Hong Kong based mainland entrepreneur Andy Zhang was inspired by a China mainland startup named You+ International Youth Community which basically offers lodging and living space to entrepreneurs and young people. The You+ startup achieved headline fame after receiving a 100-million-yuan worth of funding from Xiaomi owner Lei Jun.
Mainland Chinese apartment developers began to create youth-targeting living spaces because a number of fresh graduates choose to live in the big cities after finishing their college degree. The same behavior can be observed in Hong Kong where there is an influx of young professionals who prefer to live in dormitory-style homes. Zhang created his own startup M3 International Youth Community.
Zhang says that he plans to monetize by targeting "niche markets" that comprise unmarried fresh graduates between ages 18 and 45.
The startup began by securing a single floor within an old residential building in Sham Shui Po. The entire 5000 square-foot floor space was renovated and divided into 30 rooms with floor areas varying between 50 meters to 150 meters. There is 2 shared bathrooms for everyone, a conference room and a public space.
Since September 2015, the entire floor has remained fully occupied. Most of its tenants are from the mainland. Seeing that Hong Kong is considered an international city, Zhang is looking forward to expanding M3 internationally.
Zhang graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic University and has built two major startups after receiving his degree.
Zhang along with other M3 founders is planning to open 200 new vacant rooms this year to cater to more young professionals.
Hong Kong government does not allow subdivided living spaces in industrial buildings and makes it harder for M3 to convert an entire building into apartment spaces.
M3 co-founder Darren Wong disclosed that at this rate, it would take four years for the startup to earn pay off its investors and earn reasonably.
You+ has been rumored to be making moves to partnering with M3 for further expansions.
