Cafe doesn't just deal with small potatoes

Liu Yongjie has big plans for his chain of cafes after using crowd funding to turn his dream into a reality. The 22-year-old college student launched his new venture in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in August 2014, and has since earmarked outlets next to universities in a rapid expansion program.

Ambition and drive have been key to Liu's success. "I want to be the Wang Jianlin of the post-1990 generation," Liu said in a telephone interview, referring to the Chinese real estate tycoon. "You must have big dreams to be successful. You must have something to strive for. Although we are small potatoes now, we believe that we will become big potatoes in the future."

With that sort of bullish approach, it is hardly surprising that Liu has named his chain of cafes BEPOTATO. So far, he has opened three outlets in Guangzhou and is planning to move into Beijing later in the year.