has worked closely with the local government and developers. One of MLA+'s prominent projects in the city is the library at the popular Xiangmi Park in Futian District. "The park was originally used for agricultural research and had been left largely untouched. So we planned to keep much of the existing assets while enriching it with more possibilities to experience nature," Cao said. Apart from the library project, MLA+, in collaboration with Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, China Academy of Urban Planning and Design and Shenzhen Design & Research Institute, has also won the first prize in the design competition for the regeneration of the area along the G107 national highway in Bao'an District.


(A photo of the MLA+ team)
"We are also very concerned about the renovation of urban villages in Shenzhen and have worked for developer Vanke to design small residential units at Liuxiandong in Nanshan District," Cao said


"We've heard the news and we are very interested in the bidding. In fact, we've been following the updates of the new science museum for a long time. Hopefully, we can win the competition," Cao said with a beaming smile. With a total staff of more than 100 employees and offices in London, Rotterdam, St Petersburg, Rio de Janeiro and Shanghai, MLA+ works on urban planning, architecture and consultancy projects across Europe, South America, Africa and Asia.


(The library at Xiangmi Park in Futian District is one of MLA+'s prominent projects in the city)

(7) Firm tries to take a bite out of cosmetics industry

We Young Maker Space – Elneque Makeup
We Young Maker Space is the base of the biggest entrepreneurship competition in China - the Nanshan "Entrepreneurship Star" Contest. We Young advocates the principle of "industry innovation and acceleration", by adopting an acceleration and incubation model centered on the industry chain layout of leading enterprises, and connecting innovation start-ups with the industry resources of leading enterprises, facilitating their growth and innovation. It works with major leading corporations of their respective fields such as ZTE, Foxconn, TCL, Midea, BGI, Sany and Kingdee, in laying out the future roadmaps for industries, and helping small and microenterprises create and innovate.


(Mu Pengyu, founder of Elneque)

The cosmetics industry is probably one of the most promising fields for business in China for the near future, as the total retail sales of skincare products and makeup products in China reached 186.7 billion yuan (US$27.79 billion) and 34.4 billion yuan in 2017, respectively, according to market intelligence firm Euromonitor. Although the industry worldwide is largely dominated by a small number of multinational corporations, like L'Oreal Group, Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever and Shiseido Co. Ltd., a beauty start-up in Nanshan District called Shenzhen Elneque Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has ambitions to take a bite out of the lucrative and thriving industry.
"Many Chinese people seemed to prefer foreign brands at first, but later we found that the domestic cosmetics market in fact had huge potential. So. we decided to create our own brand," said Mu Pengyu, founder of Elneque. Mu went to Hong Kong for her postgraduate studies in 2014. With the entrepreneurial spirit deep-rooted in her heart, Mu embarked on a business venture in 2017. According to Mu, if customers keep buying a product and become the brand's loyal fans, "that's what makes a successful brand." "To put it plainly, skincare products first need to be recognized by getting customers to know who you are. Secondly, you need to have featured products so that others can remember who you are.



"Thirdly, customers must be willing to use the products. And fourthly, customers have to be able to see the corresponding effect when using the product and be willing to recommend it by word of mouth," Mu said. Mu said Elneque focuses on floral-inspired skincare products. The company extracts the nourishing ingredients from flowers and adopts internationally advanced technologies to retain the essence of the flowers to the greatest extent, so as to achieve scientific, natural and effective skin nourishment. "Each of our products has undergone an R&D process for at least half a year before being launched. Our first product was a facial mask and it was developed for 10 months, but we got a lot of positive feedback," Mu said. "We currently have two major products, and a third one will be released soon," she added. Elneque set up an office at the incubator Weyoung Public Space in Nanshan District last October.


(A group photo of attendees participating in a lecture organized by Elneque.)

(8) VetNX makes pet care more accessible

Stargeek Incubator Co., Ltd. - VetNX
Founded in 2014 by Legend Star, Stargeek Incubator focuses on the field of hardware technology and integrates start-up acceleration, investment, cloud factory and supply chain all into one. It is the first start-up investment acceleration platform in the country that offers hardware supply chain solutions and the first of its kind based in the Shenzhen Bay Start-up Square. Stargeek Incubator has now set up over 10 start-up accelerators in first and second-tier urban start-up hotspots such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Wuhan and Nanjing. As of July 2018, they have assisted over 300 start-up projects, with more than 30% of them securing Series A funding or more. Bringing your lovely pet to a local pet hospital can be very strenuous given that you probably would have to miss work and struggle with your pet's container on public transport. Sometimes by the time you arrive at the hospital, your pet will have suddenly experienced a magic recovery. Janice Wong, one of the founders of VetNX, an online health-care platform for pets, said that she had an experience like this with her dog, and it was at that moment when the idea to set up an online platform to deliver comprehensive health-care services for pet animals began to germinate. 


Soon after, Wong and her partners began putting this idea into practice in Hong Kong and established VetNX. VetNX is actually the first true telehealth provider for pets in Hong Kong. With VetNX's online platform, pet owners can contact professional vets at any time and from anywhere to get a timely treatment or solutions for their little friends. All of the staff have a working license, and most of the personnel working on the platform come from Hong Kong and Taiwan and have nearly 20 to 30 years of clinical experience, according to Wong. Wong said the vets and pet industry is more sophisticated in Hong Kong and Taiwan. There is also degree education in this field. Wong explained that this was also a reason why they recruited vets from Hong Kong and Taiwan, to help local pet owners safeguard their animals' health.
With the help of the pet experts, pet owners can not only get immediate solutions to their pets' problems but also be offered with practical suggestions regarding pet caring. Not long after VetNX made its debut in Hong Kong, the company expanded its market to the Chinese mainland. "The mainland has an extremely huge market, so there is no reason not to open it," said Wong. Having been to many cities on the mainland, including Beijing and Shanghai, Wong said that she still prefers Shenzhen, so they decided to set up their offices in Shenzhen. "Shenzhen is a very young city, which means the city has great potential, especially in technology," Wong added. In order to successfully enter the mainland market, VetNX cooperated with Stargeek, an incubator providing services for emerging industries. "They provide us an office in Shenzhen and also help us handle things related to polices, which is very supportive," said Wong. Besides providing basic support for enterprises, Stargeek also offers supply chain support, which is one of their specialities that distinguish it from other incubators, according to staff at Stargeek. With easy access to accurate advice and high-quality healthcare services, VetNX hopes that they can help to enhance the joy of owning a pet and wants every pet owner to have quality time with their little friends.

(9) Tech firm finds new solution for public cemeteries

Shenzhen Innovation Development Hub Co., Ltd. – FORE TECH 
Innovation Development Hub is an integrated start-up services company under CDF-Capital, which has established an "Incubator + Accelerator" second-level full-process start-up services model and is focused on developing itself as a start-up investment incubator. By providing start-up resources and combining innovation resources, Innovation Development Hub has provided start-ups with integrated and full-range "nanny-style" services and mentor counselling, and has also built a 3+1 operation model and a one-on-one service model, which offer enterprises with comprehensive resources needed for their growth. Innovation Development Hub now occupies more than 30,000 m² in floor area, with incubators in various locations including Shenzhen and Beijing.
尽管死亡可能是一个沉重的话题，但 FORE TECH 创始人 Song Shiyu 表示，在不久的将来，居民（尤其是那些生活在 大城市的人）将不得不面对的一个事实是，可供公共墓地使用的土地越来越少。 Song 在接受采访时表示，她第一次意识到这个问题是在香港旅行时，在香港申请公共用墓地通常要等上 5-6 年。受此启发， Song 在夏威夷大学学习建筑学时，选择未来公共墓地设计的转型作为她博士论文的主题。 这个想法也引起了 Song 同学——来自韩国的 Jaecho Choi 和来自越南的 Duc Tran 的注意。毕业后，他们来到深圳， 于 2017 年成立了 FORE TECH，据说是中国第一家为殡葬产品提供技术解决方案的研发公司。
 


Although death might be a heavy topic, Song Shiyu, founder of FORE TECH, said that a hard fact that residents, especially those living in big cities, will have to face in the near future is that there is fewer and fewer land available for public cemeteries. Song said that she first came to realise this issue while traveling in Hong Kong, where applicants for public plots usually have to wait five to six years. Inspired by this, Song chose the transformation of the design of future public cemeteries as the topic for her doctoral thesis while studying architecture at the University of Hawaii. The idea also attracted the attention of two of Song's classmates, Jaecho Choi from South Korea and Duc Tran from Vietnam. After graduation, they came to Shenzhen and established FORE TECH in 2017, which is said to be the first research and development company in China offering technological solutions for funeral products. To address the issue of limited land for cemeteries, Song suggested combing the remains of multiple family members in the same grave as a possible solution. "Just like an underground parking lot, we store cinerary caskets there and utilize equipment to transport them to the ground at the request of visitors. In this case, there is no need to make room for each cinerary urn. Instead, a digital grave can be shared so people can mourn their deceased relatives or friends with photos," said Song.


Additionally, Song said technology can be applied to make it more efficient. For example, cemetery parks can provide electronic cards for family members to use when they enter the parks. Then the information stored on the card will direct the system to transport the correct cinerary urn to the ground. "I learned this from Japan and I know that many cities in Japan have already put this idea into practice," said Song. However, due to strong traditional beliefs held by Chinese people, especially those who were born before the 1970s, it will not be easy to realize this idea in a very short period of time, according to Song. "As a result, we hope to conduct this step by step. For example, we know that in Chongqing, some companies have carried out ideas like this for pet animals as it is more easily accepted. So maybe we can start by getting our hands on this as well," said Song, adding that many companies offering funeral-related services have actually embraced the ideas, so they just need some time. As for the reason that they came to Shenzhen to start their business, both Song and her partners said that Shenzhen has a favourable environment for entrepreneurs and is close to Hong Kong, which is convenient for conducting researches. "Besides, the Shenzhen city government offers alluring subsides for people with doctoral degrees, like us, to start businesses," said Song. "We also cooperate with Shenzhen Innovation Development Hub (IDH) to help us do business in China. They provide a lot of useful information," said Song. According to the staff at IDH, their concept is to create a business ecological circle for all of the companies they help incubate, so that in the long run they can also support each other when needed.


At present, although traditional beliefs seem to be the major bottleneck for FORE TECH, Song believes that young people will be more open to the idea when the time comes It is positive to see that some people have already considered changing and are turning to more ecological methods, such as sea burials and tree burials, she said.

 (10) Conavi develops image guidance technology for MIS

Shenzhen Sci Innovation Center Co., Ltd.– Conavi Medical
The Sci Innovation Centre was founded in May 2017, and is one of the seven foreign innovation centers authorized by the Shenzhen municipal government globally. With innovation centres in both Shenzhen and Toronto, the Sci Innovation Centre aims to synergize the technological talent and innovation resources of China and Canada, to promote the exchange and development of technological innovation between Shenzhen and North America. The Sci Innovation Centre was established with the support of the Shenzhen municipal government, Toronto City Council and Ontario Science Centre. It collaborates closely with 11 renowned institutions of higher learning in Canada, including the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and University of Western Ontario, and has deep strategic partnership with the Ontario Centres of Excellence, a well-known innovation incubator organization in Canada.



The Nanshan Accelerator of the Sci Innovation Centre is located in the Shenzhen Bay Science and Technology Ecological Park of the South Zone of the Shenzhen High-Tech Industry Park. It is situated in the central Shenzhen Bay area, adjoining the Qianhai ShenzhenHong Kong Cooperation Zone, Houhai Headquarters Base and the vibrant Houhai Commercial District. Its ideal geographical location and convenient transportation means that major urban facilities in Hong Kong and Shenzhen are within easy reach.



The Nanshan Accelerator of the Sci Innovation Centre occupies a total floor area of 5,560.86 m², and aims to provide different organizations such as start-up teams, SMEs and tech service companies with a diverse range of office spaces. Whether it is an independent deluxe office space or open desk spaces, work places ranging from 30 to 300 m² can be customized for companies according to their individual needs. The office space is also equipped with multipurpose shared combined spaces such as meeting rooms, discussion rooms, as well as a salon roadshow area, recreation area, and gym area. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) or keyhole surgery, where physicians only make small cuts in patients' bodies, has become a clear trend as it is safer, more efficient and less painful versus the traditional open procedure. However, behind this breakthrough, there is a demand for image guidance technologies to enable surgeons to see a full picture to complete operations. Conavi Medical, a medical device company based in Toronto, is devoted to develop this technology for use in MIS procedures. Patrick Li, business manager of Conavi in China, said that although this technology is available on the market, many of them have flaws in terms of the cost of equipment and the safety of patients. "As a result, we are devoted to tackling this problem to provide the safest and most costeffective equipments," Li added. "For example, intravascular coronary imaging is currently limited to intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) or Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). But IVUS has low resolution while OCT provides an incomplete picture even though it overcomes the issue of low resolution, "said Li.
Li said that Conavi has combined these two technologies into one product, named Novasight Hybrid, which is said to be the world's first integrated intravascular imaging system that enables physicians to simultaneously have two images with both IVUS and OCT in one location. Their another product, Foresight ICE system, provides both 2D and 3D images with a full 360-degree field of view, outperforming devices developed by Abbott and J&J, which are only able to provide 2D images with a 90-degree field. According to Li, the rationale behind their move to Shenzhen is that Shenzhen is an innovation city. The talent in the Greater Bay Area provides advantages for the company to achieve sustainable development. Conavi collaborated with Sci Innovation Center to distribute the technology to China. "They have brilliant teams not only in China but also in Canada, which is convenient to coordinate businesses. Besides, they can help us obtain timely resources from the government," said Li. Sci holds three brand activities each year, namely Sci Innovation Competition, SCI Innovation Festival and Sci Innovation Forum, to promote exchange between China and Canada, said Liu Huanming, CEO of Sci. 

(11) Indiegogo helps entrepreneurs explore the global market

Tencent WeStart, an incubator co-founded by Shenzhen Bay Technology Co., Ltd. – Indiegogo
A collaborative project between the Shenzhen Nanshan District government, Shenzhen Bay Technology and Tencent Holdings, Tencent WeStart (Shenzhen) is one of the largest offline collective innovation spaces offering complete innovation elements backed by a nationwide network. The focus of Tencent WeStart is on TMT, particularly vertical industries such as mobile internet software, IoT applications such as big data processing, AI, and the cultural creative field, and to expand from this core to other areas. Tencent WeStart aims to build a self-sufficient start-up ecosystem community, having helped 18 start-ups to secure funding since operations began at the end of 2016. It has earned accolades such as Hurun Report 2017's "Top 50 incubators in Shenzhen contributing the most to the industry", and Xiaoweifeng's Best Co-Working Space of 2017. Supporting entrepreneurs from their earliest "Aha!" moments through the nitty-gritty details of sharing their projects with the world, crowdfunding platform Indiegogo is committed to helping budding companies build their audiences and ship products to customers around the world. The platform, which made its debut in the United States in 2008, has been exploring business in China since 2016 and officially announced its Indiegogo China Global Fast-Track Program on June 5, 2018. It also opened a satellite office in the Tencent incubator in Shenzhen — a manufacturing hub for hardware start-ups.



"Indiegogo has always attached great importance to the Chinese market. We are delighted to help Chinese companies launch innovative products through the crowdfunding platform and take their first step in building international brands," said by Barron Zuo, Indiegogo's senior director of global strategic programs. The platform has launched services dedicated to supporting Chinese entrepreneurs, including a Chinese-language team based in Shenzhen and consultants who provide advice on branding, marketing and campaign management. According to Indiegogo, over 3,500 China-based innovators have raised more than US$150 million since 2016. Thirty-five products have raised more than US$1 million, and a number of start-ups in China have launched more than one crowdfunding campaign on the platform. For instance, bluetooth headphone company Crazybaby raised more than US$4 million across three campaigns. Omnicharge, a charger for laptops, cameras and small appliances, raised US$5 million across two projects. Zuo said that for innovative domestic products to be launched globally, Indiegogo boasts several advantages compared to traditional channels. In addition to helping entrepreneurs launch direct-to-consumer businesses by building an early audience, the platform also enables companies to obtain timely feedback from their real customer groups and uses big data to help companies analyze customer suitability. Indiegogo also shares investments designed to help investors feel more confident in seeing the products they back.


(David Mandelbrot, CEO of Indiegogo, delivers a speech at the Indiegogo China launch ceremony held at Wuzhou Guest House, Shenzhen, on June 5, 2018.)


(Barron Zuo, Indiegogo's senior director of global strategic programs, speaks at the Indiegogo China launch ceremony.)


(David Mandelbrot (R) interacts with audience at the Indiegogo China launch ceremony.)

 (12) Kneron aims to popularize AI chips

Tencent WeStart, an incubator co-founded by Shenzhen Bay Technology Co., Ltd. – Kneron
A collaborative project between the Shenzhen Nanshan District government, Shenzhen Bay Technology and Tencent Holdings, Tencent WeStart (Shenzhen) is one of the largest offline collective innovation spaces offering complete innovation elements backed by a nationwide network. The focus of Tencent WeStart is on TMT, particularly vertical industries such as mobile internet software, IoT applications such as big data processing, AI, and the cultural creative field, and to expand from this core to other areas. Tencent WeStart aims to build a selfsufficient start-up ecosystem community, having helped 18 start-ups to secure funding since operations began at the end of 2016. It has earned accolades such as Hurun Report 2017's "Top 50 incubators in Shenzhen contributing the most to the industry", and Xiaoweifeng's Best Co-Working Space of 2017.



You've probably seen artificial intelligence (AI) technology being adopted by apps, devices and services, to do things like recognize faces in photos and endow smart speakers with human-sounding voices. But to speed up the popularity of AI applications, processors with high computing performance and low power consumption are the key, according to Kneron, a provider of edge AI solutions. Edge AI means that AI algorithms are processed locally on a hardware device. "Kneron's edge AI solutions are able to do real-time recognition, inference and analysis with no need to connect to the cloud. Thus, the solutions are faster, more reliable and secure, while reducing significantly cost and the cloud burden," said by Albert Liu, founder and CEO of Kneron.


Albert Liu in Kneron's Taipei office

According to Liu, edge AI is the key to the popularity of AI applications, and the effective combination between edge AI and cloud AI will become a trend. Established in the United States in 2015, Kneron provides software and hardware integrated AI solutions, including a neural processing unit (NPU), a dedicated edge AI device processor and a range of visual recognition software. It currently has offices in San Diego, Taipei, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. The company's Shenzhen office, in cooperation with incubator Tencent Public Space, aims to leverage the city's abundant innovation resources and strengthen the company's presence in China. "We wanted to create some value for the world and society, and improve people's lives," said Liu, while talking about his team's intentions in starting the business. As AI technologies such as 3-D facial recognition find increasingly wide utilizations, the downstream industries will usher in a new round of consumption upgrading, and AI chip manufacturers are very likely to get a share of the dividends, according to Liu. Liu noted that NPU is the best tool for mainstream applications such as facial, speech and object recognition and will become a leading dedicated AI processor due to advantages including high computing performance, low power consumption and small size. "Kneron's AI solutions, which integrate hardware and software technologies, have been recognized by many customers. We will continue to develop critical AI technologies, deepen the AI applications in diversified fields and work together with our partners to create a new era of AI," said Liu. Currently, Kneron has provided customized solutions for home appliances, surveillance and smart phones to several international companies. The company completed its series A1 financing led by Horizons Venture, a venture capital firm founded by Li Ka-shing, in May 2018.

Kneron's San Diego team


Albert Liu at the International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2019

(13) Expat promotes parent-child relations

Yuanquan Ventures Start-up Incubator Co., Ltd. – AlefRAFA 
Shenzhen Yuanquan Venture Start-up Incubator is an industry ecosystem incubator that brings together investment and loan services. In 2016, Yuanquan Ventures was certified by the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology as a national-level makerspace. The core services of Yuanquan Ventures include: Incubator services, investment and funding services, start-up training, and international technology transfer, all of which are aimed at helping start-ups achieve rapid growth.



Jewish people have contributed to human progress in many fields, especially to the development of Western Civilization. Raphael Genis, a Jewish German, said that the reputation might be partly related to their emphasis on education. However, Genis suggested that instead of hoping their children to get high grades by the end of the day, Jewish parents concentrate on building a healthy relationship with their kids. The objective and goal of Yuanquan Ventures Start-up Incubator is to open up pathways for innovators while growing alongside the entrepreneurs. Since its inception, Yuanquan Ventures has worked with more than 200 enterprises in its incubator programs. The professional team at Yuanquan Ventures is made up of dozens of experts who are leaders in their respective fields, consisting of five mentor teams in the areas of social media, technology, investment, culture and training. By integrating the strategic resources of various industries, the mentors help start-up teams to tackle practical challenges through one-stop maker services such as market prospect evaluation, technological support, start-up and company operation counselling, finance services, social media, branding and counselling for company listing. Having been in China for around eight years, Genis speaks fluent Mandarin. He lived in Shanghai before settling down in Shenzhen. With a background in parenting education, Genis established his company Alef-RAFA in 2016, which provides education services for parents with kids under 6 in China. “In Israel, we have a tradition to get together with family Friday night. At first, we did this just to stay safe. Now we treat it as a good and essential way for family members to do activities together and to chat with each other,” said Genis. Genis said education is not just about school. Family education is also a significant part and it is important for parents to show attention to their children. “Sparing some time for children does not necessarily mean that parents need to help children work out a solution to a math problem or tell them how they should behave when they complain about things. Instead, it is all about letting children know that their parents are always there and they are good listeners,” Genis added



“I want to help more parents. However, as a foreigner, it’s not easy to run your own business in China. Luckily, with advices from Yuanquan Ventures (YQ Ventures), a business incubator, things started getting better,” said Genis. In addition to providing both basic and tailored services for enterprises doing business in China, YQ Ventures also has an office in Israel, which not only helps entrepreneurs in Israel enter the Chinese market but also offers a chance for Chinese enterprises to take a study tour or do business in Israel, according to staff with YQ Ventures. Genis has a very busy schedule, giving lectures and organizing workshops across China. He said that apart from calling for a healthy parent-child relationship, he also encouraged parents to help children build a strong heart as it is where true strength comes from. In order to achieve this, Genis suggested letting children experience whatever happens in their life without trying to overprotect them or arrange everything for them, as he believes that the more kids do, the richer they become.

 
(14) Bobo Design： takes practical approach to interior design

Yuanquan Ventures Start-up Incubator Co., L td. – Bobo Design 
Shenzhen Yuanquan Venture Start-up Incubator is an industry ecosystem incubator that brings together investment and loan services. In 2016, Yuanquan Ventures was certified by the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology as a national-level makerspace. The core services of Yuanquan Ventures include: Incubator services, investment and funding services, start-up training, and international technology transfer, all of which are aimed at helping start-ups achieve rapid growth



The objective and goal of Yuanquan Ventures Start-up Incubator is to open up pathways for innovators while growing alongside the entrepreneurs. Since its inception, Yuanquan Ventures has worked with more than 200 enterprises in its incubator programs. The professional team at Yuanquan Ventures is made up of dozens of experts who are leaders in their respective fields, consisting of five mentor teams in the areas of social media, technology, investment, culture and training. By integrating the strategic resources of various industries, the mentors help start-up teams to tackle practical challenges through one-stop maker services such as market prospect evaluation, technological support, start-up and company operation counselling, finance services, social media, branding and counselling for company listing.
Who doesn't want an aesthetically pleasing environment where they live or work? Bobo Design, an interior design firm founded by Hong Kong designer Bobo Lam, is committed to providing practical solutions for different interior spaces and endowing them with vitality. Lam started her career at a well-known interior design firm in Hong Kong. She grew from a designer to a senior designer and eventually an art director. In 2016, she set up her own firm in Shenzhen.
"Shenzhen is adjacent to Hong Kong and has been developing very fast and well in recent years. That's why we chose to set up the company in Shenzhen," Lam said.
The firm mainly engages in designing commercial spaces, incubator offices, high-end residential estates and boutique hotels. "For us, we value space the most, and then the sense of design. So we adopt a practical approach in our design and try to maximize the space without overlooking quality," said Lam. In addition to function, Lam's design firm also attaches much importance to soft furnishings in order to create more added value for their customers. According to Lam, the cultural and creative industry in Shenzhen has gained obvious momentum in tandem with scientific and technological innovation in the past two years. "More foreign talents are choosing to settle in Shenzhen and more creative companies from overseas are looking forward to setting up branches and seeking development in Shenzhen," Lam said, adding that she expects to see more international exchange activities in the design industry in Shenzhen.
Lam noted that the company currently has a professional design team in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen. It has aimed at setting up a new office in Singapore in recent years. Lam also mentioned that the company has benefited a lot from the help of Yuanquan Ventures, a Shenzhen-based business incubator, in the past three years. "The incubator welcomes different customer groups and runs business activities regularly. I'm glad that more people and companies in different sectors can get to know us through this platform, and new resources and customers are being brought to our company," said Lam. Lam graduated from the School of Professional & Continuing Education at the University of Hong Kong majoring in interior design, after many years of overseas education. Her strengths are in integral architecture, interior design, visual imaging and decoration.