Top Biz News
Student entrepreneurs get support amid bleak job market
By Qiu Yijiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-23 07:52
In the end, no one left.
He now spends two-thirds of his time attending to the business and maintains an above average academic performance. When he has time, he likes reading business biographies and picking up useful tips.
His roommate Zhang Jiayuan, who has seen Hu's business grow, has vivid recollections of how Hu used to store goods in the dormitory, "His is the only successful example I know of around campus. I admire his courage," Zhang says.
The team also has the backing of the university, one of China's oldest and most influential. The Office of Student Entrepreneurship, for example, helped the team with the business proposal and also gave them access to training courses.
"We even allow students to withdraw from the university temporarily if their business ideas are excellent," Jia Jun, director of the Student Entrepreneurship office says.
Hu's team recently rented a 500 sq m storehouse near the university as well as an office space of 130 sq m, purchased four delivery vans and set up seven PC servers. They also hired several part-time delivery men.
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"Our goal is to take a leading role in campus online shopping among universities in the city," Hu says ambitiously.
The biggest concern for Hu is better human resources. He admits that at this stage, the business' technical and capital requirements are not as demanding as sophisticated managerial skills.
"The business is not all about selling and buying, it is more about management and in this we are far from satisfactory," he says.
He wants to join a big conglomerate as a management trainee and learn how it works.
"This may lead to a clash of interests with my teammates and I may be forced to make a choice. But I believe the experiences will be invaluable for Byygoo," Hu says.
Unlike Hu, Zhang Weihua, a post-graduate student at Peking University finds his online business, Belinked.com, which he set up with several classmates at the beginning of the year, a source of much stress.
Its three core members had worked for IBM, France Telecom and Accenture, but they were not content working for others. "We like to voice our ideas and create our own business," Zhang says.
The website combines social networking with the business-to-consumer model, like the popular website LinkedIn in North America. Zhang hopes to build it into the biggest business oriented social networking site for young people.
However, the prospects appear dim at present. The team hasn't been able to win any financial support and continues to be in the red. This, in turn, has stood in the way of hiring extra hands.
"The website is still under construction It is almost impossible to persuade people with a high profile to join. Who is bold enough to invest in an unknown student business?" Zhang asks frankly.
Zhang's dilemma is shared by many student entrepreneurs. The executive vice-president of China Youth Development Foundation and a frequent juror at student entrepreneurship competitions, Yang Xiaoyu, says most business proposals tend to be academic and lack pragmatism.
"Students tend to adopt a macro-perspective in the proposal and try to integrate resources spread across industries. Their vision is good but not practical. A simple idea backed by strong execution works much better," Yang says.
Despite all the hardships, both Hu and Zhang say the effort is worth it. They both feel that starting a business is a great way to know more about the real world.
"You meet people from all walks of life and think thoroughly of every aspect of the business. Even if it fails someday, I am thankful for the whole experience," Zhang says.
