It was significant because I was able to understand the mood of the new market and create points of contact with key local stakeholders who are likely to collaborate in the future, but I was also impressed by the exchanges with domestic start-ups that participated in the event.
Representatives of various startups stayed together for a week and had a deep conversation. Beyond simply sharing information, they also exchanged practical advice and new perspectives on long-standing business concerns.
In the course of their business journey, entrepreneurs obtain advice and advice from outside sources through various channels. In the startup ecosystem, there are professional mentors, professors, consultants, investors, and helpers who provide business diagnosis and direction to entrepreneurs in different positions. Their role is certainly important, but the most realistic and experiential advice often comes from other founders who are on the same path. Since it is an experience learned inductively over a long period of time from the perspective of a party other than an observer, it is not theoretical or fragmentary.
First of all, sharing prior experiences is one of the important values of exchanges between founders. Innovative technology companies vary in their business areas and application technologies, but the challenges and concerns of each major growth phase are often similar. At the beginning of the business, topics of funding, market entry, and market development were topics of interest, but later, topics of interest moved to organizational management, structural improvement, and scale-up. At this time, the challenges and solutions that the senior founders first experienced became a compass. Their stories can be used as indirect experiences, reducing unnecessary trial and error.
Since communication among entrepreneurs is routinely centered around internal employees and industry stakeholders, thoughts centered on specific industries can become entrenched. However, when founders working in different industries and technology fields gather, completely different ideas, perspectives, and experiences gather. It is an opportunity to look back and supplement companies and strategies from a unique perspective, away from the existing framework. I think this is an essential activity in the age of technological convergence.
Exchanges between founders are also very significant in terms of being able to gain psychological consensus and support. Since entrepreneurs always struggle with uncertainty and understand each other's grievances better than anyone else, they share their concerns not only with their heads but also with their hearts. This is why the advice and solutions they offer to each other are not cold and wholehearted. Since mutual support and empathy are presupposed, even if there is no clear solution, the process alone can provide strength and comfort.
Every year, public institutions and private companies host various startup networking programs, and I think actively utilizing them can also be of great help. Since there is no direct commercialization or financial support, it can be treated lukewarm, but it is important to keep in mind that the networks and insights formed in it can far exceed financial value. It is a valuable asset for entrepreneurs because current small relationships can be developed into collaborative opportunities and strategic partnerships from a long-term perspective.
The PayPal Mafia, the human network of the founders of PayPal (PayPal) in the US, is often mentioned. They continued to create new success stories by utilizing their entrepreneurial experience and each other's networks. They are not just business partners, but colleagues who share each other's visions and grievances, and create technological innovation and creative business models through mutual exchange and collaboration. Cooperation between founders can directly help the growth and development of a company, but it is clear that ultimately it promotes the expansion of the ecosystem itself, so I would like to create a culture where they cooperate more actively with each other.
