Taiwan launches national brand for startups eyeing global expansion — Startup Island TAIWAN

This week, Taiwan has launched its national brand for startups — Startup Island TAIWAN, which is expected to make its official debut at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. 

Speaking of Startup Nation, one might think of Israel. Finally, Taiwan has also picked up an image to be remembered by. “It’s a brand that the Taiwanese can identify with and foreigners can easily understand,” says Kyle Chen, Director of Meet.

Each of the four colors on the logo represents a characteristic that the island is known for: diverse culture, daring innovation, cutting-edge tech, and endless creativity. And the logo itself, shaped like a DNA, symbolizes that the spirit of innovation is embedded in the genes of the Taiwanese.

In fact, Taiwan has been ranked as “super innovator” with Germany, Switzerland, and the US in the latest WEF (World Economic Forum) Global Competitiveness Report, says Mei-Ling Chen, Minister of the National Development Council (NDC). According to this year’s GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) report, the country stands as one of the best environments to startup a company among fifty economies.

Read more: Taiwan’s NDC Says Government-Backed Project for Startups Has “Delivered Concrete Results”

247Visualart, the design studio in charge of this branding project, says they’ve tried to juxtapose the small and the big on the logo to reflect the collaboration between startup companies and the government to fuel the ecosystem and the ambition for Taiwan to shine more brightly on the larger, global stage.

Drawing on his experience participating in international startup events, IC Jan, Ambassador of Startup Genome in Taiwan, stresses the importance of a unified brand image in promoting startups from Taiwan. It’s a fundamental tool for storytelling, he adds.

Chi-Yi Chang, Chairman of the Taiwan Design Center, says Taiwanese companies “have been good at building products, but don’t know how to tell stories.”

“Every entrepreneur has a touching story to tell,” says Ms. Chen, Minister of the NDC. With the new brand, they will be able to explain the root of their venture.

Ultimately, she hopes “Startup Island TAIWAN can be a lever for Taiwanese startups to expand into overseas markets.”

A single startup may be neglected, but if all the startups are grouped under the same brand, there’s better chance to attract global attention, she says.

Meanwhile, Tahan Lin, Founder and CEO of Backer Founder, said this design shows that Taiwanese people believe they can work with each other to make the island they reside in an even better place.

Small as it may seem, Taiwan is home to infinite possibilities — that’s why the logo is also shaped like an infinity symbol, 247Visualart says.

〔Original :Meet Startup @ TW〕
https://meet.bnext.com.tw/intl/articles/view/45893