In 2013, he took advantage of the business opportunities in express delivery and made his first pot of gold. In 2015, he founded Shanghai Chuangqi Information Technology Co., Ltd., which has successfully served more than 3,000 APPs, becoming the only leader in the field of search application optimization. During the initial start-up stage, funds had to be collected from a multitude of sources. Currently, the company’s revenue exceeds RMB 200 million. With more than 80 employees now (comparedto two at the time of start-up), the company has been awarded the Outstanding Enterprise in Shanghai Award. Under his leadership, the Chuangqi science and technology team keeps forging ahead, attracting scientific and technological talent by virtue of its competence, and further injecting the vitality of the "digital economy" into the company during its continued development.
He is Huang Bingchuanlong, a 2009 alum with a major in Information and Computer Science from Zhejiang A&F University. While most of the young people born after the 1990’s still feel lost about their purpose, Huang Bingchuanlong, a bright man, not only founded his own company, but he’s also listed in the 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 China List, becoming a representative of outstanding alumni in innovation and entrepreneurship from our university.
Entrepreneurship Attempts During College: A Nine-storied Tower Rises from a Heap of Earth
Huang Bingchuanlong, who has been outstanding since his childhood, was often regarded as an educational model for other parents, namely "other people's children.” Everything went right for him at that time. In 2009, due to his excellent performance in mathematics, Huang Bingchuanlong was admitted into Zhejiang A&F University with a major in Information and Computer Science and excelled in this field. During college, because of the financial status of his family, Huang Bingchuanlong could not afford a computer—even as his classmates all had computers. Seeing this difference made him realize that he must work hard so that he and his family can live a better life.
During his studies at Zhejiang A&F University—located in Lin'an, Hangzhou, a place abundant in pecans—Huang Bingchuanlong took measures suiting the local conditions by starting a small pecan business. Through such efforts, he basically covered his living expenses using the money he earned. He studied hard while thinking about entrepreneurship. "It is like studying in Grade 3 in high school”, he said. After class, he would ask teachers questions. In addition, he often studied in the classroom for the postgraduate entrance examination, sometimes staying there until midnight before returning to his dormitory.
When he graduated, he could have chosen a stable job just as many of his peers did and continued to make things suit his needs. However, he never favored the routine road, and put all kinds of the "business opportunities" in his mind into practice. He realized that during his senior year, many graduates had to send home large quantities of daily supplies, which generated expensive fees from the express companies they used for individual pickup and delivery service.
"Can we sort up the students' needs and then negotiate with the express about the price?" he thought. Huang Bingchuanlong acted without delay. He went to every dormitory to collect students' needs and then cooperated with many express companies. During this process, he not only made some money but also helped save 40% of the freight expenses for his classmates. As a result, in just a few weeks, he completed more than 2,000 deals and earned over RMB 10,000. "Seeking business opportunities makes life more interesting." This is how Huang Bingchuanlong felt at the beginning of his entrepreneurship.
Suspension of Graduate Schooling to Found a Company: Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way
After graduating from the university, Huang Bingchuanlong was admitted into the Tongji University for his master's degree. In 2014, all kinds of APPs became popular. Huang Bingchuanlong, who liked to play with many types of digital products, found that a lot of new APPs were launched every day. In order to stand out amongst thousands of APPs, a large capital investment was required. However, many small businesses and individual developers were not be able to afford such levels of promotion, resulting in undesired effects.
"Now that we found the demand of the market, we can develop a piece of software that can connect both ends, namely the APP and its users!" he thought.Once he spotted a gap in the market, he started to address the issue. Soon, he developed a product, the prototype of what is now CQASO, which is the data analysis platform on the App Store for Chuangqi Technology.
Positive market feedback motivated Huang Bingchuaglong to make further developments. With such commitment, he put all his savings into the investment for product development. In February 2015, Huang Bingchuanlong, a graduate student at that point, founded Shanghai ChuangqiInformation Technology Co., Ltd. In order to fully devote himself to the business, Huang Bingchuanlong chose to suspend his schooling.
With no venture capital but only fear of parents' objection, he only borrowed money from a few relatives and friends, and self-financed his ambitions with more than RMB 100,000 in the start-up fund. In order to save money for entrepreneurship, he rented a bed in the dormitory of Tongji University, which charged him RMB 30 every day, imposing a certain amount of pressure on him as well. After the company was registered, Chuangqi Technology was supported by Venture Valley in terms of office space and entrepreneurship policy, giving him confidence about the future.
Facing Full-speed Development Era: Try to Ascend the Mountain’s Crest and It Dwarfs All Peaks under People's Feet
In the process of entrepreneurship, Huang Bingchuanlong decided to raise funds for the sustainable development of entrepreneurial projects. Although he had participated in many project roadshows and failed to find investors, he never felt disheartened, thinking "no matter where the investor is and how far away he is, I will go to him". Such persistence allowed him to continue his fundraising journey. After meeting with more than 40 investors, he was finally blessed by God as he got his first fund of RMB 5 million.
Normally, in order to save money on business trips, they always bought hard seat tickets or standing-room-only tickets. But at that time, in order to reward himself, Huang Bingchuanlong bought a plane ticket to Shanghai. At the moment of takeoff, he felt a little unreal for the weightlessness, but he deeply knew that "'Chuangqi' would finally 'take off'!”
Although he gained the funding and expanded the project team, he still lived in one rented apartment with 10 colleagues. The 11 people slept on upper and lower berths and crammed themselves into partitioned rooms. Recalling the entrepreneurial process, Huang Bingchuanlong felt that although they did not live a rich life, they were all committed to entrepreneurship. "It is very convenient for our work when we lived in that small apartment. We could have meetings once we were awake or when we were lying in bed before going to sleep. That was the biggest advantage of that apartment.”
After years of experience in big data, Huang Bingchuanlong and Chuangqi's product lines have become increasingly compatible with big data. Nowadays, the product line of Chuang Qi Technology is becoming more diverse and better developed. From the CQASO data search platform to the TOPASM business of bidding searches and advertising services in the Apple App Store, the company has created a one-stop service of search optimization for App Store data. In addition, there are more than 3,000 CQASO users in total, which include Lianjia, Baidu, Moji Weather and other famous applications. TOPASM customers include YOOZOO, FunPlus, etc. This year, the volume of sales of Chuangqi Technology has exceeded RMB 200 million.
Now, it has become a part of Huang Bingchuanlong's routine to start work at 7:30 a.m., discuss task assignments with directors, make plans, and hold meetings and interviews. He basically works all day and does not fall asleep until 12 p.m. In addition to the busy working schedule, Huang Bingchuanlong attends more than two CEO experience exchange and learning classes every year, and travels to Japan, Israel and other places to learn about advanced business thinking patterns.
As for his original decision, Huang Bingchuanlong said, "I have never regretted choosing the road of innovation and entrepreneurship. This is the life I want, as I can do the things I like, socialize with smart people, and have my own time for learning.”
Considering how junior schoolmates should start their innovation and entrepreneurship, Huang Bingchuanlong suggests that innovation and entrepreneurship should be integrated for college students as people desiring innovation should constantly innovate and make attempts. He also stated that if college students choose the path of innovation and entrepreneurship, they should actively put the spirit of "perseverance and continual transcendence" of Zhejiang A&F University into practice. It is similar to the essence of Wang Guozhen's words, "Since I've decided to go to a distant place, I'll try my best to make the trip.”
