Turning failure into a business
When you work hard preparing for a test, but still ending up failing, it can be upsetting. But Huang Hongchuan turned one such unpleasant experience into a promising business idea.
In late October, the former City University of Hong Kong graduate became one of the youngest entrepreneurs in Forbes China’s 30 Under 30 list.
During Huang’s freshman year, he flunked a statistics course, while other students outperformed him without much effort.
“It was quite perplexing,” says the 23-year-old at the World Philanthropy Forum in Beijing in late November. “I excelled academically in high school, and I worked hard in college.”
Huang later discovered that unlike Hong Kong students who take foundation courses such as statistics in secondary school, students from the mainland usually learn them from scratch in college.
“It’s like spending around three months mastering what they have learned over two years,” he says. The experience inspired Huang to start an education business preparing students for academic challenges.
In 2013, Huang founded the education startup SupSing. Over the years, it has morphed into a company offering youngsters, especially students from small cities, education as well as college and career guidance services.
“I was lucky to grow up in a firsttier city with abundant opportunities,” he says. “In fact, in outback China, resources for quality-oriented education are still scarce. We want to empower students with our service.”
SupSing, which partners with such companies as Zurich Insurance Group and Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, has also launched Business Challenge Competitors to offer simulated business and job market challenges to students.
Another program run by the company, Journey of Study, provides students with study experiences in top universities in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The company has established partnerships with over 80 universities across China, says Huang.
According to a report by auditing firm Deloitte, the size of the Chinese education market is expected to grow from 1.6 trillion yuan ($242 billion) in 2015 to 2.9 trillion yuan by 2020, and training has become a new hot spot in the Chinese education market.
Despite working in such a promising industry, Huang’s entrepreneurship comes with a host of challenges including financing, team-building and decision-making.
Huang encountered major disputes with his co-founders in terms of the company’s vision. He has also faced with the dilemma of whether to choose short-term profit over long-term development.
There were times the company had difficulties paying employees on time. So he has now learned how to better increase income and reduce expenditure.
Zhang Haokun, a co-founder of SupSing, sees Huang as a pathfinder and guardian for the company.
“He is the special one on the team, an adventurer with unyielding spirit,” says the 23-year-old Guangzhou University graduate.
“Our achievements can hardly be complete without his foresight in business education and valiant efforts.”
According to Huang, when compared with other industries such as information technology, launching an education business is less profitable and takes longer to develop. But he still wants to be a part of it.
“Nowadays, success is not just a measure of personal wealth. It’s also about how much you can contribute to society,” Huang says.
“When I receive acknowledgment from parents and teachers, I feel a great sense of achievement.”
In 2015, he co-founded the first Leo Club on the Chinese mainland, blazing a trail for international youth services in China. Founded by US businessman Melvin Jones in 1917, the association has 1.4 million members in over 200 countries and regions.
The Forbes China’s 30 Under 30 list features young entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders challenging convention and making impact on society. Huang was listed in the category of social entrepreneurship and education.
What Huang has been doing is forward-looking, considering his age and the education business in China. So there is still plenty of potential for him to develop.
Drawing from his experiences, Huang says qualities such as perseverance, concentration and optimism are crucial for entrepreneurs.
“There are so many talented people in the startup community, but few of them survive,” he says.
“You will encounter various kinds of obstacles . ... Optimism is the key, so that you can continue to renew yourself in the business endeavor.”