Entrepreneurial Thinking and Action

On the entrepreneurial journey, risk and uncertainty are unavoidable companions. Entrepreneurs must be courageous in embracing risks while learning to manage and mitigate potential risks to ensure the sustainable development of their businesses. Predicting and controlling factors are also of paramount importance in entrepreneurship. In the ever-changing market landscape, plans must be continuously adjusted, and entrepreneurs must maintain flexibility to adapt to new circumstances and opportunities swiftly. Learning from failures is an integral part of entrepreneurial success, as each setback provides valuable insights into one’s business and the market. Approaching failures with rational thinking reflects the wisdom of entrepreneurs. However, entrepreneurship is not solely a rational endeavor; it encompasses the irrationality of passion and belief. Entrepreneurs often need to overcome setbacks and difficulties, during which irrational determination and enthusiasm serve as driving forces. In the entrepreneurial process, how can we achieve precise market positioning through targeting or aiming, enabling us to select the right markets and target audiences? Moreover, how can we establish a suitable business model to manage resources and drive innovation effectively for sustained business development? Additionally, when businesses encounter challenges, how can we use design thinking to gain a deeper understanding of user needs and provide better solutions?

In this IEE sharing session, we are honored to invite Dr. Zhiqiang Xia from Nanyang Technological University to deliver an inspiring sharing session. This session will comprehensively explore various challenges and concepts in entrepreneurship, encompassing key elements of entrepreneurial journeys such as risk and uncertainty, prediction and control, failure and learning, rationality and irrationality, assumptions and hypotheses, targeting or aiming, persistence or pivoting, business models, lean entrepreneurship, and design thinking.

We look forward to your attendance!

Dr. Xia Zhiqiang is the Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs at NTU Entrepreneurship Academy. In 2004, he joined NTU as an Assistant Director in the China Strategy Group within the President’s Office. He was responsible for formulating and implementing strategies for several China-related special projects for NTU, earning him the NTU Team Collaboration Award in 2006. As a member of the Executive Committee of the Singapore-China Association for Advancement of Science and Technology (SCAAST), he received the Sustainable Service Award in 2013 for his contributions and outstanding service to the association. Additionally, since 2015, he has been serving as a committee member of the Singapore Prestige Brand Award (http://www.spba.com.sg).

Dr. Xia specializes in entrepreneurship education, leadership development, and innovation management within multicultural environments. As the overseer of the Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation programs (MSc TIP), the program has proudly graduated over 1600 students from more than 30 countries and received the ICSB Global Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Award in 2018. Simultaneously, he is responsible for the strategic growth and development of the Entrepreneurship Minor and Second Major undergraduate programs at the Academy. Before entering the field of education, Dr. Xia worked on various major business projects, including ERP software development, e-commerce, knowledge management, and business mergers and acquisitions. He maintains close connections with numerous experienced entrepreneurs and investors operating in Singapore and China, aiding many scientists and young entrepreneurs in securing angel and venture funding for their technology startups.

The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Essentials (IEE) consists of workshops and lectures that are delivered by professionals, experts, and practitioners in relevant fields. IEE helps students acquire both fundamental knowledge and practical skills, and develop comprehensive venture plans while strengthening their innovation and entrepreneurial thinking through a blend of cutting-edge theory, real-world cases, and intensive practice.