Hong Kong, where people are crazy about their pets and world-renowned for their innovation, inspired Wong Pan Ben's smart pet feeder, but he drove to the neighboring city of Shenzhen to make his dream a reality.
With the help of local engineers, Wong, 35, made a prototype of his device, which dishes up doggy dinners automatically and allows owners to interact with their pets via a webcam and screen.
Wong is one of an increasing number of young people from Hong Kong who are looking to the Chinese mainland to develop their ideas. They perceive the mainland as having a vast reservoir of generous investors and a market which is almost without limits. Another appeal is the thousands of government-backed business incubators that have sprung up -- more than 1,600 so far -- to provide services and expertise for startups.
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao are also benefiting. In the coastal city of Xiamen, directly across the Strait from Taiwan, rent exemptions and subsidies are being dangled before Taiwanese startups, while in Zhuhai, Guangdong, similar policies are tempting young entrepreneurs from Macao.
In Shenzhen's Qianhai area, new HK businesses can apply for a government subsidy of up to 2 million yuan (312,500 U.S. dollars) along with tax refunds and preferential loans, while the city's booming IT industry and its proximity to the country's manufacturing heartland only add to its allure.
INCUBATING IDEAS
Rex Sham is the founder of Insight Robotics, based in Hong Kong. For him, the new lower thresholds for starting businesses in mainland cities like Beijing and Shenzhen are a major attraction.
"All you need to do is to find an incubator and rent a space," he said. In theory at least, as soon as a project shows promise, investors with millions of yuan to give away will break down the doors.
Sham is impressed by the entrepreneurial culture of China's big cities where the government and big companies are no longer the top destinations for outstanding graduates. "Now college graduates are very willing to work for new companies, starry-eyed with the prospect of fast growth and a dazzling future," Sham told Xinhua.
Chen Liwen of Hong Kong's City University believes it is the mainland cities' many platforms to pool resources and provide services to new companies which are the main draw. Such a vibrant and supportive atmosphere is hard to find in Hong Kong.
Chen started a young entrepreneur's club that has helped over 50 Hong Kong teams "go north" to exploit the mainland market, combining the motherland's abundant resources with the innovative prowess of Hong Kong's youth.
"Europe and the United States are traditionally favored by startups wishing to explore non-local markets. There are no language barriers and similar business rules," he said. But as Western economies struggle with their own economic problems and fierce competition in the island's own market, these peregrine entrepreneurs may no longer be as competitive as they were once assumed to be.
"Why make the long trip to Europe or the States if there is a huge market right next door, a market that the whole world wants to conquer?"
Still dreaming of a well-fed bank account and legions of contented pets chatting online to distant owners, Wong Pan Ben is looking to the future.
"Shenzhen has a complete industrial chain that can turn ideas into products quickly and at low cost," he said. "Pet health care will be an explosive market here in China. Even a 1-percent market share means millions in sales."
