ThroughouttheinterviewLiGejingkeptreturningtothephrase“asenseofcrisis.”“Iwonderwhetherpeoplebornaround1978likemealwaysfeelasenseofcrisistowardthegreatchangesinoursocietyoverthepast40years,”saidLi,co-founderandGeneralManagerofQingxiCulture,duringaninterviewwithBeijingReview.
Asanexperiencedentrepreneur,someonewhohaseithersucceededorfailedwithtwo,three,possiblyevenmoreprojectsandbusinessmodels,LibelievesthatitispreciselythissenseofcrisisthathaspushedChineseentrepreneurstolearnnewthings.
“Onlybydoingsocantheyensurethattheyarealwaysintouchwithsocietyandneverbehindthetimes,eveniftheirprojectsfail,”Lisaid.
Anewstart
BorninZhengzhou,capitalofcentralChina’sHenanProvince,in1978,theyearwhenChinaadoptedthereformandopening-uppolicy,LiwasamongthefirstofChina’sone-childgenerationafterthecountrybegantoimplementitsfamilyplanningpolicy.TheimprovementstomateriallifebroughtbyreformandopeninguptoordinaryhouseholdsandthecarehereceivedfromhisparentsallowedLitoenjoymorefreedomwhilegrowingup.Asafanofpainting,hedecidedtochooseartanddesignashiscollegemajorandeventuallyenrolledintheBeijingInstituteofGraphicCommunication.
Aftergraduation,Lifoundajobatastateownedpublishinghouse,mainlydesigningthecoversoftraintimetables.Formany,itwasconsideredagoodjobwithstablepayinapromisingindustry.ĝĝ
ButforLitheworkwastediousandthepaywasfarfromideal.“Mostoftheworkwasrepetitive,designingthetrainschedulesoverandoveragain,andthesalarywasfixed,whichmeantthatnomatterhowmuchworkyoudid,yougotpaidthesame.”
Hissalarywas1,600yuan($232)permonth,whichwasnotparticularlylowforthetime,butcomparedwithhisclassmateswhofoundemploymentatforeign-fundedcompaniesandearnedmonthlysalariesbetween5,000yuan($725)to8,000yuan($1,160),theremunerationfeltinsufficient.
Aserendipitousconversationwitha40-year-oldworkerattheprintingfactoryin2005transformedLi’sfeelingstowardtheindustry.ThewomantoldLithattheriseofdigitalprintingeliminatedtraditionalprintingtechnologyinjustafewyears,andmanyworkersskilledinmovabletypeprintingtechniqueslosttheirjobsalmostovernight.
ThisinteractionmadeLibegintoconsiderhisfuture.“Ifwejuststayinoneplace,wedon’tmakeanyprogress,”hesaid.Liquithisjobatthepublishinghouseattheageof27andfoundanewjobatalargemediagroupworkingasafashionmagazineeditor.
Afterworkingforawhileathisnewjob,Libegantonoticethatamongwhite-collarworkersinhisofficebuildingtherewasanincreasingdemandforhigh-qualitylunchfood.Butthetimepeoplehadfortheirlunchbreakwaslimitedandtherewerefewestablishmentsofferingtake-awayservices.Manywereleftwithnochoicebuttobuyfoodfromunlicensedvendors.
Notingthisasapotentialbusinessopportunity,Li,alongwithsomefriends,setuparestaurantwithanin-housedeliveryteamofferingtake-awayservices.Customerscouldorderfoodbyphone,andthedeliverymenattherestaurantwoulddeliveritdirectlytotheirdoor.Astheordersrolledin,thedeliveryservicegraduallyexpandeditsscopeandbegantodeliverfoodfromotherrestaurantsaswell.
Yettherestaurantwasshortlived,drivenoutofbusinessbyhighoperationcosts.“Ifwehaddoneittwoyearslater,itwouldhavebeenadifferentstory,”Lisaid.
ThealternativesequenceofeventstowhichLirefersistheboomofonlineplatformsthateruptedontothesceneinthelate2000s,suchasEle.meandMeituanWaimai,whichhaveattractedhugeroundsofinvestmentinthepastfewyearstoarriveattheforefrontofChina’snewdigitalindustries.
“ThelessonIdrewfromthisisthattimingiscrucialtostartingabusiness,”Lisaid.
However,hisrestaurantendeavordoesnotcountashisonlyrealattemptatastartup.In2011,assmartphonesstartedtobecomeaneverydaypartofpeople’slives,anewupsurgeinentrepreneurshipandinnovationwasignitedbythisnewindustry.
LiquithisjobagainandembarkedonanewbusinessplanwithJinXin,founderofVisualChinaGroup,aleadingvisualcontentandintegratedmarketingsolutionproviderinChina.
LiandJintoyedwithideasaboutwhattodevelop—fromanaccuratespeechrecognitionsystemtoalivevideoapp.Finallytheynarroweddowntheirprojecttoashortvideoplatforminanattempttoexploreanewmodeofonlineentertainment.
InSeptember2014,PremierLiKeqiangcalledfor“massentrepreneurshipandinnovation”attheSummerDavosForum.Severalmonthslater,thetermwaswrittenintothe2015governmentworkreport.TheChineseGovernmentadoptedaseriesofpreferentialpoliciesencouragingentrepreneurshipandinnovation,makingitthenewfocus.
ButLi’sprojectfailedin2015.“Ittookmeovertwoyearstostartmycompany,”Lisaid.“Wegotseedinvestment,angelinvestmentandA-roundinvestment,butultimatelyitfailed.”
Changingtimes
ThewayLiseesit,thefactorsbehindthisfailurelaywithpeopleratherthanthebusinessmodelitself.Hepostedanarticleonlineaboutthelessonshehadlearned,andbeganofferingadvicetootherentrepreneursbasedonhisownexperienceswhileseekingnewopportunitiesatthesametime.
“Thisperiodoftimewasalearningprocess,”Lisaid.“I’velearnedtoseeotherprojectsfromtheperspectiveofinvestors,whichisverydifferentfromtheperspectiveofanentrepreneur.”
InOctober2017,PresidentXiJinping,alsoGeneralSecretaryoftheCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC),saidinhisreporttothe19thCPCNationalCongressthattheprincipalcontradictionfacingChinesesoci-etyhadevolvedintotheincongruitybetweenunbalancedandinadequatedevelopmentandpeople’sever-growingneedforabetterlife.
LihadalsosensedthischangeandnoticedthatshiftingconsumptionhabitsinChinarepresentedavaluablebusinessopportunity.Attheendof2017,hetargetedthecultureandtourismindustryandstartedhisnextventure.
In2015and2016,thetourismindustrycontributedmorethan10percenttoChina’sGDP,andLiforesawagrowingdemandfordiversifiedtypesoftravelinthefuture.Hisnewbusinesscreatesastyleoftravelthatcombinesculture,technologyandtourism.
Hiscompanyhasalreadysignedcontractswiththreetourismzonesandstartedpromotionalactivities.Itisexpectedtogointooperationlaterthisyear.
Whattroubleshimmostnowisinsomnia.“Thecostofrunningthebusinessisseveralmillionyuaneachmonthandthishasputalotofpressureonme.Ibelievethesituationisthesameforalmosteveryentrepreneurintheearlystagesofstartingabusiness,”hesaid.
Despitetheupsanddowns,Listillbelievesthatbeinganentrepreneuristhemoststablejob,asitpusheshimtostayabreastofchangesintheworldnomatterhowfasttheyoccur.“Aslongasapersonkeepslearningandmakingprogress,theywillneverbeleftbehind,”hesaid.
CopyeditedbyLaurenceCoultonCommentsto
LiGejingCOURTESYPHOTO“Onlybyconstantlylearningnewthings,canChineseentrepreneursensurethattheyarealwaysintouchwithsocietyandneverbehindthetimes,eveniftheirprojectsfail.”
—LiGejing,co-founderandGeneralManagerofQingxiCulture