"The number of start-ups led by Chinese students is increasing in recent years," said Philip Hao, chairman of the Young Entrepreneur Society Global, or Yes Global, which organized the British round of the start-up competition that Yao's team participated in.
The rising trend was a result of both the policy supports from the two governments and the new way of doing business in the Internet era, said Hao.
A large number of the Chinese student-led start-ups he has seen focus on online service. This is no coincidence, since even a one-man team can jump start business in the Internet era, like selling on eBay.
But "running a company is not just coming up with great ideas or being venturous... Nowadays, market competitions are getting more and more intense with all the young entrepreneurs fighting to make it to the top tier," said Hao. "So it is more about how to establish systematic management and how to control budget. You need to attend to every detail."
In Yao's case, the government of the Chinese city of Suzhou has offered help to his team in securing investment in the initial phase and the University of Warwick has promised to help them in their project's future development.
"Without such support, it would be much harder for us to enter the business world," said Yao.
Despite the tough challenge in the business world, British universities quite often maintain an open mind on student entrepreneurship.
"Enterprise and start-up companies are an increasingly important option for university students of all nationalities," said Keith Burnett, vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield and member of the British Prime-Minister's Council of Science and Technology.
"The University of Sheffield encourages students to become actively involved in its enterprise activities and has the largest program of students in free enterprise in the UK," Burnett said.
An international team of Sheffield students working together on start-up business ventures in the areas of health and support for people in need recently reached the global finals of this year's Enactus World Cup held in Johannesburg in South Africa on Oct. 14-16, an international event which aimed at promoting enterpreneurial action as a catalyst for progress.
The university also makes funding and professional advice available to students with a great business idea and provides links to commercial mentors, according to Burnett.
"Our aim is that support of innovation, entrepreneurship, team working and new business support is embedded in teaching in such a way that students are able to lead and develop ideas either as start-ups or within existing companies," said Burnett.
As for the British investors, they have shown interest in start-up projects led by international students, especially those from China.
Hao said that investors in Britain have their eyes on start-up projects linked to emerging markets like China, which are believed to have better growth potential despite risks.
"Britain and China have so many great resources, be it education, schools, the Internet or creativity industry, and if the governments can do more to boost the development in these areas, the young entrepreneurs may have a better chance to turn the impossible into reality, which is really a great thing for the two countries," said Hao.
Hao and his partners have planned to expand the British round of the start-up competition next year, as it might give more chances to students like Yao, though success is still a rare thing among student-led start-ups.
"Despite challenges, we can see that China's government and institutions are starting to notice the great potential of overseas Chinese students... and we are optimistic about the future development of start-ups led by these students," said Yao.
