Have you seen us in the news? You may have spotted SMHeuristics featured in the Idaho Business Review last week for our ongoing business development efforts in Taiwan.
This might be the first you’ve heard of it, but for several months, the entire team at SMHeuristics has been busy preparing for our most recent visit to Taipei City. (As any company that has expanded their service offering into the international market knows, frequent trips like these are a must.) When we learned that Idaho Governor Brad Little’s first official trade mission to Taiwan would be happening around the same time, we rearranged our itinerary to be able to join his delegation. During this historic event, we were invited to attend as Idaho delegates, along with a handful of other companies (including one of our clients, SGW Designworks).
While in Taiwan, our goal was to reinforce our existing relationships with clients while furthering business development efforts abroad. And we are pleased to say the visit was a success. Here are some of the highlights.
MOVING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES FORWARD
As you might imagine, our week in Taiwan was a whirlwind — packed with back-to-back meetings, facility tours, and MOU signings.
In fact, we signed a total of six MOUs with Taiwan-based companies, among them, OwlTing, The Business Incubation Center at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST), Taiwan Federation of Medical Devices Commercial Associations (TFMDCA), Taipei Medical Instruments Commercial Association (TMICA), Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association (TAIROA), and Taiwan-USA Industrial Cooperation Promotion Office (TUSA).
Perhaps the most elaborate of the events we attended was the Signing Ceremony of MOU on Industrial Cooperation. Throughout the ceremony, we were amazed by the extensive number of awards and acknowledgements offered, not to mention the thorough press coverage of the event. (There was no shortage of flashing cameras — needless to say, we felt like celebrities.)
During this event, several delegates presented to the crowd, and we were pleased to have a few minutes to share our business philosophy with attendees. At the end of the night, we were both tired and inspired. Most of all, we appreciated the attention to detail that went into planning this impressive ceremony.
EDUCATION AND RESOURCES FOR CLIENTS ENTERING THE U.S. MARKET
Our agenda for this trip also put us at the heart of one of Taiwan’s most innovative incubation networks. SMHeuristics CEO and Co-Founder Derik Ellis was invited to provide a sales and marketing presentation at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) Biotech Incubation Center (BIC) in NanKang. At the event, Derik spoke in detail about pre-sales positioning for Taiwanese clients entering the U.S. market.
NTUST BIC aims to “empower small and medium size companies and startup businesses” and “promote international innovation and entrepreneurship.” Speaking at this business incubator was the first of what will likely be many educational opportunities for participating businesses. We look forward to providing our expertise to these growing companies in the months and years ahead.
A SPECIAL RECEPTION FOR IDAHO DELEGATES’ VALUED PARTNER AWARDS
Another event we were privileged to attend was the Idaho Business Reception (designed for delegates of the governor’s trade mission).
This special event was hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Idaho Department of Commerce, and gave delegates an opportunity to present a number of Taiwan-based organizations with Valued-Partner Awards.
During the event, SMHeuristics nominated the following:
AIT — with Director William Brent Christensen accepting the award
NTUST — with Vice President Day-Yang Liu accepting the award
CULTIVATING EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS
Even amidst the pageantry, we made it a priority to nurture our existing customer base in Taiwan. This often entailed factory tours and meetings, where we were able to witness company operations firsthand.
For instance, we made time to visit our manufacturing client Jetton Biochemistry Co., and were highly impressed by their commitment to quality. We also had an opportunity to step behind the scenes during our visit to Caduceus Biotechnology Inc., one of several clients in the healthcare space, as well as at the facilities of tech giant Nexcom. It was also a privilege to see how a connection we facilitated has developed: we paid a visit to Taiwan-based Megaforce alongside Boise-based SGW Designworks — two of our clients who have developed a meaningful partnership and will continue to work together in the years ahead.
OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD
Looking forward, we believe the opportunities ahead are virtually limitless. For example, our official partnership with Taiwanese technology company OwlTing will be instrumental in amplifying their impact in the United States.
Led by CEO Darren Wang, OwlTing is at the forefront of creating blockchain-based business solutions. The company will recruit the needed talent and bring his line of blockchain technology to U.S.-based industries through the distribution channels and relationships developed through SMHeuristics. This is just one example of the clients we are working closely with as they continue to bring intelligent solutions to market.
As SMHeuristics continues to grow our business into markets abroad, we appreciate the hard work of those who help smooth transitions and streamline communication. Among these, we’d like to offer a special thank you to Eddie Yen with the Idaho-Asia Trade Office for his continued efforts and support in helping Idaho-based organizations like us succeed as we do business in Taiwan.
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