The Jay Kim Show : Entrepreneurship | Investing | Startups

Listen to this episode on iTunes What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. LINKS FROM TODAY’S EPISODE The Prague coworking space from which Jan was interviewed Find Jan on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter Startup Grind Jan’s bio at Startup Grind Jan@startupgrind.com DETAILED SHOW NOTES (2:15) Jan’s quick description of what he does for a living (11:09) How Jan ended up in China and why he’s still there three years later (15:44) Jay and Jan the current scale of and why there are great opportunities for skilled foreigners with the right mindset and attitude. (17:35) How Jan scaled Startup Grind from six to twelve cities in six months and why boots on the ground in China are so important (21:33) How Jan found partners to work with (24:58) The process of starting a Startup Grind community (33:18) Jan’s goals for the rest of 2017 (40:47) How to connect with and follow Jan

Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Ben’s interview Find Ben’s tweets @BenjaminJoffe Ben’s articles at Forbes Ben’s articles at TechCrunch HAX HAX’s annual report on hardware trends Detailed Show Notes (2:09) Ben’s quick introduction of himself (3:00) Ben explains how he ended up in Asia (6:18) How Ben got involved with HAX and why he moved to Shenzhen (10:09) The nuances of investing in hardware versus software (16:37) Dealing with the threat of copycats (18:10) What HAX looks for when investing in a startup (20:55) The role and benefits of HAX’s Accelerator program (23:54) Ben’s views on China and Shenzhen (27:01) Ben shares some HAX portfolio companies he’s excited about (30:59) Ben research and experience in entrepreneurial culture (37:40) Where to find and how to connect with Ben

Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Ryan’s interview Find Ryan on Facebook and LinkedIn Learn more about Ryan and the Ask Method at AskMethodWorkshop.com Buy Ryan’s book Ask on Amazon. Detailed Show Notes (2:19) Ryan’s quick description of his book Ask (3:25) Ryan’s backstory, beginning with his college career, studying neuroscience and East Asian studies, and how he ended up in China working for AiG, eventually resigning to start his own business (7:40) How family and friends responded to Ryan’s decision to launch his own business. (12:31) Ryan shares what he thinks holds most people back: the drop in lifestyle that’s required to launch a business (14:59) How the Ask Method was developed and what it is (19:15) Ryan describes some of the ideas behind the Ask Method’s approach to surveys and analyzing data. (23:40) Ryan’s current project, AskMethodWorkshop.com and how to connect with him.

 Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Mike’s interview Connect with Mike on Twitter and LinkedIn Find out more about Mike’s life in China on his personal website Get into Mike’s head through his blog Bring your e-commerce business to Asia with Global From Asia Detailed Show Notes (1:55) Mike’s busy personal and professional life (4:39) Mike’s journey from Wall Street to entrepreneurship (10:19) How Mike makes major life-changing decisions (13:58) Mike’s parents react to his decision to leave the security of his corporate Wall Street job (14:58) What drove Mike to move to China (20:35) Mike sells his early ecommerce business and solidifies his status as a serial entrepreneur (23:32) Global From Asia’s typical client (25:13) On helping businesses in China go global (26:43) Mike’s big plans to drive business throughout 2017 and beyond (including 2018’s Cross Boarder Summit

Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Jordan’s interview Find Jordan on Twitter and LinkedIn Learn more about Jordan at JordanHarbinger.com Supercharge your social skills with The Art of Charm Listen to one of the longest-running podcasts on the web: The Art of Charm Podcast Hear how Jordan was kidnapped, twice, and still made it out alive Detailed Show Notes (2:22) Jordan’s early career as a Wall Street lawyer opens his mind to the power of relationship building (9:01) How Jordan taught himself the art of social persuasion (11:03) Why a firm handshake will only get you so far (13:00) On identifying the traits that are making you unlikeable (16:29) Jordan tests his social skills at local bars and begins to gain a following (19:19) Jordan and his business partner start teaching advanced social interaction techniques via Skype and the Art of Charm is born (23:11) How Jordan grew his early following through the Art of Charm podcast (25:33) The most popular Art of Charm episodes that can help you supercharge your relationships (28:50) What Jordan sees for the future of podcasting

  Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Craig’s interview Follow Craig on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn Learn more about Craig on his personal website Get your own copy of The Perfect Day Formula Detailed Show Notes (1:45) An introduction to Craig Ballantyne (3:13) Craig forces himself out of his comfort zone early on in his career and success soon follows (5:00) The role that fitness plays in attaining peak mental performance (7:43) How Craig used Stoic philosophy to come up with a formula for the perfect day (11:06) On the link between structure and freedom (14:00) Craig’s five pillars of personal transformation (19:41) How to get the most out of your afternoons (22:22) Craig’s incredibly easy formula for getting a more restful sleep (26:37) On getting back on track after you’ve let yourself slip

  Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Craig’s interview Follow Craig on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn Learn more about Craig on his personal website Get your own copy of The Perfect Day Formula Detailed Show Notes (1:45) An introduction to Craig Ballantyne (3:13) Craig forces himself out of his comfort zone early on in his career and success soon follows (5:00) The role that fitness plays in attaining peak mental performance (7:43) How Craig used Stoic philosophy to come up with a formula for the perfect day (11:06) On the link between structure and freedom (14:00) Craig’s five pillars of personal transformation (19:41) How to get the most out of your afternoons (22:22) Craig’s incredibly easy formula for getting a more restful sleep (26:37) On getting back on track after you’ve let yourself slip

 Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Luke’s interview Find Luke on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn Get a taste of Grana’s refreshingly low prices and high-quality fabrics Detailed Show Notes (2:45) Who is Luke Grana? (4:05) Luke takes an early interest in entrepreneurship and sells his first business while in university (7:00) The idea for Grana is born on a trip to Peru (7:46) Luke gets a retail job at Zara to conduct market research for his own fashion brand (8:40) Why Luke decided to base Grana in Hong Kong and how he launched the company with 2,000 t-shirts and $200,000 of his own capital (10:29) How Grana differs from fast-fashion brands (12:45) On saving time and money by working directly with garment mills and keeping stock levels low (16:09) Who is Grana’s target consumer? (18:46) How Grana’s popup shops fit into the company’s online-only direct-to-consumer business model (20:59) Grana’s global business culture (22:28) On the challenges of trying to raise Grana’s first round of capital (25:55) How Luke plans to use Grana’s latest round of funding from Alibaba to grow the company (28:26) Grana’s next big challenge: China (30:02) Where Luke plans to take Grana over the next 10 years (33:33) Luke’s actionable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

 Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Luke’s interview Find Luke on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn Get a taste of Grana’s refreshingly low prices and high-quality fabrics Detailed Show Notes (2:45) Who is Luke Grana? (4:05) Luke takes an early interest in entrepreneurship and sells his first business while in university (7:00) The idea for Grana is born on a trip to Peru (7:46) Luke gets a retail job at Zara to conduct market research for his own fashion brand (8:40) Why Luke decided to base Grana in Hong Kong and how he launched the company with 2,000 t-shirts and $200,000 of his own capital (10:29) How Grana differs from fast-fashion brands (12:45) On saving time and money by working directly with garment mills and keeping stock levels low (16:09) Who is Grana’s target consumer? (18:46) How Grana’s popup shops fit into the company’s online-only direct-to-consumer business model (20:59) Grana’s global business culture (22:28) On the challenges of trying to raise Grana’s first round of capital (25:55) How Luke plans to use Grana’s latest round of funding from Alibaba to grow the company (28:26) Grana’s next big challenge: China (30:02) Where Luke plans to take Grana over the next 10 years (33:33) Luke’s actionable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

 Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Andy’s interview Connect with Andy on LinkedIn See how Qupital is taking the fintech world by storm Detailed Show Notes (2:35) Who is Andy Chan? (4:12) Andy’s entrepreneurial journey takes him from New Zealand to America, to Denmark, and finally, to Hong Kong (7:15) On the origins of Qupital and how far Andy and his co-founder have come in only 1 year (10:48) Accounts receivables financing 101 (13:30) What kinds of investors use Qupital? (14:47) How does Qupital make money? (15:57) Mitigating risk for both sellers and funders (18:25) On putting user experience first (21:04) What sets Qupital apart from other fintech startups in Hong Kong (22:40) How Andy plans to use the latest round of funding to grow Qupital (24:28) “What does Quipital look like 10 years from now?” (25:55) Andy’s advice for anyone looking to break into the fintech space

 Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Andy’s interview Connect with Andy on LinkedIn See how Qupital is taking the fintech world by storm Detailed Show Notes (2:35) Who is Andy Chan? (4:12) Andy’s entrepreneurial journey takes him from New Zealand to America, to Denmark, and finally, to Hong Kong (7:15) On the origins of Qupital and how far Andy and his co-founder have come in only 1 year (10:48) Accounts receivables financing 101 (13:30) What kinds of investors use Qupital? (14:47) How does Qupital make money? (15:57) Mitigating risk for both sellers and funders (18:25) On putting user experience first (21:04) What sets Qupital apart from other fintech startups in Hong Kong (22:40) How Andy plans to use the latest round of funding to grow Qupital (24:28) “What does Quipital look like 10 years from now?” (25:55) Andy’s advice for anyone looking to break into the fintech space

Listen to this week’s episode to hear how Leonard made the best of a bad situation and went from failure to being a highly sought-after speaker and global branding master. Listed in to learn: How to build a personal brand around your unique personality traits What you can do right now to make yourself more relatable online (hint: start with your bio) Why being open about your failures may be the fastest way to grow your following online How to use Quora to grow your audience exponentially  Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Leonard’s interview Follow Leonard on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn Find out more about Leonard at LeonardKim.com Become an influencer and grow your brand with Influence Tree Detailed Show Notes (1:47) Leonard’s background in under 30 seconds (2:19) On the myth of the overnight success (5:00) Leonard leverages his failures to start building his personal brand (7:26) Life gets worse for Leonard before it gets better (9:45) How a broken ankle led Leonard to inward reflection and massive action (12:23) Leonard embraces fear and starts to build his audience by being open and honest (14:26) Leonard offers Jay some practical advice for growing the JKS audience (18:25) How to write a winning bio that people can relate to (19:43) Leonard’s proven process for growing your social media following (22:22) Where to get noticed online, even if you’re just starting out (25:39) How long do you need to create consistent content before getting noticed? (28:20) How to get your article in big-name publications (29:35) Leonard’s big plans for 2017 and his work with Influence Tree

Listen to this week’s episode to hear how Leonard made the best of a bad situation and went from failure to being a highly sought-after speaker and global branding master. Listed in to learn: How to build a personal brand around your unique personality traits What you can do right now to make yourself more relatable online (hint: start with your bio) Why being open about your failures may be the fastest way to grow your following online How to use Quora to grow your audience exponentially  Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Leonard’s interview Follow Leonard on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn Find out more about Leonard at LeonardKim.com Become an influencer and grow your brand with Influence Tree Detailed Show Notes (1:47) Leonard’s background in under 30 seconds (2:19) On the myth of the overnight success (5:00) Leonard leverages his failures to start building his personal brand (7:26) Life gets worse for Leonard before it gets better (9:45) How a broken ankle led Leonard to inward reflection and massive action (12:23) Leonard embraces fear and starts to build his audience by being open and honest (14:26) Leonard offers Jay some practical advice for growing the JKS audience (18:25) How to write a winning bio that people can relate to (19:43) Leonard’s proven process for growing your social media following (22:22) Where to get noticed online, even if you’re just starting out (25:39) How long do you need to create consistent content before getting noticed? (28:20) How to get your article in big-name publications (29:35) Leonard’s big plans for 2017 and his work with Influence Tree

Casey has been a long-time champion of the Hong Kong startup ecosystem. In 2009 he began hosting meetups to connect with other startup enthusiasts in the city to talk tech, entrepreneurship, and investing over coffee. These informal gatherings would eventually become StartupsHK, now Hong Kong’s #1 community organization devoted to bringing awareness to Hong Kong startups and connecting all stakeholders within the startup ecosystem, from founders and advisors to regulators and investors. So, when the people behind Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference, wanted to bring something similar to Asia, they knew exactly who would be the best person to make it happen. Casey is the man behind this year’s RISE Summit, a meeting of some of the world’s largest companies, most successful startups, global media, thousands of startup founders, and eager investors. In conversation with Jay, Casey talks about what to expect at this year’s RISE conference and the gradual progression of Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem. Listen in to learn: How founders can help the Hong Kong startup ecosystem thrive Why you can’t afford to miss RISE if you’re a tech startup or investor What makes Hong Kong the perfect place to launch a global enterprise Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Casey’s interview Connect with Casey on Twitter and LinkedIn Get acquainted with Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem at StartupsHK.com Get excite over Asia’s biggest tech conference, RISE Can’t get enough on entrepreneurship in Asia? Listen to Casey’s RISE Cast Detailed Show Notes (3:11) How StartupsHK grew from 5 people in a coffee shop to the #1 source for news, insights, and opinions on the startup ecosystem in Hong Kong (7:58) What keeps Casey busy outside of StartupsHK (8:57) On Casey’s early web 1.0 startup prior to StartupsHK (12:03) How StartupsHK gives back to the Hong Kong startup community (15:48) On the rise of co-working spaces and how they’ve slowly changed the face of the Hong Kong startup scene (19:13) Is Hong Kong really a good place to build a company? (26:02) Casey’s top startup spots and people in Hong Kong (29:47) What to except at this year’s RISE conference, Asia’s largest tec

Casey has been a long-time champion of the Hong Kong startup ecosystem. In 2009 he began hosting meetups to connect with other startup enthusiasts in the city to talk tech, entrepreneurship, and investing over coffee. These informal gatherings would eventually become StartupsHK, now Hong Kong’s #1 community organization devoted to bringing awareness to Hong Kong startups and connecting all stakeholders within the startup ecosystem, from founders and advisors to regulators and investors. So, when the people behind Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference, wanted to bring something similar to Asia, they knew exactly who would be the best person to make it happen. Casey is the man behind this year’s RISE Summit, a meeting of some of the world’s largest companies, most successful startups, global media, thousands of startup founders, and eager investors. In conversation with Jay, Casey talks about what to expect at this year’s RISE conference and the gradual progression of Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem. Listen in to learn: How founders can help the Hong Kong startup ecosystem thrive Why you can’t afford to miss RISE if you’re a tech startup or investor What makes Hong Kong the perfect place to launch a global enterprise Listen to this episode on iTunes. What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer. Links from Today’s Episode Read the full transcript from Casey’s interview Connect with Casey on Twitter and LinkedIn Get acquainted with Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem at StartupsHK.com Get excite over Asia’s biggest tech conference, RISE Can’t get enough on entrepreneurship in Asia? Listen to Casey’s RISE Cast Detailed Show Notes (3:11) How StartupsHK grew from 5 people in a coffee shop to the #1 source for news, insights, and opinions on the startup ecosystem in Hong Kong (7:58) What keeps Casey busy outside of StartupsHK (8:57) On Casey’s early web 1.0 startup prior to StartupsHK (12:03) How StartupsHK gives back to the Hong Kong startup community (15:48) On the rise of co-working spaces and how they’ve slowly changed the face of the Hong Kong startup scene (19:13) Is Hong Kong really a good place to build a company? (26:02) Casey’s top startup spots and people in Hong Kong (29:47) What to except at this year’s RISE conference, Asia’s largest te