Principles of Investment with Jörn Helms, Senior Advisor at Bank of Taizhou

What do investors look for in startups? This week, we have invited Jörn Helms, Senior Advisor at the Bank of Taizhou and Country Director for China with Portier Technologies. Portier is a smartphone platform for luxury hotels allowing guests to access the internet as well as order hotel services thereby increasing hotel revenues. With an extensive background in small business landing (as the former VP of Bank of Taizhou) and angel investing, Jörn is experienced with both large companies and small startups entering China. From his first days in Taizhou, when he had to re-learn Chinese because of the local dialect, to his time as a mentor for Chinaccelerator, Jörn has personally crossed borders and found success in a new environment. Hear what he has to say about succeeding in the China startup scene from the perspective of an investor! Know more about Bank of Taizhou: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-11-15/military-drills-help-china-s-best-bank-toughen-up-its-staff Show Notes: Jörn’s background 1:44 Banking Career in China 3:16 The principal of “see and touch” 12:39 Being a mentor 15:29 Breaking the China barrier as a foreign investor 21:03 Lightning round questions 23:20 Feel free to leave a comment and start a conversation with us! If you have an ideal guest whom you would like to listen to, please let us know and we'll do our best to realize it! Many thanks to our host Ryan Shuken, guest Jörn Helms, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared.