2020: A Year In Review
We’re about to end 2020 and it’s time to look back. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that took over the world, we adapted to the changing conditions and stayed true to our mission — to help founders, executives, and government agencies navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship and innovation. Here are the highlights of our year.
Serving A Global Audience of Entrepreneurs
Because of COVID-19, we had to pivot our accelerator programs to support through new virtual formats. Fortunately, we already operate as a digitally savvy organization, with global representation from 12 countries and years of experience running online programs. Leveraging our experience and past learnings, we launched three virtual accelerators this year:
GCAMP 2020 Virtual Accelerator with the Institute for Information Industry (Triple iii), the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA), and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
X-HUB Tokyo Virtual Accelerator with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
NEDO Immersion Program with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
More than 100 startups from Taiwan and Japan applied to these accelerator programs to gain knowledge, connections, and insights to jumpstart their business expansion efforts. We selected the top 10 teams from each program and worked with them for 3 months to support their expansion efforts to Silicon Valley through a series of workshops, 1:1 mentorship sessions, and keynote presentations.
We learned that this type of virtual program model works, based on our experience from previous programs and the positive feedback we’ve received. As we recently concluded our X-HUB Tokyo Virtual Accelerator, our team received a net promoter score (NPS) of 87.5 – significantly higher than Apple’s!
For this, we are proud 10X has continued to deliver high-quality programs throughout the year that have the value and impact that our partners have come to expect. We are also thankful to our partners in the Taiwanese and Japanese governments for their trust and support. As we look ahead to the future, we look forward to in-person initiatives again and promise to carry over our learnings from this year!
Producing World-Class Digital Transformation Webinars
One key topic that the pandemic truly accelerated this year, was around digital transformation and efforts to implement this for most of our clients. In fact, it became a top area of focus for many organizations, whereas in the past, this was a topic that our clients discussed with us, but never pursued beyond the concept. This year, the focus was on digital transformation implementation and execution. The pandemic reshaped the way companies think and with that, many were forced to embrace a digital transformation. More and more, organizations have now come to understand that not everyone needs to sit in an office location to be efficient and accountable. Conversations around the water cooler about employee productivity or the future of work were held instead through Zoom, Meet, or any other digital tool available today. This was a conversation that we wanted to highlight in 2020. It thrilled us that 300+ executives from 15 countries around the globe tuned in live to our webinar series, “How COVID-19 Increases Urgency to Embrace Digital Transformation.”
We invited guest speakers from Silicon Valley’s leading companies such as Amazon, Google, Salesforce, and many more who delivered their expert perspectives on digital transformation and how they’re embracing new methods and technologies. The viewers were then able to engage in a lively Q&A at the end of each session. We are grateful to our strategic partners, Pasona and the American Chamber - Dominican Republic (AmChamDR), as this webinar series wouldn’t have been possible without them.
Establishing Industry Leadership
We have also been busy driving industry leadership conversations in the entrepreneurship and innovation space by guest speaking for various media interviews, podcasts, and webinars such as Slingshot 2020, Venture Tokyo Cafe, Career Meets World, and SUMMIT SOFTICH 2020. It was a ton of work but so worth it and wouldn’t have happened without the daily support of our 10X team.
Being Part Of Your Day
We feel fortunate, honored, and happy to be part of the daily lives of our growing 10X community. Over 2,200 of you read our monthly 10X newsletter. We strive to be able to bring you new ideas, inspiration, and industry-related updates every month. Likewise, your responses and shoutouts on our social media channels are all greatly appreciated and we are glad to be able to deliver news and helpful articles every day.
The blogs we published included business and thought-leadership pieces with insights from some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent leaders and thinkers. We envisioned the blog to be the go-to resource for entrepreneurs and corporates for informative articles on a range of business success topics. Thank you for engaging with us through the 10X website, our social media pages, and emails.
Looking Forward To Next Year
Apart from the thought-leadership pieces, corporate innovation programs, and startup initiatives, we were also proud to announce our new book about International Expansion.
Based on interviews with 40+ top executives (thanks to everyone that has supported us) who led scaling strategies for some of the fastest-growing companies in the world, this book will share our newly developed Global Expansion Canvas, showcasing how entrepreneurs across the globe can rapidly test markets to determine whether or not to expand into new markets with limited resources. The book is slated to be published next October in partnership with our publishing partner, Sourcebooks (partly owned by Penguin Random House), so watch out for it.
As we look back on 2020 and remember all the wins and obstacles, we were even more grateful to have accomplished everything with the support of our client partnerships with a nimble, passionate, and motivated team. We look towards a bright future and hope that 2021 will include more social activities, as we take further steps to move past this pandemic.
Stay strong, resilient, and positive!
Sincerely,
The 10X Team