innovation is everywhere - shenzhen (china) startup ecosystem (2014)
DESCRIPTION
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.TRANSCRIPT
Shenzhen (China)innovation ecosystemFollowing HAXLR8R Generator 1.2 conference
& the Maker Faire ShenzhenApril 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…
History & context of innovation in Shenzhen
The migrant city turns into the capital of makers
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Shenzhen innovation ecosystem today
Pros & Cons, Top Connectors & local best practices
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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”
Eager to learn about the other innovation ecosystems?
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
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
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
• 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
Thanks!
Martin Pasquier, for Innovation is [email protected]