One of the most pursued dreams that our MBA students hold is having their own startups and finding venture capital. At the HKUST MBA, entrepreneurship is woven into the fabric of the program. As a young and innovative university, HKUST has a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem including a dedicated Entrepreneurship Center, Fund and Blue Bay Incubator based in Shenzhen. These valuable resources and networks are crucial to nurture the future entrepreneur.
Today we have invited our Full-time MBA students Pie Wong and Lincoln Wu to share their experiences and takeaway of their entrepreneurial journey.
How did you take part in the entrepreneur center in the first place and what is your encounter with them?
Pie: When I received the email from the Entrepreneurship Center at the start of the fall semester, I was intrigued to learn about their "Entrepreneurship 101" program. As a student at HKUST MBA, I was eager to participate and gain a solid foundation in launching a successful startup.
The 10-week program covered a wide range of essential topics - from crafting a compelling pitch deck to the legal process of incorporating a company and protecting intellectual property. This systematic training was exactly what I needed, as prior to the MBA, my friends and I had attempted to launch startups but struggled to get selected by incubator programs.
The 10-weeks Entrepreneurship program sounds interesting. Tell us more about it.
Pie: The curriculum covered a comprehensive range of startup fundamentals, but the most exciting component was the final pitch competition.
After weeks of learning about business model development, market analysis, financial planning, and more, we were tasked with forming teams to pitch an original startup idea. The judging panel consisted of HKUST alumni who currently run a small venture capital firm - providing us with invaluable real-world feedback.
My team, which included a few undergrad students, developed a pitch for an AI-powered academic advising platform. Our innovative concept of an "AI avatar" that could provide students with instant, personalized guidance really resonated with the judges. We were thrilled to be awarded first prize!
While we didn't ultimately continue developing the project, the experience of systematically crafting a startup idea and presenting it to seasoned investors was immensely valuable. It allowed me to apply the concepts learned throughout the program and gain practical experience in entrepreneurship. This has been instrumental in shaping my MBA journey and future goals.
How about you, Lincoln? What has been your experience with the HKUST Entrepreneurship Center?
Lincoln: The Entrepreneurship Center has been incredibly open-minded and flexible in allowing me to participate in their pitching competition, even though I hadn't attended the prior 10-week program. My teammate Pie and I partnered up to develop a healthcare data integration proposal for a hospital.
My family owns and operates a hospital in Fujian that serves around 500,000 people. I've seen firsthand the challenges of managing disparate medical data systems, which hinder efficiency and transparency. Our pitch centred on using AI to verify, format, and structure the data in a systematic way, while defining access rights to improve accuracy and accessibility. While we didn't win any prizes, it was a valuable opportunity to receive feedback and advice from the successful alumni investors on our hospital data integration project.
Ultimately, the HKUST Entrepreneurship Center has not only trained us to think and act like entrepreneurs but has also opened doors that would have remained firmly shut without this robust support system. As we look ahead, we are brimming with excitement to continue leveraging this transformative experience, driven by the conviction that the future holds endless possibilities for our entrepreneurial pursuits.
In a recent development, Lincoln and Pie have now secured funding through HKSTP’s joint venture with AWS, the “Idea Launcher” program which fosters and accelerates innovation and technology (I&T) development in Hong Kong. Pie shares that “I am very excited to see how the project will grow over the next year. I feel very fortunate to work in such a supportive startup environment in Hong Kong”.
As of June 2024, HKUST members have founded 1,747 active start-ups including 10 unicorns and 14 exits (IPO or M&A), generating economic impact worth over HK$400 billion.
As HKUST’s MBA program, we embrace those dreams and enhance your ability to turn your aspirations into extraordinary realities.
