Taiwan becomes first Asian nation with Silicon Valley launch pad

Elizabeth Weise | USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Taiwan is launching a Silicon Valley innovation office Friday, making it the first Asian nation to join an existing slate of state-sponsored "soft landing" centers countries are creating here.

The opening of the Taiwan Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center in San Jose, Calif., makes it the ninth country to open an office to facilitate companies coming from overseas to find their way in Silicon Valley.

Currently France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland all have some form of outpost here.

"Everyone looks to Silicon Valley as a mecca of innovation and entrepreneurship," said Bruce Bachenheimer, director of the Entrepreneurship Lab at Pace University in New York City. "They have to be here."

Each country runs its landing pad, sometimes called a "bridge center," a little differently.

In Taiwan's case, support will go to start-ups that have already won a space at one of the Bay Area's existing tech accelerators. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center will offer up to $20,000 in living costs to each Taiwanese entrepreneur while they are here.

There will also be introductory training. "There's a cultural difference between Taiwan and the United States," said Larry Wang, the CEO of TIEC. "We want to better prepare them, so they can learn and do more while they're here."

Others focus more on raising their national profile. Switzerland's Swissnex office in San Francisco not only provides desk space for Swiss entrepreneurs, but also hosts cultural events that bring Swiss innovators to the Bay Area.

"It's a fantastic way to get to know what's cooking in the garages and living rooms of Silicon Valley," said founder Christian Simm. "It gives us visibility and creates connections."

Germany maintains a Silicon Valley office for its German Accelerator, a hands-on mentoring program that gives selected German start-up companies time in the Valley, connections to investors, and staff and mentors who have deep ties here.

France has three official accelerator programs in the Bay area, including the French Tech hub, which offers co-working space and is meant to be a one-stop shop for French start-ups ready to settle in the area, said Philippe Perez, the attaché for Science and Technology at the Consulate General of France in San Francisco.

Strength in numbers

Among the most successful programs has been a consortium created by the Nordic countries, which banded together to open the Nordic Innovation House in Palo Alto last year.

"We're here to lower the barriers for our innovators," said manager Yvonne Ericsson. "We want to make it easy to come here."

One of the ways they do that is by offering subsidized office space as well as help locating housing. Both are expensive and difficult to find in an area where it's all about knowing someone who knows someone.

The idea of several culturally similar countries banding together to create a landing space in the valley is piquing interest.

Ericsson says she's had visits from the Visegrad Group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) as well as the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg).

"They want to know how five countries can work together so well," she said.

Where exactly is Silicon Valley?

One question all the countries face is where to put their offices. It's a conundrum, as Silicon Valley can mean anything from San Jose to Oakland, a distance of more than 50 miles.

"There's no real center. If you're in Palo Alto, then you're not in San Francisco. And if you're in San Francisco, you're not in Berkeley. Wherever you choose is wrong for someone," said Simm.

Taiwan is wrestling with that. It has put its office in San Jose to start. "But we're going to evaluate as we move forward, to see where is best," said Wang.

Homegrown doesn't cut it

In the past, countries have worked to build their own version of Silicon Valley. Israel has Silicon Wadi, Ireland the Silicon Docks and there's Silicon Fjord in Norway.

But while those efforts have borne fruit, Silicon Valley still remains the center, its networks growing ever denser and more necessary to access.

"I would describe it as a virtuous circle," said Rick Hutley, a professor of business analytics at the University of the Pacific in San Francisco. Everyone feels the need to be in Silicon Valley so they come, making it even more tightly packed with possibilities.

"Because everyone's here, everyone needs to be here," he said.

There's also the desire to let some of the famous Silicon Valley "fail fast, fail often" mentality rubs off.

"In many other parts of the world, that culture doesn't really exist. Companies need almost a cast-iron business plan to succeed. Not in Silicon Valley," Hutley said.

"In Sweden, if you go bankrupt, that's it," said Nordic House's Ericsson.

"We love the American Dream," she said. "Anything is possible here — after three fails you get a home run."