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.