When Swedish entrepreneur Elias Ek arrived in Taiwan in 2000, there was no clear roadmap for foreigners wanting to start a business. Over the years, he learned the system the hard way — navigating bureaucracy, cultural differences and regulatory hurdles.
In 2013, after more than a decade of trial and error, he decided to document what he had learned in the book How to Start a Business in Taiwan, a practical guide intended as a handover of knowledge. A decade has passed, Taiwan has changed and now Elias is pouring his heart and soul into a new book.
Swedish roots
The entrepreneurial spirit has always burned in Elias Ek. At the age of only 14, Elias organised a bread delivery service in his hometown for Sundsvall, alongside his job as a paperboy. Today he runs his own company in Taipei. With over 25 years of experience, he has had a long career as an entrepreneur in Taiwan.
Taiwan – an island of opportunity
Elias first arrived in Taiwan in 2000 and started his company, Enspyre, in 2002. Today Enspyre employs an office staff of more than 70 people and works with providing B2B Lead Generation service for large clients such as eBay and Oracle.
“We have gone through many phases, always learning from our mistakes, always striving to improve. We have been adaptable, and that has been necessary to keep the business running,” Elias tells.
“Taiwan is a good place to start a business. There is a lot of freedom here. As long as you pay your taxes, the government stays out of your way. That is not the case everywhere,” Elias says.
Taiwan offers many advantages for foreign entrepreneurs compared with other East Asian countries. A foreigner can own 100% of a business in Taiwan, unlike in countries like Thailand, where foreigners are not allowed to own a majority share in a Thai business.
Despite his success today, Elias has also faced many challenges, especially as a foreigner in Taiwan.
Not easy for foreigners
When Elias arrived in Taiwan, foreign entrepreneurs were few and far between, and those who were present faced many challenges.
“It has been hard. I have hit many walls, but that is what entrepreneurship is. People not seeing your vision or understanding your plan. It was especially not easy for foreigners. There are hurdles both legal and cultural, it can be frustrating” Elias explains.
Over time, Elias has learned to navigate Taiwanese bureaucracy and cultural norms, which are different from his Swedish upbringing. He learned what to do, what not to do, how to act and how to deal with bureacracy.
By 2011, Elias had become an expert in the entrepreneurial community in Taiwan. People were coming to him for advice, and he was happy to mentor. One day, an idea for sharing his knowledge struck at the most unlikely of places: Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Old book
“I was flying the Thai Airways route from Bangkok to Stockholm,” Elias remembers. “I was standing in a bookstore and I noticed a shelf displaying many copies of a book called How to Start a Business in Thailand.”
Is that not just brilliant, I thought. Here you have tens of thousands of happy tourists stopping by this bookstore on their way home, and they are greeted by this opportunity!” Elias smiles. “Somebody should write that book, but for Taiwan.”
That somebody turned out to be Elias himself. Before long, he had assigned a team of Taiwanese interns to the project. He and his team worked for a full year researching everything relevant for the book.
“It was a long process. Many teams of interns came and went during that first year. We were talking to scholars, businesspeople and politicians to make sure we had everything nailed down to a T. It took me another full year to rewrite and re-edit before I felt ready to publish.”
The book, How to Start a Business in Taiwan, came out in 2013. For such a niche topic, it has had a lot of success. It has sold over 5,000 copies. The book even caught the attention of people high up in Taiwanese society.
Presidential approval
The book was launched at the Taipei International Book Exhibition in 2013. The event had been a success, and Elias was ready to pack and go home when a friend of his, a Norwegian journalist, mentioned he was going to an event at the Presidential Palace afterwards. A lightbulb went on in Elias’s head.
“I hastily grabbed a copy of the book. I signed it and handed it to my friend and said: ‘If you happen to get a chance to talk to the president, would you ask if he would want a copy of this book?’” Elias remembers.
“Two hours later a notification popped up on my phone, and there it was: a photo of the president with my book,” Elias says proudly. “I was overjoyed. It felt so validating.”
The president’s endorsement helped validate the book. The government bought copies and distributed one to every Taiwan trade office in the world.
“In business it is about taking chances, and I really took a chance that day,” Elias says.
Time for an update
Today, Elias and his team are working on a follow-up to How to Start a Business in Taiwan. 2013 was a different time. Taiwan’s economy has grown rapidly. Entrepreneurship has become easier. Elias has brought on much change himself, he has been lobbying the Taiwanese government and has been called into government meetings to advise on policies regarding foreign entrepreneurs.
Taiwan is very different from when I arrived 26 years ago. With this new book, I am going into the writing process in a more personal way. In the first book I assumed the reader had already decided to start a business here, and my book provided a step-by-step guide on how,” Elias says.
“In this new book, I want to talk more about why you should start a business here. Taiwan is a great place for entrepreneurs. It has worked really well for me, and if I can share the lessons I have learned and help entrepreneurial newcomers, it would mean a lot to me,” Elias Ek says with a smile.
This is awesome. Congratulations to Mr Ek!