Former PLA engineer nurses big ambitions with nanny service

Huang Jian has been a telecommunication engineer for 17 years, first at a military research institute then a multinational company's Beijing office. When his son was born in 2012 it not only changed Huang's family life but set him on course for a new career. Putting his information technology knowhow to use, Huang set up an agency providing post-natal nannies - who typically care for mothers and their newborns for the first month or so after birth. Over the past year, the business created by the 42-year-old entrepreneur and his partners, who are also former IT professionals, has become the number one player in this burgeoning industry in the capital.

I majored in telecommunications technology at an army college then worked at a military research institute in Beijing for eight years. After leaving the army I joined Nokia Siemens Network, a global mobile broadband service provider, as an engineer and worked my way up to regional manager. But after nine years I felt my career path was becoming limited. So I decided to do something on my own. It was not until 2012 when my son was born that I found my real career direction. As you know, it is a tradition in China to hire a yue sao (confinement nanny) to take care of a new mother and her child (in the past, before the one-child policy, a relative often performed the duty). But when I wanted to hire a yue sao for my wife, this industry was in its infancy and quite primitive. Most companies rely on sales staff to introduce confinement nannies to customers. It's hard to meet customers' needs. I instantly thought there was an opportunity there for someone to do it better.

For example, a couple of years ago, people could only find information about such services over the counter at maternity hospitals or at nearby shops. There were only a few websites. You made a phone call and a salesperson would arrange a nanny for you. Customers could not get first-hand information about the nanny until they met her in person. It was just like going to shop but not being able to see the real product until you paid for it. There were no industry standards for confinement nannies' salaries or even what services they must provide.