Beijing’s massive Z-innoway startup complex makes your local co-working space look pathetic

Rui Ma is 500 Startups‘ Venture Partner for greater China. She tweets at @RuiMa.

The accelerator boom (or, as some would say, bubble), is now sweeping through China in full force. From its humble beginnings as a neglected street of dilapidated bookshops, Haidian Book Street has been transformed into Beijing’s concentrated effort towards replicating that Silicon Valley “fan’er” (Chinese for “vibe”) domestically. In June 2014, Z-innoway (the Z stands for Zhongguancun, Beijing’s tech hub) opened its doors to a series of startup cafes, accelerators and other startup ecosystem players.

My colleague Li Shan and I sat down with the asset management company that operates this ambitious RMB 200 million (about US$32.6 million), 450,000 square feet project. Below we’ve summarized some of the accommodations aspiring entrepreneurs in Beijing now have access to as they begin their startup journey.

Z-innoway in a nutshell

• 339 startups (48 are foreign or offshore companies); 123 have raised funding
• 16 tenants have signed LOIs, nine have moved in
• Over 12 events weekly, majority open to public, some require membership
• 160,000 square feet of space already under operation

There are four main types of organizations that an early-stage startup might find themselves working with at Z-innoway: startup cafes, co-working spaces, accelerators, and membership-based entrepreneurship clubs.

Startup cafes are basically co-working spaces with hotdesks and longer-term rental opportunities. Anyone can walk in, order a cup of coffee, exploit the internet services for as long as one desires.

Co-working spaces are also scattered throughout Z-innoway, and we’ve included the prices and some description of the amenities below.

The accelerators in Z-innoway differ from those in US because an equity investment is not guaranteed, but decided at the end of the programs’ duration.

Finally, membership-based entrepreneurship clubs may have co-working spaces, along with mentorship and startup education programs that connect investors with startups. They are usually run by influential tech media outlets.

Binggo School

• Move-in date: April 2014
• Size: 630 square meters, two levels
• Features: startup cafe (first floor), co-working space (2nd floor), angel fund

Managed by a subsidiary of the asset management firm that oversees the entire street, Binggo has close ties with Virtue Innovalley, a Tsinghua University-affiliated co-working space and accelerator located below Kaifu Lee’s Innovation Works office.

3W Coffee

Cheku Cafe

36kr

The Founder

Let a thousand accelerators bloom