How An Israeli Startup Entrepreneur Expanded into Taiwan – And Her Advice

Israeli startup founder Noa Lifshitz could have expanded anywhere to grow her management and consulting firm. She picked Taiwan.

Lifshitz, CEO of her 3-year-old company Noa’s Mark, recalls a tip she got about a product development company in Taipei that was working with the other company in Tel Aviv where she’s based.

“Because of the contact with the product development center in Taipei, I knew about Taiwanese companies and had a few Taiwanese clients,” Lifshitz said.

Then she figured: Why not have a roadshow in Taipei? She quickly booked flights to Taipei and stayed a month. “I saw a great opportunity in Taiwan,” she said. Eventually she began to plant roots.

Then the hard part: Weathering culture shock and finding a viable business strategy that made unique sense for Taiwan’s legacy of hardware contracting.

“Taiwan has a good reputation in OEM and ODM (contract manufacturing), while the U.S. market cares more about the product’s value — how your product can affect the clients,” Lifshitz said.

Noa’s Mark helps tech firms form business plans, raise funds and enter markets. There’s also mentoring and keynote speeches. Some clients are in China, Singapore and the United States.

Now the CEO is focused on bringing Taiwan closer to Israel, auguring more cooperation that would be a boon for startups.

he consulting firm has teamed up with the city of Taipei’s business incubator Startup@ Taipei and the National Applied Research Laboratories research center under the central government to meet more Taiwanese startups. Lifshitz and her staff contacted more than 200 Taiwanese startups last year.

Coming from the startup nation-Israel, Noa has the spirit to share her experiences to those Taiwanese startups, no matter is to work with them or simply to be a mentor.

Many Taiwanese startup entrepreneurs lack family support, since their parents normally suggest getting stable jobs that promise a higher living standard, Lifshitz told Business Next. That means those younger people must choose either a stable lifestyle or a chance to chase their dreams, she said.

Full-time, high-status work doesn’t necessarily foster stability, she suggested.

“I have seen a poor lawyer, so there is evidence that there is no guarantee of success if you go to get higher education or certification,” Lifshitz said. “But your innovative idea might be the key to changing our world tomorrow.

“Those young entrepreneurs just like me three years ago when I started to establish my first company,” she added. “I was afraid of the unknown risks, but my mother was telling me that she trusted me, so I felt I can do it.” Her advice to Taiwanese startup founders: “Just go for it.”

〔Original :Meet Startup @TW〕