The Role of Innovative Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth

For our second hybrid seminar of Academic Year 2021/22, we had the pleasure of having Dr Baoli Zhao speak to our staff and students on the topic of “The Role of Innovative Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth”. Dr Zhao is no stranger to us. He has previously given a webinar to our students last academic year. This year, for our new and returning students, we have him back on campus in person with a new role with PHBS-UK – MBA Business Mentor - to give a seminar for our students and to have a business mentorship session with our MBA students.

Dr Zhao is the founder and Managing Director of Allsee Technologies Ltd, a manufacturer of Digital Signage Displays. The company was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2017. The company has been recognised for their flexible all-in-one Digital Signage solution that allows users, regardless of budget and IT resources, to implement future-proof commercial displays in a diverse range of settings. Their innovation makes Digital Signage accessible to everyone, allowing small businesses to promote their services and products in an exciting and dynamic way.

Dr Zhao is a mentor at Oxford University Innovation to help the university spin-outs with Intellectual Property, new venture creation, investment raising and technology marketing. Dr Zhao is also an Ambassador of the Be the Business movement that was established to bring together companies large and small and make the UK home to the most ambitious firms in the world. Dr Zhao holds a PhD in Speech Recognition from Nottingham Trent University and has just completed his EMBA studies from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

During this webinar, Dr Zhao actively engaged the students and explored the reasons why innovative entrepreneurship is essential for economic growth. Beginning with the basics of the driving factors of economic growth this talk will delve deeper into the definition of innovation and arbitrage in relation to entrepreneurship. Dr Zhao used concrete examples from the car industry, such as Mercedes Benz, as well as the computer industry, such as IBM and Apple, and to demonstrate why innovation is integral to the growth of the company and as a happy consequence, the resultant economic growth from such entrepreneurial innovation.

Using examples and hypotheticals, Dr Zhao also engaged the students in a case study. In doing so, demonstrating why innovation is fundamental for entrepreneurs. For Dr Zhao, no answer is a wrong answer and a problem is always an entrepreneurial opportunity. Dr Zhao encouraged all students to be observant and turn adversity into challenges that drive innovation.

Finally, Dr Zhao discussed how universities can support pioneering start-ups and encourage entrepreneurial ideas amongst our students. Dr Zhao suggested that universities can start engaging with industry to provide funding opportunities and mentorships for students – much like what PHBS-UK is doing for our students. Ideas need to be encouraged and incubated. While entrepreneurship needs capital and labour, proper guidance and support need to be given so as to support our budding entrepreneurs. The future is in our universities and we need to do our best to encourage it.

After the seminar, Dr Zhao had lunch with our students in the Common Room and shared his personal insights on what entrepreneurship means to him. After lunch he also spent an afternoon talking to our MBA students about their upcoming field study at his company Allsee Technologies as well as discussing with the MA students their academic and career goals.

We thank Dr Zhao for his time and for an invigorating and stimulating seminar. He has certainly given our students much food for thought and we thank Dr Zhao once again for being our MBA Business Mentor so that our students would be able to continue to learn from Dr Zhao!