NEW YORK — “It takes a village to make a beauty queen,” quips Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray, Miss Universe 2018.

Self-service start-ups have become the new fad for Chinese investors after the arrival of lots of successful players – big and small. Alibaba launched its Tao Cafe in late August, 2017, two months after JD Daojia rolled out something similar. There are also many smaller companies doing similar things like Xingbianli and Easyhome.