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Entrepreneurship & Innovation in the AI Era

By Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff) 

Chairman & CEO of Founders Space 

If you’re an entrepreneur, this lecture will be invaluable. Steve Hoffman (Captain Hoff) will share with you how the most successful startup founders in Silicon Valley think, act, and execute their business strategies while avoiding the pitfalls that sink most young companies. 

The fact is that most new business ventures fail. The path to success is filled with pitfalls, wrong turns, and obstacles. Decisions along the way can make or bankrupt companies. Every entrepreneur must face this harsh reality and learn to master it if they hope to survive and wind up on top. 

This course takes you through the nuts and bolts of what’s necessary to innovate and scale new businesses in the age of artificial intelligence. Hoffman shows you exactly what he’s learned, running his own startups and coaching hundreds of entrepreneurs around the world. 

He’ll also provide insights into the current AI investment and technology trends happening in Silicon Valley at this very moment. You’ll gain not only deep insights into running a successful business but also in the core technologies that will shape the future of every industry on the planet. 

Guest Speaker:

Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

  • Steven Hoffman is a venture investor, expert on AI strategy, and author of three award-winning books: Make Elephants Fly, Surviving a Startup, and The Five Forces.
  • Hoffman is also the Chairman & CEO of Founders Space, a global market builder that works all over the world, helping entrepreneurs, governments, and corporations access new markets, innovate, and accelerate growth.
  • Hoffman has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs launch their companies in Silicon Valley and around the globe. He has also advised corporations on innovation strategy, including Qualcomm, Huawei, Alibaba, Bosch, Intel, Disney, Warner Brothers, Ad Age, MetLife, NBC, A&E, Siemens, Viacom, Turner, Gulf Oil, Ford, etc.

Date: 1 December 2024 (Sunday)

Venue: HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Academy (Shenzhen Qianhai)

Language: English + Chinese Simultaneous Interpretation

What You’ll Gain:

  • Insights into the latest AI trends
  • Practical tools to build a competitive business model
  • Hands-on workshops to refine your strategy
  • A certificate of completion

Tickets:

  • Standard: RMB 960
  • Student/Alumni: RMB 500

Register Now: https://hdxu.cn/jyle

Agenda Details for 1-Day Course:

9:00-9:30            Sign in

9:30-9:40            Opening Speech by HKU Representative

9:40-10:40          AI Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship

  • Hoffman explains how AI isn’t a business model. In order to build a successful AI company, you need to think beyond large language models. You must look at the fundamentals of your business, understand the barriers to entry, engage with customers, and develop unique value that no competitors can replicate.

10:40-11:00        Refreshment Break

11:00-12:00        AI Innovation and Digital Transformation

  • Hoffman lays out the process of AI transformation. If you have an existing business, how do you leverage AI to gain a competitive advantage? What is the process for establishing a clear AI strategy? What steps must you take to leverage your data so that AI can accelerate your growth and create value for your enterprise and customers?

12:00-13:30        Lunch

13:30-15:00        Silicon Valley AI Trends that Will Impact Your Business

  • Hoffman dives deep into the latest Silicon Valley AI trends and how they will impact your future. How will autonomous AI agents transform every business process? Can AI learn to reason like human beings? How will your employees work with AI in symbiotic relationships? And what are tools you can use today to accelerate your business?

15:00-15:20        Refreshment Break

15:20-16:50        Embodied AI and Humanoid Robots

  • In this talk, Hoffman shows how AI robots with sensors, mobility, and the ability to perceive and act in real environments are revolutionizing manufacturing, hospitality, agriculture, and other industries. These robots, capable of learning through interaction and experience, will transform how we live, work, and govern. No business will be unaffected as the next generation of highly intelligent robots enters the workforce.

16:50-17:30        Building a Billion-Dollar AI Enterprise (Workshop)

  • In the final part of the program, everyone will participate in a workshop designed to test and transform your business model so that it can scale in the age of artificial intelligence. What type of business models work? And what do you need to do to make sure your model outperforms competitors, locks in your customers, and sets your company on a growth trajectory?
  • Closing Remarks by Hoffman

Optional Pre-reading Materials: 

Entrepreneurship 

  • “Surviving a Startup” by Steven Hoffman 
  • “The Four Steps to The Epiphany” by Steve Blank 

Artificial Intelligence 

  • “The Five Forces that Change Everything” by Steven Hoffman 
  • “Human Compatible” by Stuart Russell 

Innovation  

  • “Make Elephants Fly” by Steven Hoffman 
  • “The Innovator’s Dilemma” by Clayton M. Christensen