Entrepreneurship Seminar
YSEALI ACADEMY’S FLAGSHIP SEMINARS 2021
ENTREPRENEURSHIP SEMINAR CURRICULUM
Topic: Navigating the Startup Ecosystem
I. TIME AND VENUE
1.1 Time
- Seminar dates: November 29 – December 10, 2021 (two weeks, ten working days, Monday - Friday).
- Application opening: September 06. Application deadline: September 24, 2021.
- In 2021, the seminar will be conducted wholly in online mode (by the YSEALI Academy based in Fulbright University Vietnam located in Ho Chi Minh City).
1.2 Venue
In 2021, the seminar will be conducted wholly in online mode (by the YSEALI Academy based in Fulbright University Vietnam located in Ho Chi Minh City).
From 2022 onwards, the seminars, including field trips, will be organized in Vietnam.
II. PARTICIPANTS
About 35 YSEALI fellows who are young professionals between the ages of 25-40, highly qualified and motivated, from all 10 ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste.
Participants are required to commit at least 36 hours for online seminar activities and approximately 12 additional hours for individual and group assignments over a period of 2 weeks. Therefore, participants are highly recommended to take two fully committed weeks to participate productively in and achieve the most from the seminar.
III. OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOME
3.1 Objectives
Equip budding entrepreneurs of ASEAN member states and Timor Leste with the knowledge and confidence to build their own startups solving important societal problems.
Build a network with other Southeast Asian professionals for future collaboration in building startups.
3.2 Learning outcomes
Upon graduation, participants are expected to have a better understanding of what entrepreneurship means, who the stakeholders of a startup ecosystem are and what their role is, and how to build a startup from ideation, conceptualization, launch and growth. A key learning outcome will be the ability to work and effectively communicate in a diverse team during the hackathon.
IV. THEME AND TOPICS
4.1 Major theme – Navigating the Startup Ecosystem (for 2021)
“Navigating the startup ecosystem” is geared towards young professionals who plan to embark on their own entrepreneurial journey to change the world. This seminar will give YSEALI fellows an overview of how to navigate the startup ecosystem to bring their business ideas to life. The seminar will invite exciting entrepreneurs from all stages of the startup life cycle, investors, marketers and leadership coaches to inspire the fellows and share their learned lessons with them. The seminar will feature a Hackathon, where fellows will work in teams to present conceptual business solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of society. A panel of experienced entrepreneurs will mentor fellows during the Hackathon, which culminates in startup pitches and an award ceremony.
4.2 Seminar modules
Module 1: Introduction to Entrepreneurship
This section will give fellows an overview of the field of entrepreneurship. Fellows will learn about their different types of ventures, from small business to social enterprises, and their differentiating factors. Fellows will obtain an in-debt understanding of the stakeholders in the startup ecosystem and their roles. At the end of this module, fellows will be able to define what entrepreneurship means and what type of entrepreneur they are.
Module 2: Getting started - how to launch a successful startup
Building a startup is an uncertain endeavor. This module is designed to increase certainty by teaching fellows the following:
1. Ideation and opportunity analysis
2. Building the right team
Fellows will obtain an understanding of the importance of team composition when starting a venture. Fellows will learn from real-world examples what makes great, high-forming founding teams that set the foundation for future success.
3. Pitching & Prototyping
Fellows will learn how to pitch for different types of ventures through testing and iteration. Fellows will learn the components of a successful pitch, how to build a prototype of their product or service and how to use the lean startup method to test their ideas. This section will also provide the theoretical foundation for the hackathon part of the seminar.
4. Launching the startup
This module will teach fellows how to take their validated opportunity and build a minimal viable product (MVPs) for successful launch of their startup. Fellows will learn how to evaluate if their MVPs have true product-market- fit and how to pivot accordingly. Fellows will learn about the legal framework of their ventures, the importance of intellectual property to protect their ideas, and the role of external advisors, mentors, and professionals they need to give their ventures the best chance of success.
5. Branding & Marketing Strategy
Fellows will learn about major strategies modern start-ups use for digital marketing and when and how different media options can be utilized by a start-up. By the end of this module, fellows will be able to conceive digital marketing and PR strategies for their venture ideas.
6. Fundraising strategy, startup growth and exit strategies
Fellows will learn about different financing options and their advantages and disadvantages. The focus of this module will be on the importance of debt financing through venture capital. Fellows will develop an understanding of how to estimate the needed capital, calculate burn-rate and break-even points of their venture. Different exit strategies for startups will be presented in this module.
Module 3: Building your leadership capacities
This module will address the questions of what makes great leaders, how to build a thriving company culture and how to preserve innovative capacity in a startup. Fellows will learn from the first-hand experiences of coaches, entrepreneurs, and investors.
Module 4: Learned lessons from active entrepreneurs
Throughout the seminar, this module will provide inspirational insight from entrepreneurs of all stages of the startup cycle, from first-time founders to serial entrepreneurs with multiple exits. Sharing their stories of success and failure will provide personal context to fellows for their own entrepreneurial journey.
Module 5: Hackathon*
The hackathon is a key component of the seminar, which provides fellows the chance to work in teams and create conceptual business solutions for pressing societal needs. Teams of 3-5 will be formed between diverse individuals with respect to professional and national background. Supervised by a team of mentors (e.g., entrepreneurs and/or investors), fellows will put their learnings into practice and develop a pitch for their ideas for a final pitch competition and award ceremony.
*What is a Hackathon?
“Hackathon” is a portmanteau of the words “hack” and “marathon.” A “hack” is a solution to an existing problem that is developed by intense innovative teamwork in a short amount of time, also known as “hacking.” A hackathon is therefore a race to solve challenges against time. Hackathons are commonly associated with programming and computer science but, in our interdisciplinary hackathon, you and your teammates come from diverse backgrounds, and will work out conceptual business solutions to pain points in society. A Hackathon culminates in final pitches, where teams present their business concepts to a panel to receive invaluable feedback that will help turn their concepts into reality.
V. SEMINAR FORMAT AND STRUCTURE
5.1 Seminar format
As the 2021 seminar is conducted online without field trips, it will be delivered in diverse formats to maximize the engagement of participants, including faculty lectures, guest talk/presentation, panel discussion, team projects (discussed below) and class discussion. The seminar will consist of lectures, panel discussions, social events, supervised hackathon teamwork sessions and evening lectures.
5.2 Tentative Seminar Structure
There is a total of 23 sessions in two weeks (Monday – Friday), plus optional social activities, self-study, group work sessions, and lunch break for get-togethers.
・1 welcoming session and 1 closing session, including networking, award ceremony and concluding remarks
・9 sessions for Lectures (2 hours/session)
・2 sessions for Leadership Skills Workshop (2 hours/session)
・4 sessions for Panel Discussions (2 hours/session)
・6 sessions for Hackathons (2 hours/session)
・1 session for Pitch Competition (2 hours)
・Optional: 4 sessions for social activities, 3 sessions for self-study, 1 session for pitch competition preparation
SEMINAR STRUCTURE
Pre-Seminar Events
|
Date |
Time |
Event |
Note |
|
8 November |
19:00 – 20:45 |
Meet the Fellows Session |
Compulsory |
|
12 November |
19:30 – 20:45 |
Virtual Happy Hour |
Optional |
|
19 November |
19:00 – 20:30 |
Canvas Training and Logistics |
Compulsory |
|
26 November |
20:00 – 21:00 |
Trivia Night |
Optional |
|
Week 1 |
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Day 3 |
Day 4 |
Day 5 |
|
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM |
Plenary session & Keynote lecture
|
Lecture 2 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
11:30AM - 12:30PM |
Lunch break/get- together time |
Lunch break/get- together time |
Lunch break/get- together time
|
Lunch break/get- together time |
Lunch break/get- together time |
|
1PM – 3PM |
Free |
Panel discussion 1
|
Lecture 4 |
Lecture 6 |
Free |
|
3:30PM – 5:30PM |
Hackathon Introduction |
Hackathon |
Social activities host by volunteers
|
Free |
Hackathon |
|
6:00PM – 7:30PM |
Free |
Free |
Lecture 5 |
Panel discussion 2 |
*7:00PM – 8:00PM: Lecture 7 – Distinguished Lecture
|
|
8:00PM – 9:30PM |
*8:00PM - 10:30PM: Lecture 1 |
*8:00PM - 10:30PM: |
Free |
*8:00PM – 9:30PM:
|
Free |
|
Week 2 |
Day 6 |
Day 7 |
Day 8 |
Day 9 |
Day 10 |
|
9:30 AM –11:30 AM |
Social activities – Cultural Day 1
|
Social activities – Cultural Day 2 |
Self-study (Optional) |
Free |
Pitch competition | Demo Day – Part 1 |
|
11:30AM - 12:30PM |
Lunch break & get- together time
|
Lunch break & get-together time |
Lunch break & get- together time |
Lunch break & get- together time |
Lunch break |
|
1PM – 3PM |
Panel discussion 3 |
Self-study (Optional)
|
Panel discussion 4 |
Self-study (Optional) |
Pitch competition | Demo Day – Part 2 |
|
3:30PM – 5:30PM |
Hackathon |
Hackathon |
Hackathon |
Hackathon |
*4:00PM – 5:00PM: Award ceremony and concluding remarks
|
|
6:00PM – 7:30PM |
Lecture 8 |
Free |
*6:00PM – 8:00PM: |
Virtual Fire Camp (Optional) |
*5:00PM – 6:00PM: Networking activities with YSEALI Coordinators [Optional]
|
|
8:00PM – 9:30PM |
Free |
Leadership Skill Workshop #2
|
Free |
Free |
Free |
__________________________
1 Hanoi/Bangkok time (UTC +7)
VI. SEMINAR AGENDA
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 1 Monday, 29 November
|
9:30 – 11:00 |
Welcome Ceremony Introduction of YSEALI Academy Keynote Lecture |
Honorary Speaker: Christopher Ashe, Senior Commercial & Economic Advisor in the Office of Commercial and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State Keynote Speaker: Mariko Braswell, Co- founder & CEO, Move 78 Dam Bich Thuy, President of FUV Le Vu Quan, Director, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam YSEALI Academy Fellow Representative Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuy Trang, Program Manager, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Free |
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Hackathon Module 1: Why Startups Module 2: Team Formation Module 3: Problem - Teams would select 1 of the 3 provided challenge statements. - Teams are to drill down which part(s) of the user journey of the problem they would like to focus on. - Teams will research on existing solutions.
Module 4: Solution - Teams will identify a solution that is structured, repeatable and scalable.
|
Facilitators: Team Reactor School Khairul Rusydi Joshua Okpata Lee Yi Wen Kongvong Seihsothy Chanika Pudhom Moderator: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Co-Designer, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
18:00 – 19:30 |
Free |
|
|
|
20:00 – 22:30 |
Lecture 1: Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship #1 |
Paul Cheek Entrepreneur in Residence, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management (U.S.)
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 2 Tuesday, 30 November
|
9:30 – 11:30 |
Lecture 2: Entrepreneurship in Education |
Tu Ngo Partner, Touchstone Partners
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Panel Discussion 1: Investors Roundtable |
Retno Dewati, Principal, Access Ventures LLC Khanh Tran, Touchstone Partners Justin Nguyen, Monk’s Hill Ventures
Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Spencer Ton, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Hackathon 1st Meeting with Startup Relationship Manager (RM) - 30 Minutes per Team -Teams will present their Problem slide to their RMs, who will help them refine it. Problems should be big, painful, often. -Teams should clearly identify who is the target user, customer and/or beneficiary |
Facilitators: Team Reactor School Joshua Okpata Lee Yi Wen Kongvong Seihsothy Chanika Pudhom Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
18:00 – 19:30 |
Free |
|
|
|
20:00 – 22:30 |
Lecture 3: Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship #2 |
Paul Cheek Entrepreneur in Residence, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management (U.S.)
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 3 Wednesday, 1 December
|
9:30 – 11:30 |
Free |
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Lecture 4: Marketing Strategies in Southeast Asia Context |
Willem Smit Assistant Professor of Marketing, Asia School of Business International Faculty Fellow, MIT Sloan
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Social activities host by volunteers |
Facilitators: YSEALI Academy’s Volunteers Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
18:00 – 19:30 |
Lecture 5: Food Entrepreneurship – Clean meat |
Sandhya Sriram
Moderator: Le Vu Quan, Director, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
20:00 – 21:30 |
Free |
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 4 Thursday, 2 December
|
9:30 – 11:30 |
Free |
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Free |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Lecture 6: Social Entrepreneurship – Clean Cooking & Organic Fertilizer
|
Ben Jeffreys
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Free |
|
|
|
*18:00 – 20:00 |
Panel discussion 2: Social Entrepreneurship |
Ben Jeffreys Mohamed Tarek-El-Fattatry
Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
20:00 – 21:30 |
Leadership Skill Workshop #1 |
Professor Christopher A. Kojm Director of the Elliott School of International Affairs’ Leadership, Ethics and Practice Initiative The George Washington University (U.S.) Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 5 Friday, 3 December
|
9:30 – 11:30 |
Free |
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Free |
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Hackathon Module 5: Validation -Teams will design and execute a validation plan over the next 3 days to test their hypotheses. Module 6: Prototyping for Non- Technical Founders Teams will build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) using low code and no-code tools. |
Facilitators: Team Reactor School Joshua Okpata Lee Yi Wen Kongvong Seihsothy Chanika Pudhom Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam |
|
|
*19:00 – 20:00 |
Lecture 7 – Distinguished Lecture (Public Lecture) |
Professor Muhammad Yunus Nobel Laureate – Nobel Peace Prize Founder of Grameen Bank Social Entrepreneur
Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
20:00 – 21:30 |
Free |
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 6 Monday, 6 December
|
9:30 – 11:30 |
Social activities: Cultural Day #1 |
Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Panel Discussion 3: Health |
Audrey Herli, CEO, Riliv Peter Nguyen, BuyMed Jay Fajardi, Medifi
Moderator: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Hackathon 2nd Meeting with Startup Relationship Manager (RM) -30 Minutes per Team
-Teams to present the findings of their experiments to their RMs, who will them help them to interpret the data and plan for next steps. |
Facilitators: Team Reactor School Joshua Okpata Lee Yi Wen Kongvong Seihsothy Chanika Pudhom Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
18:00 – 19:30 |
Lecture 8: Tales from Biotech Entrepreneurship: Harnessing Human Diversity for Better Health |
Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
20:00 – 21:30 |
Free |
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 7 Tuesday, 7 December |
9:30 – 11:30 |
Social activities: Cultural Day #2 |
Moderators:
Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Self-study [Optional] |
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Hackathon Module 7: Impact Startup Business Models Teams will use the Social Value Toolkit to plot and measure their intended social impact. Teams will clearly identify, a user, a customer and/or beneficiary for their impact startup. |
Facilitators: Team Reactor School Joshua Okpata Lee Yi Wen Kongvong Seihsothy Chanika Pudhom
Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
18:00 – 19:30 |
Free |
|
|
|
20:00 – 21:30 |
Leadership Skill Workshop #2 |
Axelle Bagot Harvard Graduate School of Education and Leadership Lab International
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 8 Wednesday, 8 December
|
9:30 – 11:30 |
Self-study [Optional] |
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Panel Discussion 4: Food and Beverage
|
Jimmy Pham, Founder, KOTO Moderators: Le Vu Quan, Director, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Spencer Ton, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Hackathon 3rd Meeting with Startup Relationship Manager (RM) -30 Minutes per Team -RMs will check Business Model slide for financial sustainability. -RMs will check pitch deck for completeness and accuracy. |
Facilitators: Team Reactor School Joshua Okpata Lee Yi Wen Kongvong Seihsothy Chanika Pudhom Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
18:00 – 19:30 |
Lecture 9: Entrepreneurial Finance |
Professor Marco Da Rin Associate Professor of Finance Tilberg University
|
|
|
20:00 – 21:30 |
Free |
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 9 Thursday, 9 December
|
9:30 – 11:30 |
Free |
|
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Self-study [Optional] |
|
|
|
15:30 – 17:30 |
Hackathon Mock Pitch with Startup Relationship Manager (RM) -30 Minutes per Team -Mock pitch with RMs. -Submit Pitch Deck & Recording. |
Facilitators: Team Reactor School Joshua Okpata Lee Yi Wen Kongvong Seihsothy Chanika Pudhom
Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam |
|
|
18:00 – 19:30 |
Virtual Fire Camp |
Moderators: Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam |
|
|
20:00 – 21:30 |
Free |
|
|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
Speaker/Host |
|
Day 10 Friday, 10 December
|
9:30 – 11:30 |
Pitch Competition | Demo Day |
Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Spencer Ton, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Fulbright University Vietnam Duc Dang, Block71 Thang Huynh, InnoLab Asia Team Reactor School |
|
11:30 – 12:30 |
Lunch Break |
|
|
|
13:00 – 15:00 |
Pitch Competition | Demo Day |
Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Spencer Ton, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Fulbright University Vietnam Team Reactor School |
|
|
16:00 – 17:00 |
Award Ceremony and Concluding Remarks |
Heather Variava, the Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim, U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines Dam Bich Thuy, President of Fulbright University Vietnam Le Vu Quan, Director, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Hoang Ha Thi, Lead Faculty for Entrepreneurship, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Co-Designer, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam YSEALI Academy Fellow
Moderator: Tran Thi Thuy Trang, Program Manager, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam
|
|
|
17:00 – 18:00 |
Networking Session with YSEALI Coordinators
|
Tran Thi Thuc Huyen, Program Officer, YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University Vietnam |
|
- 30 Minutes per Team |
|
-Teams will present their Problem slide to their RMs, who will help them refine it. Problems should be big, painful, often. |
|
|
|
-Teams should clearly identify who is the target user, customer and/or beneficiary |