On Wednesday, we attended InnoFoco’s ‘Innovation in Action Forum,’ a get together for corporate and startup leaders to talk action plans for Hong Kong’s future.
Featuring dynamic keynotes, panels and afternoon workshops, the one-day conference at the University of Hong Kong also featured a neat tech element called ‘Wisdom From the Crowd.’ The audience were polled through their mobile phones on questions such as “what are the barriers to innovation in Hong Kong?” where attendees ranked “trader mentality” as the biggest hurdle.
InnoFoco’s founder Rachel Chan stepped up to moderate a panel of successful execs who shared how they keep their large companies innovative. “When people think about innovation, they always think of it as a ‘Eureka moment,’” she said. “But innovation is something that needs to be nurtured vigorously.”
As a particularly notable strategy to keep company morale high, NiQ Lai, CFO and the head of talent engagement for HK Broadband said that the best ways to innovate is to encourage failure. “To innovate, you need a circle of safety to encourage people to make mistakes,” he said and also shared recent travel stories where the HK Broadband team explored the slums and rainforests of South Africa. “Once a year, the company goes on an experiential trip… the best way to build innovation is to build teamwork.”
The next panel was moderated by Professor Gregg Li, a social VC and innovation angel. Three entrepreneurial-minded gurus shared their ideas on how corporates can better manage their collaborative relationships with startups.
Yat Siu, founder and CEO of startup-turned-Hong Kong success story said that despite the size of his tech company and all of its joint ventures – Outblaze still operates under a startup mentality. “As a company, we like not to get too big as it gives us a nimble edge and we’re able to respond fast. Failure is a big part of our culture,” he said.
Also on the panel is Trey Zagante, who is passionate about enterprise tech and connecting corporates and startups. He said that while startups are agile and practice lean methodologies, they can gain access to the key decision makers and the valuable resources by working with corporates.
On the other side of the spectrum, corporates can take a leaf from startups in order to improve their innovation strategy. Carina Ho, a Schneider Electric APAC exec that handles global strategy, said that her organization has long been working with startups – whether acquired or homegrown.
She said that balance is essential when it comes to corporates and startups working together, as it’s effectively a management of very different DNAs. “While corporations are control freaks and have stakeholders on their backs, startups love freedom, are agile and are risk takers,” she said. “If you want to benefit from startups, you have to leave them alone and let them leverage the resources that we can provide.”
More photos from the conference to come!
