Zheng Wei, a registered expert on Zaihang, shares with a girl his expertise in art design. (Photo provided to China Daily)
Zaihang blazes a trail in China's peer-to-peer economy
Nowadays, many things can be traded and hired online. When traveling around, you can book a stay in others' private apartments or take a ride in other's vehicles.
Increasingly in the era of the so-called sharing economy, a peer-to-peer based sharing model, which allows people to lend their idled assets to another person and make a profit, it is possible to make what is mine become yours, even in terms of knowledge, skills and experience.
Zaihang, literally "be good at", is one such online platform that allows users to "collaboratively consume" their intellectual assets.
"The core of the sharing economy is for participants to commercialize their idle assets. I think knowledge is an important part of the sharing economy because many people have a surplus of knowledge in a certain area, which can be very valuable to others," said Ji Xiaohua, founder of Beijing-based Zaihang.
At an average cost at 400 yuan ($62) per hour, those who are not confident in their fashion taste can easily find those with fashionable eyes on Zaihang to go shopping with and help rebuild their wardrobe. Those who want to become a great host on Airbnb Inc can get advice from those who have abundant experience in travelling and staying at hotels.
Even those who want to improve their skills at playing poker can find a poker master on Zaihang to pick his or her brain.
These people, who are great hands at something, are called Hangjia or expert by Zaihang. They can be the founder of a tech firm, chief executive officers of venture capital firms, musicians or therapists. Since it was launched in March 2015, Zaihang has attracted more than 8,000 experts in nine cities to register on its platform and "sell" their expertise in certain areas offline, mostly in a cafe or other third-party venues.
Ji, who is known by the Chinese tech education world for setting up Guokr.com in 2010, a popular app in China for people to learn about science and technology, said he first had the idea in 2012 to launch such a knowledge- and skills-sharing service after a visit to Tsinghua University.
"I realized that college students don't need the kind of knowledge in textbooks. They need people with social experience to offer them advice on how to pick the right job or show what it is like to be a doctor.
"There was huge demand for one-on-one consultation to offer tailor-made advice on each individual case. Advice from an experienced person can really offer insight and give them a shortcut," said Ji, who was named as a "young global leader" in 2016 by the World Economic Forum for his contribution to the popularization of science and sharing knowledge.
Previously, there was no model of sharing economy in China. Ji said he had no idea how to provide on-demand consultation services to netizens who still hide behind computer screens to chat on online forums.
"The rise of the sharing economy in China since 2014 has laid a solid foundation for us to introduce the service as more people are used to hiring rides in private vehicles, paying for purchases online and enjoying online-to-offline services. This kind of trust for strangers is the premise of our business," said Ji.
As an innovative model of the sharing economy, Zaihang's first 100 experts were all acquaintances of the company's employees. "Now with the growth of our business, applicants are pouring in, wanting to register as experts on our platform," he said.
To ensure users can truly benefit from the paid sessions, Zaihang has set a high bar with only 15 percent of the applicants passing the evaluation process. "No matter what you do, the key is you must prove that you are really on top of your game," said Ji.
Zhuge Siyuan, one of the most popular experts on Zaihang, is a top-notch expert in "finding and getting acquainted with whoever you want to know"－a one-hour one-on-one course at 588 yuan.
As a co-founder of venture capital and financial advisor firm Jiazhi Touzi, she has made some records in getting the contacts of 30,000 science and engineering professors at the top 50 universities in China in 15 days or flying to an island in New York state to successfully tracking down the retired Robert Rubin, who served as the treasury secretary during the Clinton administration.
"You cannot count on making big money on Zaihang. It is more of the feeling of achievement that makes me do this and you also get to know some really high quality people from a diverse background," she said, adding she meets about 100 students a month, from the children of well-known entrepreneurs to firefighters and interns at some Internet companies.
According to Zaihang, the company has seen its business gain stronger momentum this year with an average of 600 daily orders since Spring Festival.
For Ji, the commercialization of Zaihang has not been brought onto the agenda. "The top priority this year is to make Zaihang a comprehensive platform with an even more abundant pool of experts from what kind of industries you want to find," he said.
For now, Zaihang has already expanded its expert portfolio from Internet-related topics at the beginning to life and leisure, career planning, education, style and psychological consultation. But this is far from enough for the ambitious Ji.
