Introduction: From Desert to Rainforest: A Crucial Decade for the Island of Startups

Introduction: From Desert to Rainforest: A Crucial Decade for the Island of Startups

2011-2021 was a crucial decade for Taiwan's startup ecosystem. Started out as a desert, lack of resource, it sprouted gradually and startups began to emerge on the international stage. From Desert to Rainforest: A Crucial Decade for the Island of Startups combs through related policies and literature, conducts in-depth interviews with 22 contributors to Taiwan's startup ecosystem, and analyzes their perspectives. The book looks back at key changes as Taiwan's startup ecosystem started from scratch, and looks to future opportunities and challenges.
The book also points out that key actors adopted the concepts of startup ecosystem in the early 2010s, which led to the rise of the startup community in Taiwan. In terms of resource matchmaking, intermediaries collaborate with the government, companies, and supportive organizations to assist startups as they grow. As a result, close community relationships are developed. From a policy perspective, starting in 2014, the government has not only introduced numerous industry policies and improved the regulatory environment, but also transitioned to the role of matchmaker, providing guidance, and attracting investments in startups or promoting startup hubs. Furthermore, the amount of early investments bounced back and their sources of capital became more diverse. How to attract more international attention and let investors in each stage work together has since become a new challenge.
From the perspective of companies and startups, Taiwanese enterprises have been actively seeking to collaborate with startups through accelerators and venture capitals, and have brought in capabilities of external startups. Meanwhile, many iconic startups in Taiwan have entered an important stage of international expansion, and are looking to find suitable paths for internationalization in the field of ''software services'' and ''software and hardware integration.'' However, they continue to face challenges of landing in overseas markets and adapting to local culture.
Looking to the future, ''startup recirculation'' has already emerged in Taiwan, symbolizing the evolution of the ecosystem. Nevertheless, it is still necessary to drive comprehensive changes to transform and become embedded in international systems. In the midst of a global market reshuffling and soaring of technological innovations, is Taiwan fully prepared to seize the opportunities for transformation and truly become an island of startups?