SHENZHEN, China, June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In recent years, China has witnessed rapid growth in the number of venture capital firms, with the number having exceeded 2,000 as of May 2016. Compared to the U.S. market, which has a mature and developed equity investment culture, the market in China is still in an early phase and it is undeniable that it is growing at a very fast pace.
Two trends that have made their appearance last year in China's equity investment space demand our attention. The first clear trend is that in China, the boundaries of investment strategies are blurring. With capital flooding into the market and the ongoing rise of a valuation bubble, the boundaries are no longer clear. The second trend is the emergence of technological applications that provide services for equity investment. Matching platforms that pair small and medium companies with investment institutions are quietly flourishing.
Keeping the two trends in mind, Decadili(Shangshibang) focuses on providing financial services, such as financial matchmaking and consulting services for capital management to small and medium companies through an Internet investment banking platform.
As of May 25, 2016, Decadili(Shangshibang) had signed contracts with 907 investment institutions and 1,632 investors, and the number of projects and companies that it had brought on board exceeded 8,000. Through the Internet financial platform, in just four short months, Decadili(Shangshibang) quickly accumulated a roster of clients who have capital to invest as well as clients who need capital for their project.
The company's rapid growth not only drew the attention of industry leaders and watchers, but also helped lay out an important foundation for the industry's subsequent business development. Other than the hard work of Decadili(Shangshibang)'s business outreach teams and the good reputation of Decadili(Shangshibang)'s app for venture capitalists, a more important factor in the platform's ability to accumulate clients at such a high speed was the popularity of the TV show Liehuozhenjin, a Decadili(Shangshibang) production about venture investment, which played a crucial role in helping the company reach this crucial milestone in its development.
Thanks to the show, right from the first episode, the platform was able to establish itself as a brand with high recognition and credibility. The rollout of the show was undoubtedly a terrific move on the part of the founders.
Producing a TV show requires a tremendous amount of money and resources in the media. As a variety show created by a startup financial firm, Liehuozhenjin met varying degrees of skepticism each step of the way from conception to execution. Most Internet companies burn through a lot of funding as they set up in the market.
Three individuals, an investment banker, a technical engineer and a data mining expert, set up Decadili(Shangshibang) as an Internet investment banking platform in early 2015, then took a unique development path that is different from the road commonly travelled by many entrepreneurs. While focusing on the development of the products, Decadili(Shangshibang) also participated the making of the TV show, profiting from the products and at the same time promoting the brand name, building channels and acquiring projects.
Liehuozhenjin made its debut on Feburary 23, 2016, on Anhui Television (AHTV), a television network located in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province. As the Chinese government and Chinese society in general have been advocating entrepreneurship, upon the release of the first episode, the show immediately started ranking among the top five specialty programs broadcast during its time slot, and the show's impact has continued to grow.
The firm's development strategy of combining "capital and communication" received wide attention from industry peers, who were merely curious in the beginning and are now amazed. However, the multi-discipline approach was not just to maximize eyeballs. As Liehuozhenjin started filming the second season, expectations are that the program will generate millions of yuan in commercial revenue, covering the cost of the previous season.
Leverage the Media And Run the Business Like an Investment Bank
Decadili(Shangshibang) co-founder Peng Aoli further explained, "As Decadili(Shangshibang)'s core media product is the intersection of the two business areas, capital and communications, Liehuozhenjin seized the opportunity in terms of the trends in startups at just the right moment by providing a platform for investment institutions and entrepreneurs that placed them in front of millions of viewers. It also helps us provide better services to both investors and entrepreneurs, as it supplies entrepreneurs with the much-needed capital and an accelerating force through the power of the Internet."
Decadili(Shangshibang) six months touring six key startup cities, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Beijing, and collected 2,000 projects for Liehuozhenjin, impacting every region across the country including the South, the Southwest, the Central region, the East and the North. Forty of all the startup projects that auditioned for the show were selected to participate in the program recorded in Beijing.
For many, Liehuozhenjin is like a combination of an online one-to-many roadshow and the Chinese version of the Apprentice: the heated debate and confrontation between entrepreneurs and investors on set showed the cruel reality of what it is like to found and run a startup, while the camera recorded the difficulties entrepreneurs face in raising the needed financing. Liehuozhenjin has ranked among the top 5 of all the shows broadcast during its time slot. Without fancy gimmicks or the participation of celebrities, the realistic stories with many unusual twists and turns as well as the show being the first venture capital reality show warrant the significant impact it has made in venture investment circles.
The cross-industry participation in the media and the successful launch of the company with a TV show demonstrate how Decadili(Shangshibang)'s business is not like any other: the firm provides services in the field of venture investment and communication. Decadili(Shangshibang) partner Yu Xingrun said, "For us, we consider two aspects in the valuation of a company when it is in the early phase: the first is the quality, which means the company itself should be excellent; the second one is promotion, which means the company should be good at promoting itself and communicating with the audience about the services and products it offers.
"As we are now in an era where the visual impact is key, the program provides an opportunity to provide that "moment in the sun", so that the entrepreneur can stand out in China's huge and ever-growing market. On the other hand, in China, the sector that provides communication services to small and medium companies is not yet mature. The services provided and pricing for those services are not transparent. This gives the Internet an opportunity to transform the industry. Decadili(Shangshibang)'s Internet platform provides an opportunity to transform the two business sectors that are crucial in company valuation!"
In the era of the Internet, a key feature of which is the increasing blurring of the boundaries that define industries, cross-industry events and actions are a trend. It is likely not your competitors who turn your world upside down. It is probably not even a player in your industry. If Airbnb can cross the business boundary and provide pet sitting, why can't the more serious venture investment industry joins forces with the media space?
The only conclusion is that the speed at which businesses are evolving and the directions they are taking far exceed our imagination. We look forward to seeing more unprecedented business models emerge in this complex business world, as it is the emergence of these never-before-seen models that shapes the imagination of the time. Decadili(Shangshibang) will continue to move forward on the path of breaking boundaries and helping entrepreneurs.
More information, please contact:
Lisa Li
Phone: +86-755-86703348
Email: lisali@shangshibang.com
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160628/384105
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