What is the best patent strategy for early-stage startups

I just give some advice on patent from a point of view of a Chinese patent attorney and attorney at law. This might be a little bit different from that in U.S. However, if you would like to enter into China, it might be of some help.
1. Drafting
This is actually the most important thing for a startup.
First, this is the basis for the startup to protect his idea. Although you have very good idea, if your application is not properly drafted, it cannot be protected and just provide ideas to others.
My general suggestion is that the draft shall be done from a point of view of real litigation such as infringement, license and invalidation procedures. For example, there are some general rules: your draft shall put more emphasis on product claims, shall cover the whole industry flow, shall be in the view of one party, and so on.
Second,getting an effective patent application document is the best way of saving money.
Some startup would like to save money and draft the application themselves or seek the lowest price of drafting. Actually, this is just to waste your money and is most expensive in view of the effect.Not like a grown company, a startup generally starts from a basic idea. If this basic idea was not properly protected, it would be difficult to rescue it later, especially in Europe, Japan and China, which are very strict with amendments.
So, my suggestion for the startup's drafting is to draft from the litigation/enforcement view and the quality is always prior to the cost.
2. Strategies for filing in China
Because I am practicing in China, I just talk about the strategies in China
There are generally two ways for entry into China, first is Paris Convention approach and second is PCT approach.
Which approach to be chosen will depend on your individual situation.
For example, if your idea is very easy to copy, or if you have already manufactured your products, or if the technology field is changed very fast, I recommend the Paris Convention approach which will give you a more quicker protection. Besides, in China, for the Paris Convention approach, it is possible for the applicant to choose filing an invention patent application and an utility model patent application on the same day. For an utility model patent application, it will be even quicker to get a patent right, generally within one year. I have handled several utility model patent application which were granted less than two months.By using the combination of invention and utility model patents, you can get a quicker protection together with a stable protection.
If your idea relates to an industry which need a large investment to build a factory, for example, I recommend the PCT approach because it is not urgent to enforce the right. The PCT approach will delay the timings of entry into China, and the startup need not to pay the money at the very beginning.