The Zhongguancun family can't sell 30 cups of coffee a month.

"We didn't break even until we rented out all the workplaces last month. We lost 500000 yuan the month before! " Lei Peng, the operator of Zhongguancun Zhongguancun in Beijing, told Zhongqing online, China Youth Daily, worriedly, "there are not as many entrepreneurs as we thought, we did not get government subsidies, and investment returns also need a cycle."

On a sunny weekday afternoon last week, the space-creating lounge became more and more empty, with only one customer using a computer. The company, which has been established for two years and has incubated 60 enterprises, is located at the top of an office building and is so unpopular that it can't even sell 30 cups of coffee a month.

About 300 meters away from this mass innovation space, it is the landmark of Zhongguancun Entrepreneurship Street, which is known as the densest place in China. At present, there are 4298 public creative spaces in the country. Some of the mass innovation space that is fighting alone is faced with operational difficulties and other problems, and the industry may usher in a reshuffle.

Why are the three envisaged returns not optimistic?

Two years ago, the mass entrepreneurship and innovation Initiative was on the rise. As an important part of the entrepreneurial chain, the mass creative space with the smell of coffee and supporting services was very popular. It was at that time that Haidian Book City of China turned into Zhongguancun Entrepreneurship Street, gathering many creative spaces, such as Angel Exchange, 3W Coffee, Pegasus Brigade, 36 Krypton and so on.

Lei Peng, who started as an IT in Zhongguancun, also wants to enter the industry. with a trace of feelings and optimistic expectations for earnings, he rented the venue mentioned above and wanted to open a mass innovation space similar to WeWork at a rent of 6 million yuan a year.

Lei Peng recalled: "at that time, I was thinking about three kinds of income: one is that entrepreneurs can bring stable rent, the second is that they can get government subsidies, and the third is to buy shares in startups with rent and earn profits in the future with the development of startups."

But the cruel reality is that each of the three returns he originally envisioned is not optimistic. First, rent income is faced with insufficient demand from entrepreneurs. When the Zhongchuang space first opened, the occupancy rate reached 60% because of rent concessions. However, since the second half of last year, the occupancy rate has plummeted, while fixed expenditure has not been reduced at all, resulting in a loss of 500000 yuan every month.

In order to attract entrepreneurs, the employees of the mass creation space once went to Zhongguancun Entrepreneurship Street to hand out leaflets to attract entrepreneurs. However, compared with the more famous mass innovation space on Entrepreneurship Street, the mass innovation space is less attractive and can only attract entrepreneurs with a free rent of 1 to 3 months. To make matters worse, a resident start-up company went bankrupt and still owes rent.

Second, failure to obtain government subsidies. After opening, Lei Peng received notice that he could apply for government subsidy for mass creation space in Haidian District of Beijing to compete with 60 space companies. He immediately began to apply, working overtime until 11:00 every night for a month, and the application was fully 10 centimeters thick, including the list of outstanding graduation enterprises, financing, incubation services, activity photos, strategic cooperation with other units, media reports, and so on.

However, due to lack of experience, the mass creation space rarely keeps information, and Lei Peng remembers clearly that there were only five activity photos in the application materials. Compared with the lively activities and standardized management of the well-known mass creation space, it is really shabby.

After waiting for three months, Lei Peng got the news that he had failed to apply for government subsidies. However, Lei Peng said: "even if we get it, the 20 successful applicants will share 15 million yuan, which is still a drop in the bucket for us." What's more, this method of application will make the strong always strong and the weak weaker. "

Third, it is difficult to obtain the return on investment. According to Lei Peng's analysis, because the investment risk is too high, according to the data of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, there are an average of 15100 new enterprises registered every day in 2016, so it is difficult to "vote accurately" among so many enterprises. In addition, investment enterprises are not like stock speculation can be traded every day, capital return time is very long, "most of the private background of mass innovation space simply can not stand."

The more mature the market, the smaller the role of mass innovation space?

In addition to the expected revenue can not be obtained, the operation of a mass innovation space so that Lei Peng still has a lot of "unexpected".

He originally imagined that the space for mass innovation could act as an intermediary to help enterprises get financing and earn a profit by taking a cut from it. But the reality is that as China's incubators become more and more mature, almost all investment institutions have contact information and introductions on the website, so it is not difficult to find investors. This is a far cry from the situation in which it was difficult for entrepreneurs to find investors in the absence of a wave of entrepreneurship.

Lei Peng said: "investors are very shrewd and mature, good projects rush to invest, bad projects, regardless of whether there is room for introduction and recommendation will not invest."

He also imagines that enterprises in the mass creation space can help each other, keep warm together, and develop together. But the reality is that when startups operate, they are not only busy but also independent, focusing on protecting privacy and building barriers to competition. Over the past two years, the cooperation between the mass space resident companies has been "almost zero".

Lei Peng set up a feedback mechanism, inviting startups to fill in their "needs" every week, but the answers received were "not available". He even wondered whether "these companies themselves do not need services".

He once imagined that a wealth of activities could increase the popularity of the space for mass creation. But the reality is that although there are about 15 activities every month, there are too many similar activities in Zhongguancun, and entrepreneurs are not very interested. The strategic cooperation agreements they have signed with some institutions are also a mere formality, and there is little actual cooperation.

Over the past two years of operation, the operators of the mass space have changed batch after batch, but no matter what efforts they make, it seems to be useless. Lei Peng said helplessly that if he had a better position, he could make some money by selling coffee. At present, the mass creation space is seeking to cooperate with a large state-owned enterprise.

This may be a case of mass creation space, but with the rise of the entrepreneurial wave, the venture capital market has become more mature and open. as a space to make up for the problem of early incubation, the role that can be played has become smaller and more homogenized.

Does a good space for mass creation have to have a "backing"?

The rent of mass creation space is generally more expensive than office buildings and residential buildings. Take the Zhongchuang space as an example, the rent of the same office building is 7 yuan per square meter per day, while the Zhongchuang space is calculated according to the station, 1500 yuan per month. After conversion, the rent of the mass creation space is double that of the office building. This is not a small number.

In fact, the extra price paid by entrepreneurs is exactly the help that mass creative space can provide, which tests the ability of mass creative space operators and the institutions behind mass creative space.

The reporter found that Zhongchuang space experienced explosive development, increasingly showing its own characteristics, brand effect is obvious, some Zhongchuang space brands began to cast a net throughout the country. The Mass creation Space just opened by "3W Coffice" in Hongshan District of Wuhan City is its 14th 3W Mass creation Space in 10 cities across the country. At present, Hongtai Innovation Space has laid out nearly 30 innovation spaces in more than a dozen cities across the country. "36 krypton" krypton space currently has 30 communities in the country, the latest statistics of the management area has reached 148000 square meters.

In addition, at present, there is a "backing" behind the mass innovation space with good evaluation and popularity in the market. Just as, "Lenovo Star" has Liu Chuanzhi in charge, "36 krypton" has powerful media resources, "soho3Q" is based on the powerful real estate resources owned by "soho China", and "JD.com Intelligence" has good sales and promotion channels.

This is very stressful for the space of mass creation that goes it alone. Some friends have asked Lei Peng privately whether he wants to be a space for mass creation, hoping to earn government subsidies and share the dividends of the development of mass space.

"Don't come in. What are you doing in here now?" Lei Peng answered.

(according to the requirements of the interviewees, the name of the mass creation space will not be disclosed)