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What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

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Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#21

Thanks for the post, I now feel like I want to do similar thing sometime in my life. Is there any other interesting, safe, cheap place where you could live comfortably using at most $1000/month?

That's certainly more than enough money to live pretty well in Berlin, though a tourist visa will only give you 90 days in the Schengen Area.

Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#22
post #17

Thai national here, and as a fellow bootstrapper I would have to agree with most of the points of the OP. The reason why I left my well-paid job in Singapore and come back to Thailand to bootstrap my startup is due to the much lower cost of living and un-tapped talent pool. I'd like to add that the quoted figure of $1,000 USD a month is rather high. Most Thais can get by with $500 USD. That is the current starting sa…

Any suggestions on how to avoid the 'tourist tax'?

Are there westerners set up over there to help other westerners find cheap rentals, etc?

Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#23
post #14

The title says 300K + subscribers, but when I go to the YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/electromixshow it says there are 38K subscribers. Am I missing something here?

Hi znt, you're right, the aggregate of all my channels is 300,000 subscribers now. My biggest channel is here http://youtube.com/pandadnb . I've removed the heading, since it might come across as unclear, thanks.

Word of warning, 2 years ago I ran a large dubstep related channel which was shut down. Be very careful about copyrighted content, the record label will file dmca complaints even if you got permission from the artist! You only get so many warnings. I would even suggest having a backup channel and not to put all eggs in one basket!

Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#25
Very informative post. I only have two questions. First, how difficult it is to get a good Internet connection there? Can you buy a "hotspot" device? Also, what about healthcare? If you get sick, can you get access to good medical care at a reasonable price?

Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#26
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi znt, you're right, the aggregate of all my channels is 300,000 subscribers now. My biggest channel is here http://youtube.com/pandadnb . I've removed the heading, since it might come across as unclear, thanks.

Word of warning, 2 years ago I ran a large dubstep related channel which was shut down. Be very careful about copyrighted content, the record label will file dmca complaints even if you got permission from the artist! You only get so many warnings. I would even suggest having a backup channel and not to put all eggs in one basket!

Thanks xSwag, all my YouTube channels' content is licensed and legit. The artists and labels ask me to put it up. I've never put up anything I did not have permission to. Sorry to hear about your channel. YouTube copyright claims can be ruthless although it's getting better these days.

Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#27
post #11

Great write up! I'm thinking of doing the exact same thing. A couple of questions - Why the limitation to being able to only do 6 months? Do they stop renewing your visa after that? Have you looked at other neighbouring countries like Laos, Burma and Cambodia for a similar arrangement?

Thanks! The most I could get from the Thai embassy in Amsterdam was a double-entry visa. If I wanted a triple-entry visa (giving me 3x90 days or 9 months), they required me to have booked all my flights in and out of the country beforehand. That was a bit too much planning for me. I believe there's education visas if you study Thai at a school for a year, but that seems like too much of a distraction while starting u…

You should try Siem Reap - much nicer, and seems almost european.

Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#28

1000$ is supposed to be enough to live in lots of european countries as well. Eg. Estonia, Greece, Austria

I found that number to be pretty depressing. I think I could get somewhere pretty close to that, here in North Carolina, USA.

Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#29

Note: Using throwaway so my employer doesn't find out about my plan to eventually leave. Are there any places similar to this in USA? Cost of living around $1000 (give or take), good internet access, no car needed, decently cheap food and rent, and possibly an affordable coworking space? I'm looking to bootstrap an internet company and while I don't mind living abroad, I'd be much more comfortable here in the US, see…

How can you be sure of that last sentence without having tried something different? Go to Thailand with no solid commitments and see how you like it.

P.S. Beware of amorous ladyboys and STIs (not necessarily at the same time).

Re: What I learnt bootstrapping my startup from Thailand for six months

#30
post #11

Great write up! I'm thinking of doing the exact same thing. A couple of questions - Why the limitation to being able to only do 6 months? Do they stop renewing your visa after that? Have you looked at other neighbouring countries like Laos, Burma and Cambodia for a similar arrangement?

Thanks! The most I could get from the Thai embassy in Amsterdam was a double-entry visa. If I wanted a triple-entry visa (giving me 3x90 days or 9 months), they required me to have booked all my flights in and out of the country beforehand. That was a bit too much planning for me. I believe there's education visas if you study Thai at a school for a year, but that seems like too much of a distraction while starting u…

Or Saigon - had a great time there.

http://blog.alexmaccaw.com/traveling-writing-and-programming

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