UIBE MBA Students and Faculty Visit Tech Startup Hercules Micro

To enhance MBA students' technological literacy, on the afternoon of November 29, 2024, faculty and students from the Business School of UIBE visited Hercules Microelectronics (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hercules Micro"), a growth-stage technology startup, for a mobile classroom practical teaching session. Professor Wang Tiedong, Party Secretary of the Business School, Mr. Ma Jianping, MBA校外导师/实践教授 of the Business School and Managing Partner of Qihang Investment under Zhongguancun Development Group, Mr. Wang Haili, Founder of Hercules Micro, Mr. Liu Cheng and Ms. Li Ye from the MBA Center of the Business School, along with nearly 30 MBA students, jointly participated in this event.

Hercules Micro is one of the earlier domestic enterprises to enter independent R&D, scale production, and volume sales of general-purpose FPGA chips and next-generation heterogeneous programmable computing chips. It has been recognized as a Beijing "Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative" enterprise and a Beijing "Little Giant" enterprise.

This mobile classroom is a practical teaching component of the international MBA course "From 0 to 1: New Venture Creation." The course is offered by Mr. Ma Jianping, MBA校外导师/实践教授, Managing Partner of Qihang Investment under Zhongguancun Development Group, and General Manager of Zhongguancun Xinchuang Fund. Hercules Micro is one of the projects invested by Qihang Investment Company under Zhongguancun Development Group, where Mr. Ma works. In this session, Mr. Ma Jianping and Mr. Wang Haili, Founder of Hercules Micro, jointly taught the class, sharing many unique insights with MBA students from the perspectives of investor and founder respectively. During the session, Mr. Ma Jianping emphasized that "the way to solve the chip bottleneck is independent controllability and import substitution, and the fundamental solution is original innovation, moving toward the source of living water." As a hardcore technology enterprise, Hercules Micro is precisely a highly representative and inspiring company.

At the beginning of the course, Mr. Ma centered on "Rong De" (Integrating Virtue). Combining actual company cases, through unique perspectives and divergent guidance methods, he explained his core teaching framework—the "Five Rong" strategy—in an accessible manner. At the same time, Mr. Ma elaborated on the difficulties and potential problems commonly encountered at each stage of a startup based on the company's entrepreneurial stages. The content progressed layer by layer, from "who should be the founder" and "how to lead a team" to "developing culture," and further to ecosystem and various chain operation methods, strategic positioning, and more. Drawing on years of practical experience, Mr. Ma continuously inspired students to think about questions such as "What do you want to do in the future? How to do it? What is真正的创业?" during his explanations. The core of these questions all guide MBA students to grasp an entrepreneurial mindset, that is, "solving real problems and truly solving problems."

Next, Mr. Wang Haili, in the capacity of an entrepreneur, explained to the students from a professional perspective the development overview of the chip industry and the entrepreneurial journey of Hercules Micro. After establishing a basic understanding and certain knowledge of the semiconductor industry, Mr. Wang shared with MBA faculty and students the valuable journey of the company from its founding, through growth, to gradually maturing. Mr. Wang focused on the many volatile factors faced by technology startups, including topics such as technical difficulties, product positioning, market layout, and technological breakthroughs, and shared his personal entrepreneurial philosophy with the students.

During the Q&A session, MBA students asked questions from the perspectives of investment practice and entrepreneurial hardships respectively, engaging in in-depth exchanges with Mr. Wang. Through the exchange, Mr. Wang further shared with everyone the "dark" trough periods of entrepreneurship and the various setbacks experienced. The students truly felt that the company's current prosperity has not come easily—both the founder and the founding team went through all kinds of trials in the initial stage, and the hardships involved are difficult for ordinary people to imagine. But these trials ultimately brought about the shared growth of the company and its employees. Mr. Wang said that looking back on these experiences, he has benefited greatly from all of them. It is precisely because of the mindset of actively facing difficulties and withstanding pressure back then, as well as that persistent pursuit of the chip cause, that today there is a business to which hundreds of employees are dedicated.

At the end of the course, Professor Wang Tiedong, Party Secretary of the Business School, delivered a concluding speech. Secretary Wang repeatedly mentioned that the teaching content of this mobile classroom was extremely valuable, and the three-hour course benefited both faculty and students greatly. Secretary Wang further emphasized the significance of "going out" to experience practical teaching. Finally, Secretary Wang encouraged MBA students to bravely move forward, establish the belief of never giving up easily, and that success will eventually come in the future—everything is hopeful.