新時代中國創業精神興起
In the cold basement of an office block in northwest Beijing, a group of would-be entrepreneurs huddle around a computer screen, poring over their latest prototype. A few miles away, in a well-heated and distinctly more luxurious underground lecture room, a group of 30 managers and entrepreneurs also debate ideas for new products and ventures.
在北京西北部一棟辦公樓的冷颼颼的地下室裏，一羣未來的創業者們正聚集在電腦屏幕前，注視着最新的項目雛形。而在幾英里之外，在一個暖氣充足、明顯更爲豪華的地下演講廳裏，30名經理和創業者也在討論有關新產品和新公司的創意。
Both groups are testament to the growing appetite for start-ups in China. Just as business schools in the US and Europe have reported a surge in student interest in running their own companies, business schools operating in China are also reporting a thirst for all things entrepreneurial.
這兩羣人都驗證着中國對初創企業日益增長的興趣。就在美歐商學院表示學員對自己創業的興趣飆升時，在中國的商學院也發現了學員對一切跟創業有關的東西的渴望。
“Start-ups are the new sexy thing,” says Yi Wang, co-founder and chief executive of Liu Li Shuo, which developed an English language app for Chinese smartphone users, the only education app selected by Apple in the 2013 App of the year award in China.
“英語流利說”聯合創始人兼首席執行官王翌表示：“初創企業是一個吸引人的新鮮事物。”該公司爲中國智能手機用戶開發了一款英語學習應用，這是中國唯一一款入選蘋果(Apple)2013年年度最佳應用獎的教育應用。
“Definitely you’re seeing an increasing trend in entrepreneurship in China. Top-tier venture capital firms are looking for young entrepreneurs — there’s a whole ecosystem coming up,” Mr Wang enthuses. “In recent years companies that have been making the biggest impact on people’s lives have been internet companies and behind them encouraging stories about ordinary people making it big.”
“你明明白白地看到中國的創業熱正日益升溫。一線風投正在物色年輕的創業者，整個生態系統已經形成。”王翌熱情洋溢地說，“最近幾年，那些對人們生活產生最大影響的企業一直是互聯網企業，在它們背後都是普通人取得成功的勵志故事。”
Mr Wang is one of the participants on the 10-week Stanford Ignite programme, which the Silicon Valley business school ran in Beijing for the first time in October and November. There, in the Stanford building in the heart of the Peking University campus, a select group of 30 entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs devise business plans that may one day prove to be highly successful companies.
王翌是斯坦福大學(Stanford)爲期10周的“點燃”項目(Ignite)的參與者，這家硅谷商學院於今年10月和11月首次在北京啓動該項目。在位於北京大學校園中心的斯坦福大學中心，30名被選中的創業者和企業內創業者(intrapreneurs)在制定商業計劃，這些計劃可能會在未來某天造就極其成功的企業。
Mr Wang’s own history is typical of many of China’s new breed of entrepreneurs, he says. He went to the US to study for his PhD, worked for Google for two years and then returned to Shanghai to work for an internet marketing company. His two co-founders report a similar history. As more and more Chinese students study overseas, behaviour at home is changing rapidly, with young people eschewing the traditional large corporation he says.
王翌表示，他的個人經歷是中國很多新型創業者的典型。他曾赴美國攻讀博士，在谷歌(Google)工作過兩年，然後回到了上海，供職於一家互聯網營銷公司。他的兩名聯合創始人的經歷也差不多。他說，隨着越來越多的中國學生到海外留學，國內的擇業模式也在迅速變化，年輕人不願到傳統的大公司任職。
The sentiment is echoed in the spartan basement that is Tsinghua University’s x-lab, where angel investors rub shoulders with students and alumni from across the university, arguably China’s most prestigious. Between them they are developing everything from the latest electrically powered scooter to moderately priced 3D printers and wearable health monitors.
這種想法在清華大學x-lab所在的簡樸的地下室裏得到了共鳴，在這裏，天使投資者正與這所大學的學生和校友們交流，清華大學可以說是中國最知名的大學。他們正開發一切產品，從最新的電動摩托車、到價格適中的3D打印機、再到可穿戴健康監測設備。
Since the x-lab launched 18 months ago, some 400 start-ups have used the facilities, says Pearl Mao, executive director. Close to 300 of them continue to flourish and more than 30 of them already have substantial funding.
x-lab執行主任毛東輝表示，自從18個月前創建以來，已有約400家初創企業使用過x-lab的設施。其中近300家仍繼續蓬勃發展，逾30家已獲得數目可觀的融資。
What is more, every Thursday the x-lab’s team holds project meetings and each week 10 new ventures pitch to become part of x-lab. Those that succeed can use the facilities free of charge
另外，x-lab團隊每週四舉行項目會議，每週有10個新項目爲了入駐x-lab進行宣講。成功入選的項目可以免費使用x-lab的設施。
Michael Ma, who graduated from Tsinghua SEM in 2006 with an Executive MBA, fits the bill. He believes there is much to be done in creating English language teaching technology. “China is the biggest market for foreign language learning in the world,” he points out.
2006年畢業於清華經管學院、獲得EMBA學位的馬濤(Michael Ma)，符合清華x-lab的要求。他認爲，英語教學技術的開發還有很大的空間。“中國是全球最大的外語學習市場，”他指出。
His company, Beijing Peapad Education and Technology, targets parents of young children with its small, green, talking pea character, which is controlled through a parent’s smartphone and uses songs and games to teach English.
他的公司名爲北京豌豆派教育科技(Beijing Peapad Education and Technology)，針對的是兒童家長，提供一個小小的、會說話的綠色豌豆角色，由家長通過智能手機控制豌豆，用歌曲和遊戲教兒童學英語。
“There was no such product in the market. We think it is important for Chinese kids to learn English,” he says. “Also we believe there is a lot of money to be made in the industry.”
“現在市場上還沒有這類產品。我們認爲，對於中國的孩子來說，學英語很重要。”他表示，“我們還認爲，這個行業蘊含很大的商機。”
Mr Ma has ambitions for the Peapad to be on the market in the first half of 2015, and will offer the Peapad hardware for free, with parents buying software, services and access to the community.
馬濤希望豌豆派能在2015年上半年投入市場，豌豆派硬件將免費提供，家長鬚付費購買軟件、服務以及訪問社區的權限。
“Our ambition is a bit more than language learning,” he says. “There is no smart device [like this] in the market for kids. We believe in the next 10 years this will be a real trend.
“我們的理想其實更遠大一點，不僅僅是想做語言學習。”他表示，“市場上沒有（類似的）針對孩子的智能設備。我們認爲，未來10年，這將變成一個真正的趨勢。
“Currently early childhood education is offline all over China, but we believe over the next few years it will all go online. Hardware is a channel and we are providing the channel.”
“目前，中國的兒童早教都是線下的，但我們認爲，未來幾年，早教將全面轉移到線上。硬件是一個渠道，我們正在提供這種渠道。”
In developing his product Mr Ma has taken advantage of other start-up ventures in the x-lab — a computer graphics company helped design the website and Peapad games and a 3D printing firm helped develop a scale model. The x-lab offers legal advice on patents and access to Tsinghua’s industrial design centre as well as advice from angel investors and venture capitalists.
在開發產品的過程中，馬濤得到了x-lab其他初創企業的幫助，一家電腦製圖公司幫助其設計了公司網站和豌豆派遊戲，一家3D打印公司幫助製作了一個比例模型。x-lab提供有關專利的法律建議，並向初創企業開放清華工業設計中心，同時幫助它們從天使投資者和風險資本家那裏獲得建議。
It has also performed a more specific educational role, acting as the intersection between Tsinghua’s academic departments, says Ms Mao. So far between 10 and 20 per cent of all Tsinghua students are involved in some way.
毛東輝表示，x-lab還發揮了特殊的教育作用，成爲清華各院系之間的橋樑。目前，在清華大學所有學生中，有10%至20%的學生以某種程度參與了該項目。
Stanford Ignite faculty director Yossi Feinberg says that while New York is the home of media start-ups and Silicon Valley of biomedical and technology companies, there is demand across the board in China. “China is everything. There is a lot of low-hanging fruit.”
斯坦福大學“點燃”項目主管約西•範伯格(Yossi Feinberg)表示，紐約是很多媒體初創企業的大本營，硅谷聚集着生物醫療和科技公司，但在中國，各種需求都有。“中國意味着一切。有很多唾手可得的機會。”
The growing middle class in China means high demand, but this can in turn create issues, says Prof Feinberg. “The biggest problem to any venture in China to me is the [low] barriers to entry. The only barrier is, can you create something big enough so others can’t enter the market.”
範伯格教授表示，中國日益壯大的中產階級意味着需求高漲，但這反過來也可能造成問題，“在我看來，在中國創業的最大問題是准入門檻（低）。唯一的門檻是你能否做大，大到讓其他人無法進入這個市場。”
Now the entrepreneurial genie is out of the bottle, Mr Wang says it is unlikely the process can be reversed. His company resembles a US internet start-up, with free meals and company-funded holidays. Why would people who have operated in this environment all their working lives want to work for a state-owned enterprise, he asks.
如今，中國的創業“精靈”已經被放出瓶子，王翌表示，把它塞回去是不太可能的。他的公司好似一家美國互聯網初創企業，提供免費的餐食和帶薪休假。他問道，一個一直在這種環境下工作的人有什麼理由會希望供職於國有企業呢？
