Second-tier urban entrepreneurship pros and cons of relativity: To go or die?

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Tencent Science and Technology Zong May 21 Report

The so-called mature, but a long illness into medicine. Zhao Siming's statement accurately describes his entrepreneurial journey.

He has worked in Taobao and Shanda Network, after a first-line internet company's product operation decided to leave business, in 2010 returned to Xi ' an, did more listening to FM.

In the same year, Sinxiao because take the investment is few, cannot start a business in Beijing. Careful consideration to return to Xi ' an entrepreneurial, three years, only 8 people's team made the user tens of millions of tools to apply--Master of documents.

And in the past six months from the first-line cities back to the second-tier city entrepreneurial wave compared to Sinxiao and Zhao Siming is more early to escape from the North wide sample. In a way, their experience may prove that the right and wrong to flee the north-wide venture, excellent and inferior, can also give some references to entrepreneurs who want to escape from a first-tier city.

There are days and people, geographical location is more indispensable. North Canton Deep These first-tier city start-up costs are indeed small startups can not afford, but the return of the second-tier urban entrepreneurship, a new entrepreneurial habitat this does not mean that there will inevitably usher in a relatively more comfortable route.

The remnant is king.

"The survival of a start-up company is only 320 days, so the company wants to live longer." Sinxiao believed that the remnant was king.

For Sinxiao, under the pressure of cost to return to the second tier of cities somewhat helpless. Why return to Xi ' an, he felt that is his own bones Shaanxi People's local complex, native Xian people, go out and back. The experience of the whole team is quite similar, and most people come back from the field to start a business.

In his opinion, Xi ' an is very suitable to do research and development center place, not so many "colorful" things affect engineers to do research and development. On the other hand, the pace of life in Xian is not fast, engineers are happy to settle there, overall more stable. By 2012, the document master had 11 million users and was supported by the source and Eagle funds to complete a round of financing.

Looking back on his entrepreneurial experience, Sinxiao that the second-tier cities are not bad, "in addition to 360, Jinshan and other internet companies, I know that all the successful application of tools are in the second-tier cities." such as Camera 360, Android optimization Master and so on. "Sinxiao said. He thinks instrumental applications are good for starting a second-tier city.

Relative to Xi ' an hinterland city, the coastal second-tier city's entrepreneurial environment is better. such as Hangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, these cities. These cities already have some well-known internet companies. Hangzhou's Alibaba naturally needless to say, Xiamen has early to do domain name investment Cai, and now there are also well-known mobile internet applications such as the United States Mito. Fuzhou also has a network of dragons and other companies.

Li Zhi, a partner in Amoeba Capital Management and founder of the Word-of-mouth Network, says some of the bottlenecks in second-tier cities are no longer as obvious as they once were. For example, Beijing has business and media resources that other cities do not have. But now the media development is relatively fast, local start-up companies have a lot of exposure opportunities. On the contrary, if the venture in Beijing is busy running the market and other business contacts, thinking more active.

"Today found a new thing, tomorrow found a new thing, the product change to go, often is foolish lost watermelon." Often today you stand in the Tuyere, soon lost. And those who have waited for two or three years may actually be standing in the tuyere. The internet to the end is the remnant of the king. "Li Zhi said.

Pros and cons of relativity

"Dipper" can be described as a second-tier city's entrepreneurial environment.

When the start-up companies under the pressure of office costs transferred to the second-tier city business, the obvious reduction of office costs and human costs, but the opportunity cost is virtually high.

There are entrepreneurs in second-tier cities that spit: Although the cost of a single person is relatively low, but there is less talent, people's professionalism, responsibility and entrepreneurial passion and the first-tier city people can not be compared. It's hard to move fast in a first-tier city where it's taken for granted.

In Xian, people are very practical, but Sinxiao also have their own troubles: lack of circle, hear so many fresh ideas. Talent, Xi ' an is not lack of talent, Xi ' an has the second only Beijing and Shanghai institutions of higher learning, 985 projects and 211 project batches of universities gathered, but the brain drain is particularly serious. Of course, the problem of promotion is not to be avoided. At present, 80% of the file master's users are overseas users. If you want to expand the large-scale domestic users, and the channels to do business cooperation, it is clear that Xi ' an is a little far.

Financing difficulty is a hurdle for second-tier cities to start a business.

Some investors said the location of startups would be a factor in deciding whether to invest because of rising management costs. But most investors don't mind the location problem, as long as there are good projects everywhere. But in second-tier cities there are always some details that are difficult to overcome, far less convenient than a first-tier city.

Zhao Siming said that some conventional problems, such as investors are not easy to find, entrepreneurial atmosphere is not strong these can be understood, or endure. In every aspect of financing, procrastination due to geographical conditions may be a pity for artificially slowing down the company's growth rate.

For example, to see investors in Beijing is very easy, make a phone call, about in cafes or other places, talk about it is not normal. But in Xi ' an, it's hard to see one side.

Sinxiao previously also had the helplessness of financing. "The company in Xian, all feel that we are not willing to communicate, investment more difficult." They are willing to find a taxi to the company, Xi ' an company to visit a trip is not easy. ”

In the field of entrepreneurial team to see investors can be a trip to Beijing to run, but the investment agencies always have the heart: "A trip to come all the way is not easy, as if there is a real need to travel to talk about this matter." "So the meeting will drag on for two weeks or even one months."

This sort of thing is already commonplace. Even if the capital, signed a letter of intent, next, to meet the two sides to do the specific implementation, each link will be at least two weeks to drag, the total down, a month or two time is gone. "For startups, there's a lot of change in a month or two. "Zhao Siming said.

What's more, the company's valuations will be discounted compared to the first-tier cities.

Investors will consider that the company's cost is not as big as a first-line urban entrepreneurship, the team's expansion is different from the first-tier cities, marketing, advertising, and not even so much money. "After a round of discounts, the final valuation may even be doubled." "Zhao Siming said.

Where is the Home Office?

Flee northward wide, where is the best place to settle?

Perhaps because of geo-relations, Sinxiao and Zhao Siming prefer Chengdu. Sinxiao Chengdu as the "holy City" of mobile internet. Zhao Siming also likes Chengdu's entrepreneurial atmosphere, and even Chengdu as an option for future company expansion.

Suffering from the hinterland of entrepreneurship, Zhao Siming that some of the better policy support can also be considered. such as Changzhou, Jiangsu and other land has introduced the "Dragon City Excellence" program, special support projects can give more than 50 million equity financing and 3 million yuan of venture capital support, even the incubation project, entrepreneurial enterprises can also get 1 million of the venture capital support.

But Li Zhi thinks, also cannot see the policy to support. "Some out-of-the-way places give a lot of policy support, but many companies won't be able to stay long." Because there is no atmosphere. ”

Li Zhi suggests that companies that have grown up in competition with the first generation of internet companies are a good choice. "These companies have lit up a spark. ”

In Hangzhou, for example, Alibaba employs 20,000 people and employs 30,000 people, he said. Talent is not a problem. He even said that Hangzhou is not a second-tier city. Apart from Beijing, its entrepreneurial environment should be tied to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and other cities.

Zhao Siming that some companies must die in Beijing. He believes that those who are exposed to the latest trend of the company, leading the market development, investment and financing relies on a relatively large, rapid development of enterprises in the first-tier cities. The traditional companies, such as the O2O industry, are more dependent on resources. Second-tier city employees are stable and not impetuous, and these enterprises are suitable for second-tier cities.

"Regardless of the cost of the case, the best place to start a city, Beijing is the first echelon, Shanghai and Shenzhen are the second echelon, Hangzhou and Chengdu are the third echelon." "Zhao Siming such sort.