Upon our arrival at the San Francisco airport and on our way to Santa Clara, Ms. Jinkyoung Kim gave a quick briefing about the overall GESS program in Silicon Valley. The schedule seemed incredibly busy, with the shuttle bus picking us up at 8 a.m. and activities running late into the evening. However, Ms. Jinkyoung encouraged us to have plenty of energy, emphasizing that this was our “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” I particularly liked that phrase.

I truly believe that GESS 2024 was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” It was a unique experience meeting successful CEOs and entrepreneurs, hearing their business advice firsthand, and visiting some of the most innovative companies in the world, such as NVIDIA and Meta. We had a campus tour at Stanford, and the CEOs of ImpriMed and B Garage shared insights into their world-changing businesses. One highlight was meeting one of the most successful CEOs in the U.S., Hock Tan, and asking him questions about his life, career, and future vision. We also received private mentoring sessions from renowned Silicon Valley business coaches, and ultimately pitched our team’s business plan to actual Silicon Valley VCs, receiving invaluable feedback and learning from their advice. As a little kid, I could only dream of these experiences.

Silicon Valley proved to be an exceptional place where talent, hard work, and a bit of luck fuse to give rise to the world’s most ingenious ideas and daring projects. As engineers from KAIST, we are used to thinking rationally and finding the best solutions. However, the world of business operates on a different set of principles. There is no right or wrong, black or white. Your product might be the best solution for a problem, but if it doesn’t meet market demand, it will eventually fail. In Silicon Valley's competitive environment, time pressure is also crucial, making CEOs navigate investors' expectations, clients' desires, team needs, and personal ambitions.

One particularly interesting observation was the diversity of advice from various speakers. Some tips were common, while others differed drastically. To the same question, one CEO might give one answer, while another might give a completely different one, and both could be right. This lack of a specific “success formula” is inspiring. It means I can choose a role model who fits my values and character, rather than thinking every startup follows the same lifecycle.

I had thought about becoming a global entrepreneur long before discovering the Global Entrepreneurship Summer School program at KAIST, but I never seriously considered this path as it seemed vague and full of surprises. A career as a specialist in my engineering major felt like a safer option. Now, I feel like GESS has given me a glimpse into Silicon Valley's vigorous ecosystem. While it’s just a start and far from understanding even 1% of the startup and deep tech business, it gave me hope and confidence to embark on this journey in the future. Thank you, GESS 2024, and I look forward to meeting you next time, hopefully as a speaker!