Startup Heaven

By+Li+Xiaoyu

during daytime， 24-year-old Wang Kun works with heart and soul with his peers in their startup. In the evening， he has a chance to let some steam off by putting on the hat of the host of his apartment buildings film salon. By organizing movie screenings for his neighbors， Wang enjoys a 20 percent discount on his rent and- more importantly - a great opportunity to socialize with other entrepreneurs like himself.

“The residents here are mostly young people. By attending the screenings， we can brainstorm together or share our work resources，” said Wang. “Its about both leisure and work.”

Located in west Beijing， the apartment building won Wangs heart with its spacious and comfortable public area - each floor has an 85-square-meter space encompassing a café， a reading room， a film salon， an art corner， a gym and a public kitchen. Outside the building is also a vegetable garden for the residents to enjoy some sunshine and fresh vegetables.

But such heaven is not open to anyone. Residency is limited to college degree holders under 40， according to Wang.

Better living environment

This apartment buildings story began when a cooperation agreement was signed between Beijing Vstartup Co.， a national technology startup incubator founded in 2013， and Shougang Group， a stateowned steelmaker in Beijing， founded in 1919.

As a startup incubator authorized by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology， Vstartup was more ambitious than others. It wanted not only to provide young entrepreneurs with an office space， but also to bring them the cozy feeling of home in the Chinese megalopolis.

Their chance came when the Shougang Group decided to relocate its steel factory from Beijing to Hebei Province. As the number of Shougang employees located in Beijing kept falling， Vstartup took over the empty employee apartment building and renovated it into a brand new living area for young entrepreneurs， and renamed it “37° Apartment.”

According to the apartment buildings manager Wang Xu， when people are passionate about something， their body temperature is not lower than 37°. Vstartup hoped that the apartment would become a communication platform between passionate souls. The education and age requirements would ensure the residents share additional similarities， explained Wang Xu.

“We have a deep understanding of the difficulties facing young entrepreneurs in Beijing. We hope the 37° Apartment can provide them with a romantic living environment and a creative lifestyle，” Zhang Jinli， Vice President of Vstartup， told ChinAfrica.

Each 20-square-meter room is equipped with a washing machine， a refrigerator and a water heater. A folding queen-size bed and storage cabinets were designed to improve space utilization， and a wireless light switch enables the resident to control the lighting without leaving the bed.

The affordable rent of 1，800 （$259） to 2，400 yuan（$344） per month， in addition to the multi-functional public areas， soon attracted many young people.

According to Wang Xu， all of the 133 rooms have now been let and any new applicant would have to wait for a year before moving in.

One-stop solution

The apartment complex project is only but one part of Vstartups bigger ambition - to become a provider of one-stop solution for young startups.

Now a real star among Vstartups residents， Poputar Inc. is committed to creating a more efficient method for consumers to learn instruments such as guitar by integrating games and self-education. But the companys success did not appear so certain when it was first launched.

“We knocked on so many doors， trying to persuade the guitar manufacturers to help us commercialize our design，” said Luo Shichuan， founder of Poputar. “It was not easy at all.”

Luo felt much more at ease after Poputar joined Vstartup. “It feels like we made a good friend who is rich and willing to support us when we need it.”

For startups like Poputar， hardware and software development was never the problem， but technology alone is not enough for their products to succeed on the market.

“We had no marketing team or any experience at the time，” said Luo. “Vstartup understood our problem and invited marketing professionals to guide us.”

With Vstartups guidance， the company is moving from strength to strength. Its project was a runner-up for the 2016 Creative Business Cup， a startup competition between more than 60 of the best projects around the world， as well as the winner of its Play & Learn Challenge section. In the same year， Poputar also swept top prizes at four domestic startup competitions.

“Traditional incubator companies only provide basic services like office space， but we are committed to providing entrepreneurs with a one-stop solution by creating an ecosystem consisting of offices， apartments， financial services， entrepreneurship training and big data resources，” Zhang said.

According to Zhang， Vstartup has provided free training to more than 1，300 startups under its wings and invited professionals to answer their questions about business， tax， finance and laws. At the same time， Vstartup has recommended the startups to different competitions where they could rise to fame and garner the attention of investors.

This focus has proven helpful for young companies， whose limited resources are often overextended.

“We chose Vstartup among all those incubators because of the comprehensive services it provides in terms of office space， government policy， funding， training and marketing，” Lu Wangzuo， President of Juchen Television， told ChinAfrica.

According to Wang Xu， Vstartup is planning to expand the 37° Apartment project. More young entrepreneurs will soon find their home in two additional apartment buildings.

“Vstartup was originally founded to support young people so that they dont have to go through all the hardship as their predecessors did，” Zhang said. “We hope to help startups grow quickly and help every dreamer find a home.”