“Cross-Border Talent Economy” is co-hosted by btrax and Asia Society, sponsored by ChinaSF and Bay Area Council. It featured 5 professionals who are heavily involved with employment and immigration issues. The panel discussion took place in the heart of San Francisco financial district, with a special blend of various industrial backgrounds including venture capital, business, academic, legal and HR.
How international talent differ from those from the United States?
We all know that the world market nowadays is borderless. Technology significantly shortened physical distances between business people around the globe. However, problems still stand: how do you work with a person if you cannot see them on a regular, face-to-face basis?
Hiring talent from overseas render companies a different perspective, diversities collide and generate innovative ideas. Vice versa, these international professionals usually bring fresh point of views to their original country, thus make the world market even closer and more productive.
Challenges of hiring & keeping overseas talent
As for some companies, they choose to hire talent directly from their home countries. For instance, btrax usually conduct initial interviews through Skype, time differences thus has to been put in consideration. When a person is considered for the position, the company has to work with lawyers to figure out what type of visa/how to apply for a work visa for this person. Sometimes, companies find it is impossible to bring a person in simply because of visa problems.
On the other hand, even if the person obtained a work visa, that does not necessarily mean he/she is guaranteed to be able to work here 3 years from now, due to the visa expiration issues. In this sense, neither the employer nor employee feels stable, and usually cause many problems in terms of work assignment.
As for large corporates and C-level talent, what are the challenges?
In most cases, larger international corporates will have a better infrastructure to seek and hire senior level overseas professionals.
However, another trend being emerged is that the United States is exporting as many talent as it is importing – we find lots of higher level American professional leave their country to explore more opportunities.
Countries from Asia, for example, is one of the fastest growing regions of the world; in this sense, going back to home countries and build up your resume there might be a great option, and gives you a larger chance to be spotted by corporations in the United States.
On a larger scale (policy & system), what problems are there?
On a structural level, the US immigration system is still limited to a few labor categories, which does not fit the modern society and employment status quo. The last major change in terms of labor categories happened back in the 1980s, the immigration framework is set in a time that we are no longer living in.
Take Silicon Valley for example, a majority of companies here desperately need software engineers and designers, yet the policy is still leaning towards mechanic engineering and many traditional sciences. Practically speaking, lawyers find cultural prejudice still hinders global talent from obtaining a work visa.
If there is one thing you want to change about immigration policy,
what it will be, and why?
Flexible Visa: the world market is so small, talent mobilization is so frequent that a type of visa which let international talent travel between countries without time limitation is strongly desired;
Creativity: before early 2000s, immigration policy is less restricted, so lawyers can use their creativities to apply for visas for their clients (Lisa used to turn a cheese chef into a food scientist, which later became a famous case study material for practical immigration laws).
Academic background requirement: as for H1B visa, a BA/BS degree is required in order to apply for a work visa. However, we find many talent without a bachelor’s degree are as good as those who have. Paperwork and documents is almost the only source for immigration office to decide whether or not to issue a visa, which is partial per se.
On April 25 , 2012, btrax is excited to annouce the 4th SF Japan Night in conjunction with SF New Tech. The last SF Japan Night was very successful with over 250 people attending the event night with over 1000 online viewers watching the event streamed live.
Since February, we have been looking Japanese web start-ups for six spots at Japan Night and the response has been great. Bolstered by the success of companies like myGengo who got local VC funding after last year’s Japan Night, this year more than 30 companies applied and 15 of them passed into the second round.
A music community service which enables users to share their favorite music with their friends. Users can create their own avatars and start listening to their friends’ favorite music easily. (@beatrobo)
A Peer-to-peer job marketplace for co-working spaces. It is a platform to sell and buy small tasks directly from each other and to reserve space and accepts payment from people using credit card or PayPal. Coworkify won first place at Startup Weekend Kyoto 2011. (@cwrkfy)
An online service that assists users find a good restaurant based on friends’ recommendations. Users can collect trustworthy information by asking questions and receiving answers from their friends. (@foodstoq)
An iPhone App that allows users to download and carry sheet music on mobile devices such as iPhone and iPad. piaScore has earned a Distinguished Honoree medal in Consumer Entertainment/Information in the 2011 International Business Awards. (@piaScore)
A free web browser compatible with Windows, Mac, iPhone/iPad, Android and Windows phone. Another feature, “Fenrir Pass,” is a free cloud service that allows users to access their own bookmarks from different devices. (@fenrir_official)
Our hope is to continue this on-going platform for start-up companies in Japan to participate on the global stage with the first stop in San Francisco -the ground zero for high tech web /mobile start-ups. As with the last three events, we are expecting over 300 people to be attending this unique event .
We hope to get sponsors who want to help these start-ups by supporting our event. Also, we appreciate media coverage to support these innovative start-ups. Individual interviews with each of the finalists and a media pass are available upon request. Inquiries to acquire a media pass or to learn more about becoming a sponsor, please contact japannight@btrax.com
H1B, CPT, OPT, or J-1? Make sense of how innovative companies are securing overseas talent within the tangle of US immigration restrictions.
Seats are limited – early bird registration of $15 ends April 12th.
Join Asia Society and btrax for a panel discussion with cross-industry experts from the corporate, HR, academic, legal, and non-profit spheres, and hear their insights on:
How do cross-cultural and multilingual employees impact a company’s global competitiveness?
Which aspects of current U.S. immigration policy are the most problematic for businesses expanding abroad?
How are corporations and individuals strategically hiring and working within immigration restrictions?
We interviewed Ahmed Siddiqui of SF Bay Area Startup Weekend. In this interview, Ahmed discusses his path going from a “big pond” to a “little pond” and his involvement with Startup Weekend’s entrepreneurship education. Ahmed also discusses the upcoming April 13-14 MEGA Startup Weekend – the largest Startup Weekend event in the world!
Amongst 15 highly qualified entrants, 6 lucky companies have been choosen for the April 25 SF New Tech Japan Night IV at Mighty in SF. The semi-finals was held in Tokyo last Friday before a crowd of almost 200 people. Here is a rundown of the finalists.
A music community service which enables users to share their favorite music with their friends. Users can create their own avatars and start listening to their friends’ favorite music easily. (@beatrobo)
A Peer-to-peer job marketplace for co-working spaces. It is a platform to sell and buy small tasks directly from each other and to reserve space and accepts payment from people using credit card or PayPal. Coworkify won first place at Startup Weekend Kyoto 2011. (@cwrkfy)
An online service that assists users find a good restaurant based on friends’ recommendations. Users can collect trustworthy information by asking questions and receiving answers from their friends. (@foodstoq)
An iPhone App that allows users to download and carry sheet music on mobile devices such as iPhone and iPad. piaScore has earned a Distinguished Honoree medal in Consumer Entertainment/Information in the 2011 International Business Awards. (@piaScore)
A free web browser compatible with Windows, Mac, iPhone/iPad, Android and Windows phone. Another feature, “Fenrir Pass,” is a free cloud service that allows users to access their own bookmarks from different devices. (@fenrir_official)
KAYAC, Inc was the talk of the show as they showcased two interesting mobile apps at SxSW this last week. For those who do not know KAYAC, they are a Kamakura, Japan-based web/mobile app developer with a very colorful background. They call themselves “omoshiro” which means a fun-loving company.
KAYAC’s company’s vision is to increase the number of creators in the world. Their corporate culture is to make everything weird and different. KAYAC’s weird culture includes things like on-the-move office, where they traveled and worked on a bus in Vietnam or to Tohoku to help the earthquake/tsunami ravaged area recover. Other uniqueness in their culture is that they set bonuses by rolling a pair of dice, and have the spirit of manga where superheros overcome the odds. Read more about their culture here.
A total of 20 companies came from Japan to showcase their products at SXSW. KAYAC sent three of their employees to SXSW, and attended to the booth dressed in Kabuki and Geisha outfits. So far, KAYAC has released 7 new apps to the US market this year. Among those apps, Photobag and MusicParty were highlighted at SxSW.
Photobag
Photobag is an app that allows you to share unlimited pictures from your mobile device with your friends. There is no site registration required and all you need is a secret access code to share unlimited pictures with your friends. The catch is that they are only available free for a limited time. After that time, one will need to “feed” their honey bear with some money to access the pictures.
To promote Photobag, KAYAC ran a campaign at SXSW by making personalized Manga-style cards for the event audience and distributing them through the Photobag app. KAYAC attracted over 200 people to create the Manga cards.
MusicParty
MusicParty is a unique iPhone app which allows a user to share their iTunes mobile music with up to four of their friends.
This app uses wireless or bluetooth to share music. To use this app, the user will create a “Party” and phones that have that app loaded and active can see the “Party” and request music to be played on the user’s iPhone. The user who created the “Party” can select which music will be played on their phone. MusicParty can be useful for a roadtrip, party or even a wedding where background music is needed. This app is available in the iTunes App Store.
Can you escape Werewolf Village? On Friday, March 23rd, the newest form of Japanese entertainment is coming to New People in San Francisco. Known as a “real escape game,” it requires participants to team up with other players and use their detective skills to solve mysteries and find a key to escape from a locked room. Over 100,000 people played this game in Japan, China, and Singapore, and now it’s making its US debut in San Francisco.
The event will be held across three days and eight different times throughout the weekend, with the last game beginning on Sunday, March 25 at 5 p.m. If you’re a fan of puzzles, riddles, or mysteries, then join the “Escape from Werewolf Village.”
Are you up to the challenge? Tickets are selling out quickly! To participate, order your tickets from Ticketmaster. Check out the official website for details or watch the video below.
The story of Cheung Yan (left), founder of Nine Dragons Paper, is just one sea turtle story "Borderless Economics" tells. (Photo: World Economic Forum/Adam Dean)
Date and Time: Thursday February 23, 2012; 12pm-13:30pm
Mass migration is changing the way we live, learn and do business. A century ago, migrants crossed an ocean and never saw their homelands again. Today, they call or Skype home the moment their flight has landed. Thanks to cheap travel and easy communication, immigrants stay in contact with their native countries, creating powerful cross-border networks, uncovering and creating business and job opportunities that would never have existed had they not traversed global boundaries.
In Borderless Economics: Chinese Sea Turtles, Indian Fridges and the New Fruits of Global Capitalism, Robert Guest, The Economist’s Business Editor, travels the world, observing how immigrant networks create wealth, spread ideas and foster innovation. Asia Society invites you to this Corporate Briefing, where Mr. Guest will discuss key business and economic findings, including:
how Indians in America and India build the frugal technology that could ultimately save Medicare
how the “sea turtle” phenomenon – young Chinese returning home from their studies in the West – will eventually give us democracy in China
that the flow of educated migrants from poor countries to rich ones – the so-called “brain-drain” – actually reduces global poverty
that if the United States keeps its borders open and taps into the powerful global diaspora network, it will remain the world’s most powerful nation indefinitely.
how migration, for the all the disruption it causes, makes the world happier – and wealthier.
Attendees will gain macroeconomic insights into the way global immigration patterns shape the business landscape, workforce, and flow of information and ideas in the coming decades. Joe Morgan, Chief Investment Officer for Silicon Valley Bank Asset Management, will moderate the discussion. Copies of Borderless Economics will be available for purchase at the event.
No, this is not a sneak peek of the new season of The Walking Dead, a massive rebellion, or political revolution. This is a picture taken by Jesus Diaz on Jan 12, when Apple was about to release the new iPhone 4S in China. The specific demographic of this photo? Most likely designers and people between the ages of 18 and 35. It seems that Apple products are no longer a “niche” necessity, but rather a signature of chic and urban culture.
Despite Apple’s back out in 2009, Macworld|iWorld 2012 still attracted over 20,000 visitors and 300+ exhibitors worldwide to the Moscone Center in San Francisco. I went to this 3-day event as a media reporter, and it was quite interesting to see many new faces(new companies) emerging – some of them came all the way from Asia. Here are some products that caught my eye.
All Jack Speakers. Here’s only one of the jaw-dropping examples:
This 4-speaker set is designed and made by Alljack, a Taiwanese company. Inspired by a wine bottle and a flower, this speaker set places your iPod/iPhone in the center and is decorated by the with Russian diamonds, bullion plating, unnatural timber pellet and other music inspired metal. The cost? $68,000!
Adventure Bar Story
The exhibition not only welcomed big companies and manufacturers, but also many startups and app developers. I was intrigued by this small iPad game booth in the app section:
Adventure Bar Story is a 16-Bit iPad/iPhone game that blended full-on restaurant management gameplay with turn-based RPG battling/exploration. 16-Bit! This game debuted in Japan’s PlayStation Store last summer and attracted a lot of attention because of the nostalgic graphics. The developer of this game – RideonJapan – is a small Japanese startup with a team of 7.
Given the fact that Apple products are gaining popularity in China and Asia in general, we see more companies and developers from Asia coming out of their region and aiming worldwide. These innovators in Asia are worth a closer look.
Following the success of SF Macworld|iWorld, IDG announced its 2nd Macworld exhibition in Asia this September at the China National Convention Center, Beijing. It will feature partners like China Unicom, Youku, Sina, Yesky. Let’s wait in anticipation to see what the next six months of innovative products/apps are going to appear at this event.
Co-hosted by btrax and Asia Society, the “Chinese Innovators” event challenged the stereotype that China produces only cheap or counterfeit goods. The cross-industry panel of Chinese business leaders – who are revolutionizing China’s mainstream reputation through innovative products, strategic partnerships and acquisitions in the U.S. market – discussed topics including how a 1 billion domestic population influenced foreign growth strategy, successes and challenges facing Chinese companies in the U.S. market, and so forth.
btrax has grown rapidly from a San Francisco boutique design house into a cross-cultural branding and web consulting agency with amazing clients in six countries.
Sundai
Amongst 15 highly qualified entrants, 6 lucky companies have been choosen for the April 25 SF New Tech Japan Night IV at Mighty in SF. The semi-finals was held in Tokyo last Friday before a crowd of almost 200 people. Here is a rundown of the finalists.
