Update on the second place winners of the Smith School's
2005 China Business Plan Competition

Beijing, China - March 23, 2006 - When Kang Lufa, CEO of K68, a start-up company providing outsourced services via an internet platform, learned that the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School was sponsoring a China Business Plan Competition with ZERO2ipo last year, he astutely recognized it as a valuable opportunity to gain an infusion of cash and visibility for his enterprise. K68 is modeled as an online auction system and posts outsourcing projects from small to mid-sized enterprises online for bidding from vendors.

Kang and Liu have successfully leveraged their China Business Plan Competition second-place win to expose their business idea to world-class business leaders and venture capital (VC) investors and further invest in K68's infrastructure. At the time of the competition, Kang and partner Liu Zhenjiang, had felt they needed an injection of resources and ideas to bring the business to a more profitable level.

"The $15,000 prize was a great help. We bought new server which enabled us to improve our service.  The prize also provided us with the funds to explore other markets," said Kang. "The award gave us some great publicity while, at the same time, it helped us gain additional trust and credibility with our existing clients."

After the competition, K68 had the means and momentum to increase their business by 20 percent. It also resulted in the company's first overseas client via a logo design project for the Biodiesel University in the United States, as well as strategic relationships with VC investors that have opened a wider door of opportunity for the team.

Now, as the Smith School gears up to hold the Second Annual China Business Plan Competition, Kang offers this advice to would-be hopefuls, "Believe in yourself and your effort will be returned."

Kang graduated from China Agricultural University, majoring in equipment management. After graduation, he went to Zhongguancun, China's Silicon Valley, to start his career. After working a variety of jobs for multinational tech firms including Microsoft and Buynow, he decided to seize greater opportunity for himself as an entrepreneur. In 2001, Kang established the first Chinese teaching Web site before creating K68.