China's young entrepreneurs dig for Internet gold

When mobile app MYOTee swept the Chinese online scene with 30 million download clicks in June, its developer Erick Guo already knew that in the Internet age, success could be short-lived.

"MYOTee had long been prepared to be a shooting star," 25-year-old Guo told Xinhua in an interview. The application, which allows users to customize cartoon avatars and share with friends on social networks, has seen drastically falling downloads in July.

"Building a company that continues to offer great products is more difficult than coming up with a one hit product," Guo said.

China's youngest generation of entrepreneurs are tapping into the country's enormous, and yet fast-growing Internet market. But instead of dwelling on peak experiences, they are seeking to outgrow the fetish of Internet-age fame.

BEST OF TIMES

The booming Internet sector has fueled giant Chinese tech companies like Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent in the last decade, and is expected to offer more opportunities as China attempts to shift its economy towards consumption- and innovation-led.

A report released on Monday by global consultancy McKinsey said the Internet could contribute up to 22 percent of China's GDP growth by 2025, via increased productivity and adoption of internet apps across various sectors.

College students are among the first to feel the impact of the Internet on China's labor market. Entrepreneur contests are flourishing across the country, with many ideas credited to online experiences of young people.

Wang Chenchen and his team won first place and 100,000 yuan (16,228 U.S. dollars) at an entrepreneur contest in Beijing in 2013. Their idea, an online fashion design sales platform, is scheduled to launch in August.

Wang said he used to visit coffee shops near his university where startup founders would meet each other. "Maybe I was influenced by the entrepreneur climate there," said the 26-year-old who studied finance.

As part of an employment security scheme, in May, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced a plan to help 800,000 college students start their own businesses by 2017. Other policy support includes streamlined corporate registration and eased financing targeting micro and small businesses.

Erick Guo said that compared with traditional sectors, startups in the Internet sector face fewer entry barriers. "Once with some digital skills and a good idea, even a high school student could compete with industry big shots in mobile app stores," he said.

Early this year, Guo and his team received millions of yuan of funding from venture investor IDG Capital, and are poised to get a second round of cash. IDG Capital said it invested in almost ten Internet startups in 2013, all created by 20-somethings like Guo.

TAKE IT SLOW

Guo had overnight success with MYOTee, but his ambition stretches farther. "Our goal is to become an Internet tech company that young people like, and to make products that young people can't do without, like WeChat," he said.

WeChat, a product by Tencent, Guo's previous employer, topped 700 million users in March.

"Unlike other sectors, the Internet sector hardly has any fixed business model. This makes a one hit product look like something that just happens," said Zheng Shenghao, co-editor of 36Kr.com, which covers China's tech scene.

In the Internet sector where things change in a blink of an eye, "it is normal to see star products disappear. The key is the team," said Zheng.

Guo said that the praise and expectation brought by MYOTee's initial success became a burden and distraction to his team.

"Many people are concerned about the successful cases, or the pursuit of dreams. But I'd like to remind people that entrepreneurship is full of risks... Most of all, you cannot be fickle," Guo said.

Young entrepreneurs like Guo have come to realize the importance of being down-to-earth. Zhang Tianyi, a 24-year-old law student who ventured into the catering industry, sniffed at society's over-emphasis on the "Internet mindset".

When invited by Tencent to a mini forum in mid-July, Zhang, owner of two rice noodle shops in Beijing's central business district, admitted the Internet helps him find target customers and promote his company on social platforms, but argued technology is only the means, not an end.

He mentioned flashily dressed customers who exclaimed in hometown accents after having a bowl of spicy noodles: "[To see] the return of the human heart is the coolest thing for me. It is as interesting and meaningful as working at Google or designing apps."