GE Track - The US Trip by Tarn

What I have learned from the US trip?

1. Don’t be afraid to fail

From listening to the talks provided by different speakers inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and started to make changes. I have learnt from Randy and Steve Blank that failure is a good thing for a successful entrepreneur, because if you never fail, then you will never learn. If Steve Jobs never got fired from Apple, he would never have started NEXT or PIXAR and he would never invent iPod, iPhone and iPad. 

Randy also mentioned that you always need to have a plan B. Silicon Valley is unique place because it encourages ideas and innovation. Randy mentioned that he failed so many times, but all those failures were his lessons. Failures offer the lessons for entrepreneur to come back and move on to the next venture. 

1. Do things with passion

I was amazed by people working in the silicon valley; their great ideas turned into great products. The talk by the founder of driptech emphasized the fact that you do not need to have lots of money to start-up your company. If you have great ideas, you will find way to make what you dream for possible. The concepts of venture capitalist and angel investors have become more real to me. The founder of driptech saw the problems of poor irrigation in developing countries. He found the existing irrigation technology expensive and required   other equipments in place. So, he came up with an affordable and simple drip irrigation system for small-plot famers. He went all the way to test his product in a rural region of India. I also learnt that great innovation does not have to involve high technology. It can be simple but it has to create value for customers.

It was a great opportunity to participate in the two business plan competitions: GCSV and RICE. I met many great entrepreneurs around the world eager to bring their ideas into real businesses, and also met many venture capitalists and angel investors who were interested in our product, DeepScan. During the Q/A session, we had many constructive comments about business models, so we took all those comments on board and adjust them. I realized that this is not just an academic work, we can make it happen for real. 

1. Sustainable design - green, simple and beautiful

Two weeks at GreenMBA made me understand the concept of sustainable design. The speaker from AUTODESK showed us the program her company developed to select eco-materials and to design more energy-saving building. By altering the building to some degree, you can save a lot of energy. 

I was also introduced to the term, “Permaculture”, which is a sustainable land use design. It has been used widely to reduce drought, flood damages and pollution. The speaker showed us the picture of infiltration basin, which can be built in your backyards. It helps to reduce the risk of flooding in households.

The 3 days brain training at the greenhouse helped me to improve my learning and reading skills substantially. By using Brian’s learning techniques, I can read and understand an assigned reading or article in a shorter amount of time. I also have learnt to create mind-maps to improve my learning skills.

What I do not like about the trip?

I did not really like my time at Stanford University very much, and I also did not find the course with Tina useful to me Also, the speaker form a drug company also did give me inspiration at all. In my opinion, at his career position at the R&D Department, he could have made many positive changes to those people living in African countries, who cannot afford high quality drugs. He made it clear at the talk that he and his company had no plans to launch affordable medicines for poor countries. I also found that the talk by one of the professor about patent not practical for me and my friends. He kept on talking too much about his experience on developing patent laws in Malaysia. I found the content very boring and very descriptive. I think it would be better if we had more time to visit more start-ups in Silicon Valley. 

It is one of my ultimate goals to start my own business, but I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone and make it real. I used to think that my dad is the one who stops me from doing it, but now I realize that it is ‘me’ who hinders my own dream. I was afraid to fail. I was afraid that I didn’t have enough experience. The trip has changed my mindset. I believe that failure is actually a blessing in disguise, because it give you lessons. Without these lessons, you can never become successful. Those entrepreneurs I met at the business plan competitions, Silicon Valley and GreenMBA inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and do something great. Since I got back from the US, I have become more active at works, and I really want to build on my parents’ businesses. I am trying to see if I there are opportunities to expand my market aboard. Now I’m trying to change how my workers do things in the production line. I know that it is a tough job for someone who are not highly experienced in business for me to run the company smoothly and expand the market base, but I believe that as long as I do not give up easily, I’ll find ways to make it possible. 

GE Track - The US Trip by NamPueng

From the trip to US, I got a lot of experience and more broad vision from travelling, seeing different culture, lifestyle and environment such as old people still come to study in the class, more concern about environment , complete study room and equipment for students at stanford university. But the study that I think they’re very useful for me are; 

• Mind-mapping

Since my reading is not good, I have the opportunity to develop my reading skill which is basic of learning that can be used for study throughout my life. From this learning, I know that I should prepare my mind by setting the goal and concentration including suitable environment.  And I learned technique how to quick study such as high speed overview, look for key word, re-read & highlight and make mind-mapping which is process/system/network that help me understand and memorize easier.

• Driptech

It’s a simply technology that I’ve seen my dad do it at home but how they create the different and how to sustain this business in term of customer, partner, resource, distribution and manufacturing. And why farmers have to pay for this? Because of their advantages such as having microfinance available, short payback period, low cost and comfortable product.

Besides, I got many inspirational ideas after seeing their successful life. For example; 

• Getting to plan B

Most people including me always imagine about the successful business but in the real life, not only build the entrepreneurship and find great business opportunity but we also should prepare plan B in order to be ready for unfortunate situation such as adjusting process, finding better economic or cheapest price.  

However, when we should change to plan B? we have to pay attention by measuring each moment again and again when we lost or waste more, more and more.

Key success of this study is when we do the business, we should not think only profit and successful but we should have passion to solve problem, care & think of customers, curious to learn and develop process.

• Aj. John’s house (PermaCulture)

He’s my role model in term of being happy with simple life. The concept focused on self-dependent life similar as "the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy" in Thailand. 

• Green MBA

They concern about environment and quiet strict about waste and recycle.

Although we can learn a lot about the water project but I think this trip would be more interesting if it was not focus more on water project and Green MBA. I think it would be better to learn about the process to do the new business or case study from entrepreneur, how they can create new innovation and bring it to business, how to do business in or with America , organization who are the middle man between Thai vs US or Innovator vs Investor.

However, from this trip I’ve got new experience and learned many ideas from successful people which I can apply to my life and my business in the future when I’m back to Thailand.

GE Track - The US Trip by Sharp

What did you like about the trip?

From Silicon Valley, I like Randy Komisar (at Kliener-Perkins, the most famous VC firm). The Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley consists of vision to see something that not exists before, ability to make that happen, and a lot of passion. Entrepreneur must flexible because the market is not yet mature many things that I don’t expect will happen, (if it mature, big company will already been there). Business that I create must sustainable (so the thing that I create will no faded away over time) and create positive thing for the world. The stage of business is also new thing that I learn, I usually think that I will build business from family funding, and it must pass on to next generation, or it may last long. But after meeting Randy Komisar my basic believing about business is totally changed. The factors to create that business are differ in each stage of start up company.

1. Create stage, I will need people (founding team), idea, and money. The environment in Silicon Valley usually draws people together.

2. Incubation stage, I will need business plan and prototype in order to get money from investor. This stage needs a lot of capital to invest in.

3. Expand, This stage I need a lot of up-front capital, since the product needs expanding. The short cut to success is having one big customer, as they buy a lot and I can use their name as a reference.

4. The exit, the important part that Randy mention, which I’ve never though of. It is critical point for sustainable business. CEO is stewardship of someone else’s asset. It is not a failure of entrepreneur.

I learn that each stage of business needs different set of people and different type of investment. It isn’t as simple as I thought. The other thing is keeping the business to myself isn’t the good way for development of company, the business needs different set of people to get new ideas or new path, so that we can continue development as the environment of business changed.

Driptech was a good example for bringing innovation to daily life, it really showed me that innovation doesn’t have to be fancy, complicate product and being entrepreneur isn’t too hard to become.

Brian Weller is another highlight of this trip. I wish I learned from him since the beginning of IMBA course. Mindmap might help me understand in the class better.

Steve Blank makes this trip remarkable. He pointed out that start up company need different tools from existing company. And also talk about the learning environment that embrace the failure and value it. I really proud of this opportunity, meeting him at his house.

At GreenMBA I love to see how community get involved with university. The presentation night gave inspiration for being entrepreneur. Furthermore the field trip to Porter Creek vineyard, Bay model, the salmon place (Sorry I can’t remember) was great learning experience to sense how important environment play role in our life, to witness what we can do for our earth, to see how delicate people do in their job.  Especially to visit prof. Stayton’s house to see the knowledge being applied to daily life.

What did you wish was better?

Time spent in Stanford wasn’t quality as I expect. With Tina class I think it is quite the same as written in the book, and brainstorming is what we usually do in Thailand, so I can say I didn’t learn new things much as I expect. I wish that I had clear idea about Intellectual Property or Licensing before listening to Jon Sandelin (Stanford’s OTL). I know how important it is, but I hardly understand what is it about. I wish we can visit IDEO in Palo Alto just to see their prototypes and get inspiration is worth doing.

Of many inspirational ideas and people we saw, how do you wish you could be like?

What is keeping you from achieving the same thing as that person?

I wish I could be like Randy Komisar, who change profession many time and did every job very well. Lots of experience he gained support what he is today. I think graduate from pharmacy keeping me from doing different things. I think work as pharmacist get paid ok than shifting to other profession that pay less, and it’s hard for me to be employee in other profession since I don’t want to throw away my hard study for 5 years.

What ideas did you learn, which you would like to bring back to Thailand?

What is keeping you from doing that?

Thailand needs VC, so that in Thailand the innovation process can be accelerated. Since VCs crate environment that entrepreneur needs for bring their passion come true, such as access to big company, people, and infrastructure. The university in Thailand should have Licensing department or the course about licensing in every science major. The knowledge about patent/licensing in Thailand is limited. 

The organic culture is suitable for Thailand. It will be great if we can get involve with organic activities or product in our daily life. But organic staff is quite complicate, not easy to do. The knowledge of organic life is quite scattered and not widely pass on around people in Thailand.

I like the salmon breeding idea. Not that I want to breed salmon in Thailand, but to mimic natural process such as fish ladder is bright idea and to breed upon DNA is thoughtful. Also Seafood selector card that tell you what is the best choice and what is worst choice is great. I don’t think I can do this card, it will be easier if department of fishery do it. Actually after I wrote about” what is keeping me from doing that?” I notice that anything is possible, just I don’t get out and do something.