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Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Date post: 28-Jan-2015
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How come a fishing village can turn in 30 years into one of China's most innovative and productive city? Who are the people making Shenzhen something more than just a huge factory? What startups emerge from a city which mixes a lot of immigrants, an entrepreneurial mindset, and a fondness for shanzhai, China's creative piracy and geekery? We've been attending the Shenzhen Maker Faire in April 2014, and were amazed by both the biggest exhibition of tinkerers and hardware geeks, and the quality of speakers in the conference. We've also spend a day with the teams from HAXLR8R, a proeminent hardware startup accelerator based both in Shenzhen and San Francisco. Follow our journey and discover how the startup scene of Shenzhen has been progressively built, what makes it different from Shanghai or Beijing, meet its key people and events, and do remember the name of this city as it's evolving into an epicenter of tech innovation, both for hardware startup and life sciences with BGI.
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Shenzhen (China) innovation ecosystem Following HAXLR8R Generator 1.2 conference & the Maker Faire Shenzhen April 2014
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Page 1: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Shenzhen (China)innovation ecosystemFollowing HAXLR8R Generator 1.2 conference

& the Maker Faire ShenzhenApril 2014

Page 2: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Innovation has no place in a global world, it’s everywhere

Innovation ecosystems can learn from one another

Local context matters and should be a source for innovators

This is why…

We’re on a world tour of innovation ecosystems!

We believe…

Page 3: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

History & context of innovation in Shenzhen

The migrant city turns into the capital of makers

Page 4: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

A brief history of Shenzhen innovation ecosystem

• 1980s: a fishing village with 300k population• 2000s: the world factory-city with 15m population, all migrants, entrepreneurs• 2020: the key component of the Pearl Delta River Megalopolis (50m+ population)

Page 5: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

A brief history of Shenzhen innovation ecosystem

• Before: low-quality, low wages, producing by the millions• Now: high-quality, scalability, fast-execution• A new label: Innovate with China

Page 6: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

A brief history of Shenzhen innovation ecosystem

• Shenzhen already reputed to be a tech capital in China, with Tencent HQ (WeChat: 600m+ subscribers, QQ)

• Turning into the world capital for makers with a virtuous ecosystem of factories, makers, and entrepreneurs from all China & the world

Page 7: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

2020: the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis

Asia 27%

• Hong Kong already rebuilding Kowloon & “New Territories”• 2020: Pearl River Delta Megalopolis with 50M+ population• Shenzhen redefining itself as a city for engineers and makers

Page 8: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Home of shanzhai, China’s creative pirates

• Shanzhai is a creative way to hack existing product for specific needs• Shenzhen has them all, weird items made on a small-scale addressing a

specific need• The connection with the Maker culture is pretty obvious

Page 9: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

The biggest playground for hardware geeks

• Huaqiang area is the Mecca for all types of components and assistance to make things

• Seeed Maker Map will help you find your way!

• Do bring a Chinese speaking friend or beef up your drawing skills

Page 10: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Chinese shanzhai & US makers meet in SZ

• The Chinese shanzhai is the friendly counterpart of the US maker

• HAXLR8R is the top hardware accelerator, with offices in Shenzhen and San Francisco

• Lots of US-based institutions interested in the Chinese maker culture (Institute for the Future, NYU Shanghai, Hacked Matter think-tank…)

Left: Mitch Altman, the father of the hackerspaces. Right: Eric Pan, the interface between hardware startups and Chinese factories/suppliers

Page 11: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Hardware startups from Shenzhen

Roadie, a smart guitar tuner

• Not yet billion dollar companies, but all products took crowdfunding both to raise money and create a 1st community of early-adopters

Palette, the block-based custom creative keyboard

WearVigo, the drowsiness meter

PetCube, the game & video cube for your pet

Notch, the motion tracker

Fabule, expressive device for creative homes

Page 12: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Shenzhen innovation ecosystem today

Pros & Cons, Top Connectors & local best practices

Page 13: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Pros and cons of Shenzheninnovation ecosystem

• A paradise for hardware people, with all the possible components at hand, for one purchase or on wholesale

• Higher quality and speed of execution than before. Cheap “made in China” is not in Shenzhen!

• Human-size community of people within local accelerators, interface with factories

• Maker Faire Shenzhen gains traction and become both a giant showroom and a conference with good networking opportunities

• Home of Tencent, a Chinese giant tech software & social media company, good synergies can be found with engineers

• k

• Speak Chinese or ask for help (typically with companies like Seeed Studio)

• Not a market for consumption as such: you will need to market elsewhere (broader China, US, Europe)

• Visa policy is not yet adapted to hardware startups

• Big Chinese city which can be polluted, not the best conditions of living, especially with family (though still better than Shanghai or Beijing)

• Hardware is by no means the same thing than software: a startup takes more cash, more time

PROS CONS

Page 14: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Top connectors in ShenzhenEric Pan (Forbes), founder of SeeedStudio, a

company which curates Shenzhen maker jungle to make it easy to use for entrepreneurs, organizer of

the Maker Faire

David Li (Twitter), founder of China’s first hackerspace (Xinjechian), very present in Shenzhen

ecosystem and linked to think and do tanks like Hacked Matter

Cyril Ebersweiler (Twitter), founder and partner of HAXLR8R, the hardware-focused accelerator with

offices in Shenzhen and San Francisco

Benjamin Joffe (Twitter), partner at HAXLR8R, has lived and worked across Asia for more than a decade

in tech related industries

Page 15: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Top connectors in Shenzhen

Lyn Jeffrey (bio), cultural anthropologist and research director for the Institute for the Future, one of the

brain behind MakerCities

Anna Greenspan (bio), philosopher based in Shanghai and founder of Hacked Matter, a research

hub which explores China tech ecosystem

César Harada (website), living in Hong-Kong where he builds DIY shapeshifting boats, goes to Shenzhen

to buy his components so he knows the way

Scott Edmunds (bio), Editor at Giga Science and working with BGI, one of the largest open-biology / genomics laboratory in the world, with a branch in

Shenzhen

Page 16: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Best practices of Shenzhen innovation ecosystem

• The Maker Map made by Seeed Studio, helping you find your way in the jungle of factories and component resellers. Do pay them a visit as they are the main interface for Makers not knowing the city

Page 17: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Best practices of Shenzhen innovation ecosystem

• The Maker Faire Shenzhen, now an established event gathering both a crowd of amateurs and family with the expo, and the top thinkers and speakers in the conference, such as Chris Anderson

Page 18: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Best practices of Shenzhen innovation ecosystem

• HAXLR8R, an incubator specialized on hardware startups

• A two-country program: China in Shenzhen, the US in San Francisco

• A team of international mentors and great knowledge of the local scene.

Page 19: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Best practices of Shenzhen innovation ecosystem

• Creation of a new label for the city and the country: “Innovative with China”, rather than “Made in China”, to reflect the new capabilities of Shenzhen

• The label is a new brand, already used on all Seeed Studio products

Page 20: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

What’s next for Shenzhen?

Turn makers into B2C businessmen, so far, Shenzhen is better known for B2B factories and manufacturers. Hardware sells well though in lesser quantities, specific business skills might be needed

Improve even more the interface Shenzhen is playing for makers and startupers from all over the world. The local ecosystem of factories, funders, events, can be more visible and attractive for non-Chinese

Get Shenzhen ecosystem ambassadors around the world, where they can be an entry point. Makers are everywhere, but they don’t always realize the potential to “innovate with China”

Page 21: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Eager to learn about the other innovation ecosystems?

Page 22: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Documenting innovation through key events Hot posts, interviews, live-tweet, Google Hangouts

Identifying key connectors on & offline

Discovering alternative and emerging innovation ecosystemsBeyond the Silicon Valley, local innovation hotbeds

Tech, Social impact, Education, Life Sciences…

Increasing mobility of innovators and ecosystem enablersConnecting doers and thinkers through monthly Hangouts

Offering innovation ecosystem enablers to learn and exchange from peers

About our project A world tour of innovation ecosystems

Page 23: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

Martin Pasquier

Entrepreneur in Singapore (social media

agency), long-time traveller

Mixes economics, politics and travels to analyze ecosystems,

reports on innovation

About our teamAnalysis, community & network

Anne Lalou

CEO of Innovation Factory & Web School

Factory in ParisTransfer knowledge of

ecosystems to new generation and to a

network of top French companies

Nicolas Loubet

Serial entrepreneur in Paris

with 3 companies, growth hackerManages and

nurtures creative communities on & offline

Page 24: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

A world tour of innovation: 2013-2014

SUPPORT US! Travel & time of exploration isn’t free Custom reports on emerging markets & trends Workshops, talks on innovation trends Connection to key local players for VCs, brands, tech communities

Page 25: Innovation is everywhere - Shenzhen (China) startup ecosystem (2014)

• A portrait of Eric Pan, founder of Seeed Studio, in Forbes• The link to the precious Maker Map of Shenzhen• An article of The Economist on tech hubs, and how Shenzhen

fares• The Guardian wrap-up with an angle on the politics of the

Maker movement

More on Shenzhen startup & innovation scenesResources


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