Sequoia China, ZhenFund launch entrepreneur club
Sequoia China Capital and ZhenFund have announced plans to launch a non-profit community dedicated to providing training courses and resources to Chinese entrepreneurs.
Known as Ostrich Club, the organization will be headed by Neil Shen, the founding and managing partner of Sequoia China, and Xiaoping Xu, co-founder of ZhenFund. Qiang Wang, a co-founder of ZhenFund will also join as a lecturer, according to a statement.
Ostrich Club will not take an equity interest in the companies founded by participating entrepreneurs, nor will there be any guarantees of funding from Sequoia or ZhenFund. However, entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to access resources provided by the two VC firms.
The name Ostrich was chosen because there has been too much misunderstanding surrounding the animal, the statement noted. There is a common - but incorrect - perception that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid confronting danger.
“We believe the animals are just too focused on thinking about the future when they bury their heads into the sand. They have the genes of dinosaurs and the capacity to kill a lion. Just as we would like to rectify the reputation for ostriches, we would like to do the same for the entrepreneurs who ahead of their time and thus often misunderstood,” the statement said.
In addition to the three senior partners from Sequoia and ZhenFund, other lecturers and mentors for the club will include founders of unicorns backed by the two VC firms, as well as experts from different industries. Courses for the first intake of entrepreneurs will begin in early January and run to eight weekends. Applications close on December 10.
ZhenFund was established in 2011 as an angel investment firm and received backing from Sequoia. Its portfolio features the likes of Xiaohongshu, Zhaogang and Ofo. Sequoia's China operation was launched by Shen in 2005. Earlier this year, the firm closed its latest China funds with $2.5 billion in commitments across growth, venture, and seed strategies.
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