Venturing into Entrepreneurship: A Reflection on ET5131

Before ET5131, my understanding of entrepreneurship was limited to a stereotypical image: a founder with a brilliant idea, some coding skills, and a dream of building the next unicorn. Five days with Prof. Lerwen Liu and her ecosystem of collaborators have fundamentally reshaped how I think about creating value in the world.

Mindset Shift: From Builder to Problem-Solver

Coming into this module, I approached problems like an engineer: find a solution, build it, ship it. My team's project, OneStop, exemplifies this initial mindset. We built an AI-powered campus assistant for NTU students that consolidates academic schedules, facility information, food outlets, and hall life into a single platform with a chatbot interface. Technically, it works. We used Django and React, integrated OpenAI for natural language queries, and connected to OneMap for navigation. You can view the executive summary of our project here: https://executive-summary-seven.vercel.app

This shift from "what can I build?" to "what problem am I solving?" seems obvious in hindsight, but it's a genuine transformation in how I now approach any project. The entrepreneurial mindset isn't about having the best technology; it's about deeply understanding the human problem you're addressing.

Knowledge Gained: The Ecosystem Perspective

One of the most valuable takeaways was understanding entrepreneurship as an ecosystem, not a solo journey. Prof. Liu's network of collaborators (investors, fellow founders, industry experts) demonstrated that building a venture requires orchestrating relationships, not just writing code.

The module also highlighted environmental and societal considerations that I'd previously overlooked. Technology doesn't exist in a vacuum; it operates within regulatory frameworks, cultural contexts, and environmental constraints. A campus app seems harmless, but even small-scale products have implications for data privacy and digital wellbeing.

Skills Developed: Communication

Perhaps the most unexpected growth was in communication. As a Computer Science student, I'm comfortable explaining technical concepts to other engineers. But pitching OneStop to non-technical stakeholders, articulating the value proposition without hiding behind jargon, was a different challenge entirely. Learning to tell a compelling story about why our solution matters, not just how it works, is a skill I'll carry forward.

Learning Journey: BugBoom and Vidacity

As part of this module, our team also visited two organizations that left a lasting impression. We documented our reflections in a separate piece titled "Dear Future Founder," which you can read here: https://dear-future-founder.vercel.app

Visiting BugBoom, a sustainability startup using black soldier fly larvae to transform food waste into fertilizer and animal feed, showed me that entrepreneurship can be deeply mission-driven. The founders weren't chasing the next big exit; they were solving a problem they genuinely cared about. At Vidacity, we learned about the importance of entrepreneurial ecosystems and support systems. Successful founders don't work in isolation; they leverage networks of mentors, investors, and fellow entrepreneurs.

Looking Forward

ET5131 hasn't made me certain I want to be a founder. But it has equipped me with frameworks for thinking about value creation that will serve me whether I join a startup, work at a large company, or pursue research. The entrepreneurial mindset (empathy for users, comfort with uncertainty, and relentless focus on the problem) is valuable far beyond the startup world.

Thank you to Prof. Lerwen Liu and all the guest speakers who shared their experiences. The stories of both successes and failures were equally instructive, reminding me that entrepreneurship is less about avoiding mistakes and more about learning from them quickly.