When my former business partner and I picked out Thailand, I was 22 years old. Thailand was on our radar because he had done an internship here. That was it.

From the get-go, the main reason to look into Thailand were lower costs and the flexibility of a web-based business: Things seemed a lot cheaper and for our customers it didn't matter if we were located in Germany or Thailand. My business partner had some professional contacts in Bangkok, nothing bending-the-rule-of-law-crazy, but 'having someone who you trust and can ask'.

That was a good starting point, especially since we were heavily bootstrapping, but of course we needed a bit more before Thunderbirds Are Go.

The due diligence process that would determine the rest of my life, came down to some very basic questions: Does Thailand really like to see foreign investors succeed? Are Thais happy to coexist with an expatriate population? Is the infrastructure - from a labor market to international internet connections - functional to the degree we require? Are the costs significantly lower compared to being based in Germany?