Launcher's platform helps entrepreneurs fly higher online

The Launcher Corporation is propelling commerce's development through its innovative online platform, the first of its kind in China and likely worldwide.

The angel-investment company is taking the lead as Internet-based entrepreneurship surges in the world's second-largest economy, by designing practical funding programs that give energy to enterprises and entrepreneurs.

China's future economic development will focus on enhancing productivity and applying Internet Plus approaches to drive market growth and innovation, CEO Jason Kei said.

Since manufacturing has slowed and export volumes decreased since 2014, the central government is pushing to accelerate its finance based on Internet and telecommunication technologies as part of its Internet Plus plan to support real economic growth.

The Shenzhen-based company is promoting two types of services - Runways A and B - to both traditional enterprises and entrepreneurs. Runway A is designed to help companies from all sectors integrate into the Internet Plus strategy by coinvesting with the Launcher to spin off internet startups, rather than incubating in-house.

This approach can avoid common pitfalls, such as cultural clashes, organizational incompatabilities and conflicts of interests that often derail in-house attempts to build an Internet business within a traditional enterprise. And it maintains accessibility to the resources and know-how of the parent company.

Launcher will play a critical role of "injecting Internet DNA" into startups by helping to recruit key founding members, formulating business plans and overseeing project execution.

Runway B is a standard angel-investment program for anyone with an innovative idea related to the Internet, except that it operates almost entirely on the Internet itself.

On the front end, entrepreneurs can either submit business plans online or simply fill out a questionaire of mostly multiple choice questions that will take no more than a few minutes. An assessment will be instantly provided of the project's market potential, product design, business model and team strength, together with a clear "go/no go" response.

For projects that are funded, Runway B also offers an online growth management platform that links funding and resources to key project milestones, such as "product spec complete" or "initial code release". It will also guide entrepreneurs on preparation for road shows and the next funding rounds.

Launcher is backed by a professional team experienced in both Internet operations and venture capital investment. It supplements the art of investing with number crunching and data analyses. The Launcher team methodically collects industry and investment data from public and personal sources to construct an interactive model that performs Big Data-style merges and algorithmic cross-references.

"This is the core of our online services," Jason Kei explained, "supplying data and intelligence to each individual step of our decisionmaking process.

As a subsidiary of China Science and Merchants Capital Management Group, the nation's first yuan-equity investment company, Launcher currently manages 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion). It plans to invest in hundreds of Internet startups and assist a large number of companies to adopt the Internet Plus strategy.

"Internet Plus is a key enabler of a higher level of productivity and competitiveness for traditional industries. We aspire to help leaders in every industry segment carry out Internet Plus transformation via Runway A," said Kei, who earned an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in engineering from Princeton University.

The volume of projects going through Runway B will be even higher, as it significantly lowers the barrier to entrepreneurship

To achieve these goals, Kei said advanced software and Internet applications in the field of big data analysis must be developed. Indeed, advanced technologies will be key in determining competitiveness. Many countries have identified digital, intelligent and green sectors to develop high-end manufacturing, services and agriculture, among other industries.

China has been implementing its Made in China 2025 plan to enhance the country's manufacturing capacity under the guidance of technological progress, knowledge-based transformation and green development. This will help the Chinese economy grow more rapidly.

Other developed nations are also paying attention to reindustrialization and remanufacturing plans. These include the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Program unveiled by the US government in 2011, and Factory 2050, launched by the European Regional Development Fund and UK government in 2013.

With improvements to both grassroots-level service platforms, and infrastructure for online and ofline operations, the government will also work to boost Internet services at the county and township levels. The Runway B program is an ideal means to create the most open-platform environment to establish new businesses or introduce innovative ideas to various industries.

"With its economic growth and social development, China is experiencing a significant transition from 'Made-in-China' to 'Innovated-in-China', which requires the cultivation of interdisciplinary and innovative talent, particularly in science and technology," Kei said.

He has 20 years of field-operation and management experience in China and the US in such global titans as Cisco Systems Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

China's government also announced initiatives in the first half of this year to help migrant workers, veterans and university graduates establish businesses in their hometowns. The plans also call for the creation of programs to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in the nation's western region and rural areas.

Migrant workers who return home to set up businesses after accumulating a certain amount of capital, skills and management experience will be entitled to training courses, tax breaks and financial assistance, as well as office and manufacturing space.

"From a long-term perspective, we are optimistic about China's economic future because we have seen many new trends in the country," Kei said.

"People are investing in new business styles. Service industries are booming. And people can start their businesses with limited funds. We can see the government is adopting innovative approaches to manage economic growth at the macroeconomic level."

He said that while few companies are unwilling to adopt new technologies or embrace the Internet, many consider the transformation too expensive because of equipment and training costs, not to mention the risk of being knocked out by fierce competitors.

"But cloud computing means companies don't need to spend a lot on hardware, technical know-how and recruiting employees with IT backgrounds," Kei said.

"This will effectively cut the cost of starting a business and transformation, and enabling companies to focus on key businesses. In this context, domestic companies will widely welcome cloud computing."

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/26/2015 page9)