Ramon Ray and Paolo Lising: How to Become a Solopreneur in Taiwan and the U.S.

4 min readFeb 2, 2022

My guests on this episode of Talking Taiwan are serial solo entrepreneurs Ramon Ray and Paolo Lising. Ramon has started 5 companies and sold 2 of them. He is the author of Grow Your Solo, a book about how to grow a solo business. Paolo Lising is founder of MillionDC.com, a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries. He is the author of Startup Taiwan, a comprehensive guide for foreigners and global Taiwanese who wish to start a business in Taiwan. Ramon and Paolo talked about their experiences running a solo business, why they have chosen to be solopreneurs and what it takes to be successful as a solopreneur.

About Ramon Ray

Ramon is a US based serial entrepreneur focused on making the world a better place.

He’s started 5 companies and sold 2 of them.

Ramon has authored several books, including Grow Your Solo about how to grow a solo business, and Celebrity CEO, all about personal branding.

Ramon has testified to the United States Congress, interviewed President Obama, been fired from the United Nations and graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy.

He’s never been to Taiwan but hopes to travel there, one day!

About Paolo Lising

Paolo Lising is founder of MillionDC.com, a learning platform for entrepreneurs from developing countries. Lising is a digital marketing expert with a decade of experience working for listed tech companies and finance firms in Taiwan.

He has won awards as a business journalist and book author in the Philippines. He recently published his book Startup Taiwan: Foreigners Business Guide as the first comprehensive and unbiased guide for foreigners and global Taiwanese who wish to start their business in Taiwan. Paolo took his Masters in Business Administration from National Taiwan University with extensive training in strategy consulting under a joint program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Ramon’s background and current solo business
Paolo’s background and current solo business
Ramon’s definition of what a solo business is
The pros and cons of running a solo business
What Ramon and Paolo like about running a solo business
How studies show that businesses started by a solo founder are more likely to be successful than a business started by several co-founders
What it takes to be a successful and long-lasting solopreneur
Advice for people wanting to start a solo business
Paolo’s first small business
A hundred-thousand-dollar business vs. a million-dollar business
What types of business ideas might be better suited for a hundred-thousand-dollar business
Taiwan as a place to start a business and do business
The challenges of doing business in Taiwan
Resources offered by Paolo’s website: www.startupintaiwan.com
How Taiwan is focused on building itself as a tech hub
Taiwanese culture and customs as they relate to gift giving
The importance of “guanxi” when it comes to doing business in Taiwan
How Taiwan compares as a place to do business in the world
Tips that Paolo has for foreigners wanting to have a business in Taiwan
Banking in Taiwan
Ramon’s invitation for people to visit www.SmartHustle.com
Ramon’s invitation for people to visit www.GrowYourSolo.com
The 5 businesses that Ramon has started including the latest one, Zone of Genius
And how Ramon sold 2 of his small businesses
Flippa, a company that specializes in selling online companies
How to create a business that is more saleable