Silicon Valley has long been a trailblazer in innovation and entrepreneurship, with many of the world’s most successful companies emerging from this corner of California over the few past decades.

To learn more about these giants, and also to explore how the region continues to nurture start-ups, the Chamber’s Young Executives Club (YEC) partnered with HKU SPACE Executive Academy (SEA) to co-organize an Executive Study Tour to San Francisco.

Members from a range of industries joined the six-day programme from 19-24 August, which included business lectures, company visits and networking. This exclusive mission gave the participants the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the latest innovations and technology transformations in Silicon Valley. 

Executive learning
Strategic thinking and design thinking can help business leaders find practical and creative solutions to problems and drive future growth. These concepts were covered in two executive entrepreneurship workshops delivered during the tour.
 
Professor Edison Tse, Director of the Asia Center of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, gave a lecture on “Traditional Enterprise Innovative Transformation.” This is an important topic for Hong Kong’s many SMEs in traditional sectors that are facing a rapidly changing business environment.

“At Stanford we learned about the different levels of innovation, from incremental innovation to disruptive innovation,” said Matthew Man, President and CEO of Megasoft. 

The lecture also covered the innovation ecosystem in the Chinese Mainland, and how many homegrown companies had evolved from being “copycats” to becoming unicorns at home and to be listed overseas, Man said.

Delegates also attended the “Design Thinking @ Silicon Valley Model” workshop by John Stoddard at the INSEEC Business School. Stoddard discussed the design thinking methodology, which applies strategies from the design world to wider use in business.

“We learned about the processes, pros and cons of design thinking through a number of examples from different industries,” Man said. 

Participants also reported that these lectures had helped them learn more about the importance of customer journey mapping, and inspired them with some creative ideas on business development.

Visiting global giants
The visitors enjoyed a number of corporate visits including some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley.
 
Terrence Annamunthodo, Managing Director of Perpetuum Wealth Management, said that the trip had been a great opportunity to visit some of the world’s leading technology companies.
 
“There was much to learn from the way they organize their working spaces among other things,” he said. “We were able to see the places and meet some of the players in the world’s best technology ecosystem. We came to appreciate how far behind Hong Kong is and how much work will have to be done if it is to have any chance of participating in this sector.”

Google’s Business Development Lead, Cindy Gao, gave a presentation about the company’s work culture when the delegation visited the company’s headquarters. She also discussed its recruitment and selection process, and how Google manages the development of different projects. 

At Airbnb, Software Engineer Callie Callaway gave members a tour of the company’s headquarters. The offices operate on a 24/7 basis, Callaway explained, and have a strong emphasis on sustainability, space and creativity. 

Annamunthodo said that the Airbnb office was his favourite. “It was well designed with many different angles and textures,” he said. “The employee cafe was also part of the theme of the office. There were many different themed rooms and spaces for staff meetings.”

Tesla offered members a tour of their manufacturing plant in Fremont, which is currently manufacturing the company’s Model X and Model S. After the factory visit, Zhang Wei Long, Senior Product Engineer, gave an overview of the technology and design of Tesla’s electric cars. 

The packed schedule also included a visit to the headquarters of Intel.

All of these tech giants are well known for their impressive offices and work environments, and the delegation enjoyed getting a peek behind the scenes of these companies. They reported that the visits helped them to really understand the unique workplace environment that has shaped and driven the innovation that has emerged from Silicon Valley in recent years. 

“Their offices are amazing,” Man said. “They are very unique in their own right, and compete with each other for better working environment and to showcase their innovative cultures.”

Of course, California has the luxury of space when it comes to building large and impressive offices. “Land is too expensive in Hong Kong for any individual building as an icon or a symbol of the company,” Man said.

Annamunthodo agreed, pointing out that even though rents are rising in San Francisco, they are still nowhere close to Hong Kong levels. 

“So it would be difficult for Hong Kong to have such offices,” he said. “But, there seemed to be a greater focus on employee satisfaction than we have in Hong Kong.”

Start-up ecosystem
Besides visiting some of the biggest names, the delegation also had the opportunity to explore Silicon Valley’s start-up and innovation ecosystem.

The Plug and Play Tech Centre is an innovation platform that brings start-ups and large corporations together, and is one of the biggest accelerators globally. Shawn Dehpanah, Vice President, Partnership and Corporate Innovation for APAC, introduced the company’s role as an incubator and accelerator. Plug and Play has seen significant success with companies it has invested in, including Dropbox and PayPal. Members said they were inspired by these stories and by the different innovative business ideas and marketing strategies that have successfully evolved.

Members also visited an Asia-focused incubation hub, One Piece. Gao Da Fu, Head of Community, shared his thoughts on the opportunities for start-ups in the Asia market, and explained how One Piece can assist. Two pitches were presented to members by start-ups currently based at One Piece – Internet of Things platform Nodle, and Plickers, which creates teaching tools. Members also discussed with One Piece staff and resident start-ups about how they see their own companies in Hong Kong developing in the future.  
 
Bonnie Lai, Director of Business Development and Administration at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, noted that such incubation facilities have an important role to play in encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.

“I think Hong Kong business people tend to ‘miss’ the incubation part of how Silicon Valley VCs think,” she said. “They seem to forget that start-up companies need solid guidance and business knowledge during the incubation period – which help start-ups to succeed. That’s where Plug & Play’s role is critical to the success of any start-up companies they take on. They teach and nurture.”

Culture clash
The participants on the tour said that Hong Kong has a great deal to learn from the success of Silicon Valley, and in particular noted the tremendous difference in workplace culture.

Annamunthodo said that he fears Hong Kong could struggle to catch up with Silicon Valley.

“There is a completely different culture there,” he said. “Even when they are exporting their business models for incubating start-ups, they exclude Hong Kong, because they see Hong Kong as being only interested in property.”

Lai agreed on this difference in attitude, and said that the company visits were real eye-openers. She noted that the success of large family-run corporates in Hong Kong can make things difficult for innovative start-ups, as it is harder for them to see the “light at the end of the tunnel.” 

“People feel discouraged to be innovative because they don't see a positive outlet,” she said, adding that there is also a lack of funding available for start-ups.

“We are a long way from providing a good environment and culture for tech and innovative firms, especially younger locally grown firms.”  

But Man from Megasoft said that Hong Kong can forge its own path as it aims to become more innovative and entrepreneurial.
“We need more VCs and big capital investments in Hong Kong,” he said. "We cannot copy the same formula from Silicon Valley or from Mainland China, we must build our own ecosystem and build the home success in Hong Kong – leveraging the resources in China and the global network outside Hong Kong.”

Beyond business
In addition to the company visits and lectures, members visited some of San Francisco’s tourist spots including the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf and the Civic Center. They also took a short trip to visit Napa Valley for a wine-tasting session at St Supery Vineyard and Winery followed by lunch at the Brix Restaurant and Garden.

Elsa Wong, YEC Vice-Chairman, said that overall, the programme had been comprehensive and fruitful, and had given her a better understanding of the innovative sector and how these companies have successfully driven business growth. 

Members also reported that they had learned how leaders can evolve amid the current digital transformation, and how companies should encourage disruptive innovation.

The Chamber would like to thank SEA for the joint effort in putting the programme together, as well as the support by Any Tour Enterprises Limited and the other companies that contributed to make this first ever YEC Executive Tour a huge success.