Over the course of 2012, we’ve had the pleasure of meeting and profiling dozens of Beijing’s finest, in fields from haute couture to finance, from hospitality to high tech. With the talent field in Beijing only ever increasing -
Patrick Chovanec, Tsinghua professor and blogger at chovanec.wordpress.com
Thomas Orlik of the WSJ wrote a book about reading China’s economic indicators. How much of a problem is the opacity of the system? The National Bureau of Statistics says China has a long way to go in statistical measuring. It’s something of a black box. Sometimes rules change and nobody is told, and they don’t revise the figures to take account of that – this has even happened with the monetary measure M2. A lot of statistics are fed to people from local officials with vested interests. So even if they’re trying to be honest, it’s difficult. You can’t take anything on face value and have to see it all as a mosaic. Much of what I do is gather data points and extrapolate from that to form a story.
Paul Gilis (pictured first on the left, first row), Peking University professor and blogger at chinaaccountingblog.com
I am a professor at the Guanghua School of Management. I teach China’s future business leaders. It is an awesome responsibility, and wonderfully rewarding. I mostly teach in our International MBA program, where students from all over the world come to learn China and to get a top ranked MBA education.
One of my goals is to keep the kids off the street – Wall Street. Too many of our graduates end up in finance, yet the world desperately needs their talent directed towards more important problems. I encourage students to find careers that will build business, create jobs and solve social problems. It is tough, because the Street pays too well, and we do a pretty good job preparing them for life there.
Quan Lily of Lily’s Antiques
Given the booming market for antiques and high-end living generally, how do you manage when antiques by definition have a finite supply? In other words, how do you meet demand? I am always buying antiques, but the quality has gone down as the supply has decreased. Our Chinese antiques section (Lily’s Antiques) is now only one of the four branches of our business, alongside Lily’s Living (modern and imported furniture and decoration), Lily’s Museum collection (high end antiques from China and Europe), and Lily’s Factory (custom made furniture). As time has gone by, we’ve expanded our range to help us cope with higher demand and to expand our customer base. We now also have a collaboration with a Spanish designer, for example.
What periods are particularly prized for antiques? Why is this? Ming Dynasty is very popular just now; its elegant features and simplicity fits in well with modern furnishings and approach. It is also the most expensive and so usually the most popular! Local Chinese also like Qing Dynasty style furniture. Expats tend to go for a single distinctive style while local Chinese tend to like a more eclectic style.
Model Anina of anina.net
With your blog, you capture the day to day activities of a model, as well as showing many great examples of how to use technology. How did you evolve that? I believe in women-designed technology. That is what I am trying to do – and it is not easy to discover what this should look like or be. By writing about this integration in technology I can show how I use it every day in my life. I can interact with others to share my discoveries and thoughts on technology is going, and contribute to global happenings shaping the world online.
What fashion apps have you created? Can you explain them to our readers? 360Fashion Network has developed a mobile app platform that allows businesses to create their own media (moblemags.360farhon.net). 360 Fashion Network has apps available on every mobile phone (search for 360fashion) on any app store from Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Phone 7 and Samsung phones). I just launched my own iPhone fashion game, Anina Dress Up (getap.ps/ADUFree) in Chinese for women to discover their fashion style and new brands using their mobile phone. 360 Fashion Network offers apps and e-commerce websites for 3rd-party brands worldwide with social media built in and an online strategy to help them create their presence online.
Mickey Du (pictured second on the left, second row), investment team manager at Innovation Works
Tell me a little bit about Innovation Works. Innovation Works is an early-stage venture capital fund based in Beijing, China. It was set-up in late 2009 by Dr. Kaifu Lee (previously, head of Google China and Microsoft Research Asia). Innovation Works has only one purpose in mind: to invest in the most talented entrepreneurs in China, addressing the largest internet market and opportunity in the world. We operate a dynamic 8,000 square meter facility in Beijing (and will soon add another facility in Shanghai), and have a full-time team of 45 individuals across our investment and operations teams.
What are some of the more interesting companies being groomed at Innovation Works? Umeng (umeng.com) is an example of a company we seed-financed from the formative stages. They are building mobile developer tools and a mobile ad network, allowing developers in China to accelerate growth through real-time analytics, cross-promotion, and an advertisement management tool. Zhihu (zhihu.com) is a Q&A-based social knowledge network. Zhihu, as an open web community and having dedicated mobile applications, curates high-quality content to be shared across multiple knowledge domains. Diandian (diandian.com) is a social network creating the highest standard for light-blogging in China. It provides a context-aware, multi-platform, live-streaming service.
Angqian, wine expert for CHEERS
I am the wine expert for CHEERS. I train store managers and staff as well as customers how to understand wine. We hold a 10-day intensive training for new employees and also online classes on duobei.com where I teach about the different types of grapes and wines, how to taste the differences, and then pairing wine with food. I also do wine tastings at our stores. So basically my job is to be a teacher of wine.
I grew up in a nomadic family in the mountains of Tibet, so my childhood dream was to get an education and travel and see the world. I started out as an English teacher in Tibet to primary school kids. I believe that time was so valuable to my career because it helped me developed the teaching skills that I use today.
Frank Yu (pictured second on the left, first row) of Kwestr
How do you organize everything? What software do you use? I am a big fan of lists. My startup Kwestr.com started out as gamified real world lists of things to do. Nowadays, I use the iOS calendar to organize my days and to do list. For project management I use an app created in Beijing by my friend Marc called Do It Tomorrow. It’s a Zen masterpiece of simplicity that duplicates a paper to do list.
Has being on social media been beneficial to your life or career in Beijing? That’s a bit of a loaded question since I am a “social media pundit” so my life, my work and most of my friends are part of it in some way or another. Yes, it is essential for foreigners and Chinese to know social media. Otherwise, you are just one of 1.3 billion people in China. When I say you have to know social media, I mean it’s more than just being a user; it’s about understanding the demographics and reach of each medium.
Jonathan Smith of music promoters No Go Die and The Syndicate
What does music promotion entail, in Beijing? Is it different from western countries? If you compare London and Beijing, then London has a much larger number of people regularly going to gigs, concerts and festivals. Beijing doesn’t have that yet, so promotion is about location and growing the pockets of people who crave varied music events. Beijing has less of the tribalism you find in London. Someone can be at a punk gig one night and drum’n’bass the next, without feeling that one type of music defines their lifestyle. Having said that, the essentials of promotion are the same: provide consistent great music and spread the word as far and wide as you can.
What’s your advice for aspiring young entrepreneurs in Beijing? If you’re looking to start a business, then you’re in the right place. I’ve found Beijing to be a very fertile environment with more than its fair share of entrepreneurs. Typically they have all seen the whole range of success, failure, setbacks and victories. Surround yourself with the right people and get as much advice as you can so that every decision is an informed one. But only you can decide what to do with the advice and that’s the exciting part of starting your own business!
Bill Bishop, China news-aggregator and blogger at sinocism.com
How would you compare weibo and Western social media? Weibo has a much richer feature set that allows much deeper conversation and much broader dissemination of information than does Twitter. The way you can retweet and comment on individual weibos means that each one can become a node in a much bigger conversation, as opposed to the ephemeral nature of Twitter.
Weibo also exists in a much different political-information environment, one in which many people do not believe official sources and so are much more willing to believe what they see on weibo.
Will social media supplant journalism, take it someplace new or just be a supplement? It should supplement it and improve it. The old days of a handful of editors determining the news agenda, especially about China, are gone. That is a good thing, except perhaps for those editors and their bosses. But the challenge for consumers is to figure out who to trust, and I think a social network like Twitter can help with that as if you are an idiot the community will figure it out fairly quickly.
I have noticed more and more of China-based Western journalists using Twitter. Many seem to have resisted at first, but now they, and I think all journalists in general, realize that they need to build a personal brand beyond the news organization for which they report. Some use weibo as well.
David Liu of Jiepang
What exactly is Jiepang and how is it different from Foursquare? Jiepang is a local, social mobile app that helps friends share and discover places. Our users “check in” on Jiepang, and share that they’ve arrived at a place. It helps people keep in touch, and also discover new places. In China, there’s just more people and naturally more social networks – Sina Weibo, Tencent and Weixin (WeChat), RenRen, Kaixin, Douban, to name just a few. Jiepang connects with all of them.
Most Jiepang users are of the so-called post-80s/post-90s generations, highly connected through social media and relatively comfortable meeting new friends through relevant social networking. I think Jiepang has a unique opportunity to help Chinese users discover new friends with similar interests and backgrounds, by seeing that they frequent similar places.
Megan and KC Connolly of chART Contemporary
Why did you enter the industry? What attracted you to it? Megan: We grew up with art all around us in New York City. Our father was a huge appreciator of art and always took us to galleries. Art helps you gain insight and understanding into a different world. When I first came to China as an exchange student in 1998, I had pretty low expectations about the creativity in China; however, I was surprised and thrilled to find such a vibrant community with lots of things to say. I remember getting text invites to underground art exhibitions. Originally, I was a Cultural Anthropology major, but after China, I decided to change my career path to contemporary Asian art. I then lured my sister, a sculpture major, to come work with me in Beijing and she soon became hooked too.
Are there issues particular to China that the industry faces? KC: The art industry is huge in China; the country invests a lot of time and money into the creative industries. A perfect example is 798 District. There could always be more support; for example, our business should be considered a not for profit business but China does not understand that type of stuff.
Roberta Lipson (pictured first on the left, second row) of Beijing United Hospitals
To talk glibly about China’s opening up and reform period makes it sound like the country turned from isolation to Hong Kong-like openness with the utterance of Deng Xiao Ping that “It does not matter what color a cat is, as long as it catches mice”. In reality it takes far longer to turn the ship of state, with customs and practices long-ingrained, around. We should therefore tip our collective hats to those pioneers who came to China thirty years back and worked to restructure and improve the industries they served.
Roberta Lipson is one such trailblazer. First coming to mainland China in 1979, she has been at the forefront of the development of the international standard medical industry within the country since co-founding Chindex in 1981. Through their subsidiary United Family Hospitals, (of which Roberta serves as chairman of the board), they opened the groundbreaking Beijing United hospital in 1997, with further such openings in Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Her story is the story of private industry opening up areas hitherto untouched, and of someone with the vision to foresee opportunities long in advance.
Andy Mok (pictured second on the right, second row) of Red Pagoda and Startup Weekend Beijing
Tell us about Startup Weekend Beijing – how did it get started, what’s your vision for it?
We limit attendance to no more than 40 entrepreneurs per event and make it a bit more structured by bringing in well-known and successful VCs and angel investors like Xiaojun Li, a partner at IDG; Yinan Li, a partner at GSR Ventures and former Baidu CTO; Robin Chan, an angel investor in Twitter and FourSquare; and Fritz Demopolous, co-founder of Qunar.com. This is a unique and highly efficient way for entrepreneurs to get guidance from a number of investors who really know what they’re talking about. So far, we’ve held four Startup Weekend Beijing events and plan on doing one every quarter.
What were the best ideas to come out of the last Startup weekend, and what came of them? We’ve had about sixteen teams so far and at least five of them have received VC or angel funding from investors such as Kai-Fu Lee’s Innovation Works, Blue Run Ventures and Dave McClure’s 500Startups. Our winners have included Wodache, a ride-sharing application; Apricot Forest, a way for doctors in China to keep up with important news and research; and Duanzimi, a social website that connects people who have space to spare with those who are looking for a place to stay.
Gaby Alves and Jennifer Eden (pictured first on the right, first row) of SALT and Zest
Jennifer, with a background in media and broadcasting, why change? I began working with SALT part-time, doing their marketing, which pretty much uses the same tools as broadcasting and journalism. The role grew and I then got the opportunity to start Zest Coffee Shop as part of the SALT Group. I’d worked in hospitality and sales a lot before so I jumped at the chance. I am a big believer in constantly challenging yourself and using your skills across broad range of jobs – everything I have done crosses over in some way.
Gaby, what are the biggest misconceptions people have about female entrepreneurs? I think they underestimate the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. People see me in the restaurants enjoying myself, but what they don’t know is that I’ve been up since 7am taking calls and doing accounts, and then back home at 11pm to the computer to wrap up the day.
