Distinguished President, Prof. Zhong, Honorable leaders and teachers, Dear students,

First of all, congratulations to all graduates of 2018.

Today, it’s a great honor for me to be back in Tianjin University to share this joyful moment with all of you. I graduated from Tianjin University School of Materials Science and Engineering in 2010, and the four years in Tianjin University were the most fulfilling and beautiful memory in my life. Eight years ago, just like you, while I was busy preparing for graduation, I watched FIFA World Cup with my classmates. With excitement and curiosity about the unknown world, we began a new journey.

In the years after graduation, my personal growth and career development have benefited greatly from the education I received from Tianjin University, for which I am so grateful. It’s a big surprise and great honor for me to share my experience with you at the TJU graduation ceremony because we are of the same generation. I’d like to share the choices and thoughts that I have experienced in the past a few years, hoping to give you some inspiration. Let us encourage each other in our endeavors.            

Firstly, get out of your comfort zone and improve yourself.

After graduation in 2010, I went to Silicon Valley and studied at Stanford University. With numerous opportunities, Silicon Valley also changes rapidly. Everyone is trying to seize the opportunity, but those people who are willing to get out of the comfort zone, take risks and improve themselves are more likely to seize the opportunities.

It was the first time for me to get out of my comfort zone that changed me from being a researcher into becoming an entrepreneur.

While studying at Stanford University, I founded my first company based on the achievements of my previous research. I’m familiar and comfortable with research, and I also benefited from a lot of good resources in the Dean’s lab. However, when I became an entrepreneur, I faced the problem of technology commercialization and others questioned my ability in the early days just because I was a young Chinese woman. Once I met a renowned leader of the industry and he asked me about my age. Having heard my answer, he asked me provocatively: “You are just over twenty years old while I have worked in the area for more than 20 years, so why should I adopt your suggestion?” To be honest, at that time, the transformation was subject to various attacks and challenges, but I was determined to succeed. Therefore, our team worked day and night. After negotiation with leaders of medical companies and making bargains with insurance companies, I forced myself to quickly study the industry and grow rapidly. Then the company was successful and many people who had questioned me have become my close business partners.

Then, I walked out of the comfort zone for the second time, transforming from an entrepreneur to an investor.

After selling the first company, I seriously thought about what I wanted to do next and I briefly entered the industry to explore. My goal was to become a T-type talent with both depth and breadth. Research and entrepreneurship have accumulated depth, so I began to consider how to expand our breadth. In the process of starting a business, through various venture capital institutions, I have seen that good venture capital (VC) is just like the catalyst in a chemical laboratory. You can promote innovation-driven development in every sector with capital and also I could cooperate with the best entrepreneurs of the technology industries to achieve self-improvement. However, the investment industry was a new beginning. After a few months consideration, I joined a large fund company as a partner to give myself new challenges. With a deeper understanding of the industry, I founded my own venture capital fund in 2015, focusing on technology and medical investment. The average age of partners in the Silicon Valley venture capital industry is 46 years old and all big fund companies were founded by the Americans. As a young Chinese, it was very difficult to get started. As science and technology innovation changes with each passing day, as an investor, it was urgent for me to learn and grow faster and to see the opportunities and trends of the industry earlier and more deeply. Although the pressure of self-improvement is greater, I’m full of energy because I enjoy learning new knowledge every day of my life.

 In the past few years, I have changed from being an engineering student, to a business woman, then to becoming an investor. At each change, I got out of my comfort zone to meet the new challenges after finding my feet. I have experienced confusion in this process, but every move is a new self-actualization and I have become stronger with new opportunities.

Therefore, in such a fast-changing era, we must be brave enough to take risks, step out of our own comfort zone, constantly set new goals and cope with new challenges.Only in this way can we remain alert to change with the times and advance toward the goal.

Secondly, think independently and remain introspective.

Our generation lives in information explosion era. The world generates a lot of information every day, so young people feel anxious and confused about various choices and every temptation. I also had such experiences. With my development in these years, I found that the reasons why I could seize some real opportunities and avoid some traps are my strong self-awareness, independent thinking and self-examination. Independent thinking allows me to follow my heart and set right goals while introspection keeps me humble. Therefore, I can reasonably look at my strengths, shortcomings, and past decisions, steadily moving in one direction.

At the beginning of my investment, the startups mostly focused on model innovations. After carefully analyzing the innovation trends and industry upgrades when I chose a investment direction, I found the industry's demand for new technological innovation and technology commercialization, so I focused on technology and healthcare from the beginning. In the early days, few companies focused on technology and healthcare. However, after several years of development, technological innovation and medical treatment became hot areas in 2017. As an early fund in this field, the firms with our capital have grown rapidly into industry leaders. These sectors with few investors were questioned by many people in 2015 and we have made great efforts to support it. It was also the case of doing research and doing business. The choice of a path that few people take needs firm conviction, which comes from a clear understanding of yourself and the future.

Independent thinking and introspection not only have brought me successful investments, but also allowed me to find partners with the same goal and gather top entrepreneurs, investors and academicians together to establish a truly high-quality team.

In this era, the wave of innovation is always accompanied by endless hotspots. Surrounded by massive amounts of information, we must be able to discard the false and retain the true and avoid absorbing superficial information. With the principle of seeking truth from facts, we need to select real trends among numerous hot events and follow our hearts to find the right direction.

We feel lonely when thinking independently and the thinking result often points us onto a difficult path. However, with firm convition, we can bear this loneliness, and work hard towards our goals. As a saying goes, the more confidence for the future, the more patience for the moment. There is enough time for young people to grow, so be patient and don’t be disturbed by useless information. Be patient with the moment and be confident about the future.

Thirdly, be a change maker to create influence.

We are fortunate to be in an era of change when technology is approaching the turning point and affecting social development on a large scale. The development of science and technology also creates more opportunities for everyone to become an influencer. Charlie Munger said that the best way to get a good thing is to let yourself be worthy of it. Then, the best way to get a better world is to work hard and then create it by yourself. Don't wait for someone else to change the world for you, you can and should do it yourself.

I am still exploring this road myself. I am also constantly motivated by the people around me, and even the companies I invested in have given me more enthusiasm and motivation to work hard to create positive influences and change the world. Their focus includes new early-stage cancer screenings, nanoscale robots for assistance in the treatment of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and brain-machine interconnection technology to create future superhumans. Some do research on industrial robots to transform industrial production efficiency while some rocket companies focus on low-orbit satellite launches, so that we can be closer to space. The famous words of Silicon Valley are, change the world while creating wealth, but the most importantly, change the world. These are the words that inspire all of us to work hard.

Earlier this year, I was elected to be a member of the Young Global Leaders of the 2018 World Economic Forum. Every year, they select 100 business leaders under 40 years old from all over the world to gather together to discuss how to solve the three problems that are poverty, food shortages and disease. In this community, I have met more influencers and change makers who are scientists, artists and philanthropists from different industries, each of whom creates positive influence and value in their own industry. I’m also motivated to explore how to better achieve changes with technology.

I also hope that each of you will become an influencer and change maker regardless of your career and position. You may think that many people are changing the world, but they don't. You can change the world by yourself. No one knows how to do it from the beginning, but it doesn't matter. As long as there are lofty ideals, social responsibility and a sense of mission, there will always be opportunities for you to influence others and the society in your personal growth. And you will have a clear goal finally.

I still remember a saying of Tianjin University: TJU students must do great things. My understanding is that we must have a sense of mission in our work. The Silicon Valley saying has a similar meaning: Change the world while creating wealth, but the most important thing is to change the world.

Let us encourage each other in our endeavors. Thank you!