Steve Hoffman | Startups In China & The Five Forces That Change Everything

<p><strong>Topics Discussed and Key Points:</strong></p><p>●      Launching Founders Space in China</p><p>●      Why Steve wrote <em>Make Elephants Fly</em></p><p>●      China’s unique (and commonly misrepresented) approach to innovation</p><p>●      Mentoring Chinese vs Western entrepreneurs</p><p>●      How evolving family dynamics and the Westernization of much of today’s Chinese youth influences the country’s perception towards entrepreneurship as a career path</p><p>●      What Western startups need to know if they want to enter China, and what Chinese startups need to know if they want to take their business abroad</p><p>●      Why Steve wrote <em>The Five Forces That Change Everything</em></p><p>●      Steve on whether China will win the battle for AI supremacy</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Episode Summary:</strong></p><p>Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Steve Hoffman, venture investor, serial entrepreneur, and award-winning author. He is Chairman &amp; CEO of San Francisco-based startup accelerator Founders Space, which was ranked the #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines.</p><p>Steve remembers the moment he was first invited to establish his first Founders Space in China. This was the start of a plethora of opportunities that came his way almost overnight: That same year, Steve was simultaneously doing speaking tours, launching his incubators in other cities, and had just published his first book <em>Make Elephants Fly</em>. His big “break”, however, came in the form of a talk he gave for Tencent which made Steve China-famous.</p><p>Steve makes the case that China’s business world is actually quite innovative, contrary to its “copycat” stereotype. In fact, he says that it is precisely due to their ability to see what’s working, and to be able to improve upon these products and adapt it to their local market, that defines China’s truly innovative spirit.</p><p>Asked for his experience in mentoring Chinese entrepreneurs as a foreigner, Steve says t