Business acumen nurtured by sound environment

When Tao Xueyan set up her own business four years ago, it came as no surprise to her teachers and classmates at Wenzheng College. She had displayed a budding spirit of entrepreneurship when she ran a rock 'n' roll band in her school days.

"It was not for money. As long as we were allowed to use certain venues for free, it was one-of-a-kind experience for the band players. I learned a great deal from negotiations with companies," says Tao, 32.

In 2015, she took over her family business, a Wuxi-based contract factory for the textile group, Heng Yuan Xiang, or HYX. The early days running the adult-underwear business based on an outdated decades-old model was a stern challenge.