Nantong startups seek capital chance in Beijing

 

Startup project ideas devised by budding entrepreneurs from Nantong arouse strong interest from potential investors when they were presented at AngelCrunch, a venture capital platform in Beijing’s Zhongguancun, last week. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Entrepreneurs from Nantong found the perfect way to seek venture capital: They displayed their ideas at Zhongguancun in Beijing.

Zhongguancun, which used to be known for its bustling electronic products market, has now become a mecca for high-tech startups.

Eight projects developed by entrepreneurs from Nantong were recently unveiled during a roadshow at AngelCrunch, a venture capital platform in Zhongguancun.

Nearly 50 venture capital firms and investment companies attended the roadshow and exchanged views with the leaders of the eight projects.

Yu Xiaomei, investment manager of Nuts Ventures, said she was impressed by the group roadshow.

“Entrepreneurs used to seek potential investors all by themselves,” Yu said. “It is rare for a government to organize such activities for them.”

“It is also a good way to show the ‘soft power’ of Nantong.”

It also shows the enterprising spirit of the Nantong government, she said.

Yu said she found a project about a robotic chassis system especially interesting and hopes to learn more about it.

Fan Ai, deputy director of the Nantong Science and Technology Bureau, said the eight projects were selected from more than 50 “best startup” winners of various innovation competitions in the city.

“They are the best of the best among all the projects,” Fan said.

Zhang Binbin, investment director at AngelCrunch, said the overall quality of the eight projects was “very high”.

“Innovation capability and technological advantages are the qualities most sought after by investors these days,” Zhang said. “All of these projects meet those requirements.”

Li Jiping, director of the bureau, described why Zhongguancun was chosen as the ideal location to find investors.

“Zhongguancun boasts a large number of some of the most vibrant and innovative companies in the country,” he said. “We hope to display Nantong’s enterprising spirit through this platform.”

Li said investors would learn more about Nantong’s preferential policies and good investment environment during their exchanges with project leaders.

“I hope more talents and investors will come to Nantong, start up their businesses and settle down in the city,” he said.

Li praised the eight project leaders, who count among their number returning overseas students, former public servants, university graduates and teachers.

“They all harbor the same dream to turn their ideas into reality,” he said.

Wu Jinhong, general manager of hqtop.com, a website dedicated to cross-border electronic commerce, said he hoped to secure more funds to expand his business.

“Our goal is to provide a one-stop service for domestic companies who intend to explore overseas markets,” he said.

Wu was a middle-level official at Nantong Post until he quit his job last October.

He said he found huge potential in cross-border e-commerce due to the numerous textile companies in Nantong that are eager to tap into international markets.

His speech during the roadshow aroused interest from many investors.

Tao Tao, chairman of Zhiying Venture Capital, who is from Nantong, said he was delighted to find so many people with good project ideas from his hometown.

“I think I will need to give more attention to my hometown when it comes to making our future investment decisions,” he said.

Zhu Chenglong, co-founder of AngelCrunch, said that although the company has staged many exchange activities for entrepreneurs, this is the first time a roadshow has been held to showcase talents from a specific city.

“The projects from Nantong are all very practical and have huge potential,” Zhu said.

The cooperation with the Nantong government is just the beginning, he said.

“We hope to team up with more cities in the future to hold special roadshows for them,” he said.

Established in November 2011, AngelCrunch was one of the earliest and largest platforms seeking venture capital in the country. By the end of 2015, more than 51,000 projects were registered on the platform, of which 499 have finished their financing process.

Contact the writers through dingcongrong@chinadaily.com.cn