Through my study tour to Seoul and Taipei, I have gained valuable insights into the realms of Web3 and entrepreneurship. Engaging with innovative minds in Seoul and Taipei deepened my understanding of their and startup ecosystems. Interacting with leading Web3 professionals and peers has given me new insights into career planning and personal growth. In the following sections, I will share my experiences from this study trip across two dimensions: learning from the activities that enriched my understanding, and the changes in my perception related to Web3 and entrepreneurship.
The three most impressive activities I participated in were the seminar at Seoul National University (SNU), the workshop at National Taiwan University (NTU), and the event at Ganle Wenchuang (The Can). At SNU, Joe Park from Blockchain Labs delivered an inspiring talk about his entrepreneurial journey, starting from a small project to founding a company and developing impactful products and services. He emphasized that successful startups arise not from chasing trends but from offering unique perspectives. Park also discussed how he applies the concept of “connecting the dots” to his thoughts on market dynamics, technological advancements, and project direction. He noted that while their projects were blockchain-based, the emergence of ChatGPT led many startups to enter that space, prompting him to explore potential connections between ChatGPT and blockchain technology. This exploration ultimately led him to the concept of personal AI, which differs from typical ChatGPT applications by accommodating individual data rather than relying on general web data. His logical reasoning and thought process inspired me to use rational thinking to seek innovative directions.
The second event that stood out for me was the seminar at NTU, where Mr. Lewis Chang, Head of Medical VR, provided us with an excellent presentation and demo of their product on “Generative AI and VR shaping a new era of precision medical education”. He has a unique perspective on how cutting-edge technology can be applied. He said the three main factors to implement AI and VR solutions are no-code, inclusive and evolution. Lowering the threshold for users and creating a user-friendly platform for more users is one of the core points to think about AI and VR-based products. I was reminded of the metaverse platform for inclusive education proposal I made earlier, and my initial idea was also to be able to build an inclusive learning platform. When he mentioned that their VR device could also address mental health issues and be able to monitor the user’s state and interact with the user, I connected it with my previous proposal to use brain-computer interfaces and other methods to monitor whether students with mental health issues need assistance. I asked him how they were able to interact with users and he said that they were already doing research on this and that they could get feedback from users through the direct use of questionnaires and other technological monitoring tools.
The third event that impressed me was the sharing by Ganle Wenchuang (The Can). This was my first in-depth understanding of how social enterprises operate. I really appreciated their deep analysis of community problems and their systematic approach to solving these problems. At the same time, they have integrated and balanced their business model and nonprofit program so that their model could not only provide more benefits to the community but also achieve sustainable development. On the other hand, they also activate community tourism development through creativity. By exploring the cultural values behind local community and traditional crafts and marketing them, they have succeeded in increasing the commercial value of local traditional crafts, which not only brings economic income to the local community, but also promotes the development of traditional crafts.
The study tour enhanced my knowledge about entrepreneurship and Web3. First, entrepreneurship requires the wisdom and courage of “thinking differently”. We need to have a deep and clear understanding of what kind of problem needs to be solved, what the market needs are, and then solve the problem in a way that is different from what is currently available. Second, when we have a good idea, we need to have a sustainable business model that balances the commercial and social values. We also need to do specific data analysis and measurements to analyze whether our business model is viable when we present our proposal to investors. Finally, whether we use blockchain or AI, technology is just a tool to solve problems and fulfill market needs. An important way to measure the ability of a product or service to gain market acceptance is to gain public recognition. This requires us to use innovative ways to lower the threshold of users and improve the degree of user-friendliness. If our products are simple and easy to operate, even if users do not know how to program or do not know any technology, they could still enjoy the convenience of technology through our products, which will truly achieve inclusive product design and get market recognition.
In conclusion, the Seoul and Taipei trips profoundly enriched my understanding of Web3 and entrepreneurship. Through engaging workshops, I learned that successful entrepreneurship depends on innovative thinking and a deep understanding of market needs. The insights shared by industry leaders emphasized the importance of unique perspectives and user-friendly technologies in developing impactful solutions. Additionally, I was exposed to social enterprises like Ganle Wenchuang (The Can), which highlights the potential of balancing business success with community benefits, reinforcing the idea that sustainable business models could drive both economic growth and social impact. I am inspired to apply these lessons – embracing creativity, utilizing technology as a problem-solving tool, and prioritizing the user experience – to meaningfully contribute to Web3’s evolving landscape.
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