Entrepreneurial coffee

Something I noticed early in Taiwan is that entrepreneurship is rampant, and often, entrepreneurs are young. At some night markets, and seemingly every craft market, the average age of stallholders feels like something close to half of my (middle) age.The same is often true at cafes. Owners can be young.It feels like Taiwan’s an environment where people can afford to try something new—both in terms of the cost of operations, and in terms of risk. Not just when they’re older, but at any stage in their adult lives.For much of my professional life, living in New Zealand I didn’t dare start a new venture. I didn’t have the capital for it, nor the financial headroom to take a risk.And I was hardly alone:41% of New Zealanders have less than NZ$1,000 [NT$20,000] in savings (ASB Bank)30% don’t have NZ$500 [NT$10,000] to cover emergency expenses (The Spinoff)On average, New Zealanders spend 40% of their income on rent (RNZ) But things are different in Taiwan.The rent for my Kaohsiung apartment…