Startup Asia: Top Strategies for Cashing in on Asia's Innovation Boom

by Rebecca A. Fannin, Kai-Fu Lee (Foreword by)

Overview

Asia's innovation hotspots are emerging as first-choice destinations for bright, young talents as the Silicon Dragon entrepreneurial revolution moves on from China to India, Vietnam and beyond. Forbes contributor Rebecca A. Fannin provides a first-hand, on-the-ground tour of Asia's new tech centers. She catches China's lead and shows how India promises to close the gap while Vietnam is on the frontier. Over 18 months from Shanghai to Singapore, Beijing to Bangalore, Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City, she interviewed 100 of Asia's hottest up-and-comers and their venture investors. Now, she reveals the winning strategies of a new generation of entrepreneurs who no longer look to Facebook, Amazon and eBay for cues but are crafting their own business models, going global, and scoring IPOs on Wall Street. Whether it's mobile, e-commerce, gaming, social networks, biomedical or cleantech deals, she tells how young upstarts are getting ahead with a toolbox of tactics. You'll meet gutsy Vietnamese self-starter Nguyen Xuan Tai who made his search engine, Socbay, in the image of Google – and turned down an offer from Eric Schmidt. You'll meet Harvard MBA Naveen Tewari who cranked up mobile ad network inMobi in Bangalore and expanded internationally. You'll meet Ray Zhang who's behind the wheel of fast accelerating Shanghai car rental service eHi. You'll also meet the savvy venture capitalists who are betting on Asia. Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor or tech whiz, you couldn't ask for a better guide for your trek into the new frontier than Startup Asia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470829936
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	09/26/2011
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Rebecca A. Fannin is the author of Silicon Dragon (McGraw-Hill, 2008), a contributor to Forbes, and a consultant and public speaker. Her news and events group, Silicon Asia, www.siliconasiainvest.com, publishes e-newsletters and research, and develops conferences in tech hotspots. Since 1992, she has been reporting on innovation, technology and emerging economies. A former international editor at Red Herring, the Pulitzer-owned International Business, AdAge and the Asian Venture Capital Journal, Rebecca has also contributed to Inc., Worth, Fast Company, Chief Executive, The Deal, and Harvard Business Review and has appeared as a commentator on Fox Business News, Sky TV and CCTV. She has lectured at several universities, including Yale, Columbia and Harvard and her speaking engagements include the Asia Society, World Affairs Council, Overseas Press Club, the Foreign Correspondents Club, World Affairs Forum, the Northwest China Council, Vancouver Trade Club and Harvard Club. Rebecca has also consulted for KPMG, Econsultancy and Sony Ericsson among others and has testified as an expert witness on China’s Internet before a U.S.-China Trade Commission in Washington D.C. Originally from Lancaster, Ohio, Rebecca resides in New York City and San Francisco. She enjoys frequent reporting trips to China, India and other emerging markets.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Kai-Fu Lee xv

Introduction 1

PART I ASIA'S HOTSPOTS OF INNOVATION 9

Chapter 1 China's Next Generation Tech Stars 11

Chapter 2 India Emerges to Narrow the Gap 47

Chapter 3 Vietnam: The Next Frontier 77

PART II ROAD MAP TO HOT SECTORS 101

Chapter 4 Catch the Mobile Boom 103

Chapter 5 Get In on the Cleantech Boom 115

Chapter 6 Ride the Consumer Wave 131

Chapter 7 Create a Niche in a Proven Sector: Outsourcing 143

PART III TOOLBOX FOR SUCCESS STRATEGIES 151

Chapter 8 Tap into Government Incubators 153

Chapter 9 Become the Next Twitter, LinkedIn, or Groupon for Asia 167

Chapter 10 Originate a Breakthrough Discovery 179

Chapter 11 Take Your Startup Public on the NYSE or NASDAQ 189

Chapter 12 Go Global from Asia 203

Afterword 213

Acknowledgments 215

Notes 219

About the Author 229

Index 231

Editorial Reviews

"Rebecca Fannin has established herself as the preeminent expert on the emerging innovation economies of Asia. There is no better guide to understanding the countries and companies that are commercializing the disruptive technologies and ideas of the future."
Jason Pontin Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Technology Review

"Rebecca Fannin, who caught the early waves of the Chinese Internet boom with her book Silicon Dragon, shows why we now need to be paying attention to VIC (Vietnam, India and China) in her forward-looking book Startup Asia. With diligent on-the-ground reporting and hard-won access, Fannin follows the money — the smart money of VCs who made money on both the U.S. and China Internet booms — to see where we should be placing our next bets in the world of technology."
Gady Epstein Correspondent, The Economist

"Startup Asia starts out with a bang and picks up steam from there. Rebecca Fannin has done her homework. She catches the Asian markets, as she takes the reader through China, India and Vietnam. The force of Asian innovation and market presence will be with us forever. You'll be well served by reading this excellent work and getting to know some of the players involved."
Dick Kramlich Chairman and Co-Founder, NEA

"Startup Asia takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the kaleidoscope of tech startups and venture activity across Asia. Only Ms. Fannin can combine facts, data and compelling personal stories of entrepreneurs in Asia into such a rewarding read. Should be on the Kindle shelf for every business school course on Asia or entrepreneurship."
Ron Schramm Professor, Columbia Business School and Chinese European International Business School

"Startup Asia is a must read! The shift of entrepreneurial activity to Asia is dramatically changing investment opportunities. No one has done more field research or has more thoughtful analysis and insights on this dramatic change than Rebecca Fannin!"
Patrick J. McGovern Founder and Chairman, International Data Group

"Rebecca Fannin delivers an inspirational journey from tech parks in India to half-constructed offices in Ho Chi Minh City. Startup Asia is a splendidly woven narrative of the leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and thinkers who are shaping the future that is being invented in Asia and envied around the globe."
Tony Nash Global Director, Custom Research, Economist Intelligence Unit

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