At Shenzhen's Maker Institute, groups of entrepreneurs sit around tables, discussing details of products and their future plans. Animatedly participating is a blue-eyed man sporting a neat stylish beard.

He is Ludovic Krundel, a 39-year-old French who moved to Shenzhen last year from the UK, where he finished his doctoral degree in Cybernetics, and became an entrepreneur in the Chinese city.

Rubbing shoulders with numerous people nursing passionate entrepreneurial dreams and the massive financing opportunities in Shenzhen, known as the Chinese mainland's most innovative city, have made Krundel hopeful and excited about the future. And he believes Shenzhen is the best place to start one's own business.

"Shenzhen makes me feel great, with the tremendous support I receive every day as well as the energy of the people around me," said Krundel, who last year set up his own high-tech firm, LD EOS. "It is much easier to connect with people and also cash flows here than in Europe, where everything seems to have kind of stalled at the moment."

Krundel is currently working with his four-member team on a project that helps ease pain in animals used in lab experiments. He is on the verge of releasing his new product - a wireless microchip that can smoothly sit on the heads of animals. Krundel is not the only foreign entrepreneur to be drawn to the southern coastal city. Matt Scott, a New Yorker, is also an admirer of its charms.

Scott came to China in 2006 to work as a developer at Microsoft Research Asia. Last year, he and his partner Huang Dinglong set up Malong Technologies, an artificial intelligence startup.

Despite being American, Scott found it difficult to get accustomed to the work culture of his own country. "People in the US don't like to work at the weekends. There is some kind of culture that working should be contained," the 33-year-old said.

Chinese culture is quite different, he believes. "You don't need to feel strange working nights or on weekends. And this fits my style," said the chief technology officer at Malong, which is expected to move its office from Beijing to Shenzhen in a few weeks' time.

Compared with Beijing, where "you experience a more mature startup environment, Shenzhen gives you a feeling that you are part of something that is growing. It's a frontier", he explained.

And that buzz is what is driving Scott there. He wants to enjoy Shenzhen's vibrant entrepreneurial culture, and also its pleasant natural environment.

"Shenzhen is a rising star among startups. Although traditionally known for manufacturing, it has been trying to redefine itself as a center for software as well. So it has many favorable policies to attract businesses to come and work there. There is huge potential in Shenzhen," said Scott.

"Running a technology startup, we can actually work anywhere around the world as long as there is an Internet connection. I dreamed of working in an environment that is beautiful and nice, and Shenzhen is such a place," he added.

His feelings are echoed by German-born Lech Alexander Murawski, co-founder of Shenzhen-based hardware firm Nexpaq, who says it is the most suitable place to run his business.

As he sees it, California's Silicon Valley may be a paradise for software startups. But for those in the hardware industry, Shenzhen holds the edge. "It has full access to the mainland and is right on the border with Hong Kong, which also gives it full access to the West. Shenzhen and its government have a history of being tolerant and open-minded and do not disturb or even block too much," Murawski said.

In Germany, parents and society lay stress on safety over risk-taking. By comparison, the cost of running a startup in Shenzhen is lower, he added. "It is difficult for a fresh startup with zero or low income to survive the first months or year in Germany. Especially for a hardware startup, the cost of development, prototyping and mass production is much lower in China."

Top draw among peers

Shenzhen has been at the forefront of mainland cities in attracting overseas talent. It was rated the third most attractive mainland city for international talents in 2013 and 2014, behind Beijing and top-ranked Shanghai, according to a joint survey by the China Society for Research on International Professional Personnel Exchange and Development, and the Beijing-based International Talent Exchange magazine.

While the young and innovative city is may be rising in popularity among foreign entrepreneurs, it however remains a problem for this group to settle down there.

Obtaining a Chinese "green card" - a permit that allows foreigners to live and work in the country, with more rights than work-visa holders - could be a major challenge.

"It's very difficult for foreign experts to get a 'green card' in China, even if you have worked here a long time and made a lot of contributions. The requirements are very high and the processes not always very clear," Scott pointed out.

For Murawski, the foremost difficulty lies in the culture and language.

"Coming to China for the first time, not speaking the language and not knowing the cultural differences, there are many areas where you can make mistakes," Murawski said.

"If you find the right Chinese partner or employee or two who you really can trust and who speak good English, they can help you tide over the difficulties. But if you pick the wrong ones, they may kill your business. Fortunately I have been one of the lucky ones."

sally@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 07/24/2015 page8)