Dreams of glory drive youthful startup trend

Faith, perseverance

The firm faith and perseverance to achieve something and prove his worth have also motivated Wang Jin since he started his businesses in his hometown of Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, in 2015.

The 34-year-old was deputy head of the investment department of a company in Beijing. Starting a new business was not his first choice of career change.

"At the time, I felt I had reached a plateau in my work, and the company had failed to fulfill its promise of giving me a promotion for a long time. Also, my father was seriously ill. As his only child, I needed to look after him, so I decided to return home," Wang said.

He didn't want to be idle after returning to Jiujiang, so he kept looking for opportunities.

His family encouraged him to become a civil servant, which would bring in a stable income, but he rejected the idea because he thought the work would not be suitable for an active, outgoing person like him.

Later, he met some friends who also just returned home from other cities. They realized that there was a large market for fresh fruit in their area, so Wang and his three friends started a business.

"When we opened the first store in May 2015, it was two months after I returned home. After eight weeks of downtime, I put all my passion and savings into that first adventure," he said.

In addition to using traditional retail techniques, Wang and his partners used methods such as instant-messaging services like QQ and social media platforms to attract customers. Both the founders and their staff members worked as delivery personnel to ensure that the fresh produce was delivered to customers on time.

One day, when he was delivering fruit by bicycle during a rainstorm, Wang met a client. The man invited Wang into his home for tea after noticing that he was soaked through, and praised his courage in starting a business.

"His encouragement meant a lot to me at that time, and he became an investor and good friend," Wang said.

At one point, durians became very popular, so Wang and his friends pooled their money and traveled to Thailand to order a container of the fruit to sell in Jiujiang.

Since the fruit is known to spoil quickly, they took a gamble that their move would pay off as they could easily have lost their money.

"If we succeeded, we would earn both money and more customers, but if there was a lot of bad fruit, all our efforts would have been wasted. Luckily, we bet correctly. Entrepreneurship is sometimes a compromise, but also a gamble－the key is how we treat the matter," Wang said.

"After I started my businesses, I rarely took a break. My wife and parents took care of most of the family affairs, but it was still difficult to balance my time and energy between family and work. I often felt that I owed my family."

In April 2016, Wang and his friends sold their fruit business because larger brands were constantly encroaching on their market share. After the sale, each partner received 400,000 yuan.

"In the following six months, I was at a loss and had no idea about a career. However, in late 2016, I started my second business, a company related to overseas study services in Jiujiang," he said.

Although the company's trade has been affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, Wang continues to explore several new directions, including helping more college students start businesses.

"Regardless of success or failure, these entrepreneurial experiences are good for me. When I am old, I can tell my daughter that her father at least fought for his ideals," he said.