Andrew Klerck is the founder of Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs, a group that serves foreigners who want to start a business in Taiwan. He spoke with me about how much you need to start a business in Taiwan, and why Taiwan is a great place to do so.
Andrew also talked about how he got started on his own journey as an entrepreneur and lost his eyesight over 15 years ago while running an export company. Today he is a thriving entrepreneur, thanks to the assistive technology of smartphones, screen readers, and smart glasses.
He shared from a foreigner’s perspective, good reasons to do business in Taiwan and some of the challenges of doing business in Taiwan.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
1. to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
2. to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
3. to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
4. to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
5. to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
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Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· What brought Andrew to Taiwan
· Why Andrew started the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs (TIE) group
· What the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs group does and who they serve
· The Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs mastermind group
· The difference between the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs Facebook group and the Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs mastermind group
· How the TIE mastermind group is run
· Why Taiwan is a good place for foreigners to live
· Why Taiwan is a good place for foreigners to start a business
· The advantage of doing business in Taiwan
· The difficulties and tradeoffs of doing business in Taiwan for foreigners
· How to build good credit and get offered credit from banks in Taiwan
· How it’s difficult for foreigners to get funding in Taiwan
· The Taipei Entrepreneur Hub
· Abled Minds Taiwan
· What prevents disabled people in Taiwan from pursuing entrepreneurship
· How Andrew lost his eyesight
· How Andrew managed to run a business as he was loosing his eyesight
· The technology that helps Andrew as a blind person with his daily life and to do business
· Andrew’s upbringing in South Africa under apartheid
· The entrepreneurial and business mindset of Andrew’s parents
· How Andrew has run a company that had operations in nearly 60 different countries
· Andrew’s TIE partner Jamie Rufe was an executive assistant to Foxconn CEO, Terry Gou
· Andrew’s advice for people who want to start a business in Taiwan but don’t have a lot of cash
· The importance of street hustling and selling
Related Links:
Andrew Klerck on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrew.klerck.7
Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Taiwanimpact
Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/taiwan.impact.entrepreneurs/
Terry Gou, founder of FoxConn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Gou
FoxConn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn
Taipei Entrepreneurs Hub Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TaipeiEntrepreneurs/
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