49 new startups a day. That rate of growth would be impressive even for the VC-rich hills of Palo Alto and Mountain View. But in 2014, this achievement was posted by a lesser-known hub of the tech industry: the Zhongguancun district of Beijing. Dubbed the “Silicon Valley of China,” Zhongguancun is the cradle of China’s new and thriving tech scene. Xiaomi Corp., the country’s largest smartphone distributor, was born there, as was internet giant Alibaba, which just completed history’s largest IPO. But Beijing isn’t the only Chinese city whose tech culture is booming. In Shenzhen, 1,350 miles to the south, internet provider Tencent has quietly grown into China’s largest internet company, with a market value of $206 billion.
Critics argue that none of these upstarts will ever gain much of a toehold outside of China. For one, foreigners are wary of giving over personal information to companies with close ties to the Chinese government. For instance: the CEO of Tencent, Pony Ma, is a deputy to the National People’s Congress, China’s submissive Parliament.
But the greater obstacle, critics argue, is the companies themselves. In a country where Facebook, YouTube, and Google are banned, they’ve been able to build their businesses on what are essentially uncreative copies of foreign products. Tencent is particularly accused of this: its core instant messaging app, QQ, is based on Israel-based ICQ; its WeChat texting app is similar to Facebook-owned WhatsApp. Can companies with business plans based on imitation ever hope to compete with Silicon Valley innovations?
The answer, I would argue, is a resounding yes. And the biggest threat to American tech dominance will be supposed “copycats” like Tencent, which are actually much more like our homegrown Silicon Valley innovators than they seem.
Government interference may actually be good for Chinese tech. The government’s ban on popular American internet companies doesn’t just encourage imitation—it also makes China an ideal incubator for ambitious startups. In the U.S., a new company that expanded aggressively would likely be bought up or put out of business by giants like Facebook and Google. But tucked away in relative isolation, Tencent has been able to grow into the world’s fifth largest publicly traded internet company without so much as a blip on their radar. With enormous resources at their disposal, it may no longer matter whether big Chinese companies’ initial success was based on innovation or imitation—only whether or not they spend their money intelligently.
Chinese products are more innovative than we Westerners think. Tencent executives have been honest about their preference for “small and swift innovations” over ambitious long-term projects on a par with the Apple Watch or Google Chrome. But it would be wrong to see this as evidence of a lack of creativity. As VC Rui Ma pointed out in a recent post on TNW, Tencent’s WeChat app actually includes many clever, original features specifically designed for Chinese users. For instance, Chinese characters are still relatively difficult to type into a cell phone, so WeChat incorporated a function allows users to leave short voice messages instead of sending texts. That might be why WeChat is still so popular among the approximately 274,000 Chinese students studying in the U.S., despite the prevalence within the U.S. of competitors like WhatsApp. All this is a reminder that bigger isn’t always better—a “small and swift innovation” can still be an innovation indeed.
Innovations can be bought as well as created. This is where China’s incubator-like environment for tech startups can pay off. Companies like Tencent and its competitor Alibaba are so well-capitalized and entrenched in China that they’re in a position to invest aggressively in overseas ventures, and to do so often over the long term. Both Alibaba and Tencent have recently established venture arms in the US; Tencent in particular has funded such companies as Snapchat, mobile game studio Altspace VR, and Whisper, the anonymous confession app. That action isn’t confined to the U.S., either. Internationally, Tencent has done well in the Southeast Asian market, paying $500 million for a 28% stake in South Korea’s CJ Games in order to expand Tencent’s mobile gaming business. In this climate, it’s really only a matter of time before a Chinese-funded—even if not Chinese-invented—app goes viral.
Chinese tech culture as a whole is thriving. Companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Google don’t succeed in a vacuum. Involvement in a tech startup is now considered “sexy” in China, just like it was in the U.S. in the late 90’s. Top schools like Peking University are hosting entrepreneurial programs from elite universities like Stanford Business School, while over 1,000 Chinese organizations have invested more than $56 billion in domestic startups. It’s true that government regulation in China still makes founding a new business difficult: it takes 38 days in China to start a company, vs. 5.7 days in other countries. But that may start to change as the government looks to start encouraging the startup trend. Public funding for high-tech R&D has skyrocketed in China in recent years, as high-ranking officials start to publicly acknowledge the importance of entrepreneurship. In this climate, the advantages of starting your tech company in Silicon Valley instead of Shenzhen may not be expected to last.
This post is online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/valleyvoices/2015/05/11/the-next-facebook-wont-be-from-silicon-valley/2/
Why Everyone Loves Your Company
Isn’t that a nice headline to see? In a time when corporations are seen as the big evil, it’s refreshing to hear about employees who love their jobs, not just because of the work they do, but because they feel well-treated, recognized and respected by their employers. A surprisingly large part of this love affair can be due to how much an employer truly embraces corporate social responsibility and community impact initiatives through employee volunteer programs. When corporate philanthropy touches the lives of employees, the result is often increased employee engagement – sometimes to an amazing degree.
Want some proof? Here are three happy love stories to ponder.
Nothing comes between a woman and her shoes
When Jill Calhoun, Facilities Services Manager of Da Vita, was tasked with finding a project for her company’s corporate volunteering service days, she never thought she would wind up shopping for shoes.
Through a co-worker’s recommendation, Jill called Shoes That Fit , a national non-profit that matches children in need from thousands of schools with local sponsoring groups who provide the kids with much-needed new shoes so that they can go to school in comfort and with dignity. Shoes That Fit matched DaVita, a leading dialysis provider, with Lincoln Elementary in Santa Ana, California, near Jill’s Irvine-based office. Jill initially thought she would be able to drum up about two hundred donations from her co-workers, but after meeting with the school’s staff, Jill learned that 1000 kids needed shoes.
“When I realized that 800 children wouldn’t get shoes,” Jill said, “I decided this wasn’t right.”
Armed with the names and shoe sizes of all the kids in need, Jill got to work and mobilized co-workers in other DaVita locations in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties. The drive was dubbed “March Madness” and within 10 days of Jill’s call to action, DaVita employees committed to the 1000 shoe donations. After much shopping and organizing, Jill and her fellow volunteers delivered the shoes along with socks (also donated by DaVita employees) to Lincoln Elementary right before the March 2012 spring break. The kids were delighted and amazed; one of the thank you notes said, “Thank you so much. My tummy feels sparkly pink like my sparkly pink shoes.” Principal Damaris Molina Baker said that the school has previously been the recipient of donations from various charities, but providing a gift for every child had never been done before and the enormity of the effort was unprecedented.
Jill credits her co-workers but is also grateful to DaVita for empowering her to make this endeavor possible. She says that DaVita was not only supportive of the time she needed to invest in the effort but also made sure she had whatever she needed; whether it was another 20 pairs of shoes or extra manpower, management made sure she got it even if the cost came out of their own personal pockets. Jill’s determination and the company’s team spirit kept the non-profit fundraising ideas flowing, and the result was a win-win all around. “DaVita is like an extended family to me,“ says Jill. “We look out for each other and take care of our own.”
Clearly, they also take care of their community as well.
Volunteering on company time – and on the company dime
Millennials are well-known for their commitment to community service, and energy solutions provider greeNEWit demonstrates this truism through their active corporate volunteer program.
A startup organization based in Columbia, Maryland, founded and led by three entrepreneurs under the age of 30, greeNEWit provides energy efficiency solutions to single and multi-family homes. As the fourth employee to be hired at greeNEWit, Brad Eisenberg knew the minute he walked in the door that not only the work, culture and values were a good fit for him but the entrepreneurial spirit that drives the company was unique.
In addition to Brad’s job as Director of Development, he also administers the company’s volunteer and giving initiatives. While the business was developing, some of greeNEWit’s employees found that they didn’t have enough full-time work, so in order to provide them with a consistent, full-time salary, greeNEWit management decided to pay their employees to do volunteer work to make up for the missing hours. Thus their corporate volunteer program was born. Four years later, the company now has enough work to have grown from five people to 50, but the community impact work continues, and still on the company’s time and dime.
greeNEWit’s latest corporate social responsibility initiative is a partnership with Opportunity International, a non-profit that helps people in developing countries break the cycle of poverty by providing small business loans. The company purchased an allotment of small loans in the form of gift cards and are distributing them to their employees so they can decide which Opportunity International businesses to invest in, giving them a voice in the company’s philanthropic choices.
In addition to supporting third world businesses, greeNEWit also supports their employees’ businesses. greeNEWit allows its employees to own and run an outside company (Brad’s is weBike; stationless bike sharing systems). “My bosses are not only flexible and encouraging,” Brad says, “but in many ways, they’ve served as mentors to me in my own business. I can’t ever see myself leaving greeNEWit and absolutely plan on having a career here even after weBike is a success. I think that, in it of itself, really speaks to how much I love this company.”
Wow. greeNEWit’s dedication to the well-being of its community and employees redefines the very idea of employee engagement.
Putting your money where your mouth is
In her job as Manager of Community Relations for Philips, Kathy Rogers is well-versed with corporate social responsibility. What she feels sets Philips apart from many companies is that Philips just doesn’t write a check; they actually put their money where their mouth is by encouraging their employees to volunteer in their communities during company time and sponsoring employee-led initiatives.
Philips, a lifestyle and well-being company, has a long-standing tradition of supporting communities where their employees live and work. Even before implementing Philips Cares, its current corporate volunteer program, Philips informally encouraged its employees to take paid company time off to make their communities a better place, and to volunteer at organizations that promote health and well-being. Philips Cares evolved out of Philips’ commitment to corporate philanthropy and continues to provide employees with paid-time off to participate in meaningful volunteer opportunities that suit their needs, schedule and the causes they support.
What started for Kathy as a Philips-supported United Way Day of Caring (a single day of volunteering) in October 2001 has turned into an ongoing, 11-year volunteer commitment to Merrimack Valley Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry program. Kathy delivers one of life’s basic necessities – food – to its homebound clients. Nowadays, Kathy can be found delivering organic fruits and vegetables donated from Philips’ employee community garden, which is located on Philips’ huge campus in Andover, Massachusetts. The garden originated from employee desire and enthusiasm to create an organic garden and it became a company-sponsored project. On work days, various departments and employees take time out from their jobs to tend and cultivate the garden, with the literal fruits of their labor going to local charities.
Between her job and volunteer work, Kathy sometimes has to work long hours, but she never minds. “I don’t mind giving to Philips because Philips gives to me. I feel lucky to work for a company that values what I value.” She laughs. “Sometimes I feel like a walking commercial for Philips.”
If your company is as committed to its community and employees as these businesses are, then who knows – maybe your company is also an object of rabid affection. And your employees will become your best, most inspired brand ambassadors.
This article is available online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/causeintegration/2012/07/31/why-everyone-loves-your-company/
We all know that doing good is good for business. That’s why many companies that practice corporate social responsibility have established corporate volunteer programs; it allows them to leverage their human capital, their best “goods” of all. Above all, these programs can produce amazing real-life stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things to impact their communities.
Employee volunteer programs give employees an opportunity to step outside of their nine-to-five boxes and, in the process, become more engaged with their jobs. When workers feel challenged to use different skills and develop new competencies, they feel more satisfied and productive and are more likely to stay. This could explain why, according to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, 89% of leading companies offer a corporate volunteer program. So we know these programs are a great idea. But what do they look like in practice? I took a peek at several “reality shows” – great individual stories from companies that pride themselves on their volunteer programs – and thought I’d share what I found:
Dow Corning. For her first time out of the U.S., 22-year-old Dow employee Ashley Crandall flew to Bangalore, India to participate in Citizen Service Corps, Dow’s international corporate volunteer program. This skills-based volunteer program sends Dow employees to do pro bono work with NGOs and social entrepreneurs in emerging countries. Ashley, an electrical apprentice, worked for four weeks with the local community and a team of fellow Dow employee volunteers on improving the manufacturing process of Sustaintech, a local clean cookstove producer. Despite the cultural shock and language barriers, this project taught Ashley and her co-workers important skills that sometimes takes years to develop, including leadership, problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking. Ashley returned home to East Michigan energized about her future with Dow, hoping to one day become a senior manager with the company.
Patagonia. An avid fisherman, Patagonia employee Ari Zolonz jumped at the chance to volunteer with the Native Fish Society through Patagonia’s environmental internship program. In this program, employee salaries and benefits are paid for one month while 20 employees are sent into the field to volunteer with nonprofit environmental groups around the world. The Native Fish Society is devoted to the conservation of wild native fish in the Pacific Northwest, so Ari’s work ranged from helping scientists with a study on the Molalla River, to chucking hundreds of salmon carcasses in order to feed the ecosystem, to speaking to visiting groups about river entomology and the lifecycles of salmon and steelhead. Proud of working for a business that supports environmentalism, Ari acted as a company spokesperson and talked about Patagonia’s environmental work and how it aligns with the company’s values, ultimately helping to promote its brand.
Team One. When a non-profit staff is small, it helps to have volunteers whose hearts are big. Employee volunteers from the Atlanta office of ad agency Team One take over for the staff of the Atlanta Children’s Shelter one day each month and look after the shelter’s resident children so the staff can hold its monthly meetings. The Atlanta office’s dedication to the Children’s Center extends beyond these monthly babysitting days to include other projects like decorating classrooms and providing creative projects for the children. Account Coordinator Amanda Page feels that through this volunteer experience, she now has a deeper understanding of the advertising industry and the role of corporate philanthropy. Amanda attributes her professional development to Team One’s employee volunteer program; through working with the community, Amanda has gained valuable skills in working with her colleagues and the company’s clients.
In each of these stories, workers were enriched personally and professionally by volunteer experiences which served in essence as employee engagement programs. The employee volunteers returned to their jobs happier, more knowledgeable and bursting with pride about their companies. Just a few examples of what happens when businesses invest in their people as well as their products; they get to facilitate the best kind of reality show.
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