How to create a successful startup in China? Sleep in your office, for days on end. Many start-up owners are often sacking out in their offices to squeeze the most from their already lengthy work days. But does that devotion to duty mean stronger performances?
This is not a hostel but a startup's office.
The company wants to make it possible for its employees to put in 14 to 16 hours of work a day and avoid a long, daily commute.
Some employees, like Liu Zhanyu, haven't been home since Monday.
Many of the workers rarely get more than eight hours of sleep.
"In fact, as a member of Doumi, I think this (sleeping at work) is quite normal. As our boss always says, we are woken up by our ambitions, thus we won't feel tired. In terms of not being able to go home, the hardest part is that sometimes I can't see my child. Just like our boss, he usually has a video chat with his child every night," said Liu Zhanyu, head of Key Unit, Doumiyoupin.
Chinese startups are spurred by venture capitalists backing them to work crazy hours. Competition with other startups is also behind the extreme corporate culture.
Research firm CB Insights says 4.7 billion US dollars worth of investments have poured into tech startups in China so far this year. That's after the total investments in the area more than doubled in 2015 to 32.2 billion US dollars.
But the devotion for work also comes from within the firms.
"Chinese people add a new dose of fighting spirit into entrepreneurial culture, disregarding individual achievement, devoting everything he possesses, just like what you said, letting his passion burn, and exerting himself for the dreams of his own and the team. I believe this is a special culture in Chinese startups," said Wang Chen, Chief Executive of Renren Credit Management.
Naps on desks and other flat surfaces are also options for startup employees. But that behavior might trigger a vicious cycle.
"I believe in the future, brain work is surely the mainstream (in labour market). Brain work requires a good environment and personal feelings that can improve one's creativity, which cannot be achieved by working in a fixed place," said Dai Xiang, chief marketing officer of Baishancloud.
That means you need to fully relax your brain by having quality sleep.
That's a dilemma for startups in China dealing with an overall inefficient economy.
Unskilled laborers, rolls of red tape and complicated administrative procedures are slowing down the pace of business in China.
Many private companies also find it difficult to advance deals with complex state-run companies.
Analysts say that if China's economic reforms can shrug off the extra weight in the state sector economy, it would give the private sector stronger performances and more confidence to leave work on time.
