Startup entrepreneurs ponder technology trends
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Scattered across a row of tables are a variety of tech devices including iPads, iPhones and MacBooks.
No, this is not a store in Beijing's technology gadget market Zhongguancun, but rather a weekend get-together of around 50 aspiring young people who call themselves "startup entrepreneurs."
The entrepreneurship activity for technology experts was the first time the "Startup Weekend" event was held in China, according to the event organizer Andy Mok, president of Red Pagoda Resources, Beijing-based headhunters.
"It is the right time to hold this type of event," Mok said, "because China's tech scene is reaching a tipping point."
China is the biggest Internet market and the mobile-phone market in terms of users, and it is the largest expanding economy in the world.
In megacities like Beijing and Shanghai, people are quick to sign onto the latest technology trends, snatching up gadgets such as smart phones and tablet PCs as soon as they hit stores, which creates a broad market base for investors to capitalize upon, Mok said.
As the Internet goes mobile, a slew of Chinese technology companies, such as Dangdang.com, the Chinese equivalent of Amazon.com, have queued up for first time share issuances on the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, according to media reports.
Gil Shulman, a senior associate of China Renaissance, an independent investment bank focusing on technology, telecom and web companies, said,
"The Internet and technology industries in China are flourishing." It is now easier for companies like Dangdang to raise capital, while the real challenge is for investors to find promising companies, he said.
China Renaissance was involved in assisting companies like Dangdang to raise funds totalling more than $3 billion over the last couple of years, according to Shulman.
The 53-hour activity attracted the attention of venture capitalists such as Doll Capital Management, Lightspeed Ventures, Matrix Partners and Innovation Works.
Wu Zhuohao, user experience director at Innovation Works, a high-tech business incubator, offered coaching to the eight competing teams.
Wu said that activities like Startup Weekend provide good opportunities for technology geeks to find like-minded people.
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