Iron Future

What Iron Future does

Iron Future (铁未来), legally Beijing EPIK Co., Ltd., is a privately-held Chinese youth career-exploration platform that organizes experiential education programs for mainland Chinese high school students. The company is best known for its FIBC (Feuture International Business Challenge) business simulation competition, in which student teams role-play as producers, traders, media, investment firms, and a simulated government across multi-fiscal-year economic scenarios, with certificates signed by US university professors to support college applications. Beyond FIBC, the company runs the Science Hub academic research program (pairing students with PhD mentors for published-paper outcomes), the Shanxing Hong Kong Financial Study Camp (offering Hong Kong university courses, Fortune 500 internships, and executive recommendation letters), and the Yunqi Art Career Simulation platform (covering art creation, exhibition, auction, and education). Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer via the company's website (feuture.cn) and a phone hotline, supplemented by school and alumni referral networks. Operational footprint comprises two offices (Beijing headquarters in Chaoyang District and a Guangzhou branch) plus program delivery in mainland Chinese cities, Hong Kong, and Auckland, New Zealand (via a partnership with the student organization Double Infinity).

The underlying technology is a cloud-hosted business simulation platform with role-based scenario engines, a stock system that links participant decisions across teams, and an online (FIBC Online) delivery mode for remote participation. No mobile app, public API, SDK, or AI/ML capability is disclosed; the platform is fundamentally a multi-tenant simulation and content-delivery system rather than a software-as-a-service product. Revenue is generated from event registration fees, academic program fees, and art-program VIP access, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The company has run at least 16 editions of its flagship FIBC since 2016 (and competitions traceable to at least the 6th edition in 2016, implying a 2011 founding) and is currently founder-led with a 10-member advisory board drawn from Columbia, Stanford, Yale, NYU, Peking University, and from companies including AIG, Riot Games, Willis Towers Watson, Mercer, Michael Page, and Affinity Equity Partners. No venture capital, private equity, or acquisition activity is disclosed, and the company operates as a bootstrapped education services business.

Name

Iron Future

Legal name

Beijing EPIK Co., Ltd.

Website

https://feuture.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Career Exploration and Experiential Education

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Economics & Finance Competitions (Econ Challenge, Stock Market Games) (EDAMAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Fair Competitions (Science Fairs, Research Symposiums) (EDAMAGAL), Advanced Project-Based Learning & Portfolio Mentoring (STEM/arts portfolios, maker projects) (EDANAKAI)

Keywords

• Youth career exploration
• Business simulation competition
• Academic research mentorship
• Study tour programs
• Experiential education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chaoyang

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Event Registration Fees: Revenue generated from student participants registering for business simulation competitions, regional events, and overseas programs including the Hong Kong finance internship camp and New Zealand international business challenge.
2. Academic Program Fees: Revenue from Science Hub research project programs featuring mentorship from PhD-level researchers and academic publication outcomes.
3. Art Career Simulation Programs: Revenue from Cloud起 (Yunqi) art career simulation platform including VIP qualification to 那特艺术学院 (L'Academy des Arts) and access to industry mentors and artists.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Iron Future sells experiential education programs for mainland China high school students, including the FIBC business simulation competition (cloud-based virtual economy platform with producer/trader/media/investment/government roles), Science Hub academic research training under PhD mentors, Hong Kong financial study tours (Shanxing), and Yunqi art career simulation. Customers register and pay to participate in multi-day on-site events, online competitions, or guided academic research projects that produce credentials (certificates, recommendation letters, published papers) to strengthen university applications.

Product overview

Iron Future (铁未来) is a youth career exploration platform offering a portfolio of experiential education programs. The core offerings include FIBC商业模拟 (FIBC Business Simulation), a flagship business simulation competition; Science Hub学术科研项目 for academic research training; 山行·香港金融研学营 for Hong Kong financial study tours; and 云起·艺术生涯模拟 for art career simulation. The company also provides FIBC Online for remote participation and 商科校本选修课程 for school-based business education. The platform positions itself as '一个正直与智力受同等尊重的世界' (A world where integrity and intelligence are equally respected), targeting high school students across China seeking career exploration and skill development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FIBC (Feuture International Business Challenge): International business simulation competition for high school students featuring roles including manufacturers, traders, media, investment firms, and simulated governments
• Science Hub
• Shanxing (山行)
• Yunqi (云起·艺术生涯模拟)

Products and services

• FIBC Business Simulation (FIBC商业模拟) A flagship business simulation competition where high school students take on roles as manufacturers, traders, media, investment firms, and simulated governments, simulating economic development through fiscal years to explore different career paths and develop career planning abilities. Awarded certificates signed by US university professors.
• Science Hub Academic Research Project (Science Hub 学术科研项目) Academic research program where students learn research literature reading, methodology, and academic writing under the guidance of PhD researchers from domestic and international first-tier research institutions, culminating in publication of their own academic papers.
• Shanxing Hong Kong Financial Study Camp (山行·香港金融研学营) A Hong Kong study program offering high school students access to Asian financial hub courses, Asian university knowledge, and international finance workplace experience, including Hong Kong university courses, Fortune 500 internships, official course certificates, executive recommendation letters, and international volunteer certificates.
• Yunqi Art Career Simulation (云起·艺术生涯模拟) An open-ended art industry simulation platform covering various art industry roles including creation, exhibition, auction, and art education, designed to cultivate art management talent based on large-scale youth activities and sandbox-style situational teaching experience. Includes 那特艺术学院 (L'Academy des Arts) one-year VIP qualification.
• FIBC Online An online version of the FIBC business simulation platform providing remote access to Iron Future's business simulation competitions and activities.
• Business School School-Based Elective Courses (商科校本选修课程) School-based elective courses in business studies offered in partnership with educational institutions, providing academic business education within the school curriculum.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Double Infinity (新西兰学生组织)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2018Partnership with New Zealand student organization Double Infinity to co-host the Auckland International Business Challenge. The second edition was held March 30 to April 1, 2018 at Grand Mercure Auckland, with joint organization, optimized competition structure, and shared vision for international youth business education.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DECA: Global student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs through business-role competitions and simulations. DECA's China presence (DECA ICDC, affiliated chapters) competes for the same pool of college-bound Chinese high-school students seeking international business credentials.
• Junior Achievement: Global non-profit delivering business and career-readiness programs to young people, including simulations and company-program challenges. Operates in China through JA China and competes for the same youth career-exploration positioning as FIBC.
• Wharton Global High School Investment Competition: Run by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, this competition engages high-school students in virtual investment and business strategy simulations, directly comparable to FIBC's producer-trader-investor virtual economy. Both monetize access to a prestigious university brand for high-school enrichment.
• FBLA China (Future Business Leaders of America – China): FBLA operates business-leadership competitions and career-development programs for high-school students; its China chapters run events that directly compete with FIBC for the same target audience of mainland Chinese high-schoolers seeking career exploration and college-application credentials.
• Diamond Challenge: University of Delaware entrepreneurship competition for high-school students featuring pitch-based business concept development. Comparable to Iron Future's career-exploration positioning, with similar monetization through participation fees and aspirational university branding.

Broad incumbents

• Yuanfudao: Large Chinese K-12 edtech platform with diversified enrichment offerings. A broad incumbent in the Chinese K-12 space that has expanded into various extracurricular and academic development programs overlapping with Iron Future's positioning.
• TAL Education Group (Xueersi): Major Chinese K-12 and enrichment education platform with broad offerings including academic competitions and overseas-study services. A broad incumbent whose portfolio touches career exploration and high-school enrichment adjacencies to Iron Future's products.
• New Oriental Education & Technology Group: China's largest private education company offering K-12 tutoring, test prep, and increasingly enrichment programs. A broad incumbent that has launched adjacent career-exploration and overseas-study products that overlap with Iron Future's Shanxing and Science Hub offerings.
• Koolearn (New Oriental Online / East Buy): Listed online education arm of New Oriental focused on K-12, test prep, and overseas-study preparation. Competes in adjacent verticals but does not specialize in immersive business simulation competitions the way Iron Future does.

Others

• Lonely Reader (孤独的阅读者): Founded by Iron Future advisory board member 葛旭, this is an adjacent reading and humanities-education venture. It is not a direct competitor but its founder's involvement on the Iron Future advisory board indicates ecosystem adjacency in the Chinese youth humanities education space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Iron Future