Fundraising
Finding significant financial resources when you are a young startup in China is not only a delicate but also crucial step in the development of this one. There are many ways to find funds like using an incubator or venture capital, but one very popular and effective method is to find a Business Angel.
What is a Business Angel (BA)?
A Business Angel (BA) is a person who will invest in a young company/startup. In a few words, a BA will provide capital to the startup in exchange for shares of it and will also support its development for a certain time.
Why look for a Business Angel?
- He will share with you his experience
- Idem for its network
- Remember that BAs are usually one or more successful and therefore will most likely know what to do when you don’t know
When looking for a Business Angel?
After the creation of your business and the formalities completed, finding a source of funding will be your next big goal. This is when finding a BA will be of great help to you.
Your business is young, not yet profitable and investing in it may be risky! But it’s exactly in this kind of business that BA invest!
What criteria to find your ideal Business Angel?
Having a good feeling with a potential BA is essential since he will accompany you for several years.
Particularly in China where the flexibility of BA is more important: unlike in the West where you make an appointment to see your BA, in China you just have to call him directly to know if he has time in the day to grant you. Faster, simpler and more accessible, any business with Chinese people is based on trust and therefore also on the partner’s knowledge and physical presence. It’s simple: no trust, no business!
The criteria are professional, but also personal.
- His experience
- Knowledge sharing
- Network (contacts, customers, …)
- Understanding of the project
- Long-term vision
- Level of risk-taking
- Your relationship and the trust you give to each other
It’s about finding your mentor and building the best possible business relationship with them. Finding a BA in the same field as your business will obviously be easier and more reassuring.
Find your BA
Therefore, the crucial question is: how to find the BA you need (especially if it is in China)?
Be visible AND a great dealer
To do this, you have to go through several important channels in China and not just any.
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Think to have a Website: be professional
To be present on the Chinese web, you must create your website accessible from China. This is why developing a site in Mandarin Chinese will make the difference when looking for your business on Baidu, the Chinese Google. By the way, since Google is censored in China and that Baidu has 82% of search engine market share in China, your presence on Baidu is of course essential. But being present is not enough, you have to be visible!
Do you imagine that Chinese Business Angel or any investors will put some money without a minimum of professionalism?
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Imagine you are everywhere on Baidu
Being present on Baidu is essential for any business aiming to enter the Chinese market. For that, you must be referenced in Chinese and think about a name and keywords in Chinese for the referencing of your company.
It is important to have an optimal SEO on Baidu, but also to adapt your site to the mobile format since 98% of connections in China are made from a mobile phone.
Having a good SEO will increase your research rank in Baidu. More concretely, what can help you is to host your website on a neighbor country’s server and have a website ending with .cn. With that, you will be sure to be on the top of the research results!
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Social networks: Business is Social AND social is Business in China
Being present on social networks in China is VITAL. No, not the ones you know like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Those which are omnipresent in Chinese people’s daily life.
-WeChat base of communication in China
The largest platform used in China with one billion daily users. Creating an official or business account there is essential to instilling confidence and credibility in potential investors. Through your official account, share marketing content, texts, pictures and videos. Investors will see it when they will look into your accounts on the different platforms.
What you can also do in WeChat:
- WeChat brochure
Creating your WeChat brochure is very simple! A few texts, some pictures and a little video and it’s all done! It is like a simple web page you can format as you want to explain what your business/product is about. It is entertaining, short, and you can make it original and attractive! You have carte blanche to sell your business in the best way.
- WeChat groups
Some WeChat groups are about fashion brands, others are about skincare products. You can also find professional or informal WeChat groups to find professional contacts or get in touch with people who can drive you to an investor.
Remember that relationship is a very important thing for Chinese people: they want to know you before your business when they want to work with you. So, work on the relationship in the first time and then you talk about business.
Building a professional relationship before a strong and reliable personal relationship is a common mistake made by foreign businesses when they come into China.
- WeChat mini-programs
WeChat also offers you the possibility to create mini-programs that you can format as you feel. Some brands use mini-programs as a second app within WeChat to sell products, some other create games or registration system for events. You can also be very creative in the creation of your mini program.
-Weibo : the Chinese Facebook
The ideal platform to distribute marketing and visual content to a large audience. With its 500 million daily users, Weibo can offer great scope in terms of visibility.
Even though Weibo is the Chinese Twitter, it also focuses a lot on pictures. Thus, you can focus the spread of your visual marketing content more on Weibo since it will be like your showcase.
Indeed, pictures speak louder than words. That is why creating attracting visuals or relevant infographics can be a game-changer when investors will look at what you have done.
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Imagine Chinese Media speaks about you
Developing Chinese Public Relations (PR) has proven to be very effective in gaining the trust of the Chinese public and therefore potential investors. Indeed, appearing in the Chinese media adapted to your business (image, product, sector, etc.) will on the one hand offer you increased visibility, but also unrivaled credibility.
For the Chinese, appearing in the local media will make you a reliable and serious player in what he undertakes.
So, if you don’t want to pass for an amateur, consider developing your PR!
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Get support
Get investment, and close deal is a difficult step in China. It is not easy and need good communication and get trust of investors. (Business angel or investment funds)
We are WECHATBIZ, our goal is to make you reach yours:
-Chinese digital marketing experts
-More than 750 projects carried out in China in a multitude of fields
-A digital marketing agency offering the best visibility in China
-A personalized follow-up according to your needs
So, call us! We will be glad to receive your call to learn more about your project and to define how to reach it!