Startup Cafe, CoWorking Space, Incubators and GirlsinTech, Shanghai Is Getting More Interesting for Startups

Yesterday, we held our TechNode Touch (TNT) monthly event together with AppChina, the leading third-party Android App Market, in Shanghai. Eight local companies/startups including VeryCD (the largest eD2k-link file sharing site in China), Mobcent, 173zy.com (web/mobile games development company), Zuikong (eBook publisher), iBobar (a portal for audio content distribution), iKuaishou (a video content aggregation for mobile), iKeepU (a content discover platform) and mBook (a leading eBook store) were invited to present on stage, and share their thoughts/experience on how to manage and market their mobile apps. There were around ~280 pre-registered the event and the venue was fully packed.

The speakers sharing is indeed very interesting, but I have to say that the most interesting and exciting things for me actually came from the audience.

We have heavily reported about the Beijing-based Garage Cafe which is now even got featured on TechCrunch. Ive heard that there are several groups of people were planning to open their startup Cafe in Shanghai. Finally I met Caesar Chen, co-Founder of Aita Cafe which is about to open at the beginning of 2012 in Ya! ngpu Dis trict. And just last week, I got a call from a local early stage fund and was told that their Cafe at Zhangjiang, Pudong is ready.

I also met Bob Zheng who is the founder of People-Squared, an coworking space. He said their space can even hold events for ~200 people and its actually quite close to the downtown Xujiahui. You may know that for a long while, Xindanwei is the only one in Shanghai.

I also met Jing Zhou and Yanran Li, both from GITChina (GirlsInTech China). As you can read from their site,

GITchinas sole mission is to spread this message by providing a platform on which women in technology can connect, empower and learn from one another. With the increasing importance of technology and its convergence with other professions, the necessity to educate, celebrate and support women in this field has become impossible to ignore.

At last, two incubators are about to launch in 2012 in Shanghai. One is from our famous Kaifu Lee. The local government of Yangpu District has offered him a whole building so his Innovation Works Shanghai branch office is definitely on the way; Shanghai Technology Entrepreneurship Foundation for Graduates (STEFG) is planning its own incubator program in Yangpu district too.

So, is Shanghai, really catching up with Beijing in the startup space?

Garage Ca! f: An Op en Office Space for Chinese Startups

Coffee or Tea? Or a Mix of Both? A Better Startup Environment from the Ground Up.

Caf, A Sign for Chinese Internet Prosperity