Investors will only be interested if you have a business plan with significant room for growth
FION LIN AND C.A. Lin are unlikely entrepreneurs. The pair - who share the same surname but are not related - gave up well-paying careers in the venture capital industry to launch a chain of what they call wellness cafes, in a part of the world where junk food seems to reign supreme.
'We strongly believe that wellness is going to be the next big thing,' Mr Lin said. 'If we position ourselves right, we can take advantage of the inevitable boom in the wellness industry as baby boomers get older and Generation X becomes more aware of what they eat and drink.'
After two years of market research and feasibility studies, Mr Lin, who is chief executive, and Ms Lin, who is president and chief operating officer, discovered a market for healthy food that could be served quickly, consumed in comfortable surroundings and sold at affordable prices.
They set up Kosmo, testing the waters with an outlet in Shenzhen. This was followed by a two-storey location at a busy street corner in Lan Kwai Fong, where a series of businesses had failed in recent years.
Two years later, there are three outlets of Kosmo in Beijing, four in Hong Kong and five in southern China. The company plans to open 40 outlets by 2007 and move into overseas markets in five years.
'Our short-term target is to become the No 1 wellness lifestyle brand in China,' Ms Lin said. 'In the longer term, we want to become the leading wellness lifestyle brand globally.'