On May 13, 2025, the fifth lecture of the "Six Lessons for Future Founders in the Greater Bay Area" series organized bycollegefacultyPan Yanping focused on "The Connectivity of Founders." The lecture aimed to deconstruct the role and strategic significance of "connectivity" in innovation and entrepreneurship through rich entrepreneurial and investment experiences.
The lecture invited Dr. Liu Zihao, Founding Managing Partner of The March Group (TMG) and a global technology investor, as the guest speaker. Dr. Liu is the youngest Doctor of Business Administration in the history of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and Singapore Management University (SMU). He previously served as CEO of China and Global Technology Projects at Horizons Ventures under the Li Ka Shing Foundation. At the age of 27, he became Chairman of Celsius, a U.S.-listed company, leading the enterprise to achieve a market capitalization exceeding 100 billion RMB. Later, he co-founded TMG with international partners including the Mars family, focusing on disruptive technology investments and collaborating with global leading institutions such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In his sharing, Dr. Liu defined "connectivity" as the ability to integrate people, resources, and information to achieve goals, emphasizing that "network is the new innovation"—it is not about having more connections, but about establishing high-quality trust relationships and information channels.
Dr. Liu used his 2015 investment in the functional beverage brand Celsius as a case study to illustrate how to connect and integrate information to identify overlooked market opportunities. At the time, the prevailing view was that "women do not like functional beverages," but through data analysis, he discovered the real issue was not with the "function" but the "taste"—the bitter taste of Red Bull was unpopular with women. He successfully opened the female market by focusing on fruity flavors, low calories, and cultural positioning, rapidly capturing market share and driving the company's stock price to rise several times over five years.
During the Q&A session, Dr. Liu proposed a "three-step approach" based on his own experience to address how young people new to society can build resource and relationship networks: first, actively explore by trying more internships to identify what they dislike and narrow down their choices; second, rationally focus on avoiding ineffective connections and concentrate on building high-quality networks; finally, enhance tool awareness by leveraging technology tools like databases and AI to systematically structure connections and accelerate information collection and management.
He concluded by quoting Elon Musk and the Gates Foundation, stating that true connectivity stems from "vision"—the essence of entrepreneurship is not to make money, but to solve problems and benefit humanity. The essence of connection is empathy: only by truly understanding users and markets can one establish effective connections and ignite the vitality of products and organizations.
Pan Yanping delivered a brief summary, noting that Dr. Liu's sharing was not only informative but also provided actionable insights subtly. She emphasized that the key to understanding industry and social trends lies in "putting people first," as the real "momentum" lies not in appearances but in human needs. She encouraged students to start with empathy, continuously expand their connectivity, and build their own "networks of trust and value" in future entrepreneurial practices. The lecture concluded with warm applause, lively discussions, and students expressing that they had gained a clear and profound understanding of the previously vague concept of "connectivity."
