This is a guest post by Dave McClure, a startup advisor and internet marketing nerd who runs a seed-stage investment program for Founders Fund.
So you consider yourself an internet entrepreneur, investor or expert, huh? Chances are you know a lot about what it’s like to be a Western technologist with Western customers, but you know very little about how the other half of the world (also known as Asia) lives and works.
If you find yourself reluctantly agreeing with that assessment, perhaps it’s time for you to jump on plane with a bunch of other Bay Area geeks and venture over to the other side of the Pacific Rim. Founders Fund and Web2Asia cordially invite you to join over 25 other techies for an eastward trip we’re calling GeeksOnAPlane (don’t worry, emergency exercises such as this one are not expected mid-flight). Starting on June 7th and lasting for 10 days, our gaggle of geeks will hit up Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai and learn lots about Asian platforms, markets, and partners along the way. And, of course, we’ll have loads of fun and do some cool touristy stuff as well.
Ticket prices vary depending on whether you want to hit up all three cities or just visit one or two. See our event page for full pricing details and the ability to register online today. Airfare gets more expensive after today so make sure to register and book your flights soon.
This is a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to get a crash course in Asian technology and its associated culture. You’ll not only have a chance to learn about marketing to Asia’s billions of customers. You’ll also meet entrepreneurs in Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai to learn how they execute their visions, and how you can translate certain Asian phenomena – such as advanced mobile technology and lucrative casual gaming experiences – into products that appeal to Western audiences.
These are just some of the topics our tour will touch upon:
- Internet & Software, Mobile Technology, Gaming Environments, Search & Social Platforms
- Startup / Business Culture in China & Japan, Vertical Market Opportunities, Market Entry Partners
- Investment Climate & State of Angel / Venture Capital / other investment sources
- Networking with new people, making cross-cultural connections & partnerships for long-term benefit
To learn more about the trip, and the various events it entails, visit the GeeksOnAPlane website. We look forward to having you join us!
Geeks on a plane?
That really sounds like a Geeky name..
Geeks on a plane?
Really for a moment I was actually visualzing the Image.
If I had money I would go. This sounds amazing and a fantastic chance to learn, explore and build bonds with some cool people.
One day….
I agree. I went to Beijing last summer with my school, since we were invited to play music at the Olympics. It was such an amazing experience.
I wonder why India is not in the Map?
lol
Fun stuff. We’ve got a lot of great folks in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai who are looking forward to meeting everyone.
@Kapil: we’d love to do a trip to India in the future… just don’t have time to fit all of Asia in one trip!
(S. Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc, etc are also interesting places too)
seriously, i am personally psyched to do a trip to India & other South Asian tech centers sometime in the next year, and i’m already a private angel investor in SlideShare which has more than half their team in India…
If I had the time I’d come along just for the food – meeting our over-seas entrepreneurial brethren would be an added bonus.
You dont need to go halfway around the world when chinatown is right around the corner.
P.S. as for creating a w2.0 platform that is considered user friendly for oversees asians, just hire a specialist from asia (international student or something). The key goal is to cater to Asian youth culture (which 10 days isn’t going to get you situated, nor your’e going to hit the hot spots of the asian scene… not when everything from the streets to the toilets seem novelty to you)
don’t tell me. you’re a China expert. you should join us on the tour. we might get lost and miss your point.
i think most of us going on the trip have been to asia before. at least i have. in any case, should be an awesome time. looking forward to catching up with friends in tokyo and shanghai. and most of the gaming, social media monetization ideas & concepts are coming outta east asia anyways, so will be good to connect in person and discuss.
@simon chan — great idea! geeks on a bus. you can be the driver of that initiative. keep us posted and make sure there’s a boba tea stop on the itinerary.
been to china many times. shanghai rules, but beijing sucks.
Delighted to be part of #GOAP – we’ll work hard at making Beijing a memorable stop
hey, why isn’t the southern part like Shenzhen and Guangzhou included? i suppose silicon valley guys can relate to the south more. weather here is much nicer and especially the food you have here will be the best you ever had. also some of the restaurants are vegans in the US can only dream of having.
It’s a shame they aren’t going to the Philippines. Japan / China are pretty slow (or just never) adopt whatever products come out of the Valley.
The Philippines on the other hand is an untapped market and has almost 100 million people who speak English either as a first or second language.
Twitter, Multiply and now Facebook are adding a lot of users from the Philippines and I guess the only positive is that the most adventurous companies who can use the Philippines will reap the most rewards from those either don’t know about the potential of the Philippines or are afraid to go here.
And..again..they..speak..English.
Paul — it’s because no one from the Philippines invited us.
would *love* to check it out. In the meantime, Japan and China are a great start on what I think are going to be regular gatherings of this sort.
That’s exactly the reason why the Philippines are less interesting Paul. They speak English, and therefor mainly adopt western sites like FB, Friendster or Twitter.
I don’t follow the logic. Yes, we adopt western sites like FB, Friendster, or Twitter.
What does China/Japan do? Copy the same sites developed in the States and slap on a different language.
At least in the Philippines, they are taking a site like Multiply with no real presence in the USA, and really using it for a variety of different purposes the founders didn’t intend to. I see e-commerce sites based on Multiply, companies using Multiply as their online presence, etc.
For American, English based developers, the Philippines (IMO) provides a testing ground where their applications can be used in an English environment whose culture is vastly different than that of the USA.
Only if we can all have matching t-shirts with huge buttons while following a perky tour guide who is holding a flag and talking through a megaphone.
done.
I’m in for that job
you bet.
The first thing people have to think is offline content. Not every body has laptop and internet connection.
So can you connect to common man ?
bring it mr. copland: Fanfare for the Common Geek.
In my brain, I have an awesome picture of what this looks like and I like it! I would TOTALLY do this. Would I be considered “uncool” if I left the pocket protector at home?
I didn’t know that The Cat in the Hat was a Bay Area geek! Or is he just the pilot?
There’s no Asia without India.
And why visit Beijing and Shanghai. Aren’t they in the same country?
Sagar — this is only the start for Geeks On A Plane. Many of us would love to check out India.
We’re visiting Beijing and Shanghai because even though they’re in the same country, their business climate is different and our tour coincides same week of Shanghai Intl Film Festival and TEDxShanghai so wanted the participants to get a cross section of sectors and networking opps while in China.
@sagar: technically you’re correct, we’re visiting 3 cities in East Asia.
see earlier comment about GoaP/South Asia trip coming sometime soon in 2010.
just hold your horses, we’ll get there & howdy!
Japan should be very interesting, largely due to the fact that Japanese aren’t quite as open with their online personalities as “Western” folks are & personal privacy is a big deal. Would be interesting to see how “Western” products could attempt to fulfill those needs.
SE Asia would be a very interesting place as well, because places like Singapore and Malaysia are miles ahead of places like Thailand (a place I love) when it comes to internet infrastructure and internet products started in the country. Malaysia and SIngapore, of course, happen to already have very large populations fluent in English.
I couldn’t agree more. It would be more affordable for the average guy like me to attend such event if it was to be held in S’pore or Malaysia or some other South-east Asian nations. We (S’pore & KL city) are 4 hours away by land transport and 45 minutes away by plane (budget airlines galore if you’re on the cheap). Being a S’porean myself, I would love to see such an event take place here.
Can’t wait to meet you all in Tokyo!