As part of the “Information Management Seminar” course led by Professor Jack Shih-Chieh Hsu of NSYSU’s Department of Information Management, a number of industry leaders are invited to share their insider knowledge in the industry and their life experiences. This time, the VIP guest lecturer was Rainmaking’s CEO Ken Chuang, who shared with students entrepreneur tricks of the trade, such as how venture capital firms evaluate new teams and how to get the attention of investors if you want to start a business.

CEO Chuang has a wide range of experience. Born in Singapore and having served as a pilot for Singapore Airlines, he eventually decided to “land” and come work in Taiwan. Rainmaking Innovation Taiwan was established in 2018. Its business scope includes industry accelerators, corporate strategy transformation, and venture capital. Rainmaking focuses on the development of four main areas: financial technology, smart cities, smart transportation, and smart manufacturing. In addition to providing capital to new venture teams, Rainmaking also provides a lot of marketing and customer support, which are invaluable resources. Just like CEO Chuang’s experience as a pilot, venture capital is many people’s dream, and his company leads people with dreams to fly higher and go farther.

After introducing Rainmaking, the CEO used the quote “If I have been able to see farther than others, it was because I stood on the shoulders of giants” as an introduction to the industry ecology. He explained that this “giant” can be anyone, even yourself, especially in this fast-changing generation, which requires a long-term perspective. Then, he turned to the impact of COVID-19 on the industrial ecology, such as digital transformation, flexibility, sustainability, and changes in business strategies. The second half of the presentation was mainly given from the perspective of venture capital companies. Mr. Chuang shared the key factors in the evaluation process to help make your company stand out from hundreds of others. In addition to product viability, development, market valuation, and growth needs, the personal characteristics of team members are also a key assessment. Good communication skills, persuasiveness, and determination can make you the winner among hundreds of start-up teams.

Mr. Chuang made the observation that many new start-up teams think of themselves as horses galloping in vast grassland towards investors, but in fact, it’s actually better to think of investorsas the falcons circling in the grassland. If you want to stand out among hundreds of companies, you need to do a good job of your own brand management, so that investors come to you, not you to investors. He also pointed out that the hardest part is not the process of finding capital, but the pressure of being responsible to investors once you have obtained the capital. At the end of the session, Mr. Chuang asked the students whether they wanted to go fast or far. He said, “One person can go fast; a group of people can go far.” However, there is no clear-cut good or bad choice. In the same way, whether students want to start a business with others or want to work for their dream company in the future, it is a personal decision worth exploring.

(Written by Yu-Yun Liu, second year MBA in Information Management student/Edited by the College of Management)