chinese entrepreneur case study

1. biodf.com

industry: defense

startup capital: Mr. Lu owned had another company before this one, his wife
also had some gains from her investing and joked that she personally funded
the company initially (she was CFO at the inception of biodf). But they also
raised millions from friends and investors.

history: after 911, americans were freaked out by terrorism and bioterrorism
, a market was borned almost overnight for a product to eliminate potential
virus/bacteria in mails. Lu seized the opportunity and filled the market
with a brand new product.

USP (unique selling position): new product, no competition. In case of
copycat, they can move manufacturing to China. (PS: they have strong
connections with both US and Chinese government, their first customers are
UN and FBI; PPS: the product which looks like a big microwave is selling at
$50K per unit, they got thousands of orders after they openned manufacturing
line)

2. opentip.com, atafa.com, hiidea.com

industry: sporting, books, music

startup capital: anything but VC

history: The owner worked with UBS several years ago and was caught up by
entrepreneur seisure. He went back to Shanghai and openned an office there.
I'm not sure abut the profits of his companies, but alexa rankings of those
webiste are good. And for pure merchandise sites like these, I have to say
they are doing good.

USP: buy low in china, sell high in US, lower overhead in china.

3. Mr. X

industry: real estate

startup capital: personal savings, loans.

history: he started real estate investing in late 1990s before the real
estate boom. He did nothing fancy, just bought a few houses, rehabbed them
if necessary, waited for appreciation, cashed out equity and re-invest. He
now owns 100+ properties and owns his construction & management companies,
etc.

USP: perfect timing, cheaper labors, cheaper materials (his building
materials are imported from China directly).

4. meetchinabiz.org

industry: B2B

startup capital: unknown, can't be too much I guess

history: outsourcing to china is the trend of US business, the owner seized
the opportunity and built a network to connect both sides in early 2000s.

USP: his background in china Institute of Bryant Univeristy, and he
definately has strong connections with both Chinese and US governments.