Young entrepreneurs need help to make it big

"When a product is ready to be rolled out, we need these 'makerspaces' to help us with consumer research to see if there is a market out there," he said. "If there is demand, then funding becomes an issue, so we need help to raise capital through angel investors or crowdfunding. At the moment, we don't have those services in place."

Slowly, that is changing. Higgs Hub, which is located in the Longgang district of Shenzhen, claims to be not only a "makerspace", but an incubator for new projects and a potential investor.

Yang Cheng, founder of Higgs Hub, is dedicated to helping the best "makers" and startup teams by offering a range of services, including entrepreneurial guidance, supply chain connections, media promotion, marketing and investment strategies.

"The most valuable information a makerspace can provide for young entrepreneurs is business experience," said Yang, who went to Yale University in the US and is secretary-general of Yale Club of South China.

"Those makerspaces that are not able to produce a business model for young entrepreneurs will die out in the near future," he said.

With so much high-tech talent concentrated in Shenzhen, major companies are starting to move in to set up their own "makerspaces".

Li Chunyu is chief executive of Shenzhen MakerSpace, which is part of TCL Corp, a Chinese multinational electronics company based in Huizhou. TCL designs, develops, manufactures and sells products such as television sets, smartphones and air conditioning units.

Naturally, the group is always on the look out for bright, new talent with big ideas. "Apart from offering free places for innovators, we also provide services to help them grow," Li said.

"More importantly, TCL is there to help makers with research and development. They can use our internal labs, for example. This is the major difference from other makerspaces in the city," he said.

But more companies such as TCL need to be involved if these big ideas are to get off the drawing board and into the hands of consumers.

Mao Dun, an expert at Shenzhen Nanshan Science and Technology Office, a think tank focusing on studying the city's technology development, is convinced that will eventually happen.

"The core of Shenzhen's efforts to become an international makers' hub is to help the country achieve sustainable economic growth by integrating innovation and industries," Mao said. "Close cooperation between powerful technology companies and makers can help achieve that goal," he said.

"Although the number of major companies involved in establishing makerspaces is still small, that will change."

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