Fu Ren Shu Fan Files IPO Prospectus: Pioneering O2O Mental Health Services in China

Founded in 1997, Beijing Furen Shufan Software Technology Co., Ltd. is the pioneer of psychological assessment software in China and the first company to apply psychometrics to mental health education, mental health promotion, and talent assessment management. Lou Ji, the company’s current general manager, accepted an exclusive interview with VCBeat at their invitation.

Comprehensive R&D Capabilities in Both Hardware and Software

Lou Ji, a computer science major who worked abroad in software development, returned to China in 2010. Driven by a strong interest in psychology, he pursued and earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Beijing Normal University (BNU). Under the leadership and guidance of two renowned psychology professors at BNU, Furen Shufan subsequently developed multiple psychological assessment software programs, holding 19 software copyrights. These include the Comprehensive Mental Health Management Platform, Psychological Counseling and Diagnostic System, Child Behavior Component Assessment System, University Psychology Experimental Design System, Mental Health Training System, and the Xinyutong Biofeedback Relaxation System.

In addition to its software systems, Furen Shufan possesses substantial in-house R&D capabilities for psychological hardware products. For instance, two patents obtained by Lou Ji during his doctoral studies have been applied to a biofeedback relaxation system, which consists of a music vibroacoustic relaxation sofa and its accompanying hardware and software. Accompanied by soothing musical rhythms, the built-in sensing software controls the sofa to move in sync with the beat, featuring bidirectional adjustment movements for both the head and foot sections, thereby creating a delightful tactile relaxation experience for users.

At the headquarters of Furen Shufan, one can also see a catharsis wall adorned with a fist symbolizing the “Fire of Anger.” This inevitably brings to mind a common cinematic trope where protagonists vent their rage by vigorously punching sandbags. However, technology has since advanced: the traditional sandbag has evolved into an intelligent, interactive striking-based catharsis system. During use, the wall collects data on the user’s strike intensity and various physiological indicators. Upon completion, it generates and archives a catharsis report for easy access by psychological counselors. Furthermore, the system guides users in selecting different situational modes for personalized emotional release. Other hardware products include situational screaming catharsis systems, classic psychological sandplay kits, integrated psychological assessment and diagnostic management devices, various indoor experiential training equipment, and psychological charts.

Dynamic Online Assessments

The widespread sale of psychology-related software and hardware to the general public was formerly Furen Shufan’s core business, until 2011, when Furen Shufan established Kuangzhai.com, a professional psychological assessment website. The launch of Kuangzhai.com represented Furen Shufan’s bold exploration of a paid online assessment model and marked its transition from a mere supplier of psychological products to a provider of mental health services.



Unlike the myriad of mixed-quality psychological testing websites on the market, Kuanzhai Network adopts Item Response Theory (IRT), the most advanced mainstream theory in North America. Characterized by its real-time dynamic nature, the model requires continuous data updates and ongoing algorithm refinement, thereby achieving increasing accuracy with each use, with an accuracy rate as high as 99.6%.

Lou Ji explained that, first and foremost, Item Response Theory (IRT) requires the establishment of an extensive psychological item bank. Due to cultural differences between the East and the West, directly adopting foreign item banks is certainly inadvisable. Developing a psychological assessment system tailored to the Chinese population is undoubtedly a massive undertaking. Each item in the bank is established based on extensive sample surveys and firsthand testing with participants. Without exception, the entire framework—including item options, answer configurations, and scoring criteria—must be independently developed. Another distinctive feature of IRT is its dynamic nature: after each question is answered, the system automatically selects the next item based on the respondent’s performance, thereby continuing the measurement. This approach fundamentally differs from static testing, which administers the same fixed set of questions to all individuals.

“After returning to China, I primarily focused on building up this business. We have accumulated data over many years (17 years), which now needs to undergo quantitative analysis to establish standardized and logical patterns. Only by transforming data into a tool that truly serves people can it hold meaningful value.” Lou Ji further stated that the arduous task of dynamically updating norms is something many enterprises lack both the technical capability and the willingness to undertake. While everyone is eager to engage in psychological counseling, few are willing to commit to data research, as it resembles an enterprise’s R&D department, requiring substantial investment in manpower, financial resources, and time.

“Due to the lack of standards in the psychological testing field in China, the authenticity and credibility of assessment results cannot be verified. It is precisely for this reason that profit-driven opportunism and fraud have proliferated. Nevertheless, Lou Ji remains committed to research and development (R&D). ‘In my view, this investment is essential. R&D is a long-term endeavor where one generation plants the trees for the next to enjoy the shade. Only in this way can we ensure that assessments become increasingly accurate.’”

In addition to individual psychological assessments, Kuanzhai Network has also developed a corporate client portal. Beyond helping employees address psychological challenges related to parenting, marriage, and relationships, the platform offers broader psychological counseling services, including career planning, mental health check-ups, manager-employee relations, and emotion management. Another distinction between the corporate and individual versions is that individual tests are optionally charged, whereas the corporate version is a paid service, with access granted through the purchase of mental health cards for each employee.

Full-Scale Expansion into Offline Business

Software and websites are merely necessary conditions for implementing O2O mental health services; only by providing offline services can market expansion be achieved. Therefore, the establishment of Kuanzhai Network marks the starting point of Furen Shufan’s comprehensive push into offline operations. In addition to software technicians, sales personnel, and financial staff, the company’s team includes eight professional psychological counselors with bachelor’s degrees or higher, as well as several part-time external instructors and psychology students, all working together to support the implementation of diversified offline services through Kuanzhai Network.

Furen Shufan’s offline corporate services primarily refer to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). The process begins with comprehensive psychological screenings for all employees to assess their mental status and overall well-being. Subsequently, the company offers a variety of thematic lectures, face-to-face psychological counseling, group-based psychological guidance, and corporate team-building activities.

In addition to corporate EAP programs, group clients also include numerous institutions in the fields of education, psychology, and career services. Specialized clients encompass the military, prisons, hospitals, and public security, procuratorial, and judicial departments. To date, Furun Shufan has served nearly 10,000 institutions, with long-term contracts held by 20 large enterprises, including PetroChina, New Oriental, and the Beijing Military Region General Hospital.

In addition, at the end of July this year, the General Office of the Ministry of Education issued the Guidelines for the Construction of Psychological Counseling Rooms in Primary and Secondary Schools (Jiao Ji Yi Ting Han [2015] No. 36), aiming to further strengthen and standardize the construction of psychological counseling rooms and ensure that psychological counseling plays a practical role in improving students' psychological quality. With a total of 300,000 primary and secondary schools across China, and an average investment of 150,000 yuan per school for construction costs, the total market size reaches 45 billion yuan. For Lou Ji, this is undoubtedly a significant policy dividend.

Coincidentally, prior to the General Office’s formulation of this document, Lou Ji had already accepted an invitation from the Education Bureau of Duanzhou District, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, to pilot the establishment of campus psychological counseling rooms in dozens of primary and secondary schools in Duanzhou District. Furun Shufan will also continue to provide offline services to primary and secondary schools in Duanzhou District, including individual counseling, group guidance, and training for school psychological counselors.

Lou Ji plans to establish independent offline service centers for Furen Shufan across cities and regions throughout China. By initially targeting corporate employees, school faculty and students, and parents, he aims to gradually expand the served population and develop into an independent psychological counseling institution open to the general public—fulfilling a long-held ambition. “If we can successfully implement our B2C business model, providing long-term tracking of each client’s psychological status and mapping their mental health growth trajectory, allowing Furen Shufan to accompany them throughout their personal development, that would be my ultimate goal and historical mission.”

By chance, Lou Ji came across Bai Juyi’s poem “Small Dwelling,” which depicts the poet’s indifference to fame and fortune, and his contentment with life despite the modest size of his home. Lou Ji believes that, much like psychological counseling—which addresses emotional issues but does not alter external realities—psychological guidance helps alleviate emotional suffering, enabling individuals to confront established facts with greater resilience. The elegant closing line, “Why bother asking about width or narrowness? For width and narrowness reside in the heart,” became the inspiration for the name of Kuanzhai Network.

Editor: Bu Yan