At a recent tech conference in Beijing there was the usual roll call of Internet celebrities, mostly middle-aged men dressed in slacks and dress shirts. Then, Willie Chou took the stage, a 20-something dressed all in black, T-shirt and Converse sneakers.

He was excited, a factor that was missing from the event overall, where all the talk was about money. He had a story that he couldn't wait to tell, a bit different from the typical nerd-in-a-garage or Ivy League connection parable of "how I made my first billion".

Chou wanted to tell us all about his dating failure as a teen. It went a bit like this: "My high-school sweetheart cheated on me. I did everything for her, picked her up in my car, took her to school, cooked for her, there was nothing I wouldn't do. But she still dumped me for another guy.

"So, I felt like an emotional cripple and didn't know how to deal with the rejection, which really depressed me for a long time, and I only got over it by going online and finding a social network to help me. And now I'm going to be the older bro' or cool guy to teach other Chinese guys about life and love."

The website he has founded, along with three like-minded friends, wordplays the Chinese "niu nan" (literally bull man) and has the url neonan.com. Its aim is to transform the romantic landscape of China's men for the better, not just in the major centers "but in fifth- and sixth-tiered cities, high school students and farmers, everyone, man".

It "spins" portals like Men.Sohu, magazines like GQ and Men's Health, and predictably has the nectar of half-dressed eye candy, fast cars, gadgets, entertainment, health and fitness, style, and dating - all the things young guys obsess about. "

"Men have three main areas of stress: health, wealth and relationships. If one's crippled, it affects the rest. We've got cute girls showing guys how to tie ties, advice on first dates and hot tips to get the girl."

Schooled in San Francisco and New York, before leaving for Hong Kong and investment banking at Merrill Lynch, Chou's career went down the toilet with the 2008 financial crisis, after which he migrated to the new center of gravity in Shanghai and got tight with Victor Ho, David Fun and Mike Yang - all of Chinese descent, but American, Canadian or Australian raised.

They're well-educated and overflow with attitude: "This is a passion product" they say of Neonan. They're not at all put off by the argument that they are outsiders and say they have a team of locals working with them in Shanghai to show them the "China view". "

At first we weren't on the same page, but we've internalized the culture. Chinese men all have the same issues. In the US you've got stuff, but here there's no way you can ask your dad what you need to know. It's a different generation. We filter the ... out. We dig up the experts and curate the best stuff."

The market's obvious, an increasingly urban and savvy young population (aimed as much at those born after 1990 than the conflicted 1980 generation), who have more disposable income and access to what's going on in the outside world. Neonan, they say, is different because it's aimed at the masses rather than the elites.

They have their eyes on the 3G mobile market, reasoning that their content is available to all even in far flung outposts of the land. And all men want the same. It's a neat idea and the advertising videos they've produced have racked up 200 million plus plays on video sharing websites.

For me, the Neonan story is as much about the return of foreign-born or raised Chinese to the nest and adding to the creative options that are rolling away and making the country prime real estate for business innovation, development and a launch pad for fresh cultural thinking.

Just as foreign investment pours in like tribute in the old days and the domestic focus is on developing creative talents, the country is becoming more of a melting pot, internationalized, but still true to its roots.

And Willie Chou, for the record, took his own advice and now has a girlfriend - and she's not cheating on him.

Contact the writer at juleschinadaily@gmail.com.