Looking back on my career exploration so far, I’ve worked at a startup and experienced its culture and the uncertainty of the market firsthand, and I’ve also worked inside a corporate innovation unit, learning how large companies evaluate startups. Each of these experiences added a little more perspective. Before I left for Singapore, one question kept nagging at me: “Do I actually want to start a company?”

In Taiwan, we’re so used to following a pre-written script — graduate, find a stable full-time job, settle into a steady nine-to-five, and follow the path that’s already laid out. Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that. But some part of me still feels a little wistful about it.

Sometimes it’s not that we lack ideas — it’s that we lack the courage to take the leap. At least that’s true for me. I didn’t know what starting a company would actually cost me, or what I’d need to prepare myself for, mentally. Carrying that unresolved question with me, I spent this past summer in the Entrepreneurship Program jointly organized by NCCU’s CICII, ACE.sg, and SMU — 15 days in Singapore, hoping to see how people answer that question.

Facing the World: A Gap in How Big We Imagine the Market

My favorite part of this trip was talking face-to-face with local founders. Singapore, propped up by policy support and its own local culture, has drawn together a huge number of young, talented entrepreneurs. I loved hearing them tell their own stories — what problem they wanted to solve, how they broke it down, and how they got to where they are now. I loved the innovative spirit they carried with them, and the spark in their eyes. One thing that stood out compared to Taiwan: the word “overseas” came up in almost every conversation. These founders were acutely aware that Singapore’s domestic market simply isn’t big enough to support corporate ambition — every startup we encountered was targeting an international market from day one.

That stands in sharp contrast to Taiwan’s startup ecosystem (or at least the corner of it I know). Singaporeans can converse fluently in English (if anything, Mandarin is more likely to be the barrier — ha), which removes a layer of friction when pitching abroad. Taiwanese startups, by comparison, often get stuck at the “my English isn’t good enough” threshold, and are more likely to ask first whether the domestic market alone can sustain them.

Daring to Try: Where Innovation Begins

SMU built a course for us around the idea that you need to convince international investors from day one — covering the investor lens, IP and moats, business models, pitching, term sheets. What stayed with me wasn’t the content itself (fairly familiar as a student in tech management), but watching professors switch fluidly between the founder’s and the investor’s perspective.

The company visit that stuck with me most was The Gear, an innovation facility built by Kajima Corporation. The whole office is wired with IoT — sensors tracking temperature and humidity, employees wearing rings that track behavior — turning the building into a live testbed for startups. The Gear positions itself as an early customer, with a striking appetite for new technology (and risk). A construction company willing to turn its own office into a guinea pig — that kind of openness is rare in Taiwan’s corporate world.

(The Gear was honestly amazing. I loved it so much I kind of want to work there🤣)

Gateway to Southeast Asia: Singapore’s Place in the Ecosystem

I used to think Singapore’s appeal was just money. But what it really wants to be is Southeast Asia’s Gateway — a bridge into markets like Thailand or Vietnam, smoothing over language and culture gaps. That role is held up by academic institutions, private companies, and community spaces like Lorong AI, SCAPE, and LaunchPad@one-north, all working together.

At a LaunchPad@one-north community, I asked a co-founder what these events actually do for startups. She said: “Even in different fields, the challenges are often similar. Community is a channel for helping each other.” Looking back at Taiwan — do we have anything like that?

Back to Myself

So — did this trip help me figure out whether I want to start a company?

Honestly, I still don’t have a definitive answer. But I have, in some sense, been “awakened.” I want to look further into how far I can go, as a student. Maybe it won’t be a startup — maybe a side project is enough to test what I’m capable of (thank you, AI, for giving me the ability to actually build things).

I also got something unexpected: watching real multiculturalism in action, different backgrounds coexisting on the same small island. It made me a little braver, a little more willing to speak up in English. Fifteen days gave me a richer way of imagining my future — and myself.

Finally, my thanks again to NCCU’s CICII, to the Ministry of Education for its funding, to NCCU for being willing to cultivate entrepreneurs, and to all the friends I met in Singapore — for planting a seed of innovation in the mind of one still-uncertain student.