Education & Training

Where Should You Base Your Startup in China? China can be a great place to do business. But setting up shop in the world’s largest consumer tech market can be a lot more difficult than it sounds.From the southern manufacturing cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, to the finance hub of Shanghai and the culture capital of Beijing, there are many great cities in China, each with a unique offering. However, with great cities comes great rivalries, and it’s no different in the world of entrepreneurship where startup founders vie to build a solid base of operations.While Beijing has previously been dubbed the centre of startup culture in China, new waves of investment have seen semi-gentrified southern cities develop burgeoning innovation hubs closer to manufacturers. At the same time, Shanghai’s foreigner-friendly atmosphere has made it an attractive proposition for the growing number of startups doing market entry. We asked five entrepreneurs to share their experiences in China’s various startup hubs.Beijing & quot;Beijing Welcomes You& quot; is a go-to karaoke song for most foreigners in China. When it comes to foreign entrepreneurs, I’d say this song’s title is 70% accurate.Beijing Pros: Beijing has a startup culture resembling Silicon Valley, with Garage Cafe acting as the type of nexus for VCs, entrepreneurs, developers in the same way that Coupa Cafe does in Palo Alto.There’s also a very high concentration of VCs, and an incredibly high concentration of universities. On top of this, several government-run programs supporting foreign and domestic entrepreneurs are based in the capital.Beijing Cons: Beijing as a startup hub is somewhat inefficient. The community is split, not by the traditional English / Chinese language barrier, but by distance. Zhongguancun and the East Third Ring Road are two centers of gravity for startups that are quite far apart.A rule of thumb, B2C startups should be in Zhongguancun, and B2B along the East Third Ring Road. Here’s hoping new co-working spaces