Twitch Co-founder and former COO Kevin Lin shared his entrepreneurial journey and strategies for overcoming challenges.
In an effort to expand students’ international perspectives and inspire awareness of global innovation trends, Ming Chuan University (MCU) has organized a series of Fireside Chat lectures, which aim to provide students with the opportunity to engage in face-to-face discussions with world-renowned individuals and gain valuable insights and experiences through these sessions. The first Fireside Chat lecture, titled ‘INSPIRATIONS’ invited Twitch Co-founder and former COO Kevin Lin as well as American director and producer Simon Yin as the keynote speakers. They shared their innovative thinking, entrepreneurial journeys and strategies for overcoming challenges.
Kevin Lin delved into his experience of founding Twitch and how he achieved success in the highly competitive tech industry. He vividly described the journey of Twitch from a small startup to becoming the largest live streaming community platform globally. He detailed the challenges faced in the early stages of the startup, including financial constraints, technical difficulties, and market competition, as well as the methods they used to overcome these obstacles. Kevin Lin stated that the three most critical keys to successful innovation and entrepreneurship are focusing on the most important things, then finding common points of interest and sharing values, and finally, continuously striving towards the goal.
Jillian Rianti Amandatu, a junior majoring in Fashion and Innovation Management, mentioned that Kevin Lin shared several personal challenges he faced during his speech, including anxiety, health issues, and feelings of insecurity, especially during his university life and the early stages of Twitch. He went through many hardships, but these challenges also became opportunities for his growth. This reminds us that in the process of finding our place in the world, it’s important to maintain a balance between internal and external well-being, enjoy life, and embrace the important things, while not ignoring our responsibilities.
Student Theresia expressed that this lecture taught her to conduct a comprehensive assessment before accepting advice and to take responsibility for her decisions and actions. She emphasized the value of maintaining an open-minded attitude towards different perspectives and being courageous to explore non-traditional paths.
Lee, Lan-Yu (Lynne), the Vice President for International Affairs of MCU, stated that the Fireside Chat lecture series breaks away from the traditional lecture format, adopting a casual conversational style that allows entrepreneurs and experts to share their experiences in innovation, entrepreneurship, brand building, and personal growth with students. Vice President Lee encouraged students to actively participate, not only to deepen their understanding of the lecture topics but also to cultivate their logical thinking and expression skills.
This inaugural Fireside Chat lecture not only provided a valuable learning opportunity for MCU faculty members and students, but also established a reputation for future events in this series. The institution will continue to host similar activities to assist students in better understanding global innovation trends and to inspire their entrepreneurial spirit and creativity.
