A man working at his computer in his office in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. (Photo : Reuters)
In a place near the main office of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in Hangzhou, a swarm of activity is taking place.
Popularly known as Dream Town, the place promises wonders for Internet startups based in the capital of Zhejiang Province. These perks include free office space and infrastructure facilities for a minimum of three years.
Yu Yang, owner of 3D printing company Hangzhou Samdi Technology Co., transferred the corporation to Dream Town after finishing college. On top of free office space, his budding firm also gets complementary cloud computing, which commonly entails sharing resources on a pay-as-you-go scheme.
"What attracted me here is that they do not evaluate us on our revenue or profit," Yu said, stating that his company had received funding worth 3 million yuan ($472,440) when he established it last year. "Instead, they focus on our potential and the venture capital we have attracted."
A lot of companies from the same sector have mushroomed in Dream Town since its opening in March. There were over 60 startups, hiring 2,100 staff, by the end of July.
Alibaba's success story served as the launching pad for the influx, according to Zhao Qikai, administrative committee deputy director of Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City, which manages the innovation center.
"Alibaba is like a role model in Hangzhou that encourages young people to pursue their dreams," he stated. "The company also provides free service platforms for startups there."
According to year-end data from Hangzhou Bureau of Industry and Commerce, there were 8,876 fledglings in the city created by 19,000 college students by the end of 2014.
Shen Aixiang, 23, was among the college students who is now the CEO of E-camping, China's first online camping travel service platform.
"The atmosphere in Dream Town is aspirational," Shen said, without giving further details as to the exact funding figures.
"Knowing there are thousands of passionate young people like me who are fighting for their own startups is the ideal encouragement. Starting a business is no longer just for a small group of privileged people. College graduates can also fulfill their dreams here," he added.
In the long run, Dream Town plans to entice 10,000 college graduates to build startups and attract investors. Aside from venture capital corporations and angel investors, the provincial government also launched the 50 million yuan Zhejiang Angel Dream Foundation in May to help startups.
"It seems that Internet startups are simply part of Hangzhou's DNA," said Ying Zhongdi, Zhejiang-based Toutiao.com's manager. "It is ingrained in society, especially the younger generation."
