Once derided for copycat innovation, Shenzhen and Guangdong Province are today global centres of innovation due to a world-best supply chain for technology.

David Li of Shenzhen’s Open Innovation Lab argues that the copycats have since morphed into a powerful ecosystem of collaborative, fast-learning suppliers and factories. “Anybody can come to Shenzhen with an idea and get it prototyped, tested, made and put on the market at a decent price,” he says. “Silicon Valley is obsessed with rich-world problems, he thinks, but China’s open innovators work on affordable solutions for the masses on everything from health care to pollution to banking.” (Source: The Economist)

Affordable solutions that involve “making” hardware are the core expertise of BRINC and its portfolio companies. Bay McLaughlin is a global speaker, contributor at Forbes, and business leader focused on makers and their connected devices.

In a Chinese New Year special event, members learned about what’s cooking in tomorrow’s technology from a leader of Shenzhen start-ups.

Bay McLaughlin is Co-Founder and COO of BRINC, a start-up accelerator based in Hong Kong with operations throughout Guangdong province and globally.

He has created a brand for being hyper founder focused and designing businesses from San Francisco to Hong Kong and beyond. He speaks ‘corporate’ having been at Apple for six years where he created a division that generated $250M USD in revenues, but Bay breathes start-ups after 12 years founding or supporting new companies and holding 30+ equity positions.

Bay seamlessly moves between his roles on boards of companies to public speaker to looking for the next great start-up idea. With holdings in companies from drones and health technologies to enterprise SaaS and education tech companies, Bay brings a one of a kind perspective to every engagement.