Ask HN: Partnering with Chinese cofounders as a US citizen? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Partnering with Chinese cofounders as a US citizen?

7 pointsnewman8r7 comments

Can anyone comment on whether or not it makes sense to work as a US cofounder on a company based in China? Is it even doable? Do Chinese cofounders even want to work with US partners?

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If the company is based in China and you are not a Chinese citizen, I would be very wary. It is a common story that the Chinese cofounder can steal the business from the foreign partner. I've heard these stories multiple times both from friends and online. In the Chinese courts, a Chinese citizen will always prevail. Many have lost their business this way. Unless it's an extreme circumstance, I would highly recommend against it.

There's a big advantage in raising capital... he would literally have people throw money at him with just a slick presentation.

But the problem is that he would be the only non-Chinese speaker in a room full of Chinese investors. Also IP protection is fairly weak over there. Ah, the promise of riches.

Are you comfortable with the CCP also being a cofounder?

Not necessarily, although I'm not sure how correct that assumption is - I don't know much about their startup culture.

Many college-educated Chinese join the CCP since it’s essentially a requirement to move to senior roles in many organizations there. Exceptions exist, but I doubt there’s a single Chinese venture firm/unicorn that doesn’t have LPs or angels who are CCP members or have backdoor deals with the CCP itself.

I’ve found actual loyalty to the CCP to be varying. The more urban (especially the coastal urbanites from Shanghai and Beijing) and educated they are, the more likely in my experience that they’re only paying lip service to the CCP. They’ll even enthusiastically criticize the regime behind closed doors if they trust you - but I’m certain there’s also plenty of true believers. Take that as you will.

Fascinating, thanks for the insight.

The average westerners can't imagine the amount of indoctrination CCP exerts on it's people. China is a collectivist society, as a result the values are completely different.

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