STEVIE GOES TO ASIA

Part 1: Taiwan

As you may have noticed, I skipped last week’s newsletter. But for a very good reason. I was on a very, non-brisk, 13-hour flight to Taiwan this time last week. I know I mentioned it a few weeks ago, but just a reminder…I’m in Asia for the entire month of October. Starting off the month as a part of 42Geeks’ Asia trip then continuing on to meet with current and prospective Vol. 1 Ventures LPs in the region. I’m ending the month by spending some time with my family in Japan, so I might actually get a day or two of “vacation” thrown in there. I grew up with my Japanese great-grandmother living with us and traveled quite a bit back to Japan to see that side of my family as a child, so being back there with all of them will be a nice lil’ reprieve. I’ll let y’all know if those “vacation” things work as well as people say.

Seriously, check out what Masterworks is doing and get excited for some neat information on the art market as a whole. Next week I’ll be diving into how my art collection ended up growing exponentially over the last two years and how I utilize art within my investment portfolio. I’ll also be talking about what art collecting entails and what the Asian market is right now!

Vol. 1 Ventures will also be hosting an event at Art Basel in December so hit me up if you’d like an invite or know someone I should invite.

Sadface Sidebar: It’s been really weird being away from home with everything happening in the Middle East as I type this. I’m trying really hard to keep my composure and avoid a lot of the news. I am not heartless or unempathetic to causes. I am Jewish. I have Islamic family in the Middle East. There are terrible things happening in the world, but right now the best I can do is to take care of myself. It feels oddly selfish, but alas, it’s really quite an accomplishment to keep your shit together when everything around you in the world is falling apart. I just wanted to throw that out there for everyone struggling right now with what’s happening. Just take care of yourself and hold your loved ones as tight as possible during times like this. It’s okay to not be engrossed in the news that is terrifying and scary. It’s okay.

Let’s Get Back to Asia…and start our trip in Taiwan.

Usually, when I travel internationally I think “This must be the furthest anyone from West Virginia has traveled.” But this trip I’m oddly traveling with a few other folks from West Virginia so I can assure myself that I am in fact, not the Marco Polo of West Virginia. It’s been really enjoyable to learn about the different cultures and tech ecosystems here. (And oddly comforting to know multiple Mountaineers are in my vicinity at all times…)

During my time at Johns Hopkins, I spent 6 months out of each year in China. Two months in Beijing. Two months in Shanghai. Two months in Hong Kong. Back to Baltimore…and then we do it all over again. I used to be a pretty decent Mandarin speaker. This past week in Taiwan I struggled to tell a cab driver how many people we had. Basically, I need to get out into the world more these days. I miss traveling. I miss meeting new people. This trip is really, actually, making me wish I was the Marco Polo of West Virginia, but I’m a few hundred years too late for that.

Last week, this trip started with a stop in Taipei, Taiwan. I’d never been to Taiwan before and I had remained expectation free. The first thing I noticed was it is very different from mainland China. You get off the plane into a land of order and calmness that just counters China’s frenzied chaotic pace. I really was surprised though by how much I loved the city, the people, the food…everything. I had boba in its birthplace. I did karaoke for the first time ever. I met two delightful older ladies who took me to city hall for a lesson on how to use an ATM and conversion rates.

Taiwan is also working overtime to become a player in the startup and innovation space.

The Taiwanese economy has tech written all over it. The largest semiconductor company (TSMC), the largest contract manufacturer (Foxconn), and three of the top ten PC companies (Acer, Asus, MSI) are all based in Taiwan. Taiwan is a also global center for product design, creating everything from Lululemon clothes to professional sports equipment to 75% of parts in Telsa cars.

There are also some very Notable startups like Gogoro, KKBOX, KKday, 17 Media, and iTutorGroup that are close to becoming unicorns. Recently many prominent Taiwanese-American entrepreneurs like YouTube’s Steve Chen and Twitch’s Kevin Lin have settled there, bringing their expertise and innovative thinking to the ecosystem. As more and more entrepreneurs find their way to Taiwan I expect to see a lot more Unicorns appear.

The Taiwanese government has also heavily invested into supporting startups through accelerators, grants, and work spaces such as Taiwan Tech Arena, Startup Terrence, and Taiwan Startup Stadium. We visited all these places and each was so welcoming, vibrant and full of that builder spirit! It was just very cool to see. (And did make me miss being around founders not gonna lie!) The founders and talent building in the healthcare and web3/blockchain spaces made me especially excited for what the future holds on the island.

I definitely drank the kool-aid. I’ll definitely be back to Taiwan after this trip so let me know if there are any startups or founders I should talk to on my next visit.

And since I’m technically a VC I have to ask…

❤️ How Can I Help?❤️

👩‍💻 Want to learn more about regulatory and compliance within the startup ecosystem? Upgrade to get even more information

💸 So you want to become an LP in Vol. 1 Ventures? Fill out our LP interest form 

💰 Fundraising? At Vol. 1 Ventures we believe in openly and honestly sharing dealflow with our LPs and coninvestors. We send out deals weekly so let me help you raise

🗣️ Hiring? Get your job posting featured in Highly Regulated and/or on Vol. 1 Venture’s job board

💼 Need Regulatory & Compliance Help? Grab time with me for a 1:1 session or a full-day sprint

🚀 Advertise in my newsletter to get in front of 30,000 founders, investors, policymakers and industry professionals

XOXO

Stevie