Education

Innovation scores with exam services company

By Shen Jingting (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-25 09:00

Q: Why did you establish ATA Inc?

A: China is famous for holding various tests. It is said that keju, the imperial examination system, is the fifth great invention in Chinese history, in addition to paper, printing, the compass and gunpowder.

Besides, the number of exams held in China may also be the largest in world. The types vary from exams for college entrance to vocational qualifications.

However, before the founding of ATA, there was no single organization that provided services for holding exams, not to mention a booming industry with vigorous competition. I thought it was a great business opportunity.

Q: What is a testing service? Who are your clients?

A: We offer every service you can imagine during a test. We provide technology support for test holders and help judge factors such as the difficulty or practicability of their examination paper. We provide test rooms, help inform applicants to take part in exam, and deliver such services as sending test results.

The computer-based testing services are used for professional licensure and certification in various industries, such as information technology services, banking, securities and insurance.

Q: Instead of copying existing business models, would you like to try something innovative?

A: Yes. When I established ATA in 1999, my goal was clear - I don't work for money. Instead, I wanted to create a new industry in China by starting this company and making it the top enterprise in the industry.

Before that, I pursued my master's degree in computer science at the University of Central Florida. I was a special student in other people's eyes. I bought a beach house near the school and during my free time I drove luxury cars, played golf and learned to fly an airplane.

It was because my friends warned me that "Walter, you should not get retired and live like an old man when you are still in your 30s," so I started to run a business again.

Q: You said ATA has yet to come across a competitor?

A: I placed a statue of a lion in my study. The background is dark, and under a beam of yellow light you can see a melancholy look in his eyes. He is melancholy because he cannot find any rivals.

In the field of testing services, the threshold is very high. ATA spent seven years building infrastructure. In that period, we kept losing money because we had to keep investing.

Now ATA owns 1,988 authorized test centers throughout China. It is the largest commercial test center network in the country, and ATA has delivered more than 34 million tests since 1999.

It is very difficult for competitors to challenge us now. This is an industry where the winner takes all.

Q: How about the feeling of fighting alone in the testing-related service industry? Isn't that good?

A: I don't think it's a good thing for ATA. We listed on Nasdaq in 2008, but we haven't spent a coin of the money we got from the stock market, because we cannot find a suitable company for a merger and acquisition. Second, competition is necessary for every company in the long run. It brings momentum in the industry and clients may enjoy more benefits.

Q: How much money did you invest in the company?

A: In 2007, ATA started to earn money. Before that, we invested a total 300 million yuan, and some came from foreign private equity. We realized revenue of 250 million yuan last year.

Q: Can ATA be stagnant because it faces little challenge?

A: Since we created a new industry and ATA is already the biggest company in it, the initial goal has been fulfilled.

However, we attach an even higher dream to ATA.

In our next step, we would like to cooperate with related industries, such as education and human resources, to expand the scale of ATA's business.

We are now focusing on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and HR Select testing, which helps find the most qualified candidates for both hiring and internal promotions.

On the Chinese mainland, we predict the number of TOEIC takers could rise from 80,000 last year to one million in 2012.

Q: Why did you decide not to be a civil servant? It was a dream job for most people in the 1980s.

A: I like to be innovative. In my childhood, my favorite books were the science fiction of Jules Verne. I was curious and crazy about every new technology I came across. The civil servant job restrained me from using imagination and being creative.

For example, I always enjoy creating or assembling things by myself. In my Beijing villa, I designed the garden irrigation system. It sprays water automatically according to heat, humidity and light.

There is a tool room in my house full of gadgets. Its scale could support a car repair shop or a decoration factory.