The venture capital community is mourning the loss of a foundational figure. Wang Shouren, former Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Shenzhen Venture Capital Association, passed away on the evening of February 24th in Shenzhen after an illness. He was 84 years old.
While his name may be less familiar to a younger generation, Wang Shouren was a pivotal architect in the development of China's venture capital landscape. He witnessed and actively shaped the industry's evolution from its nascent stages to its current maturity.
Wang Shouren was born in 1942 into a poor farming family in Changzhi, Shanxi province. His academic pursuits were supported by financial aid. In 1984, his career path led him south to Shenzhen, where he participated in establishing the nation's first Special Economic Zone Research Institute at Shenzhen University, immersing himself in the burgeoning market economy.
A significant turn came in 1999 when the 57-year-old Wang joined the preparation group for the Shenzhen Venture Investment Fund. He played a crucial role in founding Shenzhen Capital Group (SCG), China's first venture capital institution, serving as Secretary General of its risk control committee and formally entering a sector that was then virtually non-existent in China.
The year 2000 saw the establishment of the Shenzhen Venture Capital Association, with Wang Shouren becoming its first leader. This period was marked by excitement as hundreds of VC firms emerged in Shenzhen amid anticipation for a new stock exchange board. Two years later, SCG was formally established. Wang later recalled the palpable excitement and hopeful ambition of that era.
However, the burst of the Nasdaq bubble and subsequent delays in launching the new board plunged China's domestic VC industry into its first severe downturn. Approximately half of the over one hundred VC firms in Shenzhen at the time collapsed, with some shifting to stock speculation and others closing entirely. Wang Shouren later reflected that the "winter" was largely caused by a lack of exit avenues, rendering investments illiquid and halting further capital infusion.
For the following decade, Wang Shouren tirelessly advocated for the industry. He famously challenged critics who accused VCs of being unfocused or surviving on stock trades, arguing that without viable exits for tech investments, the sector could not thrive. He viewed the new board not merely as a stock market but as a vital compass guiding capital toward innovative industries.
His persistence paid off with the official launch of the ChiNext board on October 23, 2009, ushering in a golden era for domestic venture capital.
Within the industry, Wang Shouren was regarded as an evangelist. Over decades, he witnessed the rise of Shenzhen-based funds and the city's transformation into a hub managing over one-third of the nation's domestic venture capital. He often spoke of Shenzhen's inherent innovative DNA and its open, inclusive environment that attracted talent and fostered idea exchange.
Prominent firms like SCG, Fortune Capital, Cornerstone Capital, Co-Win Ventures, Oriental Fortune Capital, and Green Pine Capital all benefited from the platform he helped build. SCG has been called the "Whampoa Military Academy" of Shenzhen VC, with Wang Shouren serving as its esteemed "Dean of Academics."
Even into his seventies, he remained active, presiding over forums like the long-running Venture Capital Summit at the China Hi-Tech Fair. Affectionately called "Wang Lao" by younger colleagues, he was respected not just for his age but for his candor, helpfulness, and humble self-identification as an industry servant.
His career was marked by vigorous advocacy for supportive VC policies and regulations, instrumental efforts in launching the ChiNext board, and the authorship of over 200 research reports and papers that theorized venture capital within a Chinese context. These contributions earned him titles such as "Godfather of Domestic Venture Capital" and "Shenzhen VC Evangelist."
Today, the Shenzhen Venture Capital Association boasts over 280 members, with the city hosting more than 1,600 VC institutions managing over 7,500 funds with a total scale of approximately 1.5 trillion yuan.
In his later years, Wang frequently shared his insights on the industry. He believed the core of venture capital was not merely the capital injection but building deep, supportive relationships with entrepreneurs to jointly create value. He likened this relationship to raising a child, suggesting that every investor should possess a "maternal love" mentality, nurturing their portfolio companies to achieve new heights personally and professionally.
He found profound satisfaction in guiding a company to an IPO, valuing both the financial reward and the social recognition. For many in venture capital, during times of industry downturns and moments of doubt, his simple, poignant words continue to resonate: "Don't be impatient. We in venture capital are planting trees, not growing chives."
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