As part of our research for the latest Notion Insights report ‘The Journey East‘, we interviewed 20+ experts in various aspects of doing business in Asia, including strategy, go-to-market, hiring, funding, legal and more. Each of our contributors shared their stories, advice, learnings and war stories, which we have consolidated into a 10 step guide to begin your journey eastwards.

This week we share steps 6-10:

6: Singapore is probably the best hub...

... but remember, it's a small market.

“Location, location, location! 600M people are within approximately three to four hours flight of Singapore, and China is also very accessible. It’s 3.5 hours to Hong Kong and 3.5 hours to Shanghai. So within a six hour flight time you can reach 1B people.” – Susie Hughes, Allison + Partners.

“With a Singapore-incorporated company set up, you can then use Singapore as a base to explore further opportunities in the region, taking advantage of the competitive tax rates and double tax agreements with more than 50 treaty partners including countries such as India, Thailand, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Furthermore, Singapore inherited the English common law tradition characterised by the doctrine of judicial precedent. This legal system, similar to the English common law tradition, will be familiar to UK and European companies.” – Gilbert Leong, Dentons Singapore.

“In general, Singapore is a great place to start out, because of its strong legal framework and supporting business ecosystem. The government is incredibly pro-business with lots of grants, tax breaks and funding, etc. They even match seed investments 1:1! Even if only your parent company is in Singapore and you own subsidiaries in other Asian countries, you can still get government support - which is incredible! Of course, the fact that everyone speaks English and it’s convenient to travel to other Asian countries from there also helps; it’s crucial in Asian culture where face-time is of paramount importance.” – Serge Zloto, Scortex.

As a hub for the region, there are two choices: Hong Kong and Singapore. Location-wise, Singapore wins unless the main focus is China. From a tech ecosystem point of view, Singapore is hugely advanced and has many advantages.

7: Build a world class team & culture

“We built a great culture, with a focus on diversity and high performing teams.” – Jimmy Fitzgerald, ServiceNow.

“Because of the market complexity you need a lot of management maturity. Highly experienced and local people can make a huge difference.” – John Eng, NewVoiceMedia.

“This is a new economic frontier, with a huge explosion in terms of technology and speed of execution; and doing business here can be a real minefield. That means you ideally need people who have scaled (and failed) in the region. They need to have some battle scars.” –Richard Goddard, Selecture.

As in every aspect of business, the key to success is great people, not just the people you hire but the partnerships you build.

8: Adapt & learn

“The scale of competition is incredibly high and exceeds anything in terms of speed and intensity that most of us have ever experienced in Europe, the US, or even in the hotbed of Silicon Valley. The work hours in technology companies in China are referred to as the “996”: working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week - something unheard of in other technology centres around the world.” –Patrick Norris, Notion.

"When I worked in France, I couldn't believe how they behaved in the workplace. And yet it worked. The same went for China: it's a different culture with different norms and behaviours. No quarter is given in life or business. Everyone is up for a fight. And moving faster. Plus, start-ups have access to more money. So if you are entering the market, you have to execute ruthlessly. – Peter Crosby, Triptease.

The markets, the people and the cultures are all different; and the speed is dizzying,
especially in China, so you need to be constantly learning and adapting.

9: Raise local investment

"Identifying and connecting with trustworthy local investors is more important than ever to doing business in China, either a fund or family office. Every one of our commentators with experience of China has noted the importance of local connections and patronage, both culturally and in the enforced system of JVs. But perhaps most exciting is the pace of change here. The government, particularly under President Xi’s ambitious and unfettered plans, is connecting talent with funding to accelerate China’s technology expertise beyond all expectations.." – Patrick Norris, Notion

“The one thing I truly believe is that for any company such as ourselves to succeed in China - or in fact in any of the Asian countries - it is essential to get local investment. We were fortunate to have Rakuten come in on the C Round and they are proving invaluable to us as we navigate the opportunity, but at the next round we ideally need a Chinese investor.” – Mike Laven, Currencycloud.

10: Leave China to last

Why? Because it's hard.

“And you’d better understand the bigger picture. The Chinese government has stated domestically a goal to stop relying on international technology companies by 2020; replacing them with domestic technology companies as the bulk of service providers. The regulatory deck is therefore often stacked against foreign technology companies in favor of domestic firms. So consider this factor when looking at the long term suitability of China as a place to do business.” – Patrick Norris, Notion

Enter China last of all. It’s so hard and fraught with risk. China wants Chinese technologies, so it’s also getting ever harder. Enter Japan second to last, and Korea third from last. There is fierce and very entrenched competition in each of these markets. – John Eng, NewVoiceMedia

China is open to acquisition or partnerships in areas that are strategic. You can increase your
chances of success when you have strong local partnerships, networks and funding.