Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

leostartsup.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 92 posts

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#41

Post by dantheman »

mhartl wrote: post #36
dantheman wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Singapore is a dictatorship, and I think one should always consider the political and legal frameworks of a country in case one runs afoul of the law. I don't know about Singapore, but in some countries merely criticizing the government can get you into trouble, e.g. Thailand.

In this context, "dictatorship" is akin to an epithet, and using it risks short-circuiting rational discourse. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with personal rule: Napoleon wasn't Hitler, Queen Elizabeth I wasn't Stalin, and Marcus Aurelius wasn't Chairman Mao. Singapore is a de facto single-party state with a strong prime minister. Is that good or bad? That depends on whether we're talking Aurelius or Mao. Having…

Just to be clear, I was in no way trying to tie them to a brutal dictatorship. But I think it's important to understand the political structure of the country, not just the current economic/civil environment. For the political structure may help you determine what the civil/economic condition will be as things change, i.e. a change of leadership in an authoritarian regime will have more of an impact on economic and civil life than a change of leadership in a democracy (I don't know if this is true btw).

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#42

Post by Jonbuford »

dhkl wrote: post #12
thomaspun wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right on! Leon, I'm connected to the HK startup folks (founders of StartUps HK and Boot) there as well. Feel free to ping. Here is their FB group which most communication is done: https://www.facebook.com/groups/startupshk/ It's a closed group but I could add you.

Is the group still active? My request's been on pending for a while now :-(

I'm one of the founders. For the FB group we try to keep it the immediate community active members. Send me a message on FB and let me know who you are.

One other problem we run into on FB is that people use random photos and user names so we have no idea who half of them are, even if we have met the people before.

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#43

Post by mekoka »

Looking at the world and deciding where to go. Having no one that tells you what to do and nothing that holds you back from not doing it.

Wherever you go on the planet, there will be people seeing a human being in you. Welcoming you and making a son, a brother, a father, a lover, a friend out of you.

There will also be a government to remind you you don't belong.

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#44

Post by Jonbuford »

dhkl wrote: post #3

Hong Kong has several vibrant, English-speaking startup/hacker communities where people are passionate about building stuff and making things work. Some notable communities to checkout: http://codeaholics.hk/ - Technology agnostic programming community http://www.startupshk.com/ - A tight-knit startup community http://boot.hk/ - A great gathering place for hackers and builders. See you in Hong Kong!

Also we have a hackerspace: http:www.dimsumlabs.com

I'm one of the founders for all of the above, in one role or another.

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#46

Post by Jonbuford »

ebaysucks wrote: post #7

Could people from the Hong Kong startup community please comment on HK vs Shanghai for doing a startup? I've lived in HK during my student exchange and loved every minute of it - I also have an employee working from Hong Kong. At some point I'll set up teams to target Asian markets with China as the most important one. What are pro's and con's of HK vs Shanghai? Edit: Thanks for all the answers! I really want to go b…

If you are doing business in China, then Beijing, Shanghai, or Shenzhen would be your best options. You really can't do a business for China from HK effectively, unless part of the business is connecting with the rest of the world in some way.

That being said, big differences are the ease in setting up a company and costs. Ease of getting visas and the general paperwork. Also, HK is much safer than any of the mainland cities. The big cities are probably about similar to New York in terms of safety, but Hong Kong is ridiculously safe in comparison. There are basically no areas that you really shouldn't go to, and the medical system is quite good and reliable vs. mainland.

Also, one nice feature, no corporate tax if the income is from outside of Hong Kong.

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#47

Post by Jonbuford »

brador wrote: post #6

That article is a light on details... Anyone got any specifics on the logistics of moving to HK and setting up? How's the money flow over there? VC/angel funding space?

Funding with experienced investors is not as common. We are seeing a big jump in investments over the last 6 months from investors that have started coming in and are really able to take their pick of deals. I think we will see more of this happen and continue to grow.

One thing that is lacking are founders of successful companies that are investing in new ones, but it takes time to grow the ecosystem.

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#48

Post by msutherl »

mekoka wrote: post #43

Looking at the world and deciding where to go. Having no one that tells you what to do and nothing that holds you back from not doing it. Wherever you go on the planet, there will be people seeing a human being in you. Welcoming you and making a son, a brother, a father, a lover, a friend out of you. There will also be a government to remind you you don't belong.

There will also be a government to protect you from being mugged, killed and discarded in the street.

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#49

Post by latch »

jacques_chester wrote: post #31

Personally I'd go to Singapore -- low personal taxes, no capital gains tax, no tax on income from dividends, low regulation, lots of capital, close to both Australia and Asia and it's a global flight hub.

You'll pay about 15-16% income tax in hong kong, there's no capital gains tax, no sales tax, no tax on dividends.

Hong Kong is also a global flight hub...in fact, compared to the US, most places in Asia are relatively close to each other.

If Singapore does have a tax advantage or a geographic advantage, it really can't be significant enough to be the reason you pick one versus the other.

Re: Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

#50

Post by latch »

dantheman wrote: post #41
mhartl wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this context, "dictatorship" is akin to an epithet, and using it risks short-circuiting rational discourse. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with personal rule: Napoleon wasn't Hitler, Queen Elizabeth I wasn't Stalin, and Marcus Aurelius wasn't Chairman Mao. Singapore is a de facto single-party state with a strong prime minister. Is that good or bad? That depends on whether we're talking Aurelius or Mao. Having…

Just to be clear, I was in no way trying to tie them to a brutal dictatorship. But I think it's important to understand the political structure of the country, not just the current economic/civil environment. For the political structure may help you determine what the civil/economic condition will be as things change, i.e. a change of leadership in an authoritarian regime will have more of an impact on economic and c…

You are probably better off visiting the place and getting a feel for it rather than relying on "facts". For example, some people might see Hong Kong as part of China and thus conclude it's oppressive. However, it only takes a day or two here to realize that people enjoy a ton of freedom (I see protests all the time, and haven't seen anyone pepper sprayed or arrested yet).
Post reply on HN