Table 6 List of interviewees

Entrepreneurs (N=16)

• Mr. Yang, founder of an entrepreneurial Internet education company, former employee of Midea (a large appliance company in China);

• Mr. Zhou, a college student preparing to set up their own company;

• Mr. Chen, founder of an Internet medical care entrepreneurial company, owns a successfully IT company which is still running;

• Mr. Xu, founder of an entrepreneurial Internet catering company, a former employee of Baidu (one of China's largest IT companies);

Government/State-owned Enterprises (N=8)

• One high-level officer and one operating officer with the Senior Services Informatics Development Committee (SSIDC), a facility of the China Association of Social Welfare. It was founded to improve innovation and development in senior care information;

• 2 mid-level officers with Haizhi Kechuang (HZKC), an institutional state holding company that designed the ZGC innovation street and maintains it;

• 3 mid-level officers with Zhongguancun Administrative Committee (ZAC), a government agency that guides the development and construction of ZGC;

• One mid-level with Beijing Municipal S&T Finance Promotion Association, a government agency promoting technology investment and providing financial advice;

Accelerator Centers (N=10)

• Founder, co-founders and main officials with Asia America Multi-Technology Association (AAMA), an association focusing on accelerating technical startups. AAMA established its angel fund in 2012 and set up an accelerator and coffee shop in 2014 in ZGC;

• Operating manager with Legend Star, providing entrepreneurial services such as mentorships, acceleration and angel investment;

• Operating officer and coffee shop manager with 3W coffee shop, a company that services internet entrepreneurship and has its own coffee shop, accelerator, training program and angel fund.

Third-party Service Providers (N=7)

• Financial advisor with Angel Service, a web platform connecting entrepreneurs and investors. It also provides training to help entrepreneurs perform better when meeting with investors;

• Founder with Law Service, a company providing legal services to startups, such as company registration, contract drafting, patent application and so on;

• Financial advisor with E-Capital, providing financial advice services for companies.

Investors (N=10)

• Mr. Xie, co-founder with YCT, a venture capital investment company that focuses on catering, cultural and technical industries.

• Mr. Guo, an angel investor who successfully set up XN Media;

• Mr. Zhang, Investment manager with Zhejiang PD Investment Company, a company located in Zhejiang Province.