Two years ago, 48-year-old Kai-Fu Lee resigned from Google China and joined innovation works. As an entrepreneur, age is never a problem, and vision is the most important.
Once the question:
Dim sum is one of the most famous incubation projects in innovation works. At the end of last year, it successfully obtained the first round investment of nearly150,000 USD. More than 30 dim sum members have settled in the entrepreneurship training base at No.300 Guo Ding East Road. A beautiful woman is yelling at an absent-minded male colleague. You have to calm down and write code for me! Someone was chatting and suddenly a bright expression appeared on his face.
What exactly does innovation works do? Two years ago, almost everyone had this question. Kai-Fu Lee said that people are gradually beginning to understand that Kai-Fu Lee is not doing charity, not helping college students find their direction in life, but leading young people to explore their dreams and strive for gold. Since its establishment two years ago, innovation works has audited more than 2,500 projects and invested in 34 projects and companies, among which 9 have successfully attracted external vc to complete Series A financing, with an investment of more than 250 million RMB, and the total valuation is expected to reach 3 billion RMB.
Li Kaifu is confident enough to answer the question two years ago. We have created a new model suitable for all entrepreneurial fields and entrepreneurs? Professional incubation+investment? Mode, we don't want to invest money in entrepreneurs who are mature in all aspects and just lack of money, but start to create enterprises from scratch before they become enterprises or even register.
I'm busy now:
Turn Zhongguancun from a hypermarket into a Silicon Valley
Innovation works's Beijing base of 2,000 square meters has long been insufficient. Nearly 500 people are crowded together, and there are still those incubating enterprises that are obviously stuck after graduation, so the company has moved every year since its establishment, and recently it is busy looking for new places. Spacious space, large enough to meet the requirements of future development, is the first condition for the location of innovation works-Shanghai base. Finally, I bought a three-story office building with an area of nearly 8,600 square meters on Guo Ding East Road.
Kai-Fu Lee hopes to bring some innovative genes from Silicon Valley to China. There used to be only Starbucks near innovation works's Beijing base, but now there are many garage cafes, and investment institutions have set up offices around them. Just like bees found flowers, Li Kaifu said with a smile, they turned Zhongguancun from a hypermarket into a Silicon Valley. These are only superficial phenomena, and the innovation concept of enterprises is fundamental.
Future vision:
Publish job advertisements through the media
When innovation works was founded to raise funds, Kai-fu Lee swiped his personal card as usual, and Yu of New Oriental.
Foxconn and MediaTek are his old friends. Just make a phone call and the funds will arrive the next day. But soon the financial crisis came, and the innovative works did not gain anything for more than half a year. When it comes to investment, people talk a lot. Is it not feasible for you to help others start a business? Kai-fu Lee simply ruled out interference and focused on doing his own thing. With dim sum, pea pods and walking clouds, these projects are becoming more and more famous. Money is no longer a problem, but who to vote for.
Of course, we are most concerned about software, especially the mobile Internet. As long as engineers can do it and minimize the cost, they can see the expected benefits in half a year, and the probability of success in the future is high. These are all factors that we consider investing in. Projects that do not see growth in the short term, and those that earn hard-earned money, such as outsourcing, are not considered as innovative works. Kai-fu Lee admits that they are casting a net now and investing a lot, and only a few may succeed in the end. As it turns out, his vision is to turn the stone into gold. He was optimistic about the Android platform. Now the snacks favored by vc are Android solutions, Leiyou is the game software on Android, and Youmeng is the statistical solution on smart phones, all of which have champions.
In Kai-Fu Lee's view, for entrepreneurs, Shanghai has strong advantages in finance and e-commerce, while Beijing is strong in mobile and technology. As for the social sphere, both sides are good. Shanghai base will copy Beijing base in all directions, from investment, personnel, market