For Chinese Net Startups, Winter is Coming
Perhaps Chinese internet companies could learn a thing or two from the Starks, the awesome but ill-fated northerners in George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire (now also a TV series called Game of Thrones on HBO). The family is known for its gruff, fatalistic motto — “Winter is Coming” — and Chinese internet startups would be wise to take heed.
Winter is coming to the Chinese tech startup scene, which has been enjoying a long summer thanks to increased investment because of the stunning success of larger Chinese tech companies.
おそらく、中国のインターネット企業は、George R.R MartinのエピックファンタジーシリーズのA Song of Ice and Fire(今、HBOでGame of Thronesとも呼ばれるテレビシリーズ)においての素晴らしいが、不幸な北部人Starksから1つや2つ学ぶことができただろう。一族はその荒々しく宿命論的なモットー-冬の到来-として知られ、中国のインターネットスタートアップは、それを心に留める分別があるだろう。
投資のおかげで長い夏を楽しんでいた中国のスタートアップシーンに冬が到来している。より大きな中国のテク企業の著しい成功のためである。
中国のインターネット関連企業はStarksから何かを学び取れるかもしれない。Starksというのは George R.R. Martinの大作ファンタジーシリーズ「A Song of Ice and Fire 」(現在HBOが「Game of Thrones 」という名でテレビシリーズ化している)に出てくる堂々たる威容を有しながら不運な北方民族のことである。その一族は荒々しくも宿命論的なモットー「冬が到来しつつある」で良く知られている。中国のネット新興企業は注意深くその寓意に気づくだろう。
中国のネット新興企業に冬の時代が到来しつつある。 もっとも中国の大手テクノロージー企業が驚くべき成長を実現して投資が活発に行われた結果、中国のネット新興企業は今まで長い夏の時代を謳歌してきた。
IPOs in 2010 and the first half of 2011 went well, by and large, and thus there were lots of people wanting to get in on the ground floor of the next big thing. But the environment for Chinese tech IPOs has soured, and mad expansion in some sectors — group buy websites, anyone? — has given way to highly competitive markets where a few top competitors eke out a meager existence and smaller sites starve and die out. Chinese tech stocks have nearly all dropped since May. Even Groupon, who first popularized the group buying concept and who had both money and a big time partner in Tecent for its joint venture, doesn’t seem to be able to hack it here.
The real issue, of course, is investment. When the markets are good, investors aren’t as worried about their return, and they’re more likely to throw cash around — after all, everything is going up. But now, with the international markets in a state of rather extreme flux, some investors have less cash to play with, and many others are hesitant to take risks before things have evened out a bit. This isn’t a major concern for bigger tech companies, but investors willing to take big risks are the lifeblood of the startup community, and without them, many companies are facing a difficult future. As Chen Haozhi, CEO of a Chinese tech startup in the mobile touchscreen tech field, told Global Entrepreneur:
"When the market is hot, investors will think, even if I lose that ten million, I’ve got another fifty million coming in over here. When the markets are good, investors don’t worry about how much money there will be later. But when the markets cool, if an investor has lost ten million and doesn’t think there’s anything else coming back to him, he may not invest in anything else. Investors are very practical. If they can’t see a return, they’re going to be very cautious."
Returns are hard to find in this climate, even at the highest levels. Many investors may reasonably choose to wait for the market to warm up before backing any startups, since they generally pose a pretty significant risk as compared with more conservative investments. But how many Chinese startups have the cash to be able to weather a long winter without additional investment? Not too many. Things could get grim:
OK, they’re probably not going to get that grim. But many Chinese startups were born during China’s big tech boom, and they’ve never dealt with an investment market like this before. Winter is indeed coming. But how long it will last is anyone’s guess.
なるほど、景気はそれほど悪くならないかもしれないが、多くの中国の新規企業はハイテクブームの時に生まれたため、こういった投資市場の景気は経験したことがない。冬は来るだろうが、どのくらい続くのかは誰もわからない。
いややはりそこまで悲惨なことにはならないだろう。ただ中国のテクノロジー・ブームのさなか多くの新興企業が生まれたが、そういった企業はこれまでにここまで過酷な投資環境を経験したことはない。冬の時代は確実に到来しつつある。だがどれほど続くのかは誰にも分からない。
OK、事はそんなに陰惨にはならないかもしれない。しかし、多くの中国のスタートアップは、中国が大きなテクブームの間に生まれ、彼らは今までこのような投資市場を扱った事がない。冬は実際に到来している。しかし、どれぐらい長く続くのかは誰にもわからない。
評価していただきありがとうございました@pentagon