Time: Saturday, March 8, 2008, 12:35 pm - 1:50 pm

Over the past decade, entrepreneurial opportunities in Asia have skyrocketed along with economic growth in China, rising consumer spending power, improved access to capital markets, higher Internet penetration, and increased global/regional trade. As a result, the region has seen a boom in entrepreneurial ventures and entrepreneurs capitalizing on these new market dynamics. Despite these positive developments, starting a business in Asia can be complicated by regulations, local business practices and cultural differences.

The Entrepreneurship Panel brings entrepreneurs and angel investors to tell their stories of how they identified opportunities in Asia and built their businesses there. They will address questions for those interested in starting a company or investing in Asia. How is the business environment changing and where do opportunities lie for entrepreneurs? What challenges can entrepreneurs expect to face in starting and managing their ventures? The panel discussion will lend unique insight into the relationships between investors and entrepreneurs through the actual investor/entrepreneur partnerships of the panelists. It will also provide the opportunity to hear from some of Asia's new generation of entrepreneurs.

A main objective of this panel is to help students explore their interests in pursuing entrepreneurial careers, especially in Asia. What is it like to be an entrepreneur? Can I really be an entrepreneur? What opportunities are available for me? What are the challenges for non-locals launching a business in Asia? Do I need a local partner? The panelists will share their perspectives on these questions. The panel will be of interest both to aspiring entrepreneurs and investors.

David Fisher

Founder and Chairman, Dynamic Architecture

Dr. Fisher started his career in Florence, Italy. Over the last three decades, he has been redefining the technological extremes of buildings in urban centres around the world. In the mid-eighties, Dr. Fisher launched Fiteco Ltd in New York, and became involved in the business of prefabrication and construction technologies as well as in the building and development of hotel projects. Dr. Fisher developed technologies such as the “Smart Bathroom by Leonardo da Vinci”, a pre-assembled bathroom system for luxury hotels and homes. After the success of this technology in Italy, requests came from Dubai, London, Moscow, Paris and Hong Kong.

Dr. Fisher cannot be considered an architect in the traditional sense. In his life he has made a 360-degree experience in the building world - from project development to construction management, from teacher to designer, with an all-around approach to architecture. His experiences have given him a vast know-how of the field and prepared him to revolutionise traditional building techniques with the architecture of the future. Dr. Fisher graduated with Honours from the Faculty of Architecture in Florence, where he later taught Architecture. He also received a PhD honoris causa from the Prodeo Institute at Columbia University in New York.

Jovan Hsu

Founding Partner, The Chinese Founders Fund/CFF Partners, Inc.

Dr. Jovan Hsu is an Assistant Professor teaching E-Commerce at Kun Shan University in Taiwan. He founded Chinbid.com (1999), which merged with Eachnet.com and was later acquired by eBay (2003). He also founded Jovan Ventures, a T.M.T.-dedicated angel investment firm, and Hsu Partners, a strategic global investment firm. Most recently, Jovan established The Chinese Founders Fund (CFF Partners, Inc.) to invest in startups and help entrepreneurs by utilizing his relationships with entrepreneurs around the world. Jovan's investments include some of the early startups in the areas of domain name services, C-C auction, online payment, search engine, digital publishing, mobile services in China as well as e-commerce in Taiwan, green technology in Vietnam, and high-tech companies in the US. In Jovan's book, entrepreneurs are the future of the world. Jovan chairs and serves on the boards of several companies in Asia and holds a Doctorate degree in Business Administration. He often shares and exchanges information as a guest speaker at universities across Asia.

Andy Lin

Founder and CEO, Fongtech Environmental Engineering Corp.

Dr. Andy Lin is the founder and President of Fongtech Environmental Engineering Corporation, a leading green infrastructure engineering firm in Vietnam. He founded Fongtech in 1999 and has worked on the development of environmental protection and green technology, including wind power and hydrogen fuel. Since 1996, he has pioneered efforts towards the development of the environmental protection industry in Vietnam. Dr. Lin is currently focused on promoting green engineering to other Southeast Asia countries. He received a B.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from the Taiwan National Chung Hsing University in 1981 and his M.S. & Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1986 and 1993 respectively.

Marine Ma (Ma Yun)

Founder and CEO, BabySpace Corp.

Mr. Marine Ma Yun is Founder and Chairman of BabySpace Corp., a web2.0 community for Chinese moms with 0-6 year-old children. The company launched in early 2007. BabySpace provides a new media channel for advertisers seeking access to China's 45 million 0-6 internet moms in the coming 5 years. Mr. Ma is also Co-Founder and CEO of eFriendsNet Entertainment Corp. eFriendsNet was founded in 2003 and has grown to become one of China's leading social networking and online dating companies. The company was a winner of the prestigious Red Herring Asia 100 in 2005, and turned profitable in only one year. Based on user-centric social networks, eFriendsNet provides applications such as dating, blog and WVAS over Internet and mobile Internet. Before co-founding eFriendsNet, Mr. Ma was Vice General Manager of the wireless division at NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES), a top-3 Internet portal in China with more than 100 million registered users. He was also the Co-Founder of FanSo, the first and largest Internet portal for Chinese college users. Mr. Ma obtained his BS degree from Tsinghua University in China, majoring in Telecommunications.

Hiro Mashita

Head of Venture Capital, Hikari Tsushin Inc.

Mr. Hiro Mashita is Head of Venture Capital and Business Development at Hikari Tsushin Inc., listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, First Section. Hikari Tsushin is one of Japan's leading IT/Mobile companies. Mr. Mashita is also CEO of Hikari Asset Management and Chairman of Hikari Private Equity, both fully-owned subsidiaries of Hikari Tsushin. In these roles, he has experienced hundreds of venture capital deals in Japan/Asia and in the US over the last eight years. From 2000 to 2001, he restructured Hikari Tsushin Group as the firm's CFO. Before joining Hikari Tsushin in 1999, Mr. Mashita worked in the Investment Banking Department of Nomura Securities NYC with responsibility for Securitization and Private Equity. He currently serves on the board of directors of several Hikari Tsushin and Hikari Private Equity portfolio companies, including Euglena, Miu-cosmetic, FishingVision, and Sonia Partners in Japan, as well as Yicha Online, Imotion, and 56.com in China. He received an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and a BA from Keio University in Japan.

Eric Werker (Moderator)

Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School

Eric Werker is an Assistant Professor in the Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. His research explores the complex relationship between developed and developing economies. Professor Werker has written on foreign aid, foreign investment, non-governmental organizations, outside financing of insurgency, AIDS, and refugees. His work has been featured in the Financial Times, Washington Post, BBC, NPR, and publications across the developing world. Before joining Harvard Business School, Professor Werker worked as an economist with the US Government's Millennium Challenge Corporation, analyzing foreign aid projects in Africa, Latin America, and Eurasia. He earned his Ph.D. and AB in economics from Harvard University.