Welcome to TIE!
Where Building a Business in Taiwan Feels a Little Less Lonely
If you have ever found yourself Googling how to do something business related in Taiwan at midnight, messaging three different friends for advice, or wondering if everyone else somehow received a rulebook you missed, you are not alone. TIE exists because many of us have been there. What started as a simple Facebook community has grown into something much bigger, and this Substack is the next step. A more thoughtful, searchable, and lasting place for conversations that deserve more than a comment thread.
TIE, short for Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs, began on Facebook as a way for people building businesses in Taiwan to find each other, ask questions, and share opportunities. Over time, the community grew beyond quick questions and quick answers. Deeper conversations started happening. People wanted context, lived experience, and the stories behind the advice. Bringing TIE to Substack is about giving those ideas a home where they can be explored more fully, reflected on, and returned to when someone else is facing the same questions months later.
This Substack is run by 11th Fleet, a Taiwan based consulting company that works closely with founders on incorporation, payroll, EOR, and the everyday operational realities of running a business here. Through working with many different entrepreneurs, one pattern kept showing up. The most useful insights were rarely about rules alone. They came from honest conversations about what actually worked, what quietly did not, and what founders wished someone had told them earlier. TIE grew out of those conversations, and this publication is a way to make them more visible and more useful to the wider community.
Think of this Substack as a living hub for running a business in Taiwan. You will find practical breakdowns of common challenges, reflections on what it is really like to build here, and feature stories about entrepreneurs navigating Taiwan in their own way. Some posts will be tactical, some reflective, and others simply meant to spark ideas or discussion. There is no single right way to build a business, and this space is meant to reflect that diversity rather than flatten it.
To give you a sense of what is coming next, one of our upcoming features looks closely at an entrepreneur who came to Taiwan, stayed, and built a thriving B2B business from the ground up. It is not a highlight reel. It is a grounded look at decisions, trade offs, and how building something sustainable in Taiwan often requires patience, local understanding, and a willingness to adapt over time. Stories like this are exactly why this Substack exists.
Most importantly, this is not meant to be a one way publication. TIE works best when it feels like a conversation rather than a broadcast. We invite you to comment, share your perspective, ask questions, or suggest topics you want to see covered. If you are interested in collaborating, contributing a piece, or being featured, this space is open to that as well. Communities become meaningful when people actively shape them, and this is very much a work in progress.
If you are building in Taiwan, thinking about it, or simply curious about how others are doing it, you are very welcome here. Our hope is that this becomes a place you return to, not just for information, but for connection, shared learning, and the reassurance that you are not navigating this journey alone.