Viet’s Startups in Taiwan: Braveheart Challenge

Here comes the first Viet night in 2017!!!
This theme night had diverse discussing topics related to startup field such as the passion, the challenges and how Taiwan is a great destination for startups over the world generally and ASEAN-INDIA specifically. Specifically, in the Vietnamese night, not only having Vietnamese Experts Association in Taiwan (VNEAT), but also we invited the founder of Vnimation, a very experienced company in Vietnam about VR Techonology in building and construction, to shared their story while attending the IDEA’s Show @APEC and their plan to expand market to Taiwan!

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STARTBOARD MEETING WITH DPP’S NEW IMMIGRANT COMMITTEE.

On July, STARTBOARD team had a chance to visit  Tran Thi Hoang Phuon, a lecturer of Vietnamese at National Chengchi University, who serves as chief of DPP New Immigrants’ committee. This committee is under the DPP and launched as a part of the New Southbound Policy of President Tsai Ing Wen. The 12-member committee is composed of new immigrants, scholars and experts, according to the party.  

Teacher Tran has lived in Taiwan with her family for many years, so she experienced both pros and cons of being an immigrant in Taiwan. She supported STARTBOARD in the aspect of helping the ASEAN students and startup. We hope in the future, we can work with her and her team in more inspiring projects.

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It’s warm-hearting conversation with Teacher Tran and her husband about how to contribute the society.
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STARTBOARD team with one of 10 iconic people in Taipei
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Sharing more information about our STARTBOARD

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Recent events of STARTBOARD

Recently, STARTBOARD attended different events and meetings with Government representatives, also Taiwanese start ups. Here is some of the photos summarizing our last week.

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Meeting with Taiwanese start up Follia
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Meeting with Taiwanese start up Follia
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Attending with Aimazing on Microsoft BizSpark Event
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visit to Department of Industrial Development, National Development Council.

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”

50 Startup and Venture Capital terms you should know

By  from TechRepublic

  1. Acquisition: When one company buys controlling stake in another company. Can be friendly (agreed upon) or hostile (no agreement).
  2. Agile: A philosophy of software development that promotes incremental development and emphasizes adaptability and collaboration.
  3. Angel investor: Individual who provides a small amount of capital to a startup for a stake in the company. Typically precedes a Seed Round and usually happens when the startup is in its infancy.
  4. B2B: Business to business. This describes a business that is targeting another business with its product or services. B2B technology is also sometimes referred to as enterprise technology. This is different from B2C which stands for business to consumer, and involves selling products or services directly to individual customers.
  5. Benchmark: The process by which a startup company measures their current success. An investor measures a company’s growth by determining whether or not they have met certain benchmarks. For example, company A has met the benchmark of having X amount of recurring revenue after 2 years in the market.
  6. Board of directors: A group of influential individuals, elected by stockholders, chosen to oversee the affairs of a company. A board typically includes investors and mentors. Not all startups have a board, but investors typically require a board seat in exchange for an investment in a company.
  7. Bootstrapped: A company is bootstrapped when it is funded by an entrepreneur’s personal resources or the company’s own revenue. Evolved from the phrase “pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps.”
  8. Bridge loan: Also known as a swing loan. Short-term loan to bridge the gap between major financing.
  9. Buyout: A common exit strategy. The purchase of a company’s shares that gives the purchaser controlling interest in the company.
  10. Capital: Monetary assets currently available for use. Entrepreneurs raise capital to start a company and continue raising capital to grow the company.
  11. Capital under management: The amount of capital, or financial assets, that a venture capital firm is currently managing and investing.
  12. Capped notes: Refers to a “cap” placed on investor notes in a round of financing. Entrepreneurs and investors agree to place a cap on the valuation of the company where notes turn to equity. This means investors will own a certain percentage of a company relative to that cap when the company raises another round of funding. Uncapped rounds are generally more favorable to an entrepreneur/startup.
  13. Convertible debt: This is when a company borrows money with the intent that the debt accrued will later be converted to equity in the company at a later valuation. This allows companies to delay valuation while raising funding in it’s early stages. This is typically done in the early stages of a company’s life, when a valuation is more difficult to complete and investing carries higher risk.
  14. Debt financing: This is when a company raises money by selling bond, bills, or notes to an investor with the promise that the debt will be repaid with interest. It is typically performed by late-stage companies.
  15. Disruption: Also known as disruptive innovation. An innovation or technology is disruptive when it “disrupts” an existing market by doing things such as: challenging the prices in the market, displacing an old technology, or changing the market audience.
  16. Due diligence: An analysis an investor makes of all the facts and figures of a potential investment. Can include an investigation of financial records and a measure of potential ROI.
  17. Enterprise: The term enterprise typically refers to a company or business (i.e. an enterprise tech startup is a company that is building technology for businesses).
  18. Entrepreneur: An individual who starts a business venture, assuming all potential risk and reward for his or herself.
  19. Entrepreneur in residence (EIR): A seasoned entrepreneur who is employed by a Venture Capital Firm to help the firm vet potential investments and mentor the firm’s portfolio companies.
  20. Equity financing: The act of raising capital by selling off shares of a company. An IPO is technically a form of equity financing.
  21. Exit: This is how startup founders get rich. It’s the method by which an investor and/or entrepreneur intends to “exit” their investment in a company. Commons options are an IPO or buyout from another company. Entrepreneurs and VCs often develop an “exit strategy” while the company is still growing.
  22. Fund of funds: A mutual fund that invests in other mutual funds.
  23. Ground floor: A reference to the beginning of a venture, or the earliest point of a startup. Generally considered an advantage to invest at this level.
  24. Incubator: An organization that helps develop early stage companies, usually in exchange for equity in the company. Companies in incubators get help for things like building their management teams, strategizing their growth, etc.
  25. IPO: Initial public offering. The first time shares of stock in a company are offered on a securities exchange or to the general public. At this point, a private company turns into a public company (and is no longer a startup).
  26. Lead investor: A venture capital firm or individual investor that organizes a specific round of funding for a company. The lead investor usually invests the most capital in that round. Also known as “leading the round.”
  27. Leveraged buyout: When a company is purchased with a strategic combination of equity and borrowed money. The target company’s assets or revenue is used as “leverage” to pay back the borrowed capital.
  28. Liquidation: The process of dissolving a company by selling off all of its assets (making them liquid).
  29. Mezzanine financing: A form of hybrid capital typically used to fund adolescent and mature cash flow positive companies. It is a form of debt financing, but it also includes embedded equity instruments or options. Companies at this level, which are no longer considered startups but have yet to go public, are typically referred to as “mezzanine level” companies.
  30. NDA: Non-disclosure agreement. An agreement between two parties to protect sensitive or confidential information, such as trade secrets, from being shared with outside parties.
  31. Pivot: The act of a startup quickly changing direction with its business strategy. For example, an enterprise server startup pivoting to become an enterprise cloud company.
  32. Portfolio company: A company that a specific Venture Capital firm has invested in is considered a “portfolio company” of that firm.
  33. Preferred stock: A stock that carries a fixed dividend that is to be paid out before dividends carried by common stock.
  34. Proof of concept
  35. A demonstration of the feasibility of a concept or idea that a startup is based on. Many VCs require proof of concept if you wish to pitch to them.
  36. Pro rata rights: Also known as supra pro rata rights. Pro rata is from the Latin ‘in proportion.’ A VC with supra pro rata rights gives him or her the option of increasing his or her ownership of a company in subsequent rounds of funding.
  37. Recapitalization: A corporate reorganization of a company’s capital structure, changing the mix of equity and debt. A company will usually recapitalize to prepare for an exit, lower taxes, or defend against a takeover.
  38. ROI: This is the much-talked-about “return on investment.” It’s the money an investor gets back as a percentage of the money he or she has invested in a venture. For example, if a VC invests $2 million for a 20 percent share in a company and that company is bought out for $40 million, the VC’s return is $8 million.
  39. Round: Startups raise capital from VC firms in individual rounds, depending on the stage of the company. The first round is usually a Seed round followed by Series A, B, and C rounds if necessary. In rare cases rounds can go as far as Series F, as was the case with Box.net.
  40. SaaS: Software as a service. A software product that is hosted remotely, usually over the internet (a.k.a. “in the cloud”).
  41. Seed: The seed round is the first official round of financing for a startup. At this point a company is usually raising funds for proof of concept and/or to build out a prototype and is referred to as a “seed stage” company.
  42. Secondary public offering: When a company offers up new stock for sale to the public after an IPO. Often occurs when founders step down or desire to move into a lesser role within the company.
  43. Sector: The market that a startup companies product or service fits into. Examples include: consumer technology, cleantech, biotech, and enterprise technology. Venture Capitalists tend to have experience investing in specific related sectors and thus tend not to invest outside of their area of expertise.
  44. Series: Refers to the specific round of financing a company is raising. For example, company X is raising their Series A round.
  45. Stage: The stage of development a startup company is in. There is no explicit rule for what defines each stage of a company, but startups tend to be categorized as seed stage, early stage, mid-stage, and late stage. Most VCs firms only invest in companies in one or two stages. Some firms, however, manage multiple funds geared toward different stage companies.
  46. Startup: A startup company is a company in the early stages of operations. Startups are usually seeking to solve a problem of fill a need, but there is no hard-and-fast rule for what makes a startup. A company is considered a startup until they stop referring to themselves as a startup.
  47. Term sheet: A non-binding agreement that outlines the major aspects of an investment to be made in a company. A term sheet sets the groundwork for building out detailed legal documents.
  48. Valuation: The process by which a company’s worth or value is determined. An analyst will look at capital structure, management team, and revenue or potential revenue, among other things.
  49. Venture capital: Money provided by venture capital firms to small, high-risk, startup companies with major growth potential. Venture capitalist: An individual investor, working for a venture capital firm, that chooses to invest in specific companies. Venture capitalists typically have a focused market or sector that they know well and invest in.
  50. Vesting: When an employee of a company gains rights to stock options and contributions provided by the employer. The rights typically gain value (vest) over time until they reach their full value after a pre-determined amount of time. For example, if an employee was offered 200 stock unites over 10 years, 20 units would vest each year. This gives employees an incentive to perform well and  stay with the company for a longer period of time.

STARTBOARD In NTU Garage Annual Meeting

On 7th June, STARTBOARD attended NTU Garage Annual Meeting.

NTU Garage, which has been started in 2013,  is a accelator program to nurture young entrepreneurs with hope of providing students and faculty with a friendly space to realize their innovative ideas. Start-ups that qualify for programs at the garage would enjoy various kinds of training and assistance for six months, with the overlapping period between applications and the program’s course designed to promote exchanges between the last group of participants and newcomers.

Participants receive legal and accounting consulting about setting up firms, as well as learn from experienced instructors. Participants also receive opportunities to demonstrate their products. As the young entrepreneurs might not have the money to set up an office, they can go to the NTU Garage to work .

STARTBOARD felt very honor to meet up with Minister Liang-Gee Chen, Ministry of technology and George Huang, Chairman of Acer.

We are looking forward to having more support and chances in the future, in order to provide our ASEAN-INDIA the best sources nurturing their innovative ideas.

Accelerators vs. Incubators: What startups need to know

Author: Conner Forrest, who is a Senior Editor for TechRepublic. He covers enterprise technology and is interested in the convergence of tech and culture.

Reference Link: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/accelerators-vs-incubators-what-startups-need-to-know/

 

Startup founders looking to start off on the right foot often turn to a startup accelerator or startup incubator for help.

The terms “accelerator” and “incubator” are often assumed to represent the same concept. However, there are a few key distinctions that first-time founders should be aware of if they are planning on signing up.

Accelerators and incubators both offer entrepreneurs good opportunities early on. Founders get help to quickly grow their business and they often better their chances of attracting a top VC firm to invest in their startup at a later point. Still, the programs are different frameworks for startup success.

Let’s start by breaking down the goals of each of these types of programs. Accelerators “accelerate” growth of an existing company, while incubators “incubate” disruptive ideas with the hope of building out a business model and company. So, accelerators focus on scaling a business while incubators are often more focused on innovation.

Accelerators

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One of the big difference is in how the individual programs are structured. Accelerators programs usually have a set timeframe in which individual companies spend anywhere from a few weeks to a few months working with a group of mentors to build out their business and avoid problems along the way. Y Combinator, Techstars, and the Brandery are some of the most well-known accelerators.

Accelerators start with an application process, but the top programs are typically very selective. Y Combinator accepts about 2% of the applications it receives and Techstars has to fill its 10 spots from around 1,000 applications.

Companies are given a small seed investment, and access to a large mentor network, in exchange for a small amount of equity. The mentor network, typically composed of startup executives and outside investors, is often the biggest value for prospective companies.

The mentor networks aren’t small, either. According to Troy Henikoff, managing director of Techstars Chicago, last year’s program had 153 mentors.

Aaron Harris, a partner at Y Combinator, said he’s not sure that accelerators necessarily work as a whole, but Y Combinator’s success is due to the way it approached incentives.

“A lot of that success comes back to the alignment of incentives,” Harris said. “Good programs completely align all parties — at YC all the partners who advise the companies have a stake in their success. We also do as much as we can to limit distractions. We don’t schedule unnecessary meetings, don’t force them to work in a big loud coworking space, etc.”

At the end of an accelerator program, you’re likely to see all the startups from a particular cohort pitch at some sort of demonstration day attended by investors and media. At this point, the business has hopefully been further developed and vetted.

“The goal of the accelerator is to help a startup do roughly two years of business building in just a few months,” said Mike Bott, general manager of the Brandery. “If you go through a good one, you’ll know at the end where your startup founding team and business stand.”

Incubators

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Startup incubators begin with companies that may be earlier in the process and they do not operate on a set schedule. If an accelerator is a greenhouse for young plants to get the optimal conditions to grow, an incubator matches quality seeds with the best soil for sprouting and growth.

While there are some independent incubators, they can also be sponsored or run by VC firms, government entities, and major corporations, among others. Some incubators have an application process, but others only work with companies and ideas that they come in contact with through trusted partners. A good example of an incubator is Idealab.

Depending on the sponsoring party, an incubator can be focused on a specific market or vertical. For example, an incubator sponsored by a hospital may only be looking for health technology startups.

In most cases, startups accepted into incubator programs relocate to a specific geographic area to work with other companies in the incubator. A typical incubator has shared space in a coworking environment, a month-to-month lease program, and some connection to the local community.

Coworking is a big part of the incubator experience and has been split off as its own separate business offering around country, with coworking spaces charging rent for access to utilities. Some accelerators offer a coworking space, but most provide companies with private office space or let them find it on their own.

“If you need private space, most incubators are open seating, and this can be distracting for larger teams,” Henikoff said. “The economics are usually on a per-seat basis, which is great for the first few people, but at a certain point it may be less expensive to get your own office.”

Both incubators and accelerators offer a great opportunity to help young companies and ideas for startups get headed in the right direction, but it’s up to you where you need to start.

Research Stash applying for TiTAN Soft-landing Program in Taiwan

Research Stash went to TXA accelarator today June 2nd for the interview of Taiwan Innovation and Technology Arena’s Soft Landing project. The winner can have 1 month of support high-potential technology startups and emerging companies to successfully enter the Asia market and scale their business globally and access to outstanding mentors, free office, valuable connections and the knowledge and expertise required to scale quickly.

Congrats Research Stash and finger crossed for another victory to Mahantesh.

A Day in COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2017

Started from 1981, COMPUTEX TAIPEI has been the world’s leading B2B ICT/IoT (Internet of Things) trade show and developing into a global startup platform. COMPUTEX 2017 positions itself as Building Global Technology Ecosystems, focusing on 5 main themes: AI & Robotics, IoT Applications, Innovations & Startups, Business Solutions, and Gaming & VR, with 4 featured exhibiting areas: SmarTEX, InnoVEX, and iStyle, and gaming & VR.

STARTBOARD visited COMPUTEX and had some discussions with the exhibitors from different fields in order to learn more about the demanding and to broaden our horizons about the future trend in IT, especially in Taiwan. Trying newest technology and equipments, discussing with the top experienced managers in field is the gift we got from COMPUTEX. Also this time, we had a conversation with Taiwan Association for Virtual and Augmented Reality (TAVAR), and their Secretary General, Cori Shieh had introduced to us the latest trend in VR industry, such a lovely experience.

WISTRON ITS IS STARTBOARD’S FUTURE GOAL

Starting a productive week after the Dragon Boat Festival, STARTBOARD visited WISTRON ITS Taiwan.

The meeting was approximately 3 hours which contains the presentations sections and Q&A part.

We were so proud of Research Stash, H2U, Think Tank, Dong Yo, and Aimazing for such a great performance. Little by little, they noted all the advices from the mentors and improved the business plans. Although, there were still a lot of things need to be done, we believe hard work paid off.

Wistron Information Technology & Services (Wistron ITS), ranked as one of the largest language services providers (LSPs) in the translation and interpreting industry. Wistron ITS was named as the 26th largest globalization vendor in all of Asia.

“Being ranked as one of the leading brands in language services is a recognition to Wistron ITS globalization team.” said Wistron ITS CEO, Dr. Ching Hsiao. “We have achieved a distinguished performance and success with some of the most reputable companies globally in the IT industry.” he further added, “Asia has a promising globalization service market. Customers seeking globalization and localization services can count on our comprehensive staged services – from software design, development and translation, to post-production activities such as testing and desktop publishing.”