A raft of programs now aim to offer vital business basics to new generation of entrepreneurs, reports Meng Jing.

Forget running a successful multibillion - dollar business empire - it seems that sharing knowledge has become an even more attractive pursuit for some of the country's best-known business tycoons.

First, Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, held a lecture for the first batch of students at Hupan College, a new institution in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, dedicated to turning businesspeople into great entrepreneurs.

Then, days later, Liu Qiangdong, head of JD.com Inc, announced the setting up of Zhongchuang College - an "entrepreneurial ecosystem", offering professional support to those hell-bent on working for themselves.

The two new courses supported by the high-profile entrepreneurs, however, are not exceptions in China.

An increasing number of training schools and startup incubators have been blossoming as the country embraces a growing wave of mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

Stanford Ignite, a business skills certificate program offered by Stanford Graduate School of Business, is arguably the best example.

Bethany Coates, assistant dean at the school, who is in charge of the two-month program that welcomed its first batch of students in Beijing last year, said she expects future numbers to be strong.

Her budding young hopefuls will be given a rigorous grounding in the business fundamentals needed to branch out on their own.

"The regulatory environment in China is changing rapidly, with the government coming out and saying strongly, 'we believe in entrepreneurship and innovation'," said Coates.

"We are seeing the culture change as well, with entrepreneurship being embraced as a viable path for a successful young person.

"That's so important because there are tremendous risks involved of being an entrepreneur. Even in the best circumstances, nine in 10 startups fail," she said.

Ignite took in 30 students from various backgrounds in its first group. Coates refused to disclose the number of applicants it had received for the course, but said she is confident the program's 62,000 yuan ($10,000) fee will be very competitive, as what Stanford can offer is unique.

At the other end of the price scale, meanwhile, is what is being offered by Qiniu Information Technology Co Ltd.

In March, the Shanghai-based company launched - free of charge - what is claimed to be the country's first training program specifically targeting college students with their own business ideas in the technology industry.

"Many young people now want to work as entrepreneurs," said Li Jing, its vice-president of marketing.

"Within this mobile and Internet technology era, many ideas can be turned into businesses - but the individuals themselves are a very unique group of entrepreneurs.

"They are creative but they face a growing challenge to turn their often brilliant ideas into products, due to their lack of work experience," said Li.

"We hope to help them shorten the process, by offering them basic cloud-computing services, coaching on how to set up a business, as well as other basic business-related skills."

There is no data available on how many such entrepreneurial training schools operate in China, but statistics from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce show that nearly 3 million people set up their own businesses for the first time in nine months from March 2014, after the country lowered the threshold for those who want to register a business.

This entrepreneurial surge in China is likely to spark a huge demand for courses, "because if done well, they can really benefit participants", said Justin Ren, associate professor at Boston University Questrom School of Business.

Ren said entrepreneurship used to be thought of as random and chaotic, and something that could just not be taught.

"Now we are realizing that if you take a disciplined approach toward entrepreneurship, it can be taught very successfully."

He said many startups fail early on, not because they do not have a good product or service, but because they run out of cash, trying to grow too fast.

He insisted a good course in the basics of business can teach startups how to scale up, when to spend money, and when to build capital.

Alibaba's Jack Ma likes to compare entrepreneurs to scientists.

"They are people with a certain gift," he told his audience at the opening ceremony for Hupan College in late March.

"But once these gifted people are found, time and energy are needed to make them shine."

Ma said that compared with traditional MBA programs at universities, his students at Hupan will be taught to "learn from their mistakes".

Wang Yong, one of those Hupan students and the founder of Weiweipinche, a carpool app, said that different people look for different things from a training course on entrepreneurship.

"Some want to get to know people who share the same entrepreneurial spirit, some want to find potential business partners," he said.

"I joined the course simply because I want to pick Ma's brain on how he managed to turn a small business into an empire in 15 years."

Zhang Wei, a student at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei province, has signed up for a one-year, part-time program at the China Europe International Business School.

Costing about 1,000 yuan, Zhang said many leading names, such as Zhou Hongyi, the founder of Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd, have given speeches to the students, offering he and his teammates valuable lessons, at a reasonable price.

Contact the writer at mengjing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 05/06/2015 page13)