Lai Youwei, Development Research Center of the State Council

In recent years, the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone (hereinafter referred to as Zhongguancun) has implemented the Young Talents Project for entrepreneurial talents at home and abroad, positively cultivated an entrepreneurship service system that meets the developmental needs of start-ups, and made good achievements in improving the innovation service capacity for various incubators in Zhongguanchun and encouraging people to start their own business and make innovation. The practices of Zhongguancun in support of the development of start-ups have offered important enlightenments. First, efforts should be made to implement the Young Talents Project for entrepreneurial talents at home and abroad. Through exploration on the bases for young talents, new operation patterns have been formed characterized by a combination of incubator bases plus portfolio finance and the added value of industrial chain and an entrepreneurship support platform has been actively forged that integrates total factors of innovation including talent, capital, policy, and market. These platforms are: One, the portfolio of “equity plus creditor” to meet the capital requirement of start-ups. Two, the combination of “online plus offline” operation to resolve the management problems of newly-founded enterprises. And three the industrial radiation of “policy plus market” so as to create developmental opportunities for newly-founded enterprises. Second, endeavor should be made to actively cultivate an entrepreneur service system that meets the developmental needs of start-ups. Zhongguancun has exerted huge efforts to facilitate the development of university science parks, incubators of science-oriented enterprises, and innovation parks for overseas talents, taking a lead in establishing the entrepreneurship incubator service system centering around university science parks and consisting of over 100 institutions. It has cultivated an entrepreneurship atmosphere, encouraging innovation and tolerating failure, hence forming varied patterns of innovation and entrepreneurship services including accurate incubation, angel investment, entrepreneurship community, and makerspace. Third, efforts have been made to launch the Golden Seed Project in support of the development of start-ups. Since the launch of Golden Seed Project, the number of golden seed enterprises has been growing. Under the guidance of Zhongguancun Management Committee, the Joint Committee of the Golden Seed Project has offered various specialized services for golden seed enterprises such as entrepreneurship tutorship and training, communication and cooperation, spatial development and site selection, as well as project promotion and financing. Based on the implementation of the Project, enlightenments and suggestions are offered as follows. One, cultivate and continue optimizing the innovation and entrepreneurship ecological system composed of enterprises, talents, universities, institutions, and angel investment, plus such factors as entrepreneurship financing, innovation services, and innovation and entrepreneurship culture, and plus the tri-environment of market, legal enforcement and reform, actively cultivate an innovation service system that meets the developmental needs of start-ups, support the innovation and entrepreneurship for various talents, and provide effective support for start-ups. Two, set up and improve the innovation investment raising mechanism led by government equity investment and the main entity of social capitals, shore up the development of equity investment, innovation investment, and angel investment, make full use of the Internet and modern information technological means, create an entrepreneurship supporting system that integrates such factors for innovation as talent, capital, policy, and market, attract domestic and overseas innovative and entrepreneurial talents and especially young talents, and search and nurture key start-ups. Three, encourage platform enterprises, successful entrepreneurs, and angel investors to facilitate resource and experience advantages, establish institutions of various innovation services, and further improve the chain of innovation services. Four, bring into full play the role of innovation-oriented incubators, lead and support innovation-oriented incubators to improve their capacity and level of specialized services, explore the entrepreneurship pattern featured by a combination of angel investment plus partnership, and equity crowd-funding, strengthen the commission work and purchase services of governmental departments for innovation-oriented incubators, speed up the transformation and industrialization of scientific and technological products, and promote the rapid growth of start-ups. And five, Launch key talents projects akin to “U30 Young Talents Project” that focuses on the encouragement of people to start their own business and make innovation and cultivate entrepreneurs so as to unleash the entrepreneurship potentials of young people.

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