Industry News

From the explosive breakthrough of cross-border e-commerce to the talent return for rural revitalization, from the popularization of knowledge empowered by public welfare to the cluster incubation of industrial bases, "One Person Company" (OPC) has blossomed and flourished in multiple places.

 

As the wave of artificial intelligence sweeps in, business organizational forms are undergoing profound changes. A 'one person company' is no longer a small workshop in the traditional sense of 'going it alone', but a 'super individual' that uses AI technology to amplify individual abilities and achieve efficient operations.

 

From "novice entrepreneur" to "super individual"

 

One person, 50000 yuan, and a 30 square meter office were all my assets when I started my business, "said Liu Shiqi, the general manager of Quanzhou Tiwantans Trading Co., Ltd., recalling the scene of starting a business in Fujian in 2021, still full of emotions. At that time, taking advantage of the first China Cross border E-commerce Trade Fair, he chose to root himself in Jinjiang, Fujian, a major private economic hub, and became an early practitioner of "one person companies".

 

At the beginning of his entrepreneurship, Liu Shiqi independently undertook tasks such as product selection, listing, operation, and customer service, working more than 16 hours a day, gradually mastering the basic operational links of cross-border e-commerce. Accurately meeting market demand is the key to long-term success, "said Liu Shiqi. He abandoned the" blind stocking "model and instead focused on the North American market, studying local consumer preferences and laying the foundation for the subsequent hot sales of" ugly slippers ".

 

In 2024, with the development of the business, Liu Shiqi's team will expand to 6 people. He positions each member as a decision maker for their respective business unit, giving them the autonomy to determine the degree of use of AI tools. We use AI to capture massive data from global cross-border e-commerce platforms, analyze target customer preferences, user reviews, popular trends, etc., changing the previous dilemma of relying on experience and probability in product selection. Repetitive tasks such as product listing, marketing material creation, advertising flow, and customer reception are also entrusted to AI, allowing the team to focus on high-value work such as strategy development and feasibility analysis. ”Liu Shiqi said that after AI empowerment, the conversion rate of enterprise orders has increased from 9.96% to 21.67%, with a 2.4-fold increase in production ratio. By 2025, the revenue will exceed 40 million yuan, and the per capita output value will exceed 6 million yuan.

 

In Minqing County, Fuzhou City, as one of the initiators and practitioners of the local "Rural OPC+mentorship" program, Pei Jinze, the local station manager of the Minqing Station of Tsinghua University Rural Revitalization Workstation, increased the annual output value of a local olive enterprise from tens of thousands of yuan to 20 million yuan by applying more than 20 practical patents.

 

Industry renowned teachers have guided multiple apprentices, generating a multiplier effect of 'one person becoming an army driving one area', reducing the asset and team barriers for rural entrepreneurship, and promoting the lightweight grafting of professional abilities and local resources. Pei Jinze said that this model has cultivated dozens of national level leaders in rural wealth creation and driven the collective economy of pilot villages to achieve an average growth rate of over 15%.

 

Zhao Yongli, director of the Fujian Provincial Talent Introduction Service Center, pointed out that the development of "one person companies" has always been synchronized with technological innovation and institutional improvement, and AI technology has injected core driving force into them. "Policy guidance+scenario application+industry adaptation" has become its distinctive development feature.

 

From 'fighting alone' to 'evolving in groups'

 

The vigorous development of the "one person company" business model cannot be separated from the strong support of various empowerment platforms. These platforms are like "incubators" and "connectors", filling the gaps in resources and enhancing professional capabilities for entrepreneurs.

 

Fu AI Night School was jointly initiated by experts in the field of digital Fujian construction and a group of AI technology application enthusiasts in 2024. Through the "three-step" strategy of "public welfare foundation building, system empowerment, and ecological co creation", it has developed into one of the largest public welfare AI popularization platforms in Fujian.

 

Every weekend, many people come to night schools to attend classes, from elementary school students to the elderly, willing to learn AI knowledge. ”Li Xinglong, the executive principal of Fu AI Night School, said that in addition to fixed teaching points, the night school also conducts mobile teaching in communities and parks, covering courses such as AI drawing, short video production, and basic programming applications. At present, the "AI into Community" series of offline public welfare courses has been conducted for more than 50 sessions.

 

If Fu AI Night School is a universal empowerment platform, then Zhongfutong Digital Industry Base is a specialized incubation carrier. AI technology runs through the entire process of entrepreneurship, and the base has customized exclusive empowerment systems for the four major tracks. ”Xu Haifeng, Deputy General Manager of Zhongfutong Group Co., Ltd., introduced that cross-border e-commerce has tools such as AI product selection and intelligent customer service; Micro short dramas achieve full coverage of AI script generation, virtual shooting, and other processes; Building shared computing power centers and mass production lines for AI race tracks; In the field of education and training, there are AI courseware, intelligent teaching assistants, and other support to help entrepreneurs break through individual ability boundaries.

 

At present, the Zhongfutong Digital Industry Base has built spaces such as shared offices and AI exhibition halls, supporting facilities such as live streaming studios and computing power rooms, gathering dozens of "one person company" teams, with core practitioners mainly young people aged 25 to 40.

 

In January 2026, the Fujian OPC Alliance was established. The first "leader" of the alliance, Chen Rongjie, said that the alliance has accumulated and integrated diverse core data resources such as meteorology, population, and community. Through "big hands pulling small hands" industrial collaboration, it provides members with solid technical support and market docking services.

 

From 'cascading advancement' to 'ecological fusion'

 

How can a 'one person company' achieve comprehensive growth? The answer lies in seeking dividends from talent and benefits from efficiency.

 

Liu Shiqi believes that it is necessary to prioritize the deployment of cross-border talents with "compliance foresight" and "AI sensitivity", weaken the traditional labor expansion model, improve per capita output through the automation and AI of internal processes, establish a "data and rule" dual wheel driven evaluation system, and focus the team on high-value strategic decision-making and innovative research and development.

 

Entrepreneurs have limited personal energy and limited understanding of data security and tax compliance, often being distracted by industries such as commerce and finance. Pei Jinze suggests that local governments provide systematic risk protection and compliance support for entrepreneurs, strengthen ecological empowerment and standardization services, provide one-stop services such as cluster registration and legal and financial consulting, and allow entrepreneurs to focus on innovation.

 

Taking financial services as an example, according to the analysis of Fujian Strait Bank, the core assets of a "one person company" are code, algorithms, and traffic, rather than real estate equipment; The revenue flow of project-based systems fluctuates greatly and is discontinuous; The lack of standardized valuation systems for intangible assets such as technology and IP may lead to the failure of traditional credit models. In response, Fujian Strait Bank has released the "OPC Comprehensive Financial Service Plan", becoming the first local legal entity bank in Fujian Province to launch exclusive financial products for "one person companies".

 

Zhuo Jiayin, Deputy General Manager of the Inclusive Finance Department of Fujian Strait Bank, suggested that a "one person company" should open a corporate account or a dedicated personal account to avoid confusion between public and private, which could result in invalid transaction records; Try to use verifiable channels such as bank transfers and third-party payments to receive payments and avoid large amounts of cash transactions; Prioritize connecting with legitimate bank products through the Fujian OPC Alliance to avoid frequent online loan applications that may lower credit ratings in the short term.

 

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