After speaking with some business owners based out of Hangzhou last evening at the NextStep Tuesday at M1NT it appears from a cursory discussion that not enough attention is being paid to smaller tier one and tier two cities. As I am off to GuangZhou today to learn more about the web community in GZ and HK, my eyes have been opened to the smaller communities who are looking for resources to make connections and grow businesses in China. This also plays right into the direction of NextStepDirectory.com ’s growth for China–move on to Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and beyond.

Some raw numbers that I was given last night speak of a mere 9000 foreigners working in Hangzhou of which no strong community of business owners have focused around. Obviously this community needs to be built up. If you are interested in talking to me about doing more NextStep focused events in your Chinese city feel free to send me an email or comment here.  joseph (DOT) constanty (AT) nextstepdirectory (DOT) com

Again, I would like to thank Frank Phillipe of M1NT for giving us such a great venue last evening. The M1NT team is on to something quite interesting for the Chinese marketplace, and I am interested to see where the Shanghai and future Beijing endeavors take them.

Here is a quick article from ShanghaiDaily about Networking in Shanghai:

Strong support network vital to success in new business environs
Created: 2008-10-13 0:11:12
Author: Ananth Krishnan

ONE of the most important ingredients to an entrepreneur’s success in a new environment is a strong support network - local partners to teach you the ins and outs of an alien culture; old industry hands to help you navigate an unfamiliar marketplace; or friends whose shoulders you will need to cry on if your plans go awry.
However, for an expatriate entrepreneur who has just landed in a foreign country, assembling your support structure can also be one of the hardest challenges you will face.
The difficulties expat entrepreneurs face in Shanghai are reflected in the growing patronage of networking clubs in the city - organizations solely devoted to helping lost expats find potential business partners.
Just a few years ago, entrepreneurs new to the city had few places to turn to besides their country’s chambers of commerce.

Andy Xue was one of them. He arrived in Shanghai from the United States in 2002 to find a social scene that was hard to penetrate. Xue’s own difficulties prompted him to start one of Shanghai’s first ever clubs devoted to business networking - the Fortune Connection Club, or FC Club.

Creative organizing
Linda Xu, one of FC Club’s co-founders, says the club was “started by young people who were just looking for a good social life.”

But Xu soon found that more and more young Shanghai entrepreneurs gravitated to the club as they did not have many other opportunities to meet like-minded individuals.

“As more and more people started coming to our events, we were very encouraged and began to be more creative with the kinds of events we organized,” Xu says.

FC Club now holds events with a business angle several times every month, focusing on entrepreneur finance and career development, among other things.

For instance, on October 28 the club will host a talk and discussion with venture capitalists on entrepreneur business finance.

“As we have a lot of people with great ideas looking for partners at our events, we thought it would be a great opportunity for them to talk to the venture capitalists,” Xu says.
The business of networking has becoming so specialized in Shanghai that the city is also home to one of Asia’s only networking clubs entirely dedicated to the needs of entrepreneurs - NextStep.

The club was founded by four young entrepreneurs - Ed Kim, Greg Prudhommeaux, Wen Ying, and Joseph Constanty - who had moved to Shanghai and faced difficulties in trying to establish strong local support networks.

“Entrepreneurs, especially at the outset of the ventures, are typically lacking the complete toolkit to succeed and grow their business,” Constanty says.

“We saw an opportunity to bring together entrepreneurs and the supporting cast, like accountants, lawyers, etc, to create a strong network to allow business owners to grow their companies and foster new ideas. This is what spurred us on to create NextStep, a personal need to meet other entrepreneurs, and sure enough there were many other people looking for the same resources.”

In spite of the recent proliferation of networking groups, Constanty says there is still “a real need to meet people to help grow your existing business or put in motion the steps to open a new business.”

Besides organizing regular networking events, NextStep also maintains a directory listing of Shanghai businesses to make it easier for entrepreneurs in the city to connect with each other.

Constanty says the directory has been quickly growing since it was launched in July, recording a 20-percent growth in the number of registered companies and users every month.

Alex Cureton-Griffiths, the founder of Shanghai Networking News, a Website that chronicles the city’s networking events, says that while consulates and chambers of commerce can be a valuable resource, clubs offer something different.

“I would advise against sticking to your country’s chamber of commerce,” he says. “Networking groups and clubs give different specializations, and often provide a more informal environment.”

While many of Shanghai’s networking clubs have been founded by expats, it isn’t just the expats who can be found at their events as a number of Chinese businessmen and entrepreneurs are increasingly realizing that schmoozing can go a long way.

“In six years, Shanghai has changed a lot,” Xu says. “Now, you see more and more Chinese people interested in networking and wanting to expand their activities and horizons.”

Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200810/20081013/article_376606.htm
Copyright (c) 2001-2008 Shanghai Daily Publishing House